Page 47 of Vanish From Sight (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #2)

T ruth tellers and liars — the world was full of them.

Some were willing to fall on their sword while others would go to their grave with secrets.

The world was full of both for all manner of reasons — shame, guilt, pride, anger or just straight-up stupidity.

Although many would speculate about the liars, it usually boiled down to self-preservation, a more palatable version of cowardice.

As the sun rose over the Sentinel Range Wilderness the next morning, casting a golden hue across the forest floor, Noah and Callie trudged towards a clearing about three miles in from where they last saw the teens.

Search efforts continued throughout the night but were limited to securing the roadways around the vast wilderness and the use of technology, including drones and FLIR cameras on helicopters to track the suspects who had fled deep into the woods .

It was safer for law enforcement to wait until early light before closing the net. Knowing the teens were armed and more than liable to use deadly force, safety was paramount both for deputies and K-9s.

As soon as light broke and they received confirmation from eyes in the sky on the location of the two, using a thermographic camera, a slew of highly trained law enforcement geared up, ready for a violent standoff.

The intention was to secure and arrest but neutralizing the threat was also on the table.

The forest was dense and quiet, its thick canopy of trees blocking out some of the sunlight.

As the investigators made their way through the underbrush, they could hear the sound of their own footsteps crunching on fallen leaves and twigs beneath them.

Occasionally, a radio squawked as officers communicated with the eyes in the sky.

It was a coordinated effort. With the anticipation of the unexpected, a tense atmosphere formed among them.

A SWAT team spearheaded the operation, taking the lead.

At one point as they got closer to the location, Noah and Callie were told to hold back until they received confirmation that it was safe to move in.

Minutes felt like hours as they waited in a preserve known best by hikers who explored it for the trails and remote experience.

Static came over the radio followed by a voice. “All secure.”

A sense of relief flooded Noah’s chest as they moved towards a small clearing only to find a pair of bodies lying on the ground near a small meandering brook.

As they approached the scene, Noah felt no sense of triumph. Like the others he was exhausted, physically and emotionally drained by the events of the past week.

It became clear that both suspects had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

There was only one gun, a 44 revolver nearby.

A heavyset imposing man, a lieutenant from Adirondack County, strolled toward them.

He was wearing a heavy-duty tactical helmet, body armor, gloves, boots and holding an M4 rifle.

“You should see this,” he said, handing them a cell phone that was open on a 25-minute video.

Noah snapped on blue latex gloves, took it and hit play.

The self-filmed video confirmed their guilt, as well as the fact that the other two boys who had been with them were only guilty of the sexual assault of Isabella.

A sense of relief mixed with sadness came over him. It was good that the suspects were no longer a threat and that justice would be served, but the fact that multiple lives had been wiped out was a tragedy.

“They took the easy way out,” Callie said.

“No. It might seem that way but I don’t think they wanted to die or they would have done it sooner. I imagine they just couldn’t face the music or the looks on their parents’ faces once they had their day in court and were staring at a lifetime behind bars.”

“You sound like you’ve dealt with this before,” Callie said.

“It happens all over the country. Stalkers who kill and then kill themselves, murder-suicide, abductors who shoot themselves after being cornered, and shooters that go on a rampage only to take their life before they can be held accountable.”

“It doesn’t feel like justice.”

“Maybe not for these two. But it will save a lot of tax dollars,” he said, bagging the evidence. “And there are still the other two teens we arrested.”

In the eerie silence of the forest, the investigators worked quickly to gather evidence and document the scene. They knew they would need to piece together the suspects’ movements in the days and hours leading up to their deaths to assist them in closing out the case .

As they turned and made their way back to the command center established at the school, which had all but been destroyed by the blaze, Noah noticed the other members of the police force looked just as tired as he felt.

They had all worked tirelessly throughout the night, driven by a determination to bring justice to the victims.

“Do you think they will release the video footage?” Callie asked.

“No. They’ll tell media that they brought in a forensic psychologist and a leading expert in threat assessment and after an extensive amount of discussion and forms filled out, they were advised that the release of the recordings would only fall into the motivation of why these boys did it.”

“For notoriety?”

He nodded. “Though it’s clear from their past that being known wasn’t the reason.

They wanted the past to stay buried. That was it.

My thought is that once they realized they were in too deep, that people were talking, and the heat was back on, they reacted with little thought to the repercussions.

That will be confirmed by the other two once they realize they are an accessory to murder.

Their defense lawyer will get them plea deals, a reduced sentence where they’ll only be tried for a sexual assault and they’ll be back out within less than ten years.

And hell, depending on what judge they get, they might just get probation for telling the truth.

That, Thorne, is the revolving door of justice. ”

Callie nodded as they trudged out.

“And Lena? They admitted to Katherine, Laura and the attack on Nicholas but nothing about Lena.”

