Never Run (May Moore Suspense Thriller 1)

"How?"

"They rented boats from here. It's nothing unusual, though. We get a lot of teens doing that. My least favorite customers," he grumbled, glancing at the hard-covered rental register that lay on the desk.

"Why is that?" May felt as if she was on the hunt now. This man definitely had a grudge against the younger generation.

"They don't look after the boats, they leave them messy, and they're careless and irresponsible when they take them out. My staff has to spend hours cleaning up after them. I had to replace the engine on one of the motorboats, because one of them burned it out when they attempted to go water skiing. It's so infuriating."

"How do you handle this?"

"I try to remain professional. But if I had my way, I'd ban under twenty-fives from the place entirely."

The man's narrow mouth set in a grim line.

May could tell he wasn't a big fan of that age group at all. But was he the killer? She couldn't wait to question him and find out if he had an alibi.

At that moment, a woman called his name from outside. Harry Bridges stood up. But, to May's surprise, the first thing he did was grab hold of a crutch that was lying out of her sight.

Then he struggled around the reception desk.

May saw that his leg was in a plaster cast from the foot, all the way up to the thigh.

"Cycling accident," he said, seeing her gaze as he grimaced in discomfort. "My leg broke in four places and had to be pinned. I've been in this damned cast for four weeks now. Got another two to go."

He limped heavily to the door.

"What is it?" he called.

May stared at Owen, who was looking as disappointed as she felt.

"It couldn't have been him," Owen whispered.

May decided this might also explain the man’s sour attitude. He was in discomfort and pain. That was enough to make anyone grumpy and dislikeable.

"He would have been too injured to have committed those crimes," she agreed.

May cursed under her breath. It was a dead end. Just to check the box, while Harry was conversing with the person outside, May paged through the register.

She saw Shelby and Savannah's names there, but she did not see Cassandra Cole's name written down in the past couple of weeks. So the prom queen had not hired a boat recently.

Harry limped back to the desk.

"What about your staff?" May asked, keen to try to explore every possibility while she was here. "Do you have anyone helping you with bookings and maintenance?"

"My mother helps me with the bookings. She's very thorough. She's not in today, though. It's her day off. Then my wife and sons are helping with the cleaning and maintenance while I'm injured. My sons are twins, only thirteen years old, but hard workers."

"So it's a real family business?" May asked.

"That it is," he agreed.

May thought of another question.

"Did any of the customers, especially the girls, ever complain about anyone watching them? Anything that made them uncomfortable?"

Harry paused. Then he nodded thoughtfully.

"A week or two ago, I do remember one of the girls came back and complained there was 'some creep' watching them out on the water. She wanted her money back, but I refused. It clearly states that boats are hired at your own risk."

"Did she give a description?"

"I never asked for details. And like I said, I didn't take that complaint seriously, because there's always drama with those young girls. Always. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. My sons might know more, but they're at school now, and only here this afternoon."

May decided that even though Harry himself was not a suspect, this information could be very valuable. She needed to find out more about this creep on the water.

But at that moment, Owen's radio crackled.

Quickly, he grabbed it.

To May's shock, she heard Kerry's voice, clear and triumphant.

"We've made an arrest!" her sister said. "We're incoming with a suspect. We'll be at the police department in twenty minutes!"