Page 43 of Vanish From Sight (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #2)

T he tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

Acting Sheriff Rivera sat at her desk in the cramped, dimly lit office, drumming her fingers on the wooden surface.

Across from her sat a smug-looking McKenzie who was practically oozing confidence.

Noah stood by a large and grimy window that overlooked the brightly illuminated parking lot.

A few squad cars came and went, a continual turning over of deputies and correctional officers starting their shift or returning with lawbreakers.

The walls were a dull beige color with a few framed certificates and awards hanging on them. Callie sat near McKenzie, looking at him expectantly.

“So,” said Rivera, breaking the silence. “What do we have so far, McKenzie?”

He leaned back in his chair, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I think he’s our man, sheriff. The evidence we found at his home is hard to deny. We’re just waiting on the lab results to confirm.”

Rivera raised an eyebrow. “The husband?”

“Nicholas Evans, yes, ma’am,” McKenzie replied.

“We weren’t able to rule him out. Both murders occurred after work hours.

He has no concrete alibi for his whereabouts except that he was at home.

He never reported Katherine missing and with his history with his wife and previous communication with Laura — based on her cell records in the days following Katherine’s death — I have to wonder if Laura confronted him over Katherine’s death and he snapped. ”

“That communication is open to debate,” Noah said, turning away from the window, his expression serious.

Rivera frowned. “What do you mean, Noah?”

“We don’t know what their conversations were about.

If Nicholas told us the truth, there were more stresses in Katherine’s life than him.

Sheriff, I’m not saying what has been found needs to be ignored, I just don’t think we should be focused solely on him.

I think there’s something bigger going on here. ”

“Like?”

Noah hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Last year, there was an assault at the Academy. A student named Isabella Perez said she was sexually assaulted by several teens. Isabella saw the nurse at the time, Laura Summers, and told Katherine Evans, the residential counselor. From what we’ve been able to tell, nothing was filed with the police and the accused never had any official charges brought against them.

Today, we met with Charlie Delaney — a boy who admits to being there on the night of the assault.

He said he told Katherine that the assault occurred.

It wasn’t long after that she was let go.

Months later, she tried to get journalist Nate Sawyer involved and then went missing.

Sawyer says he met with Rector Hawthorne the night Katherine was pulled from the lake, Hawthorne denies it. ”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t think the school is being honest with us. I think the two murders were related to that assault.”

“An assault that could only be confirmed by our two dead women.”

“More than that. We have the boy’s confession.”

“That’s debatable,” McKenzie said.

Callie was quick to throw in her two cents. “We’ve been doing some digging, and we’ve found some discrepancies in their statements. We think that they covered up the incident and now with the involvement of a journalist, someone from the school is tying up loose ends.”

“Then why hasn’t Sawyer been killed?”

Noah was quick to answer that. “He’s already made headlines for sexual harassment.

The DNA test came back as positive. He was the father of Katherine’s unborn child.

I think someone wants people to believe he was involved or maybe working hand-in-hand with Nicholas, hence the reason his SUV was stolen and the keys were found at the Evans home. ”

Rivera leaned back in her chair, tapping her pen against the table. “I see. And what do you propose we do?”

Noah took a step forward, his voice low and urgent.

“I think we interview those students, pin down their whereabouts on the days in question, and verify where Hawthorne and the rest of the staff members were, because Sawyer refuses to change his story about that meeting which according to Hawthorne never happened.”

Rivera sighed. “Look, I understand your concerns, Noah. Maybe more interviewing is warranted, but you should have considered that ahead of time. I’ve already had a complaint from the rector about you two talking to Charlie Delaney without an adult or lawyer present.

I don’t want to make things worse by poking around without good reason and then have them lawyer up and then we won’t get anything if we have to go in that direction.

Right now, the ship isn’t pointing that way. ”

Noah stabbed a finger at the floor. “That’s exactly my point. Someone wants it pointed in another direction.”

“And we will find out. Let’s focus on what we have here with Nicholas Evans, and leave the Academy alone for now.”

