Page 32 of Vanish From Sight (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #2)

T he darkness felt suffocating.

Noah stood at the edge of the road; his gaze fixed on Lena’s vehicle.

The tow truck whined as it slowly pulled the Mazda up the steep embankment.

A state patrol deputy and other law enforcement from the county stood nearby talking.

Noah couldn’t hear the conversation. His mind was elsewhere, circling between what he would tell Mia and Ethan to replaying the events of the night over in his head.

While the empty SUV was lifted onto the flatbed of the tow truck, his thoughts returned to the EMTs who had only ten minutes ago emerged through the forest, carrying Lena’s body on a stretcher.

Noah had watched numbly as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance and drove away to the hospital for the medical examiner to determine the cause of death.

Noah couldn’t fathom that she was gone. It seemed unthinkable. Like a nightmare he couldn’t wake from.

He'd been standing there for what felt like hours, waiting for the tow truck driver to lower the Mazda. Finally, with the SUV on the flatbed, Noah approached, his heart racing to see if there was anything inside out of the ordinary.

As he explained to the driver that he needed to look inside, Savannah Legacy, his supervisor from State Police Troop B, arrived.

“Noah,” she said softly. He glanced back. She shook her head. “I am so sorry. I just got word that it was Lena. Listen, go be with your kids. We’ll take care of everything from here.”

Still in shock, Noah glanced back at Lena’s vehicle. “I can’t, not yet,” he replied. “I need to see inside. I need to know what happened.”

Savannah looked at him sympathetically. “Noah, please. Let us handle the investigation. You need to be with your family.”

“And I will but…” Before she could stop him, he climbed up onto the flatbed truck and made his way to the driver’s side.

Gloved up, he opened the door. An overflow of river water poured out, covering his boots.

Shining a light inside, he noted there was nothing jammed against the accelerator.

The amber glow of the flashlight illuminated the seat and then the gear stick.

“Noah,” Savannah said.

He turned. “It’s in neutral, Savannah.”

He didn’t need to explain what that could mean.

“Make sure you get forensics to brush for prints. No mistakes on this one. Have them use cyanoacrylate and dust with a black powder.” Degradation of prints played a role, but submerged prints now could be detected up to six weeks, although usually after ten days, it got harder.

Still, because prints were made by the oil from the ridges of skin, there was a chance they still existed.

A lot of factors came into play: the surface of material and its porosity, time submerged, the type of water source, whether it was fresh or salt water, and the reagents used in recovery.

He hopped down, his clothes still damp from the river.

“She didn’t kill herself. Don’t let them go there.”

“Come on, I’ll give you a ride back to town.”

“No, that’s my vehicle over there.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re in no state to drive.”

“I’m not going to harm myself, Savannah, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“As a friend, not as your supervisor, let me take you home. I’ll have one of the troopers follow in your vehicle.”

Noah gritted his teeth; his emotions were all over the place. One moment tearing up, the next feeling intense anger. Had it been anyone else, he might have dug his heels in, but a long history with Savannah had taught him that she always had his best interests at heart.

Minutes later, riding back in a Suburban, he was already beginning to switch from processing the tragedy for himself to what it now meant for Ethan and Mia.

He’d need to bring the kids home with him, but to where?

For the past two weeks he’d been between homes, feeling more like a vagabond than an anchor.

At that moment what they needed was surety, safety, someone who would be there to guide them through the storm as in minutes, the rug of life would be pulled out from underneath them.

It was quiet on the journey back.

He glanced in his side mirror to see his vehicle behind them, driven by a trooper .

Noah asked Savannah to take him to Saranac Lake instead of Gretchen’s. The kids needed to know. He could have made a phone call to Aiden but these things were better done in person. It was one death notification he thought he would never have to give.

“Whatever you need. Just ask.”

“I appreciate that,” he said in a low voice.

“Take as much time off as you need.”

“Time off?”

She glanced at him, her hands clutching the wheel tightly as she navigated the dark, winding roads. “Yes, Noah. You’ll be taking time off.”

“I’m in the middle of an investigation.”

“You were. I’m assigning Ellis.”

