Page 49 of Fatal Fame
"A van. White, from what I could tell in the darkness. Definitely not owned by any of my neighbors, I know most of the vehicles around here, and this wasn't familiar."
Noah felt his pulse quicken. Pierce's van had been white, and the timeline matched what they knew about his final hours. "Did you see the driver or any passengers?"
"Glimpsed something through the windshield when it passed under the security light by my mailbox. Two figures in the front seat, but I couldn't make out details. Just the impression of people, you understand?"
“You said two?” Noah asked.
He nodded.
“You sure about that?”
“Unless one of them was a mannequin. Yeah. Two. Anyway, I figured I would swing by there. Since Ralph moved out a few weeks earlier, I wanted to make sure there were no squatters planning on moving in.”
“And?”
“I drove up there. Stopped near the driveway, out of sight. Between the trees, I saw the van parked outside the cabin, two people entered the home.”
“Are you sure they entered?”
“I might be old but I’m not blind.”
McKenzie leaned forward, consulting his notes. "Can you describe the build or size of these figures?"
Dale considered the question with the careful attention of someone who understood the importance of accurate witness testimony. "Driver seemed average height, maybe slightly built. The passenger I didn’t really get a good look at. Look, I’m talking about shadows and impressions here, not anything I'd swear to in court."
Noah took out his phone and showed photos of the Cold Trail team. "Would you mind looking at these photographs and telling us if any of these people resemble who you saw?"
Dale studied the images with the same attention he'd probably brought to reading tree lines and weather during his logging career. His finger paused over Pierce’s photograph, tapping it gently.
"That was the driver for sure. Um, the passenger.” He tapped Marcus. “That could be the person. But I can’t be certain. Like I said, it was dark and they were moving fast. Look, I wouldn't want to send anyone to prison based on what I saw, I just figured you would want to know."
The identification wasn't definitive, but it added another piece to the circumstantial case building against Marcus.Combined with his argument with Pierce, his convenient alibi problems, and his obvious nervousness during questioning.
"Anything else you noticed? Sounds, other vehicles, activity in the area?"
"If there was, I wasn’t there when they came and went. It was a quiet night, typical for October. I headed home after.” He paused. “Look, after my house, that road doesn't go anywhere except to the cabin. Anybody using it after dark is either up to no good or they're lost and looking to turn around."
“So you never stuck around?”
“I didn’t linger.”
“Why not?” McKenzie asked. “I mean, you took the time to follow it.”
“Like I said, I knew the property was empty. I figured maybe it was Ralph with a buddy, or he’d forgotten a few items and had sent someone to collect them.”
Noah thanked Dale for his cooperation and arranged for McKenzie to take a formal statement. As the witness left, Noah reviewed his notes and considered how the new information fit into their developing theory of Pierce's disappearance.
The circumstantial evidence against Marcus was mounting, but Noah's instincts warned him against rushing to judgment. In his experience, the most obvious suspect was sometimes exactly that, obvious by design, a convenient target meant to distract from more complex conspiracies.
The drive to Michael Torres'real estate office took Noah and McKenzie through High Peaks' commercial district, past businesses that catered to both year-round residents and the seasonal tourists who kept the local economy functioning.October brought leaf-peepers and hikers seeking autumn colors, people who came for recreational beauty rather than the darker realities that lurked beneath small-town surfaces.
"You think Torres knows anything?" McKenzie asked as they navigated downtown traffic that moved with the unhurried pace of rural communities.
"We’ll see," Noah replied, thinking about what he knew of Rebecca Hale's former boyfriend. "Torres is ex-law enforcement, so he'll understand our procedures and probably try to control the conversation. He's also got a personal stake in keeping certain aspects of his past private."
"Yeah, but with his past experience as a cop, do you really think he's connected to Pierce's disappearance?"
"Pierce was asking questions about the original Hale investigation, and Torres was intimate with one of the victims. He was the number one suspect at the time. People today still believe he killed Rebecca and Jacob and covered it up. Now we have him selling a house that Pierce shows up at, and then goes missing? That makes him someone worth talking to, even if he's not directly involved in current events."