Noah opened his mouth to argue, but Rivera held up a hand to stop him. “That’s final, Noah. I won’t have you jeopardizing this case because of some hunch. Stick to the facts, and the evidence we have, and let’s see what becomes of that first.”

“And in the meantime, what? Someone else dies?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “This needs more time.”

“We are running out of time.”

She took a deep breath. “And maybe the death of your ex-wife is influencing your decisions. Do I need to contact State and have them assign someone else?”

He threw up his hands. “You want to go that route, that’s fine by me,” he said, turning and heading out the door, leaving it wide open. Callie was up in his shadow. They had made it about halfway down the hallway when Callie spoke up.

“Is that it? You’re just going to walk?”

Noah turned, throwing his hands in the air. “What do you expect from me?”

“To stay the course and see this through to the end no matter what the outcome is.”

McKenzie approached from behind her. “You’re wasting your breath, Thorne.

Sutherland can’t. He won’t. Because just like all those State guys that roll in and roll out.

The first sign of opposition or a fuckup and they jump ship to let someone else deal with the blowback, just like he did in the Alman case. ”

Noah approached him, his brow knit together. “You don’t have a damn clue what happened because if you did, you wouldn’t put all your eggs in the same basket regarding Evans.”

“See, that’s the thing, Noah, all the eggs are in the basket. I didn’t put them in there. You’re the only one that is ignoring that.”

“I’m not ignoring them; I’m asking why they are together at the same time.”

“Aye, it’s called being guilty.”

Noah shook his head and walked off, shaking a finger at him. “Tomorrow, you can lay it all out to the next State investigator. Just make sure you get forensics on that gun to see if they can recover the serial number.”

“They’re already on it.”

“Good.”

Every firearm had a serial number that was issued to identify it with the owner.

It was stamped into the metal frame of the weapon using powerful dies that would drive the numbers deep into the steel.

Most guns on the black market had their serial numbers deleted to avoid them being traced.

However, forensics had improved. Just like many criminals didn’t realize a hard drive that was wiped could be recovered, most were unaware that erasing a serial number didn’t mean it was truly gone.

There were numerous physical and chemical processes that were used to restore or enhance the damaged number.

It wasn’t bulletproof but in recent years they’d had a lot of success with the Magnaflux method, chemical and electrochemical etching, and ultrasonic cavitation.

He marched away. Callie took off after him.

“McKenzie has a point.”

“Then follow it.”

“And you? Why are you scared to get it wrong?”

“I can answer that in two words,” McKenzie said. Noah glanced over his shoulder. “Hugh Sutherland. Am I right, Noah? Must be difficult living up to his expectations and standing in the shadow of your brother.”

“Save the condescending comments for someone who gives a shit. You’ll get to close this case and bask in the glory; you’ll just do it with a different State investigator.”

“Aye. Will do.”

Callie took off after him.

“And what if he’s wrong?” she said. “If Evans and Sawyer weren’t involved, they need our help. You know there is more to this than just an affair or a pregnancy. You walk away now, there is a chance they will do time and another innocent person will be screwed.”

“They were screwed by association from the moment Isabella was assaulted.”

“So, you believe her?”

“Callie. I don’t know what part of our conversation with Isabella you missed but it doesn’t matter what is believed, only what will hold up in a court,” he said, glancing past her to McKenzie.

“And right now, McKenzie thinks he’s holding the golden goose even if it could be the wrong one,” he added, his voice growing louder by the second.

“Which it’s not,” McKenzie said, answering while drawing water into a paper cup. He chugged it back, confident and at peace.

Callie moved around Noah, stopping ahead of him for but a few seconds to say, “After we thought we had those responsible for Luke’s murder, I was ready to walk. I believed you didn’t want to accept the truth. You never passed the buck. You stayed the course. What’s so different now?”

“It was family.”

“And Lena wasn’t?”

She walked away, leaving him chewing it over.

Noah glanced back to see McKenzie lift his cup of water, smirk and amble off in the opposite direction. Several deputies who’d been eavesdropping returned to tapping away on keyboards and answering phones.

