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"Was she in a different place when you got back?"
He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, she was. She must have run - run from the guy. I arrived back and she was nowhere to be seen. I thought maybe I’d remembered wrong, and we’d actually gone further, so I walked ahead looking for her, with my phone flashlight on, and then I saw her ahead."
He buried his face in his hands.
His mother rubbed his back, looking daggers at May, which she felt was a little unfair because someone had to ask these questions. It wasn't May’s fault that it was her.
"How did you come to be covered in blood?" she asked bluntly. Might as well move straight to the main reason why he was here, she thought.
"W-What?" Dylan stammered.
"Blood."
"Oh, yes. You see, when I got there, and I saw her, I thought - I thought maybe I could help her. Resuscitate her. I thought I could give her mouth to mouth and help her. I tried. I really tried."
He sounded agonized. There were tears in his eyes.
May thought this was genuine. She didn't detect a false note in what he said or what he had done. The strangulation had been from behind, and had clearly caused a bloody nose. Dylan had, in fact, tried to save her.
And George could hopefully confirm that they'd had a shots dare before he'd gone back to her.
One last question occurred to May.
“Are you right or left-handed?” she asked.
His mother replied for him. “He’s left-handed, just like I am,” she said proudly.
Again, that confirmed to May that he had not been the strangler, who the pathologist had said was right-handed, based on the injuries to Alyssa’s neck.
"Thank you for telling me this," she said. "You've done a very good job in recalling it and staying calm. It’s hard being questioned regarding a murder. It’s tough on everyone and I am sorry that it has to be this way."
Finally, both parents looked satisfied by her praise of their son.
"You mentioned that you and Alyssa were close," May continued. "Did she tell you about any recent problems in her life? Any issues she had with anyone at the school, or who might have known about this post-prom party? Any conflict?"
She waited.
She could see Dylan felt very reluctant about this. And May thought, strongly, that he knew of someone but he didn’t want to say.
"Not really," he mumbled.
This time, though, having his parents there worked in May's favor. She could see both the McDowells were very aware that any new suspect would take the focus off their son.
"You need to try and remember, honey," Mrs. McDowell insisted.
"Don't be scared, son. People must face the consequences," his father encouraged.
But Dylan had clearly spilled as much as he was prepared to.
“I don’t really know any more,” he insisted.
May decided to leave it there. She sensed that if she questioned any further, she’d only hit a blank wall. He’d told her enough for her to take this forward, and she was sure that she could find out more about this situation, and the conflict, from other people.
In particular, Alyssa’s parents. May really didn’t want to speak to them so soon after this tragedy. She knew already it was going to be a heartbreaking interview.
But she was sure Alyssa’s parents would know more about their daughter’s life, and be able to shed light on what Dylan had hinted at.
Hopefully, now that Sheriff Jack had broken the news, May could speak to them and try to find out more.
