Never Run (May Moore Suspense Thriller 1)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

May threw on her clothes, adrenaline surging inside her. She never believed she would wake up to this news and felt horrified that the killer had claimed another victim.

As fast as she could, she jumped in her pickup and sped off to the police department. She accelerated into town, and down Main Street. Before she even reached the building, she could see that, outside, the place was pandemonium.

Cars were parked randomly in the small parking lot and on the street. Civilians, neighbors, people from the town, were crowding around the police department's entrance.

Owen, who also looked to have just arrived, was coordinating the groups into search parties.

"It will be best if you split up into groups of three, using cellphones to communicate, starting from the Cole residence and working outward from there," he was saying to a group of local men. "Her photo and a basic description should be available now on the main police website. If you find any trace of her, let us know. If you see anything suspicious, call us."

Leaving him to his job, May rushed into the police station. There, Jack was on the phone, with three others ringing loudly. A group of angry-looking people had crowded into the lobby.

"We want answers," May heard a tearful woman shout.

When he saw May, Jack quickly disconnected the call and hustled through to the back office with her.

There, he gave her the quickest briefing she'd ever had.

"May, we're trying to keep the panic down to a minimum. It's unclear if this was the work of our serial killer, or something else. All we know is that Cassandra has vanished. Her family called in the alarm a little while ago, and we're moving on this now.”

He looked tired. His face was drawn and anxious.

"Cassandra Cole is a local celebrity. She's eighteen, she was the school's prom queen, top of her class in many subjects, and she'd received a full scholarship to the University of Minnesota. So she's bright, she's beautiful, and she's very well-known and popular in town."

His voice dropped.

"Worse still, she's her parents' only remaining child. Her two older brothers were killed in a car crash three years ago, while vacationing out of state. So, for the sake of her family, we need to find Cassandra."

May couldn’t allow herself to think of the horror of the family losing all their children. She felt the pressure intensify.

"What's the background? When did she vanish?" May asked.

"Last night. She apparently planned to sneak out to meet a boyfriend. I've just interviewed him. Name of Daniel Barker. Their meet-up was organized for eight p.m., in the park, but she never arrived. Daniel is distraught. Piecing things together, it looks as if she must have been snatched when she left. Her bedroom window was open, and her bed hadn’t been slept in. Her phone was found in the flower bed near her bedroom window, turned off. The FBI will send it off for fingerprinting but I’m sure it was wiped, like Savannah’s."

"What can I do?" May asked.

The sheriff sighed, looking frustrated.

"It's still the FBI's case. Just that the urgency has escalated. We have to wait on them now."

"Can't we go out and hunt for her?"

"We have to wait on their instructions," Jack said again. "We can't act out of turn here. We have a press conference organized just now, because we need the help of the public. I've just been putting together everything I have on her and updating the website."

May glanced at the screen behind him, feeling sick as she saw the beautiful, dark-haired woman smiling out.

Cassandra clearly was a stunner.

And the family's only surviving child.

That chilled her. Especially since she knew she might already be dead.

"I’m not sure how much use the search parties will be, because the disappearance occurred last night." Jack told her. "However, there is a possibility that the killer might be locally based, and if he is, then we may find important evidence. In addition to scouring the area, we've coordinated with the police upstate. They are organizing other search parties of their own."

There was a shout from outside at that moment.

"The press conference is starting!"

May hurried back outside.

She was amazed to see several more cars and vans had pulled up. A crowd of photographers and cameramen were assembling.

What should she say? she wondered. How should this proceed?

She hoped Jack would lead the way.

But then, with her stomach plummeting, she saw someone else was handling it.

Kerry had just arrived, climbing out of a brand-new Lexus SUV that was clearly her rental vehicle.

May saw her stride over to the microphones that were being set up in front of the building, closely followed by Adams. Kerry was wearing black pants and a dark jacket. Her make-up was light but flawless.

"Testing, testing," she said, tapping on one of the mikes. "This needs some adjustment, please," she said to the hovering tech.

Then she turned and saw May standing nervously nearby.

"Morning, sis. What happened last night? We missed you at pre-dinner drinks! Anyway, we've got a hectic day with this new development on the case."

"What can I do?" May asked, her stomach churning.

"You're a big part of this now.”

May's spirits lifted. So she was going to be involved? It sounded like it.

But then Kerry continued. “We need you to assure the people of your town that the FBI is here and we're doing everything we can to find Cassandra Cole.  We're going to be working at top speed, liaising with the main FBI office, and with any forensics experts or techs we need. So our main priority is that we have what we need, and that the other policing in this little precinct gets done efficiently."

"What do you mean?" May said.

"Just because there's a serial killer on the loose does not mean community policing must be neglected, is what I'm saying. There's still going to be a need for the speed cameras, and parking infractions, and to break up any arguments between people, and - and look for lost pets, and follow up on any homeless people. And anything else you do here as a matter of course."

Adams added to the list.

"Bag snatching, shoplifting, burglaries. All those crimes keep happening. In fact, as I was on my way here, I saw someone parked outside the lines in town. That kind of thing can be a slippery slope, you know. Where were you, when that citizen was breaking the law?" He wagged a finger at May.