AllFreeNovel
Share Us
May thought that they had found as much as they would in this remote murder scene. She guessed there were no further clues to be had. The only way that they would find answers would be to go back and re-interview all of the students who had been at that post-prom party. They would need to ask again about who they saw there, if anyone unusual had been there, and if they had noticed either Sadie or Alyssa interacting with anyone suspicious at the party or in the days before. Then they would need to widen their parameters and ask all the teachers the same questions.
May had no illusions that it would be hard work and that it might well be unrewarding. By the time the students had processed the shock of the murder, by the time they'd sobered up and been around their parents - who might be mad at them, scared for them, or simply over-emotional - May knew they were not going to get many accurate accounts of what had played out that night.
She wondered if they should start with the teachers, who would at least have been more sober. She guessed it wasn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that a teacher could have committed these serial crimes. At the moment, almost everyone in the community was a potential suspect.
But then, another thought occurred to her.
"I have an idea," she said to Owen as they walked away.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"I'm wondering - why was Sadie targeted? She was allowed into the post-prom party most likely because she was a dealer."
"Yes, exactly, that's very sad," Owen agreed.
"But she seems to have been very small time. A student dealer? Gets hold of a few sleeves of pills and sells them? She didn’t have a huge stash on her, or any seriously hard drugs."
"It seems that way."
May could see from Owen's face that he was following her line of thought. "So, what if there were other dealers there who didn't want her muscling in?"
"Or perhaps other dealers weren't allowed in the party and she was?" May suggested. “That could have created a motive for revenge.”
"We definitely need to explore that possibility," Owen agreed. "Anything illegal creates more of a criminal motive, and a big party like that would have attracted those types. They always do. Maybe Alyssa was involved as a customer. She might have bought from Sadie. That would explain why they were both targeted."
May liked Owen’s theory that Alyssa, or maybe Dylan, had bought from Sadie. The toxicology results hadn't yet come back for Alyssa, and would probably take another couple of days, so she still didn't know if she had used any drugs or not.
But this presented a definite motive.
They now needed to interview the students again, focusing on the drug element at this out-of-control party, to see if any other dealers were either there or else chased away.
CHAPTER TEN
As May walked back down the path, her phone started ringing and, glancing at the screen, her already-high stress levels escalated.
It was her older sister on the line.
May knew Kerry must be calling to discuss the wedding, and she felt another lurch of fear that she would be asked to be the maid of honor. She just didn't see how she was going to find the time.
This would strain the family dynamics in every possible way, and with May now embroiled in a murder investigation, she simply couldn't take leave from work.
She was just going to have to say no, and face the consequences. She cringed to think of her mother’s disappointment, and the sad, yet cutting words she would utter when reprimanding May. It was astonishing, she thought, how just thinking of these family situations could make her feel fifteen years old and helpless, all over again.
She knew she couldn’t let herself feel this way, because she was nearly twice that age now, and knew better. She had to try and stand up for herself, while also somehow managing the situation.
"Hey, Kerry," May said, her voice sounding just as friendly and enthusiastic as she could make it. "How are you?"
"I'm well," Kerry said. "I just wanted to touch base with you. Things are so hectic this side that I haven't been able to fly out to do the pre-wedding prep I wanted to. So I'm going to have to delay that trip. We're deeply involved in two very serious cases."
May breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm about to go into a press conference. But I was wondering." Her voice became low and friendly.
All May's instincts flared as she imagined Kerry, seated at some big, oaken desk in a flashy FBI office, probably with flags on one wall and all her certificates of achievement and bravery on another wall.
Her imagination might be totally wrong. Perhaps Kerry was in some humble, shared office cubicle under a harsh fluorescent light, but the oak-lined office was the direction May’s thoughts instinctively went.
"I was wondering, sis, since you're right there and you have the time..."