“The hell you’re not.”

“I’m going to let that one slide because of what’s happened. But friend or not, I’m still your supervisor, and the decisions I make are for what is best for this county, the bureau and you. This is…”’

“Oh, cut the bull, Savannah. We have two dead women on our hands, and some psycho out there trying to make it look like suicide. Now Lena. Who knows if it’s related?”

“Until we process that vehicle and the M.E. does an autopsy, we can’t be certain what we are dealing with.”

“The gearstick was in neutral.”

“It could have shifted out of drive when it landed.”

“How many times have you seen that?” he asked. She didn’t reply so he continued. “She didn’t kill herself.”

“I didn’t say she did.”

“If anything, that suggests someone put the vehicle in motion and pushed it in.”

The tension was building and he was regretting accepting her offer of a ride. Now he realized why. She wanted to have this conversation, to have him in a place where he couldn’t just walk away. She knew him too well.

“How did you find her?” she asked.

“Apple Phone. Her last known location.”

“Do we know where she was before that?”

“I don’t know. Ethan said he gave her a number for some pups that were being sold in town. I expect if we pull her phone records, we can triangulate on her phone and determine where she was before where we found her.”

“I’ll get on that. You think it’s related?”

“Maggie wanted her to look into a dog kidnapping ring that’s been operating in the area.”

“Katherine Evans. Didn’t you say that her dog was scooped up by Thomas Green?”

“That’s right. But he has a history of dropping off dogs at the shelter.”

“First impressions of him?”

“A little slow. Harmless.”

“The kind of person that most wouldn’t bat an eye at if he was pulled in for taking dogs?” she asked.

Noah looked at her. He could tell where she was going with it.

“He was straight with us. There’s nothing that ties him to any ring.”

“For now.”

They drove on until Savannah pulled up to Lena’s house.

Noah had a sense of dread settling heavy in his chest. The thought of telling Ethan and Mia that their mother was no longer alive made it almost hard to breathe.

He’d given death notifications all his career but, in that moment, he didn’t know how to do it, how to say it, or how to prepare them for the pain that would follow.

The Suburban idled .

Noah saw movement behind the curtain. Aiden appeared at the window, looking out.

Savannah stared. “You want me to come in and tell them?”

“No, I need to do it.” He got out. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Remember what I said.”

Noah held on to the door, looking at her. “Don’t force me out of this one, please. Of all the ones you could. Give me this.”

She sighed. “Noah.”

“I’ve never asked anything of you.”

Savannah groaned. “I should have never told you about this position.”

He closed the door, knowing that Savannah would wrestle with her decision but ultimately, their history together and her confidence in him would override what she considered was best.

Noah took a deep breath as he walked up to the door. He hadn’t made it within five feet when it opened. Ethan answered the door. He looked at his father quizzically before glancing around him. “Is mom driving your vehicle?”

That was answered when the trooper got out and brought the keys to Noah before leaving with Savannah. “Dad, what’s going on?” Ethan asked.

“Let’s go inside.”

Ethan looked beside himself, confused, already emotional.

Mia on the other hand was sitting in the living room with Aiden. Poised, as if almost expecting bad news. One glance at Aiden, and his chin dropped.

Noah struggled to find the words but eventually they came out.

“Ethan. Mia. Mom isn’t coming home. She’s no longer with us,” he said, forcing the words out, his voice barely above a whisper.

“There was…” He trailed off, he wanted to say an accident as if it would have somehow been more acceptable, but he couldn’t.

He didn’t know. He could only speculate but that’s all it would be .

Before he could continue, Ethan’s face crumpled, tears streamed down his cheeks.

Mia, the oldest of the two, sat frozen in shock, her eyes wide and unblinking.

Noah reached for his son to hold him tight but he sprinted away, up the stairs, leaving only the echo of his hard sobbing behind.

How Mia managed to hold in her emotion was a mystery, but everyone handled bad news differently.

Some buckled and broke, unleashing a river of tears, and for others it came later, in the quiet of night, muffled by a pillow.

Mia stood up. “I’ll go see him,” she said, putting on a brave face that no sixteen-year-old should have to wear.

