Page 64 of Vanish From Sight

“For sure.”

“We’ll need names,” McKenzie said. “And numbers.”

Sawyer nodded as he fidgeted in his seat, looking even more nervous than before. Noah thumbed his way through the material Callie had gathered. She had done her due diligence. He took out a piece of paper from the folder that had a colored snapshot of an SUV grabbed from online, one that fit the profile of the vehicle seen that night. “You own an all-wheel-drive blue Kia Sportage, don’t you?”

“Well —”

Noah continued. “You purchased it at a dealership in Saranac Lake last year for twenty thousand dollars, paid with a certified check from Wells Fargo.” Noah took back the piece of paper that had a copy of the check. “The limited-edition model, right?”

Sawyer leaned back in his seat, regarding them with a smirk. “Hold on a second. You put me through hell this morning and dragged me in here because of my vehicle?”

“Answer the question,” McKenzie said in a firm tone.

Sawyer chuckled. “For a second there I thought you had something serious on me.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. “So did you find it?”

Noah stared back at him.

“Well, I reported it stolen to the High Peaks Police Department last night. Please tell me it hasn’t been wrecked?”

Noah glanced at McKenzie.

“Convenient,” McKenzie muttered.

Sawyer scowled at him but continued. “You want to tell me what this is all about?”

“A vehicle matching the description of yours was seen multiple times at a murder site last night.”

“A murder?”

“Laura Summers. You know her?” Noah asked.

He sat there for a second, studying Noah. “Sure, I know her. I mean not well but I’ve met and talked to her.”

“When was the last time?”

“Maybe a month ago.”

“What was it in regards to?”

“A journalistic investigation of the Academy. Katherine Evans reached out to me after reading an article related to my dismissal from the newspaper. She figured we had something in common. We met. Talked. I said I would consider it and aftersome serious thought, I decided I might be of service. There’s nothing worse than seeing good people get unfairly released from a job because the powers that be want to cover their ass.”

“Aye, you’d know all about that,” McKenzie said.

“Screw you. You asked. I’m telling you what I know.”

“So why did Katherine have your phone number on file at the shelter from a year ago?” Noah asked. Sawyer got this confused look. So far, the media hadn’t run any story about the identity of the woman pulled from the lake but it was clear that the cogs of Sawyer’s mind began to form a picture.

“We were friends.”

“How friendly?”

“Look, what is this about?”

They just looked at him and then the penny must have dropped. Sawyer’s jaw widened. “Oh, my God. He really did it.”

“Did what? Who?”

“Katherine was the woman pulled from the lake, wasn’t she?” He hung his head and shook it slowly. “She said that if anything happened to her, that it would be her husband, Nicholas. The two of them weren’t getting along well.” He sighed. “Look, all I know is that she had to step down from her job. Well, was forced to step down or suffer humiliation and potential career ruin. Nicholas didn’t like that. He didn’t believe her story and that’s why she wanted me to look into it, to clear her name.”