Page 6 of Vanish From Sight (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #2)

Despite the beauty, they remained vigilant, knowing that the wilderness offered its own set of dangers.

Slick leaves, cool temperatures, and a real chance of getting lost, plus hypothermia if they did get lost. Noah took out his phone to check if he was getting a signal.

One bar. Not great but it would do if push came to shove.

“How are things with your ex?” he asked.

Callie groaned. “Ugh. It took a lot of arm-twisting and the heavy hand of my lawyer but it’s all signed off. Feels nice to start a new chapter. What about you? Are you staying with Ed?”

He chuckled. “Ed? I would never sleep. Him and his fitness regime, and his mad theories. No, I opted for my aunt’s until I find a place.”

“Any luck so far?”

He paused for a second or two. “I have received one tempting offer.”

“Where?”

“Are you familiar with that five-million-dollar home that’s been on the market for a year? Over on the north side. The one with red accents.”

She stopped walking and cocked her head.

He turned and she shoved him. “Get out of here!”

“No. I’m serious. Someone’s offered it to me.”

“To do what? Be their pool boy?”

He laughed. “That’s the thing, I don’t know.”

She sidled up beside him. “Well, you’ve got to take it. It’s incredible. You are taking it, right?”

“Haven’t decided yet.”

“But you will?”

“Haven’t decided yet.”

“C’mon, Noah. If anyone offered me that, I would be there faster than a New York minute.”

“That’s what I think they expect.” He stopped and swiped a hand across his forehead, wiping sweat away.

The first twenty minutes were easy, but soon their breathing became labored as they climbed uphill over fallen trees and boulders, each step becoming more treacherous than the last. As they moved further into the forest, the underbrush became thick, and their pace slowed.

“I mean, who offers a stranger free rent in a home that only a small percentage of society could ever afford without strings attached?”

“Who cares?”

“I do.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Someone with more money than sense,” she muttered. “Or someone trying to buy you off.”

“You hit the nail on the head.”

Noah continued to use his phone’s compass to keep them on track. Even though he liked to think he remembered the area, twenty years away from his hometown had all but dulled his memory.

Still, it wasn’t long before they arrived .

As they approached the cliff-jumping spot and could hear police divers yelling, his heart pounded in his chest, his legs ached with each step.

Callie’s face was flushed with exertion, and her breathing was ragged as she tried to keep up.

“I’m telling you, Noah. There’s no way someone carried or dragged a body through here. ”

“Unless they had help,” he replied, glancing back. “Or had a reason to be here.”

A minute or two later, Noah stopped abruptly, cocking his head and raising a hand. “Shhh!”

“What is it?”

A distant sound pierced the stillness — the unmistakable barking of dogs. At first, it was faint, barely audible over the lapping of water and rustling of leaves, but without them moving, the barking grew louder.

“It’s just people walking their dogs,” Callie said.

“Exactly.”

She frowned. “You think our vic was walking her dog here?”

He continued on. “Perhaps. It’s out of sight. A good mile from the nearest home. No one is going to bat an ear to a gun going off, let alone a scream.”

“That is, if she was killed here,” Callie added.

As they hiked toward the edge of the cliff, their gaze was fixed on the view before them.

High Peaks Lake sparkled in the afternoon sun.

Far below they could see a group of divers in full gear searching the water, while a few officers remained on a motorized boat.

The divers slowly and methodically scoured the depths, searching for a gun or if they were lucky, the bullet that had killed the woman.

Callie unintentionally kicked a few loose stones. They went over the edge down into the water below. Divers that surfaced glanced up; they exchanged gestures before disappearing in again .

Turning away, Noah and Callie began to search the surrounding area for evidence that might suggest the woman had been dumped from that spot. As they combed nearby boulders and bushes, they panted for breath. Callie’s radio crackled to life with updates from the dive team in the water.

So far nothing had been found.

Undeterred, they moved through the forest with a sense of urgency, their gaze focused on the ground, branches and underbrush.

The forest was dense and overgrown, making it hard, but it was clear others had been there, maybe climbing up to the top to jump.

Footprints, discarded food wrappers, a few cigarette butts.

Noah snapped on blue latex gloves and bagged whatever he could find.

Callie took photos. While it might offer a clue of what transpired and eventually form a picture of the woman’s final moments, that alone wouldn’t be enough.

Every time an investigation started, Noah felt like he was entering chaos and had a job of creating order and a clear picture.

They continued to work in silence.

They were out there for over forty minutes, moving back and forth, until Callie spotted something out the corner of her eye —a hint of red against the green forest floor. “Noah!”

He charged across to find a dog leash and collar tangled up in the thicket of brambles.

The brush was pressed down as if there had been a struggle, as if someone of a significant size had fallen there.

He scanned and noted several droplets of blood on the underbrush and leaves.

Nearby, a bullet casing. Noah bagged it all, noticing what he could only imagine were blonde dog hairs wrapped tightly around several sections of the leash, and caught in the collar.

Excitement didn’t surge through him like it might a new officer. In the past he’d seen found items lead to nothing, but still, with the faint sound of dogs deeper in the woods, he couldn’t help but wonder if the two were connected.

With renewed energy, the two of them set off, determined to pursue the sound of the bark, if only to rule out that the owner hadn’t lost a dog or misplaced a leash.

Connecting the leash to their missing person would have been nothing more than assumption, an attempt to bend the narrative to support it.