Once she was gone, Noah turned to Aiden who was seated, his hands clasped together. A few tears streaked his cheeks. “What happened?”

“We don’t know yet. Her vehicle was in the gorge.”

Aiden looked up at him. “She hated water.”

“I know.”

Aiden got up and went over to a cabinet and took out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. “You don’t drink, do you?” he asked, about to pour himself one.

“I haven’t for a long time, but pour me one.

” In that moment, he didn’t care. He wanted to have something, anything to latch on to, to block out the pain.

Aiden returned with two fingers of the golden liquid in a glass.

Noah swirled it around, staring at it. It had been several years since his last drop.

There was a second of hesitation as newly formed habits implored him to not drink, to set it down and walk away, but instead he knocked it back, feeling the familiar burn in his throat.

In a sad way it felt like coming home, a returning to a familiar friend even if that friend had almost destroyed him. Many would fault him and cast judgment, but at that moment, he didn’t give two fucks .

Aiden piped up with tears in his eyes, “You know, before I went into the ministry, I considered becoming a cop. Realized fast I didn’t have the stomach for it.

Death. I know about that. Comforting people.

Leading a funeral. But seeing it close up and personal, to witness what one person might have done to another, or to themselves. I wasn’t made for that.”

“No one is,” Noah said.

“Will you be taking them with you?” Aiden asked.

Noah set the glass down. “Of course.”

“I love those kids,” Aiden said. “Lena and I were considering having one of our own. I guess that’s…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “If you need any help with them. Time to yourself. Or work-related. My door will always be open. That won’t ever change.”

“It’ll change,” Noah said. “Change is the only thing that remains.”

With that said, he got up and made his way over to the stairs. He was about to call up to the kids when Aiden spoke again.

“Hey, uh, Noah, it’s late. Maybe just tonight they should stay here. You too. It’s Lena’s place after all.”

“She was renting this, right?”

“Correct.”

There was an awkwardness between them. Noah nodded. “Sure. I’ll figure something out tomorrow.”

He strode back into the living room.

“I’ll go get some blankets and a pillow,” Aiden said and disappeared up the stairs.

Noah approached a series of photo frames on the mantel above the fireplace.

He picked up one, a snapshot of better times.

Lena was in the middle, hugging Mia and Ethan.

Several tears rolled down his cheek. As he set it down, he took out his phone to check for messages.

To avoid getting distracted, he’d set it to airplane mode .

There were multiple missed messages from Ed.

Aiden returned with the blankets and set them down as Noah made a call to Ed. He picked up. “About damn time. I’ve been trying to get hold of you all night.”

“Is everything okay?” Noah asked.

“Would I be ringing you if it was? Of course, it’s not. That damn brother of yours is gone,” Ed said.

“What?”

“Four assholes showed up here in a blacked-out SUV this afternoon. They said Mr. Ironwood wanted to see him. He went with them. Told me to tell you that he’s gone to the casino, and that he’s sorry.”

“Sorry? What? Ed. What else did he say?”

“That was all. I mean I asked if these were the fools he owed the four hundred thousand to, but he never gave me a clear answer. Just said something cryptic along the lines of ‘The painter has to go and speak to those who paid his wages.’”

“Four hundred thousand?”

“He never told you?”

“No.”

“Seems your brother has landed himself in a bad situation.”

“All right. Thanks, Ed.”

“Hold up. Where are you? I called State and County but they wouldn’t tell me a damn thing.”

“I’ll bring you up to speed later. I have to go.”

He hung up and stood there clutching the phone.

“Everything okay?” Aiden asked.

“No. Nothing is okay but I should have expected that coming back here.” He walked outside to have some privacy and call the one person he knew could potentially get Ray out of whatever shit he’d gotten himself into.

Now it was starting to make sense. His frequent visits to the casino, Tanya leaving him, the suicide attempt.

He’d always thought Ray was the steady one in the family, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Noah, I heard the news,” Maddie said.

“From who?”

“Savannah.”

Noah figured; Savannah had gone behind his back with the intention of getting his sister to speak to him.

“Maddie. I need you to do me a favor.”