Page 32 of The Smart Killer (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #4)

N ews about Ethan spread fast courtesy of Hugh while he drove like a lunatic, lights flashing, siren wailing to clear traffic out of the way.

There were some perks to his work.

When Noah reached the hospital in Saranac Lake, his aunt Gretchen, brother Ray, sister Maddie, and daughter Mia were there.

The waiting area was suffused with an air of tension.

The fluorescent lights cast a harsh, sterile glow on the faces of worried family members huddled together.

The walls, painted a dull shade of beige, seemed to close in on them, echoing the constriction in Noah’s chest. The soft hum of machines and the occasional beep from monitors filled the otherwise hushed room.

A few groans emanated from the injured. A man sat rocking back and forth, his hands trembling.

Was he high? Struggling with pain? Noah felt physically sick as he entered with his father Hugh by his side.

Their footsteps were muffled by the worn-out vinyl flooring beneath their shoes.

As they approached, family members rose from their seats, each offering tight, comforting hugs.

Maddie spoke with a tremor in her voice, her eyes red-rimmed from tears. “They are working on him at the moment. I haven’t been able to get anymore information.”

Desperation flickered in Noah’s eyes as he tried to gather his thoughts. He approached a nurse stationed at the reception desk, his voice cracking. “Can you please tell me how my son is doing? Ethan Sutherland.”

The nurse offered a sympathetic smile, her eyes reflecting the gravity of the situation. “Yes. Um. I’ll go and check for you. Please wait here.”

While they waited, the family sank into the uncomfortable chairs, their collective anxiety palpable.

Time seemed to slow. Every second, an agonizing delay.

No one dared to break the heavy silence except for Mia, her voice laced with accusation.

“This was because of Big G’s bowling alley, wasn’t it? ” Her anger was as deep as his.

“Who?” Gretchen asked.

Before Noah could respond, a doctor emerged from the double doors, his weary eyes reflecting the weight of his words. “Mr. Sutherland. Dr Janson.” His voice was calm but strained, betraying the seriousness of the situation.

“What happened. I thought he was stable?”

“He was. Unfortunately, we can never really determine how the body will respond. Ethan began having a seizure. We had to place him into a medically induced coma.”

Noah’s heart skipped a beat. “What?” The word escaped his lips in a breathless whisper, his eyes wide with disbelief and terror. The thought of losing him seemed unfathomable.

The doctor raised a calming hand. “It’s a measure to help decrease brain swelling and protect his brain against further damage. It’s not common, more of a last resort when other options have failed.”

Noah nodded, trying to process what he was hearing. “How long will he be in that state?” His voice was low, almost drowned in the sea of uncertainty.

Dr. Janson hesitated, his expression grave. “I can’t say for sure. If we see improvement, we’ll bring him out. But there are risks. Complications can arise. We are doing everything we can. I will keep you informed.”

A heavy silence fell over the family as the doctor walked away, leaving Noah deflated and helpless.

Moments on the edge of life and death brought daily life into perspective.

Nothing mattered to him more than his kids.

No matter what age, no matter what disagreements.

They were his anchor, his reason for getting up and moving forward at times when he’d wanted to fold after losing Lena and Luke.

The room seemed to close in around him, suffocating him with fear.

The uncertainty of Ethan’s fate hung over them like a dark cloud.

Between the time it took him to get a coffee from the vending machine and return, Mia was gone.

“Where’s Mia?” he asked casually.

“I think she said she was going home,” Gretchen said, glancing away.

Noah slumped into a chair, his thoughts too full of worry and preoccupied with Ethan to even give a second thought to Mia. He was glad Hugh was there and not holed up at home.

At seventeen, Mia had already tasted a small amount of independence. She’d successfully obtained her driver’s license and, with the help of her grandfather, scooped up a 2014 faded yellow VW Beetle. It was old, but it was paid in full and hers.

No one could put a value on that.

The newfound freedom had been a lifeline at a time when she’d had to rely on her father for rides and found herself suffocated by evenings at Gretchen’s.

When she was younger, she didn’t mind, but with her mother dead and her father working all manner of ungodly hours, there was no way she was going to settle.

The VW had been her ticket out, and right now, it was delivering.

As she left the medical center behind in her rearview mirror, heading back to High Peaks, anger roiled inside her.

