Page 21 of Vanish From Sight (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #2)

T he pressure was relentless.

The news that another person had gone missing arrived by way of a phone call to his mobile at after six fifty in the morning, waking Noah from his slumber.

“Yeah?” he mumbled, pawing at his eyes.

“We’ve got another,” Callie replied.

Ana Silva had called the county sheriff’s office late in the evening after her partner Laura had failed to return from her evening jog.

It was a common myth among the public that they had to wait twenty-four hours or discover something unusual before they could report a loved one missing. Having been involved in numerous searches, Noah was all too familiar with the problems that arose when a family took too long to call the police.

In this case, however, Ana had trusted her instincts, called it in and then gone out to search. She was the one to find her shoe near a trailhead not far from Laura’s Ford Explorer. Fortunately, she had the good sense not to touch it.

Having slept at Ed’s the night before, Noah had only a short drive to River Road, one of the many running routes used by joggers.

The four-mile stretch ran along the Ausable River, offering breathtaking views of the High Peaks.

North of the local airport and southeast of the town, it was a common spot for those training.

It was also very remote with few homes nearby.

Noah sipped at the coffee Ed had handed him on the way out after reassuring him that his brother was in good hands.

If he took a turn for the worse, Ed had told Noah he would strong-arm Ray into his truck and take him to the hospital.

Noah still wasn’t convinced it was the best thing to do but his brother had been adamant — no hospital.

So, he’d slept on the sofa across from him, his mind chewing over what Tanya had told him about Ray’s debts.

He would have that conversation when he was well enough, until then, he’d opted to give him space.

Morning offered positive signs. The color was back in his cheeks.

He was sleeping so Noah didn’t bother to wake him.

Still, he wasn’t out of the woods yet. The first forty-eight hours were critical.

Any number of complications could arise from water exposure – infection, pneumonia, heart failure, it was all on the table.

“Meet me at the Connery Pond Whiteface Landing Trailhead,” Callie said.

“I thought you said River Road?” Noah replied as he drove out.

“I’ll explain when you get here.”

He couldn’t miss it, as it was the exit and entrance that led up to Ed’s place.

Arriving that morning as the sun began to rise, Noah noted the presence of multiple cruisers. They’d already cordoned off the area. He swung the Bronco around and parked it alongside the others.

“Yes, just keep them back. I want that road blocked on both ends. The only ones that get through are those who live on that road,” Callie said to another deputy before turning and crossing the trailhead lot.

She fell in step with him, pointing to an area close to a 2020 Green Explorer.

There were several yellow sandwich board markers placed to preserve spots where evidence had come to rest. “One of her sneakers was found there, her headphones a short distance away, over there. It looks as if she was dragged to a waiting vehicle.”

Noah eyed the path through the gravel. “No dog?”

“Her partner says she doesn’t own one. She was out for her evening run. Never missed a session. She’d just come off a four day stretch of ten hour shifts over at High Peaks Academy.”

Noah turned abruptly.

“I know. A coincidence or targeted?” Callie said, nodding. “Seems she works in their infirmary as a nurse. We assume she knew Katherine.”

“And her partner?” Noah asked.

“Oh. Um. Ana Silva. Forty-six. They’ve been seeing each other for just under a year. Ana works for city hall. She doesn’t live with her but she’s a resident of High Peaks. She was cooking dinner at her house when Laura stepped out to squeeze in the evening run.”

“What time was that?”

“Just after six.”

He nodded. “So, it would have been dark out. ”

“And with next to no traffic out here, and homes spread far apart…”

“No one saw anything.” He sighed.

“Actually, we have a couple of witnesses. Not to her being dragged and shoved into a vehicle but a couple walking their dog witnessed a suspicious SUV driving back and forth up this road, they aren’t exactly sure but the husband said he thought it looked like a blue Kia Sportage. An older model.”

“Could he identify if the driver was male or female?”

“Nope.”

Noah swept back his jacket and rested his hand on his service weapon. He glanced off toward River Road. “So, the connection with River Road?”

Callie brought out her phone and pulled up a social media website.

“This is Laura’s Facebook page.” She scrolled up through several of the posts.

