Page 38 of Fatal Fame
"Why?”
“It was burned down.”
“Shit. Um. Well… That’s my place. I mean it was my place," Ralph said with genuine shock or fear. "When did this happen?"
"A few hours ago. A van belonging to podcaster Pierce Landry was there. It too was on fire." Noah walked closer to the cabin ruins, noting details that might become important later. "When was the last time you were here?"
"Months ago. I already moved into my new place. Damn, Noah, I had no idea. The real estate agent said everything was secure."
"Real estate agent?"
"Yeah, old friend of mine, Mike Torres. There should be a for sale sign still there. Property's been on the market for six months. We’ve had a hard time selling it. A few people have swung by and looked, but no bites yet. The place was empty and locked up tight."
Noah squinted into the darkness. He’d seen a realtor sign on the way in but it was too dark to make out the details.
Noah felt the pieces of a puzzle beginning to form a pattern he didn't like. "Who else knew the cabin was vacant?"
"A lot of people. The real estate agent. Hell, anyone who could bring up the sales listing. Maybe a few people at the department who knew I was selling." Ralph paused. "Noah, you don't think someone was using my place for something illegal, do you?"
"I think someone chose your property very carefully because they knew it would be empty and isolated or…” He trailed off, thinking if someone had called Mike Torres. “I'm going to needa complete list of everyone who had access to the keys, lockbox codes, anyone who might have known about the vacancy."
"Of course. Whatever you need. Shit. I hope this isn't going to come back on me legally. I mean, if someone was using my place without permission..."
"Right now, you're a victim, not a suspect. But I need complete honesty about who had access to the property."
As Noah ended the call, crime scene technicians approached with evidence that could prove crucial to the investigation. In the ashes of Pierce's van, they'd discovered the partially melted housing of what appeared to be a dashboard camera.
"Dashcam SD card might still be recoverable," the technician reported, holding up an evidence bag containing the warped plastic housing. "Card's damaged but not completely destroyed. If anyone might be able to extract data from it, it's Rishi."
Noah felt a surge of hope. Pierce Landry had been a media professional who documented everything—if the dashboard camera had been recording when he drove to this location, it might provide crucial evidence about who he'd met or what had happened before the fire.
"Get that to Rishi immediately. Priority processing. And I want the blood evidence fast-tracked for DNA analysis."
"Already in progress. We've also collected tire impressions from the area where McKenzie found the blood trail. It does look like at least two different vehicles were here last night."
The confirmation of multiple vehicles supported Noah's growing theory that Pierce's disappearance had been carefully planned rather than spontaneous violence. Someone had lured or forced Pierce to this isolated location, then eliminated any evidence of what had transpired.
McKenzie approached with information from the expanded search that had been ongoing since first light. "K9 teams have been working the blood trail, laddie. Scent leads into the woodsfor about a quarter mile, then disappears at a logging road that connects to the main highway."
"They lost the scent?"
"Aye. Dogs are good, but whoever moved Pierce must have transferred him to a vehicle. Still, the team is checking for a scent on the other side of the road. They are still out there searching."
“Looks like it’s going to be a long day.”
Noah studied the forest that surrounded the crime scene, thinking about the logistics of moving someone through dense wilderness in the middle of the night. The operation required local knowledge, multiple vehicles, and careful timing.
His phone rang with a call from Thorne. "Noah, I'm at the hotel with Pierce's team. They're getting agitated about being confined, and they're asking questions I can't answer."
"What's their story?"
"They claim Pierce left the hotel around 7 PM, said he was going for a drive to clear his head after receiving another threatening phone call. He’d mentioned wanting to lure Mike Torres, Rachel’s ex, out of the woodwork. None of them saw Pierce return—they were all in their respective rooms. But there's definitely tension between them."
Noah made notes while processing the implications. "What kind of tension?"
"Disagreements over whether to continue the investigation after the town hall incident and Keith Dwyer's suicide. The producer, Marcus, seems particularly agitated. Keeps asking about Pierce's equipment, whether we found his recording devices."
The detail about equipment caught his attention. Media professionals who were more concerned about gear than missing colleagues suggested either callous indifference or guilty knowledge about what had happened.
