Page 107 of Vanish From Sight
“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 anadult 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’thave 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.”
