Page 84 of Vanish From Sight

“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 suicideattempt. 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.”

CHAPTER 23

Wednesday, November 23, 7:05 a.m.

Abright sun peeked above the horizon, revealing the black smoke.

Within the hour of the 911 call, Thorne and McKenzie arrived at the wooded area just ten minutes south of High Peaks. It was just off one of the main trailheads leading to Mount Van Hoevenberg. They pulled up to the scene to find a burnt-out SUV that matched the description of the one belonging to Nate Sawyer.

A short distance away, at the mouth of the trailhead, Callie exited her cruiser to the sight of the vehicle still smoldering. The air was thick with the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline. There were already two deputies on scene along with the fire department, who had made short work of the blaze before it could spread.

They were just in the process of rolling up hoses.

“Well, that adds credence to his story of it being stolen ashe’s still being held until he sees a judge,” Callie said.

“Unless he had a propane tank set with timers,” McKenzie added.

“You’ve been watching too many movies,” Callie retorted.

“Oh trust me, princess, assholes who want to get away with things, do all manner of shit to keep you looking in the wrong direction.”

“Call came in the early hours of the morning from a farmer. He said he was out feeding his livestock when he saw the flames through the trees,” said Ansel Carlton, the fire chief. “Accelerant was used.”

“Propane?” McKenzie asked.

“No. Gasoline.”