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“I’ve remembered who it was,” he said. “It was a student called Berenice Thom. She lives on the other side of Sleepy Hollow. I didn’t see her at school today so I guess her parents must have kept her home. I hope so, anyway.”
“Thank you,” May said, rushing for the phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
May dialed the Thoms’ home number, feeling sick with tension. Let the victim be home and safe, she prayed. Let her be alright.
It felt like eons before the call was picked up.
“Mrs. Thom speaking?” a woman’s voice said.
“Mrs. Thom, it’s Deputy Moore here,” May said, doing her best to keep her voice calm. “We’re calling about your daughter, Berenice.”
“What about her? Is she alright?” the mother asked anxiously.
May felt her stomach churn.
“Is she not at home?”
“No. She walked to school early. On Mondays, she usually trains at the school gym before class. Why? What’s gone wrong?”
“Your daughter is not at school,” May told her with a sense of terrible finality. “We’ve just checked with the principal’s office, and she never arrived this morning. They took a detailed roll call, as a result of what’s been going on. Please, can you give us her cellphone number? We need to see if we can locate her urgently.”
Mrs. Thom sounded panicked. “Her phone won’t help you. She leaves it at home. I don’t allow her to take it to school, as it disrupts her focus, and the school is only a couple of miles away. Where’s my daughter?” Her voice was frantic now. “How can we find her? How can we find my daughter?”
May rushed to the door of the interview room. This was the most terrible scenario she could have imagined. A life was at stake. A girl was missing.
And the monster who had taken her, who had most likely killed her, had said nothing about this.
Nothing at all.
May felt appalled. How were they going to get the truth out of him? This could turn into the most protracted, drawn out case. It might never end in closure for the Thoms. Imagine if this woman was only ever listed as ‘missing,’ just like Lauren had been? There were plenty of places in the more rural areas where a body could be dumped and not found for decades, if at all.
If only she could figure out a way to make Coach Adamson tell the truth. But admitting he’d killed a third woman would only add to his guilt.
Could Owen find any evidence in the coach’s house? That was a possibility.
If Owen had found anything at all, she knew he would call instantly. That was what had been arranged. He was already on the lookout for anything suspicious, any other phone, any signs. But she could remind him.
She dialed his number, feeling breathless with tension and fear.
“May,” he said almost immediately. “Do you have a confession yet?”
Her heart sank.
“No. And we need evidence, more than ever. It’s likely he may have taken and killed a third victim.”
“Who’s that?” Owen asked, anxiety now radiating from his voice.
“A student called Berenice Thom. Please, look out for any communication from her. Any hints as to where he might have taken her. For the time being, I’m going to meet with Sheriff Jack, and see what we can come up with in terms of a strategy that might get Coach Adamson to tell the truth.”
Feeling on the point of tears, May cut the call. She paused and leaned against the wall of the police station.
She forced herself to breathe deeply. Being upset and anxious would not help her now. She needed to carefully and calmly review the evidence, thinking clearly about what she had been told. That was always what Sheriff Jack told her. No matter how tense the situation, clear thought would always show the way forward.
But this woman could be anywhere. Dumped on one of the many isolated trails. She remembered York’s words during the interview.
Then, with a cold shock, May realized what had been wrong with those words. She actually gasped aloud as the conclusion came to her.
