Page 7 of The Smart Killer (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #4)

D elivering a death notification was brutal.

No amount of training in the academy prepared law enforcement.

Training amounted to less than five minutes.

A flash-in-the-pan guidance on empathy and a few tips on wording; the rest was a pat on the back, and best of luck.

Noah had seen many a deputy crumble or even ask another if they wanted to do it.

There was no shame in it; every cop understood.

No matter how the message was delivered, it was even more challenging when an officer knew those left behind.

Fortunately, unbeknownst to Noah, someone had already beaten him to the punch.

Porter followed him like a shadow, trying to keep up. “Hey, uh, where are we going?”

“To deliver some bad news.”

“Yo! Wait up!”

Noah stopped on a dime and turned toward him. “First, don’t address me with your slang. I’m not some punk on the streets. And second, you catch up, I don’t wait up. Got it?” He turned away, continuing across the parking lot.

“All right, all right,” Porter said, sidling beside him.

“Sorry. Listen, she wanted me to work with you. I get it. I wouldn’t want to be dumped with a newbie either, but if it’s any consolation, I worked as a trooper for eight years before this.

The whole detective in training thing may be new, but I’m not new to the game. ”

“Glad to hear that. Maybe you can request to train under someone else.”

“Why? You came highly recommended by Lieutenant Legacy.”

Noah shook his head as he smiled, thinking that perhaps Savannah was preparing to hand Porter over to him regardless of his suspension. “She and I have history.”

“You dated her?”

“No, but I introduced her to her now-girlfriend.” He grinned as they arrived at his Bronco. The guy looked at it as if he was about to say something but instead got in the other side. Inside, Noah wiped droplets of rain from his jacket and then fired up the engine.

“Shitty weather,” Porter said, glancing out at the gloom-filled skies. “I hope it doesn’t get worse.”

“You wait until the winter arrives.”

The engine rumbled beneath them.

“I hate the cold.”

“Then why transfer here?” Noah asked as he backed out. “I mean, of all places you chose here.”

“Maybe for the same reasons you did.”

Noah shot him a sideways glance.

“And that would be?”

“To make a splash. Right?”

“A splash?”

“Make a difference,” Porter replied. “And what better place than where it’s all happening in New York State.”

“Is that what they’re telling you?”

The Bronco growled as it rolled through the terrain, splashing puddles. Pedestrians hurried along the sidewalk, some darting into stores to get out from the downpour.

“It’s what I’ve heard. I mean, that’s why we get into this, right? To do some good, bring about change. Like your father, your brothers, and you have. You all seem to attract the attention of the media.”

“So, it’s the attention you want. Are you vying for the spotlight, Porter?”

“No. I didn’t mean it like that. Let’s just say that word gets around, and I wanted to serve alongside the best. You learned from the best, didn’t you?”

“There are days I wonder, Porter.”

“All I’m saying is that I just want you to know that I’m not wet behind the ears. You’re the senior investigator. I’ll follow your lead.”

“Glad to hear it. If you observe and listen, we will get along just fine.”

Porter furrowed his brow. “Did you skip over the part about my previous experience?”

“One thing you need to realize, Porter. Experience elsewhere means little in High Peaks. This place will eat you up and spit you out before you can apply that experience. Understand?”

Porter nodded.

Noah’s thoughts turned to Callie as they got closer to her residence.

A quietness settled over them. Rain fell in sheets, a somber curtain obscuring the world beyond the windshield.

The soft pitter-patter on the roof was the only sound that dared pierce the heavy silence inside.

Streetlights cast a muted glow on the wet asphalt, giving everything a melancholic sheen.

Noah’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as he navigated the slicker roads, each drop of rain another weight on his shoulders.

Porter seemed distant, lost in his own thoughts.

As they pulled up outside Callie’s apartment building, Noah exhaled slowly, his breath mixing with the rain-speckled air from his partly open driver’s side window.

“I gather you’ve been present when a death notification has been given?”

Porter nodded. “I have.”

