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Whatever resources were available—whatever they could do to try and track down the man holding the missing girl—would be welcomed.
And May knew that the FBI had far more resources than their small local police department could rustle up. So it was better to put her personal angst aside and accept that this was the right call. She’d have to deal with the stress. At least, after a lifetime of living with Kerry, she was used to it.
“I agree we could use more help,” she said. And then, getting it out of the way since it was obvious, she continued, “My sister is local. We could contact head office, ask for help, and suggest they send her?”
“Exactly what I was thinking.” Jack sounded relieved, and May wondered if somewhere down the line, her perceptive boss had sensed the rivalry between her and Kerry. “I will call them and ask if she can come out. Hopefully, that will give us a big head start tomorrow.”
May acknowledged that it was now well after ten p.m. She’d been at work at six-thirty a.m. to open up. Owen had arrived at seven. They’d had a day filled with shocks, and a challenging chase-down included.
There was nothing more they could do tonight but wait, even though it felt excruciating to do so when a new victim was missing.
“Shall we go have a drink?” Owen asked.
May guessed that would mean going to Dan’s Bar, which was their local watering hole. But surprisingly, she found herself okay with the idea of it. Two months ago, the thought of going into the bar would have had her in a cold sweat of anxiety as she wondered if she’d get the courage to speak to her crush, Dan.
But now, May was realizing that she was stronger than the idea of an unspoken crush. She wasn’t quite at the stage of thinking she was over this crush, but she thought that time might be in sight.
If Dan didn’t say anything flirty, or actively ask her out, May guessed there was hope that she could possibly go to that bar and behave like a normal person.
And tired as they were, she didn’t think Owen’s invitation was anything but genuine. They were both done with today. The idea of a date was not on the cards. Both of them were now in survival mode, needing to refuel and rehydrate.
May felt totally comfortable with this.
“A drink is a great idea. Maybe a burger,” she said.
“I’ll buy the burgers,” Owen volunteered.
“I’ll buy the drinks,” May then said.
With this sorted out, they climbed into May’s car and she drove tiredly toward the town center of Fairshore.
*
Fifteen minutes later, they walked into the glamorous interior of Dan’s Bar, which was just a couple of blocks away from the police department.
The crowd was thinning out at this late hour, but there were still a few people who were finishing up their drinks, and one or two others who looked to be glued to their seats for the night, or until Dan kicked them out.
May and Owen took the last two seats at the bar, and Dan himself came to take their order.
“Hey, May.”
She sensed that he was making a huge effort not to ask about Kerry. It was only recently that she’d realized Dan had a huge crush on her sister. Since Kerry had recently gotten engaged, Dan had exuded a faint aura of hurt whenever she was around him.
He was exuding it now.
“Two beers, please,” May said.
“And two burgers, please, with fries,” Owen added.
May was glad about the fries. She hadn’t wanted to seem greedy by asking for them, but she was starving after the long day. This was just one of the ways she and Owen seemed to be in tune. It was almost as if they had read each other’s mind.
May sat back in her chair, relaxing a little, enjoying the sounds of the eighties hits on the jukebox.
But the fact she and Owen were so in tune made May even more undecided about what decision she should make about the dating. If the topic was even open for discussion at all.
Dan handed back their drinks.
“Cheers,” Owen said.