“That’s because they weren’t involved. Like I said, the timelines don’t match up. They only had a small window to leave the boarding school. The MO also doesn’t match. The other three were an attempt to look like suicide. ”

“But wasn’t hers?”

“Gear in neutral. Cause of death, fentanyl. No. She wasn’t driving that car when it went over.”

“So, you think Teresa Barkley and the others killed her and are lying.”

He nodded. “For now, that’s all we have to go on unless evidence proves otherwise.”

“What about Hawthorne?”

“He’ll see his day in court.”

As they left behind the wilderness, Noah couldn’t help feeling a sense of sadness and frustration.

He couldn’t help feeling that Teresa was genuinely confused when she’d heard that Lena was dead.

The liars who took secrets to prison or the grave could be very convincing.

Not every case was closed cleanly. Justice came in many forms, sometimes within weeks or months, other times years later on the heels of DNA evidence or a jailhouse confession.

Emerging from the tree line back onto the grounds of the once illustrious Academy, Noah was exhausted, his mind numb from the harrowing events of the previous night. The scene of devastation before them was hard to take in.

The historic private boarding school lay in ruins.

The once-grand building was now a smoldering pile of ash and rubble, its walls and roof collapsed in on themselves. The air was still thick with the acrid smell of smoke, and the ground littered with charred debris — scorched desks, broken chairs and shattered windows.

Fortunately, no one lost their life. The quick actions of teachers and students combined with the fire department’s efforts offered a smidgen of hope.

“Hey guys,” McKenzie said, his voice loud as he jogged over. “I’ve got some good news. Nicholas Evans awoke late last night. He’s going to pull through. The doctors said his blood was saturated with carbon monoxide and he was minutes from dying if I hadn’t pulled him out of there.”

“That’s good, McKenzie. You saved a life. Well done,” Noah said, patting him on the shoulder, knowing how much his ego needed stroking. “And Delaney and Hawthorne?”

“Alive.” McKenzie fell in step. “By the way, I heard the news through the radio. Cowardly bastards. Well, at least we have the other two. They’re denying any involvement in the murders. Their lawyers arrived this morning.”

“Of course,” Callie said.

McKenzie continued. “But I’m sure they’ll sing a different tune when the defense sees that video and they are faced with Delaney’s and Perez’s statements.

” He jabbed a finger in the air. “Oh, and those red unknown fibers from the rope the M.E. found, well it looks like they’ll be a match to the carpet in the Ford Mustang belonging to Joshua Whelan.

Yeah, these teens weren’t exactly bright.

” He sniffed hard. “Throw in the restored serial number of Adam Tomlin’s father’s gun and I can see Ricky Patel and Benjamin Kim folding like a cheap suit. ”

They walked on.

“Sounds like you’ve had a busy morning,” Noah remarked.

McKenzie grinned. “Time and tide wait for no man.”

“Perez okay?” Noah asked.

“Aye, she was at work. Safe and sound.”

“Good.” Noah opened the door on his Bronco and climbed in. Every fiber of his muscles ached from the cold.

“Where are you going?”

Noah glanced at him as he slammed the door closed. “Home. To bed. To get some shut-eye.”

“But I thought—” He waved back at the scene.

“That I wanted to close the case? It’s already in the bag.

Literally.” Noah handed him the bagged evidence out of the window.

“You just need to work your magic in the interview room. Make a convincing argument. That shouldn’t be too hard for a veteran like yourself.

I mean, you saved a life, right? The rest should be a walk in the park,” Noah said, firing up the engine.

McKenzie glanced at Callie as if she might stick around.

“Don’t look at me. I’ve been up all night too. Your shift has just started, mine’s over.”

“I worked late last night.”

“Late. Yeah. We worked all night.” She motioned to Noah. “Can I catch a ride?”

“Jump in.”

“But… but…” McKenzie said. “The paperwork. I thought we were partners?”

“We are. In some parallel universe.”

“Noah. C’mon, lad.”

“Like you said — us State guys roll in and roll out. This is me rolling out.”

“I was just yanking your chain…”

“Smile, McKenzie. You’re at the helm. You’ve got this. Oh, and before I forget… Happy Thanksgiving,” Noah said, winking at him as he reversed, swung the Bronco around and left him behind, grumbling in a plume of grit.

Callie nudged him on the way out. “You are a devil.”

“Always need a little yin and yang.” He pulled out onto the highway, yawning as a bright sun bathed his face. “How are you spending Thanksgiving, Thorne?”

“My sister is back in town.”

“From California?”

“Yeah. Not sure for how long, so I’ll be catching up with her. You?”

He took a deep breath, realizing where he’d agreed to go. “Hugh Sutherland’s. ”

She snorted as she twisted open a bottle of water and brought it up to her lips. “Best of luck with that,” she muttered before she let out a tired laugh.