“Good,” Noah said. “Then you can stay in the car. This is a friend of mine, and I would prefer you weren’t there.” There was no room for argument in his words. Porter understood the request for privacy, for the chance to deliver the devastating news with the gentleness it deserved.

As he got out, Noah noticed across the lot, among the many vehicles, an Adirondack Sherriff’s Office cruiser. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Detective Angus McKenzie’s.

Noah hurried out of the rain, headed up the steps, and braced himself as he gave a knock. Callie answered, her eyes red from crying.

“Noah.”

“Callie.”

As he hugged her, he saw McKenzie seated on the sofa. The Scotsman, given to sarcasm and jokes, looked nothing like his usual self; his somber expression told it all.

“You already know?” he asked.

She nodded. “McKenzie told me.”

Noah figured that it wouldn’t have remained a secret for long. It was undoubtedly done to ensure she heard before the media got wind of it. Still, he expected that slimeball Carl McNeal over at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise would find some titillating headlines to drum up sales.

In some ways, he was glad he didn’t have to be the one to drop the bomb. “I’m so sorry.”

“Come on in,” she said, stepping out of the way.

Noah took a seat. “McKenzie.”

“Sutherland.”

“How did you get wind of it?”

“I happened to be at the medical examiner’s office on other business. Addie let it slip. I guess she thought I knew.”

Noah nodded.

“Can I get you a coffee?” Callie asked. “I was just about to make some.”

“Lass, sit yourself down. I’ll get it. Black, Noah?” McKenzie said.

“Yeah.”

Callie scooped up a handful of tissues.

“You on vacation?” Noah asked.

“I was. I mean, I am.” She glanced down.

Noah looked around the room and saw a photo of Hannah and Callie on the mantel.

“I can’t believe she’s gone. She was only here a few nights ago.

For supper. She and Adam. I hadn’t seen her that happy since she came back from California.

I figured things were on the up and up with a new guy, no longer taking drugs or struggling to get by.

You know she landed herself a job working down at the marina. Good pay, too.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Callie pursed her lips to hold back her emotion as she shook her head in disbelief. She sniffed hard and dabbed at her eyes. “What did Angus tell you?” he asked.

“That there was a fire, and she didn’t get out. That Adam and the kids never made it out either.” She brought a hand up to her mouth. Noah reached over and offered her a box of tissues from the table.

Noah glanced toward the kitchen where McKenzie was preparing coffee in a French press.

Clearly, he’d only gotten half of the story.

He looked back at Callie. “I don’t want to upset you any further, but I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that High Peaks local PD are potentially regarding it as foul play. ”

Callie looked up. McKenzie walked into the room.

“What?” she asked.

Noah raised a hand. “I’m not saying it is, as they are still investigating, but it appears there was a witness who said that he saw Adam leave the house in a different vehicle before the fire. That vehicle never returned, and he hasn’t shown up.”

“But there were four bodies found.”

“I know. What we have been told by the witness hasn’t been verified yet. The M.E. has only identified your sister through dental records. They are waiting to hear back on Adam.”

Callie looked at him, her brow furrowed. “I’m confused. Are you saying local PD are entertaining the thought that Adam is alive and he murdered them?”

Noah nodded.

She shook her head. “The witness has to be wrong.”

“You know how it is, Callie. It’s still early in the investigation.”

“The witness. Who is it?”

“A neighbor,” Noah replied, not wishing to name names, especially with Jason’s history of arson.

The last thing anyone needed was a distraught sister to show up on the family’s doorstep demanding answers.

Not that Callie would do that, but grief brought out the worst in most, especially if foul play was suspected.

“Local PD has an APB out on the truck and Adam. I expect we will get answers soon enough.”

“But it might not be him, right?” Callie said. “There is the possibility that the neighbor is mistaken and they witnessed someone else leave. It was dark. Late.”

“It was. It’s possible.”

Callie stared down into her hands.

