May felt filled with relief that this unpleasant man had not arrived five minutes earlier. If he had, they would never have been able to ask Jolene what they needed to, or take her away.
As it was, his manager was on her way to the police department, where May was sure Owen would insist that she hand in her phone immediately.
“Just following up,” May said innocently. “We’re on the trail of the murder suspect and hope to make an arrest very soon.”
She didn’t add that the arrest would hopefully be Bert Reed himself, when the place was raided. At least his meetings meant he’d be on site when the FBI arrived, which would be good.
Bert’s glower faded slightly. The security guard was still staring at her mistrustfully, with his arms folded. The personal assistant was rummaging in her purse, looking for something.
“You are that close to finding them? Well, that’s good. That’ll be good. Yes.” Then Bert’s face darkened again. “You know, it’s more likely to be something to do with Madeline’s and Danny’s personal lives. You do know that, right? We run a clean business here. There’s no need to pry into our affairs.”
“We’re just doing our job, sir,” May replied, keeping her voice calm and level, in spite of her rising fury at his attempt to intimidate her.
“I’m doing the same,” came the snide comeback. “I run this hotel, something that you do not. I have a right to ensure it runs smoothly. I don’t trust one bit that the police department is not as prejudiced as the locals are.”
“I understand that, sir,” May confirmed, biting her tongue and wishing she could say more.
It was satisfying to think that right now, Kerry was swinging into action and that the full might of the FBI would be coming down on the hotel and hopefully saving these terrified and abused women from their plight.
Who would have thought, a day ago, that she’d actually appreciate her sister helping with a case and be grateful for her actions?
But in the meantime, May couldn’t delay.
Lewis Brooks was still a target and if he was killed, the evidence trail and the plans would be much harder to track.
Her priority now was to race to the warehouse and get to Lewis before the killer found him.