Page 81 of The Catcher
The carousel was only open on the weekends; by now, the place would have had parents with their kids. Fortunately, they were gone.
As they prepared to exit the vehicle, Noah’s gaze fixed on the pavilion housing the carousel. Through the glass windows, he could see the colorful attraction beckoning visitors with its timeless charm. Despite the moment’s chaos, Noah noticed the craftsmanship of each hand-carved animal.
Surrounding the carousel, the rounding boards were adorned with regional scenes painted by local artists adding to the venue’s allure, showcasing the natural splendor of the Adirondacks. But today, beauty took a backseat to urgency as Noah and Callie stepped out of the Jeep, handguns drawn and ready for action.
They flashed their badges to be given entry.
Moving at a crouch, Noah’s heart raced as he scanned the area, searching for Joshua among the rotating animals.The carousel was in motion, its cheerful melody drowning out the tension.
An officer pointed up ahead.
Amidst the whirl of activity, it was difficult to discern if Joshua was watching them or his final victim. With each step, Noah’s grip tightened on his gun, his senses on high alert as they closed in on the target. Today, the Adirondack Carousel stood as a symbol not of innocence and joy but of uncertainty and danger — a stark reminder of the darkness lurking beneath the surface of the Adirondack paradise.
That’s when he saw them.
It wasn’t just Tyler, but Natalie, too, riding the animals, their hands tied to the pole. Both were unconscious. He got a whiff of gasoline and noticed the floor beneath their feet was drenched. Joshua appeared from behind the carousel, holding a gas can and a lit lighter.
The two of them reacted, guns aimed at him, ready to fire.
“Josh. Close the lighter,” Noah said.
He let out a little chuckle. “Your daughter was right; you are a smart man. You are a little behind the curve, but alcohol will do that to you. You see, it dulls the mind and slows everything down,” he said. “But you’re here now. It’s good to see you again, Mr. Sutherland.”
“I saw the video. We could have dealt with it.”
“No, you couldn’t. The school didn’t. Law enforcement didn’t. No one did. No, they simply notched it up to mental illness. But my child wasn’t ill. Those teens were. Theybullied her for months and drove her to the edge. Her journals, that video is proof of that.”
“Then why didn’t you just hand it all in to the authorities?”
“Because I didn’t obtain it until her case was long forgotten.”
“But they would have learned from it.”
“Learned? If anything is to be learned. It is that the system is broken. My daughter didn’t want to die. A week before she took her life, the local hospital made her wait ten hours in the emergency department when she wanted to get help. She was made to feel like a burden. And the school? They didn’t believe her. Schools are meant to be safe. Now, they are places children fear. Fear of bullying. Fear of shooting. Fear of belittling.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Others have managed to get justice.”
“The minority. In most cases teen bullies are let off with a slap on the wrist, a suspension, or they are expelled only to go to the next school and do it again. You call that justice!?”
“Don’t do this, Josh. Look, I feel your pain.”
“Don’t patronize me!” he shouted, shaking the Zippo lighter. The flame flickered. “My kid had a lot of plans for the future, and they took that away from her.”
Noah extended a hand. “I’m not. Okay! I’ve lost people close to me, too.”
“Yeah, but you still have a daughter. A father is not meant to bury his child.”
“And yet you think it’s okay for the parents of these teens to bury theirs?”
“I feel for them. I do. But they should have raised them better. No, it’s better this way. Something is lost. Don’t you get it? When we move from being a child to an adult, something is stripped from us.” He shook his head. “Do you really think those teens who brutalized my daughter would have turned over a new leaf? Become upright citizens? No, they would have become far worse.”
“You don’t know that. Teens grow up. People change.”
“Can they, Mr. Sutherland? Then why is it you can’t?” His words cut through Noah like a knife. Joshua shook his head. “No, innocence is gone. There’s no going back. If anything, that’s what being a guidance counselor has taught me. Teens lose themselves as they come of age. They are forced into a wild world to become another face in the crowd, another powder keg waiting to explode and ruin it for everyone else. They don’t know who they are, what they want to do, or why they are even trying, so they fall into the trappings of society. Don’t you see it? They numb themselves with alcohol, drugs, sex, anything to distract them from accepting who they are — phonies.”
“And so killing them makes it right?”
“I’m saving them before they fall off the cliff.”
