May felt happy, and hopeful, as she put her phone away. She was glad she’d been able to work on her relationship and on the communication that she now knew was a glaringly weak point.
She felt sure that by tomorrow, they would have a better lead on the killer. They had done so much hard work today. Perhaps a good night’s rest would give them both more insight on the next step.
After a quick shower, she got into bed, read a few pages of a book to settle her thoughts, and then put her head on the pillow and went to sleep, feeling hopeful that in the morning, they would have come up with a new lead from the profiling they'd done.
***
But, in the morning, May's phone dragged her from sleep with its loud trill.
She sat up, heart racing.
It was still half dark, and it was Sheriff Jack calling. Immediately, May knew this was bad news. She sat bolt upright. Grabbed the call.
"Morning," she said, trying to sound as awake and alert as she could. It wasn't that difficult with the adrenaline now flooding her veins.
"May, there's been another murder," Jack said, his voice heavy. "It's in Birchwood. And it's someone we both know. You need to get there, fast."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Horror flooded May. Someone they knew? Who was it? She was about to ask, but Jack had already cut the call, leaving May feeling sick with anxiety, because her first thought—unlikely though she knew it was—was that Owen had been murdered.
She'd messaged her deputy last night, but something could have happened after that. What if he'd been attacked while she'd been reading a few pages of her book to settle her mind before she'd gone to sleep?
Feeling breathless now, May was about to call Owen and check, when two things happened. First, her phone beeped. Jack had messaged an address to her. She didn't know who it belonged to, but it wasn't Owen's. And second, at that moment, her phone rang.
And it was Owen.
"Hi," she said.
"May!" Owen sounded breathless with relief. "Jack just called. He said—he implied—anyway, I just thought I'd phone and check you were okay. I was panicking there for a moment, but I see he's just sent an address through."
Owen had been worried about her too? May felt touched, and relieved, but at the same time, seriously troubled. Because it was someone close to them, and they didn't yet know who.
"I'm on my way there now. Just finishing off getting ready," she said, talking to him at the same time she was flinging on her clothes.
She pulled on her uniform and grabbed her gun and her badge and car keys.
"I'll see you there," Owen said. "I'm on my way too. Walking out of the door as we speak."
"I'll meet you there, then," she said, and hung up.
She raced down the stairs and out to the car. She slid inside and fired up the engine, then headed off to the scene of the crime, driving as fast as she dared.
That sick, worried feeling wouldn’t leave her, and in fact, it intensified as she drove, because it was a murder of someone close to them. Who the hell was it? It was in a neighboring town to Southbrook, that also bordered Fairshore, so it was close by. Traffic wasn't yet heavy so it would only take her a few minutes to drive there.
But why was this killer accelerating his agenda? He'd gone two years without killing. Now, two corpses had turned up in as many days. It was extremely worrying.
Her map was leading her out of town, into a luxurious-looking housing estate between the lake and a forest. Homes were large here, and plots were spacious. With a sinking of her heart, May guessed that would have made it even more likely that nobody had seen or heard anything.
She stopped next to two other cop cars and the coroner's van, outside a sprawling, double-story home. Owen pulled up next to her as she climbed out. He looked stressed, and short on sleep, the same way she felt.
"This is terrible," he muttered. To May's surprise, he reached over and grasped her hand, squeezing it briefly.
They had an unspoken rule about showing each other affection at work, and the rule was not to do it, but May guessed after the fright he'd had, he wanted to do something. She felt the same. She squeezed his hand back, just for a moment, but it felt incredibly comforting.
They then headed toward the house, and as they did so, May read the name on the mailbox.
"Mulligan," she said aloud.