He hated the thought of seeing her again but he had to know.

Thirty minutes later, Noah shivered as he walked through the door to what he liked to refer to as purgatory for the dead.

The stainless-steel morgue in the Medical Examiner’s Office was uninviting and cold.

The sterile scent of disinfectant and the hum of the fluorescent lights made him queasy.

Dr. Adelaide Chambers was perched on a stool over a body. She had a serious expression. Her white lab coat was pristine, her gloved hands poised as she examined an unknown deceased male.

“Noah Sutherland.”

“Good memory.”

“No. Names I remember, faces not so much,” she said.

“I’m not sure if it’s because they all look the same when they come in here or my brain is on the blink with age.

I think it’s a little of both,” she said, dropping a tool.

It clattered in a steel bowl. “I was told that Lena was your ex. I’m sorry for your loss.

I gather you want an update on the autopsy. ”

Noah nodded; his throat tight with emotion.

He hadn’t just lost his former wife, he’d lost a close friend, a confidant.

Despite their separation, that had never stopped them from being open with one another.

Lena had earned that right. She had become accustomed to the nuances in his tone.

There was little he could hide from her.

“Do you want to see her?”

“Let’s start with the facts.”

Chambers crossed the room and lifted a tablet. She tapped a few times, swiped, then began. “Cause of death was exposure to fentanyl.”

“Fentanyl? She never drowned?”

“No. No water in the lungs. She was dead long before she went in the river.”

His thoughts went back to the car stuck in neutral.

If she had been driving and swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle or — God forbid — tried to take her life, the gear would have been in drive. Had Teresa lied to him? He’d come across numerous liars in his line of work. Teresa never struck him as someone who had a reason to. Though she could have.

“Teresa said she let her go,” Noah muttered.

“Sorry?” Chambers asked.

“Nothing.”

Chambers crossed the room. “We’ve had a number of cases of drug users dying from it. Doesn’t take much. 0.25 milligrams. It can be very lethal in small doses.”

“But she didn’t take drugs. I was married to her for years.”

“I’m not suggesting that she did when you knew her, but what about after that?”

“Not that I know. I mean, anything’s possible but she seemed content, she never struck me as the type who would do that. Not Lena. Our kids meant more to her than a high.”

“Well if she was using, she wouldn’t have known.

Fentanyl is often used as a cutting agent, basically a filler for heroin.

And nowadays it’s nearly impossible to tell if drugs have been laced with fentanyl until it’s too late.

We used to get very few cases but there seems to be one in here every week.

Accidental overdose. It’s sad to see people go out that way. ”

“So that’s it? Nothing else?”

“There were marks on her body. Around her neck, suggesting strangulation but… ”

“It could have come from someone holding her face and forcing her to take fentanyl?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Let me see her.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, unable to find words to convey how he was feeling.

Chambers crossed the room filled with rows of metal tables, each covered in white sheets.

Noah tried not to look too closely, though his eyes kept wandering to the covered forms, wondering who they were and what had led them here.

Chambers pulled on a compartment and dragged out a rolling table.

Noah approached as she lifted the sheet, revealing Lena. Noah took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions as he looked down at her lifeless body. As Chambers pointed out the areas on the chest and neck that were bruised, he barely heard her, he was lost in grief.

After a few more minutes, Noah thanked the M.E.

and left the morgue, his mind racing with memories of his last days with her.

Conversations were both good and bad. He couldn’t believe she was gone, and the sterile atmosphere of the hospital only made his loss feel more surreal.

As he staggered back into the daylight, Noah leaned against the wall, feeling the world spinning.

His gag reflex kicked in and he spat on the ground.

Nearby, someone working for the hospital was perched on a low wall. “Let me guess? You had the pasta. Canteen food will do that. That’s why I bring my own,” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Noah looked up at her, wiping his mouth, then something clicked in his mind. “Of course,” he muttered. Like dominoes falling one after the other, it began to make sense.

He took out his phone and made a call to the Academy.