Chapter 15
"Trail's holding strong through here," called Handler Rodriguez. "Rex is picking up a blood scent along with human odor. Someone definitely came this way, and they were injured."
Noah made his way through the forest, following the flagged route that marked the dogs' progress.
The undergrowth was thick with autumn brambles and fallen leaves that rustled underfoot, creating a natural carpet that would normally obscure tracks and scent trails.
But the dogs were trained to detect odors that human investigators would miss, and their behavior suggested they were following a clear trail despite the challenging terrain.
McKenzie emerged from a cluster of birch trees about fifty yards ahead. "Blood drops are getting more frequent here, laddie. Whoever we're tracking was losing more fluid as they moved deeper into the woods."
The evidence painted a picture that Noah found increasingly disturbing.
Pierce had been injured at the cabin site, then forced or carried into the wilderness by people who knew the terrain well enough to navigate it in darkness.
The question was whether Pierce had been conscious during the journey, and whether he was still alive when they reached their destination.
"How much further does the trail extend?"
"It doesn’t," McKenzie replied, gesturing toward a break in the trees where sunlight filtered through the canopy. “Like I said before, the scent trail leads right to the logging road, then vanishes completely. Dogs lose it at the gravel surface."
Noah followed McKenzie to the narrow road that had been cut through the forest decades earlier to provide access for timber operations.
The surface was loose gravel and packed earth, rutted from heavy vehicle traffic and recent rain.
Fresh tire tracks were visible in the soft soil at the road's edge, but the patterns were too degraded to provide useful forensic evidence.
"So someone was waiting or parked there to avoid being seen driving out the way Pierce came in," Noah said, studying the scene.
They waited for confirmation from the search teams.
Twenty minutes later, Handler Rodriguez approached with Rex, the German shepherd who'd been leading the search effort.
"We've checked both directions along the logging road for half a mile in each direction.
No pickup of scent beyond this point. Whoever took your missing person definitely headed out via the road. "
Noah thanked the search team and made arrangements for them to expand their perimeter to include other access roads in the area.
The forest was crisscrossed with logging roads, hiking trails, and seasonal access routes that would be familiar to locals but nearly invisible to outsiders.
If Pierce was still alive somewhere in the wilderness, finding him would require systematic coverage of hundreds of square miles of rugged terrain.
As the search teams dispersed to their assigned sectors, Noah's phone rang with an update from Sergeant Emerson. She passed on information from the crime scene technicians who were still processing evidence at the cabin site.
"Extensive DNA analysis on the blood samples will take at least 48 hours," Sergeant Emerson reported. "But using a presumptive blood typing kit, they've confirmed multiple blood types at the scene. Whoever was injured, they weren't alone."
"How many different people?"
"At least two. It wasn’t just one person that was injured. And we found something else that might be significant, cigarette butts that appear to be recent. Different brands, which suggests multiple smokers were at the location."
Noah made notes while processing the implications. Two tire tracks. Multiple people, multiple blood types, multiple smokers. Pierce's disappearance was beginning to look like an organized operation involving several participants rather than the work of a single perpetrator.
By mid-morning, Noah was ready to shift focus from the search operation to the formal interviews that might provide crucial information about Pierce's final hours. He needed to speak to the team, and then Torres.
The drive back to the Adirondack Inn took him through High Peaks' downtown, where early shoppers and tourists created an atmosphere of normalcy that felt surreal given the violence that had occurred just hours earlier.
The hotel's conference room had been converted into an interview space, with recording equipment. McKenzie was already there, reviewing notes and preparing questions for the Cold Trail team members who'd been kept separated.
Noah had just gotten off the phone with Rishi, who had some success. “Looks like it wasn’t all paradise in the team. Before it cut out, Rishi managed to extract from the SD card some footage of Marcus arguing with Pierce outside the hotel.”
“About what?” McKenzie asked.
“It was hard to discern.”
“Great. So, what's the order of operations?" McKenzie asked, settling into a chair and reviewing the team roster.
"Theo first. According to Callie, he seems the most nervous and might provide useful information about team dynamics. Then Sienna, then Camila. We’ll save Marcus for last."
Theo entered the conference room with the nervous energy of someone who'd spent the night expecting bad news.
He was younger than Noah had expected, probably mid-twenties, with a pale complexion.
"I want to be clear from the start," Theo said before anyone could ask a question, "I don't know what happened to Pierce.
I was in my room all night working on equipment maintenance and didn't see him leave. "
"Tell us about the last conversation you had with Pierce," Noah said, activating the recording equipment.
"Yesterday evening, maybe around 6:30. He was agitated about the threatening phone calls, but also keen on the lead he was following up on. Said he might have found someone willing to talk about the Hale case."
"Did he mention any names?"
"Not specifically. He’d been trying to reach Rebecca's ex-boyfriend, the cop who used to date her. Michael Torres. But the guy wouldn’t take his calls."
Noah exchanged glances with McKenzie. Torres had been on their list of people to interview, but Pierce's interest in him added urgency to that conversation.
"What about the team dynamics? Any conflicts or disagreements about how to proceed with the investigation?"
Theo shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"When isn’t there drama? Put five people in a van for weeks on end and you will have conflict.
There is always tension about money. These kinds of investigations can get costly.
Marcus kept talking about budget overruns and how the network was getting impatient for results.
And Camila thought Pierce was being reckless, especially after the town hall incident. "
"Reckless how?"
"Pushing too hard, too fast. Making enemies instead of building sources. Camila's background is in investigative journalism, and she kept saying Pierce was approaching this like entertainment instead of serious reporting. But hey, that’s us. One big happy family until we aren’t."
The interview continued for forty-five minutes, with Theo providing details about team relationships, Pierce's investigative methods, and the growing tensions that had developed as the investigation progressed.
Nothing he said directly implicated any team member in Pierce's disappearance, but his descriptions painted a picture of a group under significant stress and disagreement about fundamental approaches to their work.
Sienna was next. "The online responses to Pierce's investigations have always been brutal," she reported. "He has lot of haters. We’ve received death threats, doxxing attempts, and coordinated harassment campaigns.”
“And here?” Noah asked.
“Someone's been organizing opposition to our presence here since the day we arrived, and they're using various methods to amplify negative sentiment."
"Any idea who?"
"Hard to say. Someone with knowledge of the community and access to resources," she said.
Sienna's interview revealed additional details about Pierce's final day, including his growing paranoia and his concerns about team members who might be sharing information with local sources.
She also confirmed that Pierce had received multiple threatening phone calls, including one before she last saw him.
"He was scared," she admitted. "Pierce tried to hide it with bravado, but he knew he was in over his head after he was cracked in the jaw at the town hall meeting. The last thing he said to me was that if something happened to him, we should make sure his investigation notes got to Evelyn Cross."
Next up was Camila. She entered the conference room with the controlled tension of someone who'd spent years dealing with difficult sources and dangerous stories.
Her background in investigative journalism made her more aware than the others of the genuine risks involved in pursuing controversial cases.
"What can I say that isn’t clear already?
Pierce was obsessed," she said without preamble.
"I've worked with a lot of reporters over the years, and I know the difference between dedicated investigation and dangerous fixation. Pierce crossed that line days ago."
"Obsessed with what specifically?"
"Proving that the Hale murders were part of a larger conspiracy involving local law enforcement. Earlier on, he'd already convinced himself that solving this case would make his career, and he was willing to take risks that no responsible journalist would take."
Camila's account of Pierce's final hours included details about trying to get a meeting with Michael Torres, his growing conflicts with Marcus over money and approach, and his increasing isolation from team members who were concerned about his judgment.