CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
When May walked out to her car, she heard a voice calling her name, and swung around.
It was Owen. He was running across the road after her.
She had not wanted to involve him. She'd deliberately refrained from speaking to him at all. She felt terrible that her own reckless actions had already gotten him into trouble and didn’t want to involve him any further in the gray area of the rules she now seemed to be navigating.
But here he was.
“I couldn’t help hearing what you said to your sister,” he told her. “You were talking in quite a loud voice. I noticed she didn’t tell you to stop. So, if you are carrying on, I’m coming with you.”
May stared at him in concern.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, glancing back at the building.
Owen shrugged. “Having you go out on your own is also not a good idea. I’m your investigation partner. And I believe you’re right, and we should all be doing whatever it takes to solve this. I can’t stop thinking about Cassandra and wondering if she’s still alive and how she’s feeling if she is, and what her parents must be going through. It’s not fair to tell us to walk down Main Street and issue parking fines!”
May raised her eyebrows. Owen clearly felt just as passionately about this as she did.
“Okay. As long as you know there might be consequences, then I’d love you to come along,” she said, and as they climbed into the car, she realized that with her partner beside her, this gray day did feel suddenly brighter.
“I feel that the common thread seems to be the marina. Savannah, Shelby, and Claire all hired boats from Lake Adventures. And the lake would be a good place to watch people from,” May said.
"What about Cassandra?" Owen asked. “Did she hire a boat?”
"I didn’t see her name in the register, but I’m wondering if that matters. She could easily have gone out sailing with a friend and been noticed by the killer. She’s very good looking and if she caught his eye, he could have followed her home. It was springtime. Everyone was having parties and socializing. Just because she didn't hire a boat personally, doesn't mean she didn't end up on one," May insisted.
"Should we check?" Owen asked. “Perhaps we could call her parents? That might be easier than going there right now.”
"Good idea."
As they drove, May called the Coles. Owen was right. Although paying a personal visit was more respectful, making a phone call was less risky in view of their current uncertain status in the investigation.
A woman grabbed the call almost immediately, sounding frazzled. May felt a surge of sympathy, knowing how hard any phone call must be for this household at this time. Every phone call must bring hopes and fears surging to the forefront.
"Hello, this is deputy May Moore," she said as calmly as she could.
"Oh, yes," the woman said, sounding eager for news.
"I just called to confirm some information. I wanted to check if, by any chance, you knew if Cassandra had been out on a boat recently."
"Out on a boat? She didn't really like sailing," the woman said.
But then, just as May's hopes were plummeting, someone said something in the background.
"Oh, wait," the woman said. "There was a spring party a couple of weeks ago. The last Saturday in April, I remember. They hired a boat at Lake Adventures. Cassandra went along to that. They didn't go far out on the lake, though. I remember she told me it was fun."
"That's so helpful. I appreciate it."
May cut the call, feeling hopeful.
Cassandra had been out on the lake. And, furthermore, she had not been far but had stayed close to shore. So at this stage, they now knew the killer would have been close to Lake Adventures.
That meant he must have a vantage point in the area close to the marina that he used to scope out his victims.
*
May drove as fast as she could and reached Lake Adventures ten minutes later.
The place was bustling with a surge of afternoon trade. The two redheaded boys were racing around between clients, and a petite redheaded woman, clearly their mother, was rushing between the marina and the office, trying to coordinate the clients.
May headed over to her.
"I'd like to hire a speedboat for an hour," she said.
The redheaded woman smiled sadly.
"No chance of that today," she said. "They're all booked until evening. We already have one person waiting."
May stared at Owen, feeling devastated. Her plan was not going to be workable.
But Owen said calmly, "A rowboat will be just as good."
“Oh. Then we can help you. We have one of those available,” she said.
A rowboat?
May regarded her partner with fresh admiration as the woman led the way to a small, basic rowboat, painted bright blue.
Quickly, May paid, and they clambered into the rocking boat.
"I am so grateful you can row," she said.