She had posted all of her runs online showing the route she took.

“Laura put out an invite to other friends a few months ago, stating that she usually parks here and then walks over to the mouth of River Road and runs the full stretch down to Cascade Road and then back again. It’s about eight miles round trip. ”

“So, others knew the route and routine.”

“And these posts online are marked public. Meaning anyone could have seen the announcement.”

He shook his head. Social media was making it easier to connect and even easier for stalkers and crazies to hone in on the vulnerable. “All right, so there was no post for last night. Where’s her phone?” he said, glancing around the gravel.

“That’s the thing. We haven’t found it yet. The corded headset must have been yanked out of the cellphone when she was jumped and dragged. At least that’s the going theory. I’ve called for search and rescue to assist this morning.”

“If she’s out here. ”

“Right. But it’s where we begin.”

Noah dropped to a crouch, touching the gravel. “The tire tracks could have been useful if they weren’t driven over multiple times,” he said, glancing at the police cruisers.

“And they could have belonged to any number of locals and tourists before or after. Public place and all,” Callie said.

He nodded.

Mistakes were made all too often in cases. Police and neighbors unknowingly could destroy evidence. “So where did you dash off to last night?” Callie asked.

“Ah, just some matters related to family.”

“Problems?

“It’s personal.”

He didn’t want to get into it with her or tarnish Ray’s reputation. Whatever he was going through, it wasn’t his place to air his dirty laundry. Likewise, he would have expected nothing less from him. “By the way, any luck with that phone number from the shelter?” Noah asked.

“Yeah, it came back to a private company called the Sawyer Group owned by a journalist. Nate Sawyer.”

“Nate Sawyer?”

“You know him?”

The name rang a bell. That’s when he remembered the newspaper article from Katherine’s home. “I think so. What about High Peaks Academy? What did they tell you about Charlie?”

“There was only one Charlie who was seeing Katherine for counseling. A Charlie Delaney.”

“Is he still at the school?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. Let’s see what we can find this morning, and hope to God that Laura is still alive. ”

Within two hours the trailhead popular for jogging was packed with experienced SAR professionals, equipped with advanced technology and trained in all forms of search and rescue, along with county deputies and anxious trusted volunteers.

They were given a quick briefing on the situation and how to conduct the search.

Then they were divided into teams and provided with maps of the area, along with radios to communicate with the other team leaders.

They would be working on both sides of the road and spaced 14 to 20 feet apart as they performed a grid pattern search.

They were to alert the others if they found anything of significance: clothing, footprints, personal belongings even if it couldn’t be confirmed as Laura’s.

The search was conducted with meticulous care and every effort was made to cover as much ground as possible. The upside was the weather was in their favor. A bright blue sky stretched overhead. It was cold but nothing that would deter them from continuing.

The teams worked tirelessly, combing the terrain and calling out for Laura.

High above, two drones were brought in along with a helicopter using FLIR technology to get a better lay of the land.

As the morning wore on, the search became increasingly desperate. The voices of searchers echoed through the forest. “Laura!”

Despite their efforts, there was still no sign of her.

“High Peaks Academy isn’t far from here,” Noah hollered.

“Less than a few miles down the road,” Callie said as she brushed aside tree branches and gazed down into the thick underbrush.

Noah couldn’t help but wonder about the connection between Katherine and Laura besides their employer. His thoughts were distracted, circling between searching, Nicholas Evans, Charlie Delany, Nate Sawyer and Ana Silva, when his radio crackled.

One of the teams had made a breakthrough.

They had found a cellphone that matched the description of Laura’s provided by Ana.

With renewed energy, and feeling as if they were heading in the right direction, the searchers pushed on, surveying the area close to where her phone was found discarded in a ditch.

It was the beginning of the end.

Several hours passed before they found what none of them really wanted to find. It took Noah a good 20 minutes to wade through the thick underbrush to reach the location. It was set far back from the road, about three miles from the trailhead where her sneaker had been found.

Laura was dangling from a tree, fully clothed, a rope of similar color and design to the one tied around Katherine was looped over her head.

Below her dangling feet, a small log kicked to one side.