Page 56 of The Catcher
Silence stretched between them.
“Who offered it?”
“What?”
“You said you were offered a substantial amount of money. You and I know that slimeball doesn’t have two cents to rub together. So who is it?”
She cleared her throat. “Luther Ashford.”
He scoffed, running a hand over his head. “Of course it was. What doesn’t he have his grubby little fingers in? He wants to control the narrative in real estate, the casino, and other businesses. And who better to do that than a man at the helm who would sell his soul for a buck.”
“I was once told by a sage woman if you can’t control or change it, shelf it.”
“Was that Luther’s wife?”
“No, it was Lena.”
He sighed.
“Sometimes, it’s best to know when to throw in the towel and call it a day.” Again, there was a pause. “Look, if you ever want to swing by my home, you know you are always welcome. As for Carl, I will have words with him, but by the end of this month, it will matter very little.”
“So fire his ass now.”
“I can’t. One condition of the agreement was that he remain. Look, I have to go. It was good to hear from you.”
She hung up. Noah shook his head, looking out over the water, watching reporters snap shots from afar. Thisdidn’t bode well for High Peaks. TheAdirondack Daily Enterprisein Luther Ashford’s hands couldn’t end well.
Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.
No sooner had he gotten off the phone than there was a commotion off the property’s east side. McKenzie was getting into a spat with someone. As he made his way over, he noticed who it was — Terry Braithwaite.
He wasn’t alone, either. Strangely, Savannah was with him.
She saw him approaching and made a beeline to cut him off before he locked heads with Terry, something that McKenzie was doing well enough already.
“What the hell’s he doing here?”
She took hold of his arm and led him away. “He’s going to be handling the case from here on out.”
“Hell no. I thought having Porter in my shadow was bad enough, but now you want to throw him in too?”
“He won’t be in your shadow because they’re taking you off the case.”
“What?” Noah shook his arm to release her grip. “You’re suspending me?”
“I’m not suspending you. I assigned you to this. This came down from higher up. It’s above my pay grade. I went to bat for you to ensure you can continue working without them reassessing your suspension.”
“I don’t get it. I understand we have three bodies on our hands, but you know as well as I do the kind of game that is being played here. Savannah, we never stop the first. So, in reality, we are only looking at two.”
“Noah, you don’t need to convince me. I know you can do your job, but someone else in the department doesn’t think you can."
“Oh, big surprise. I wonder who,” he said, glaring at Terry.
“It’s not him. He wouldn’t stoop this low.”
“You sure about that?” Noah could feel his blood boiling. “Come on. This has got to be a joke. We are this close to capturing this guy,” he said, holding up two fingers. “I can feel it, Savannah. There’s something more to this. Something deeper. This guy isn’t just randomly killing teens. There’s a larger motive.”
“There’s always a motive.”