“If it is him, I hope they throw the book at him,” McKenzie snarled, charging back into the kitchen to collect the coffee. He re-emerged red-faced and still angry. It was evident from his defensive attitude that his work relationship with Callie over the past few months had created a strong bond.

“You said he was here the other evening with Hannah. Did things seem okay?” Noah asked.

“I think so. They were laughing. Hannah showed me the ring he’d given her. She’d only known him — what — less than eight months, and he’d already proposed. They were talking about their future. He was polite. Respectful. Everything you could hope for after what she went through with Kyle.”

“Kyle?” Noah asked.

“Her ex-husband. Kyle Branson. Lives here in town. It’s what drove her away a year ago to California.”

“He beat on her?”

“No. Mental abuse. Fucked with her mind. Controlling.”

Noah nodded. “And yet she returned?”

“As did you,” she said softly but defensively. “Home is home, right?” Callie took a sip of her coffee. “I think she wanted to finalize the divorce, and according to her, Kyle was in a better place. According to Hannah, he understood her reason for leaving.”

Noah leaned forward in his seat. “Did Hannah mention anything unusual? Anything out of the ordinary?”

She shook her head. “No. Everything was good.”

“So, nothing strange?”

Callie glanced away, then looked back at him. “Well, there was one thing that Adam had mentioned over supper. He joked about it. Said he thought it was a practical joke or a dig at his interracial relationship. He received a letter a couple of days ago telling him to leave.”

“A threat?”

“He didn’t consider it a threat. More of a suggestion.”

“He show you this?”

“No, he threw it in the trash and ignored it.”

Noah nodded. “Listen, local PD will need access to your sister’s apartment. We’ll need to gather her devices, laptop, desktop, whatever else she uses.”

“Hannah gave me a key to her place. I’ll get it,” she said, rising and heading out of the room. Noah clasped his hands together and looked over at McKenzie.

“Local PD call you in?” McKenzie said.

“Not yet. But Ray will speak to the chief.”

“I want in.”

“You know that’s not up to me. This is local.”

“She’s one of us.”

“I know that. But unless they call upon the county sheriff’s office, not much I can do.”

“Your father is Hugh Sutherland. I’m sure he can pull strings.”

“Don’t I know that? If this gets bigger, you have my word I’ll reach out.”

“Don’t go fucking this up, Sutherland.”

He nodded. “Anyway, it’s not like I’m working alone. Savannah has me babysitting a detective in training.”

McKenzie let out a chuckle. It was the first smile Noah had seen from him since he’d entered the apartment. “Aye, is that so? And where is this kid?”

“Out in the lot. Keeping watch over my vehicle.”

McKenzie roared with laughter. “Aye, just as I thought.”

As Callie returned, his laughter faded. She handed Noah a key and told him the apartment number. “I could go get it for you. Might save you having to get a search warrant.”

“You’ve done enough,” he said, rising. “I should get going.”

Callie saw him out, leaving McKenzie inside. Outside, she closed the door behind her. “Noah.”

“Yeah?”

“Find out who did this.” He nodded, hugged her, and went down to the ground floor. On the way down, his phone jangled in his pocket.

“Yeah?” He answered without looking at the caller ID.

“Noah,” Ray said without letting him get a word in. “Seems Jason was telling the truth. The M.E. just got back the results from the dental records. It’s not a match. The kids they’ve ID’d, but the male present with Hannah isn’t Adam.”

“Figured. These things are never straightforward.” He continued walking. “Tell me, did you pull the garbage from the residence?”

“Yeah. We got it. Why?”

“Check if there is a letter among it. I spoke with Callie a moment ago. She said Adam received a letter warning him to leave a few days before the fire.”

“Will do. How did Callie take it?”

“She already knew.”

“What?”

“People flap their gums, Ray.”

“Sounds about right. You get things worked out with Legacy?”

“For now,” he said, going back across the lot, eyeing Porter through the windshield. “Any luck locating Adam or the black Tundra?”

“Well, that’s the thing. We didn’t need to. He walked into the station ten minutes ago.”