She couldn’t just sit there for hours and do nothing.

While her father wanted to keep her out of harm’s way and treated her like she wasn’t old enough to understand, she knew better.

It didn’t take rocket science to connect the dots.

The call from her uncle Ray, the focus on Big G’s bowling alley, and Ethan asking her to cover for him while he hung out with Richy Davis.

She’d never liked the kid. He was a troublemaker who only hung around Ethan because he had money.

Much like her, Ethan had worked for it — a paper route he did in the mornings.

A job that their mother had got him through her career with the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

Still, if anyone knew what had happened to him, it was Richy.

With the night draped over High Peaks, casting a shadowy veil across the town, its streets were illuminated by the occasional flickering streetlamp.

As Mia pulled her VW Beetle into the parking lot of Big G’s bowling alley, the neon sign outside stuttered, casting a vibrant, eerie glow on the pavement below.

A group of teens lingered near their cars, their silhouettes dancing beneath the neon lights.

As she drove around, looking for a place to park, the air filtering through her vents was acrid with the scent of cigarette smoke, intermingled with the distant aroma of fried food from a nearby fast-food joint.

Laughter and chatter filled the night, creating a backdrop of teenage revelry.

Mia stepped out of the car, her footsteps echoing in the space between vehicles.

The summer warmth wrapped around her, the gentle breeze carrying the scene of pine trees from the nearby forest. Determination was etched on her face as she approached a group of teens, her eyes scanning each face. “You seen Richy Davis?” she asked.

A girl from the group, her eyes glazed from the night’s indulgence, pointed lazily toward the bowling alley entrance. “I saw him inside,” she slurred, her words punctuated by a hiccup.

Mia offered a curt nod and made her way towards the entrance.

Inside, she was enveloped by a cacophony of sound.

The clattering of bowling pins, the electronic beeps and bloops from arcade games, and the low rumble of conversation merged into a vibrant symphony of nightlife.

The air was tinged by the aroma of freshly baked pizza, the sharp tang of spilled beer, and the lingering scent of cigarettes from those who had come in from smoking outside.

She scanned the faces in the dimly lit room, her eyes searching for the familiar features of Richy Davis.

Amidst the crowd, she spotted him, engrossed in a video game, near the arcade area.

Richy was a lanky boy with unruly hair, his clothes slightly disheveled as if he had hurriedly put himself together.

Purpose fueled Mia’s steps as she headed toward him, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

She gave him a light shove.

“What the fuck? You made me lose the game,” Richy protested, eyes wide with annoyance.

Mia’s eyes bore into him, her anger barely contained. “I need to talk to you.”

“Another time. I’m busy,” he said, turning back toward the machine and slotting in another token.

“It’s about Ethan.”

“Haven’t seen him.”

“That’s because he’s in the hospital.”

Richy stopped and glanced at her. “And?”

“I know you know.”

He glanced off toward the bar where Zeke was serving adults and teens. “Follow me,” Richy said, walking out the main doors into the night.

Richy’s words carried weight in the darkness around the corner of the bowling alley.

His desperation was palpable as he blurted out his innocence, his eyes darting nervously in the dim light.

“Look, I had nothing to do with it,” he protested, his voice shaky.

“And I could get in trouble just for speaking to you.”

Mia studied his face, searching for any sign of deceit. His eyes, wide with fear, seemed genuine, his words laced with panic. “What happened?” she pressed, her voice low and intense.

Richy shrugged, a gesture of helplessness. “I don’t know the exact way it went down. I know Zeke caught wind that Ethan’s old man was a cop. Gavin freaked.”

Mia glanced away, then back. “The owner is in on this?” The revelation struck her like a physical blow, leaving her momentarily speechless.

He lifted a hand. “Shhhh, keep your voice down.” Richy let out a nervous chuckle, a hollow sound in the stillness of the night, as he bounced on the balls of his feet. “Everyone knows that. We just don’t say it.”

A mix of confusion and anger flickered across Mia’s face. “I thought it was just Zeke.”

“No. That asshat couldn’t crack an egg, let alone set up an enterprise like this.”

“An enterprise? So, Gavin is what… selling to teens?”

“Gavin doesn’t sell to teens; teens sell to teens. He just supplies the goods.”

“Where is he getting it from?”