Never Run (May Moore Suspense Thriller 1)

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up outside the Knights’ home in the small town of Snyder. This home was on the far outskirts of town, down a long dirt road, bordered by woods.

Stepping out of her vehicle, she breathed in the night air, which was heavy with the smell of the lake and the surrounding forest.

May felt nervous. Her mouth was dry, and her heart was racing. This was such an important case. They needed to solve it, fast.

The home had its lights on and there were cars parked outside. She was sure that the news had rocked this town to its foundations, and that by now, the majority of the few hundred residents knew about it.

May headed up the neat garden path, lined by flowers, and knocked at the front door. Then she waited, her hands clasped behind her back. She felt as unsure as if she was a kid again, waiting for a parent to let her in.

“You do the talking,” Owen murmured. “I’ll listen and make notes.”

“Thanks,” May whispered back, as footsteps approached.

A tall, middle-aged man opened the door, his face crumpled with shock.

May showed him her badge.

"I'm May Moore, deputy sheriff. This is my partner, Owen Lovell. Are you Mr. Knight?"

"Yes. I'm Tom Knight. Savannah's father."

"Please accept our condolences. This is so tragic and distressing. This case is our top priority, and we will do whatever it takes to get it solved. Could we ask some questions now?"

"Sure. Come in. My wife is not able to speak to you. She's so traumatized that she's been sedated and is in bed. But I'll do my best."

He led them into a living room.

The house was neat and tidy. The living room window looked out over the dark expanse of the lake, like a picture. Immediately, May saw a large portrait of Savannah on the mantelpiece. She wondered if they'd put it there when their daughter had disappeared. She was sure they hoped she'd come home, right until the moment they had received the terrible news.

May's heart sank. How awful for the family.

"Please explain the background to her disappearance," she said.

"She went missing three days ago, on Friday. She was supposed to spend the night with a friend after school. She never arrived at school. We only realized later that night, when the friend messaged us, saying she wasn't responding to messages and was she okay? She'd assumed Savannah was sick," Tom explained.

"How did Savannah get to school?"

"She walked. It was only a mile away. Half a mile, if she took the shortcut through the woods, but we always told her not to do that and to walk on the road."

Immediately, May wondered if Savannah had taken the shortcut and if that was when something had gone wrong.

"When did you notify police?" she asked.

"As soon as we realized. We called local police, and we also called all her friends, to see if anyone had seen her. The police searched all the possible routes that same night. We were actually sure she'd turn up and had just gone to stay with another friend. But as time went by, we became more and more worried."

"Were there any problems at home?" May asked. To her, it was sounding as if there might be.

"She was - she was a good girl, but rebellious. Moody. She'd had a fight with my wife that morning, and she often wouldn’t come home after a fight, but would go and stay with other friends without telling us where she was. So - well, that was normal. She's eighteen now. We still wanted her to respect our rules, but she had different ideas."

"Did she have a boyfriend?"

"Not that I know of. I mean, she had lots of friends. She was popular. But no boyfriend."

"Was there anything that you were worried about? Sometimes teens can get - mixed up in trouble," May said carefully, wondering if Savannah had.

"No. Nothing. She was just normal. I mean, yes, she was a rebellious teenager, but that's usual at that age, right?"

May nodded.

"Which friend was she supposed to stay overnight with?"

"Lillie. Lillie Simpson."

"Do you know where she lives?"

"Yes. She lives a couple of miles from here. I'll write down her address for you." He scribbled on a notepad and handed her the page.

May glanced at Owen, who was completing his notes from the interview. As she watched, he looked up and closed his book.

"I think that's all we need for now. Thank you very much for talking to us,” she said.

"I want to help. We’ve lost our daughter, and now all we have left is the hope that we’ll get closure, and her killer will be punished. Please, solve it. Find out what happened to her. Please."

His voice fell away and he looked desolate.

May felt terrible. She didn't want to leave him like that, but there was nothing more she could do.

Now, they needed to head over to Lillie’s house, and see if she could shed any light on Savannah’s recent activities, and if there was anything her friends knew that her parents didn’t.

May had a feeling there was more information to be uncovered, and that Savannah hadn't told her parents everything that was happening in her life.