Page 118 of In Cold Blood
“Maybe no one knew they were there. It’s not like Cyrus would have stuck around after killing a cop.”
“Well, that’s the thing that doesn’t make sense. Why was he there, or Luke for that matter?”
“Noah.” Roberts took hold of his arm. “Sometimes cases have unresolved questions. We don’t always get the answers we want. It’s frustrating, but that’s police work. What matters is getting justice and we have done that.”
“But it makes no sense.”
“Crime doesn’t but that’s why we exist. I know you lovedyour brother. We all cared for him. But it’s over. We’ve got our guy,” he said reassuringly.
Noah nodded.
Roberts patted him on the arm. “Good work. Your father will be proud. Have you spoken with him yet?”
“No.”
“You should. I think he deserves to hear it from you.” Roberts patted him one more time before turning and heading out. He waved and gave a thumbs-up to Callie across the room before heading back into his office. Callie smiled for a second before she noticed Noah was looking at her. She walked off and he exited, turning right down the corridor. He made his way through a series of corridors until he arrived outside the tech department.
A deputy of Indian descent was inside, headphones on, staring at a screen full of code. Not only did he handle any technical problems with computers in the office but he was the go-to for all searches of technology and also handled security cameras. Rishi Gupta was in his mid-twenties. He was well dressed wearing dark pants, a white shirt, a blue tie, and sporting hipster glasses with frames that were black and far too thick.
Noah knocked on the door with the back of his hand.
He spun in his chair.
“Mr. Sutherland. How can I help?”
“Rishi. Did you manage to get into my brother’s phone and computer?”
“I did.”
Noah stepped inside. “Did you find anything of interest or unusual?”
“Nothing that stood out. Random websites. I don’t search for deleted files unless requested. Everything looked copacetic.”
“Do you mind?”
“By all means.”
He gestured with a hand. Noah took a seat in a room full of monitors. It felt like he was entering a tiny version of NASA’s control room. An array of screens flickered in the cramped room.
“I was going to get a coffee, you want one?”
Noah lifted a cup.
“Ah. Good. Well.”
Rishi exited the room. Noah browsed through his brother’s files on a MacBook Air. It was orderly. Every folder had a name. No junk. No random files. He clicked on photos and numerous ones of Kerri and the kids came up. Noah felt a lump in his throat. His grief was hard enough to deal with but he couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like for Kerri or his kids. Eventually, the office would hand Luke’s computer and phone back to the family and they would be faced with staring at the same photos — the same memories.
He brought up his browsing history.
It was mostly sports, local news, and camping gear sites.
Rishi stepped back inside.
“Your brother seemed to like the outdoors.”
“Yes. We all do.”
Noah noticed a few other websites. There was only one that stood out to him. It was for North Country Community College. It was a public college in Saranac Lake, a part of the State University of New York system. It had been in existence since the late 1960s. Luke had browsed the biology department.
