"Did you wonder if this person might be the same one who took Lauren?" she said in a low voice. "A killer, in this neighborhood, preying on women of that age? Lauren was seventeen when she disappeared. She might have been the first victim.”
It took a lot for her to say this, to explain what she was feeling and fearing deep inside. She might as well not have bothered, because Kerry stared at her as if she was nuts.
"Lauren is dead. She's gone. There's no way she's still alive. She was killed by some psycho. Her killer either moved on to a different state, or died, or else didn't feel the need to kill again. It’s impossible this is the same person, ten years later."
Her voice was hard and totally unsympathetic.
May flinched, unable to believe that her sister was being so cold.
"You're completely wrong," she said, her voice trembling with emotion.
Kerry was standing over her, looking powerful.
"Listen to yourself. You're making this up, and it's ludicrous. Has the pressure gotten to you? Is that the problem? Because if you can't handle the pressure, then you're not fit for duty."
May was shaking with anger. She was shaking with fury and humiliation. She clenched her fists in her lap.
"You don't have the right to threaten me," she said.
"It's not a threat," Kerry spat back. "It's a promise. If you want to keep your job, stay in line while we're here. You're not qualified to be in charge of anything. You are just a deputy. Learn to take orders. That’s your role."
May couldn't take it anymore.
"I am not listening to any more of this," she snapped. “How dare you taunt and humiliate me like this? What is your problem? Is it that you’re not making progress on the case, and you feel stalled?”
Her sister flinched. Now, May knew her words had hit home.
“If that’s the case, then why take it out on me when I’m offering to help you? Think about it! Pride might end up being your downfall,” May spat.
Unable to continue this argument, or even look at her sister for one more moment, she stood up and marched out. She stormed past Jack and Owen, waiting by the interview room, ignoring their anxious glances and Owen’s muttered, “Are you okay?”
She was not okay. It felt like her entire world was collapsing.
And May knew she had to get out of there.
She carried on walking. Through the lobby, out of the front door. The tears ran down her face as she hurried to her car. Flinging herself into the driver's seat, she started the engine, and drove away.
Her whole body was shaking, and she couldn't stop the tears. Confusion and misery threatened to overwhelm her. She’d let her team down, let her boss down. Her sister resented her. She'd been accused of being incapable.
Her job was under threat.
Never mind that: her whole life was under threat, and she didn't know what to do.
Kerry’s words had seared into her, and the humiliation felt raw. Had Kerry known how hurtful those insults had been?
May was boiling over with so much emotion, she didn't know what to do with herself. She accelerated along the road leading past the woods. She was in such a fury she barely saw the movement in the trees.
And then, she yelled in horror as a ragged, terrified young woman, her clothes dripping with water and her feet bare, sprinted out from the trees, directly into the path of May's speeding car.