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“Breena Michaels?” May read.
“Yes, that’s her best friend.”
“Have you called her yet?” May asked.
Mrs. South nodded. “Yes, I’ve called her. She’s been at school. She hasn’t seen Chanel.”
“And the others?”
“Logan Laroche and Marissa Salem. Marissa was with Breena. I haven’t called Logan yet. I thought I’d rather come here first. In any case, Logan lives far out of town.”
“Okay. I’ll get someone to call Logan,” May said.
May looked down at her address and then glanced over at the set of town maps that were mounted on the wall. There were ten maps there, representing the ten biggest lakeside towns. Mounting those maps had been May’s idea, and one of the first projects she’d done as the new deputy. They had proven to be very useful, because people could easily point out where crimes had occurred. Chestnut Hill’s map had a pale orange background. Estimating the distance between the school and the home, May guessed it was about four or five miles. It was a long way to walk, especially on such a hot day.
It made it even more likely that the killer might have opportunistically offered her a ride, and that this girl would have accepted.
Mrs. South passed the completed paperwork over the counter. Then she handed May a picture of Chanel. Like the others, May noticed this young woman was very pretty. She had green eyes and shiny, shoulder-length brown hair. She could see the resemblance to her mother.
She glanced at Owen, and her heart nearly broke at the bleak expression on his face. They were looking at another girl who had a chance of being the next victim.
“We are prioritizing this case,” she told the distraught woman. “We will do everything in our power to find your daughter.”
“She doesn’t bully. My daughter is not a bully,” Mrs. South insisted.
“You think she was sent home unfairly?”
“Yes. She’s told me before now who the bullies in that school are. They often get sent home and get demerit points. My Chanel is not like that. But I’m sure she was standing up to them, either for herself or for Briony, her younger sister. I’m sure that is what happened. Briony’s been bullied before now. That school has a big problem. It has for years. I’ve been thinking of pulling my daughters from it. Now I wish I had. If I’d done that, this would never have happened!”
“I understand, Mrs. South,” Owen said.
May let the woman talk. She needed to talk. And it was important to listen, May knew. Perhaps something she said might end up being helpful to the case. There were also questions she needed to confirm from her side.
“Was there anything else going on in your daughter’s life?” May asked, knowing the question could be important. “Any problems, any issues with boyfriends, any experiments with drugs or alcohol? Anything that was out of the ordinary recently that you noticed?”
“No. Honestly, no. I’m not just saying that. She was a good girl. She didn’t get into that sort of trouble. She has a boyfriend that she writes to. They have an online relationship. He lives in New York.”
“Thank you,” May said gently.
“What do I do now?” Mrs. South asked, weeping.
“I need you to please stay calm. Stay home, make sure that your other daughter is safe and has her family with her. Contact me if you hear anything, or if you think of any other leads you would like us to follow up.”
“I’ll do that.”
“If you hear from Chanel, call me immediately. The phone numbers I am giving you are for me and my partner who is working this case.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome to sit here for a while until you feel calm enough to drive home. Or if you like, my partner will give you a ride home.”
But Mrs. South did look calmer now. She finished her coffee and stood up.
“I’ll be okay to drive,” she said. “I’ll head home now and stay with Briony.”
“We’ll be in touch,” May said gently, hoping that when they did get in touch, it would be with good news. But that was no certainty, and in fact might not even be a possibility.
This changed the whole landscape of the investigation. It was potentially a new disaster. She knew she had to go and tell Kerry immediately.
