Sitting opposite him next to Owen, May observed him for a minute, collecting her thoughts before speaking and deciding on the best way to open the conversation. She went for shock value in the end.
"Alyssa Darlington was murdered early this morning," May said, wanting to see his reaction.
He jolted in surprise.
"What? Are you joking? Are you saying this to try and trick me into something? I knew she was dead, but my friends told me it had been some kind of accident. That was what the rumors were!"
He surged to his feet so fast he knocked the chair over. Every bad feeling about this young man came flooding back to her.
"Sit down! Sit down immediately!" May ordered.
Miles glared at her but he sat, slowly.
"Alyssa was murdered," she repeated. "I'm sorry to have to tell you that."
"I don't believe it. She was at the post-prom party. She looked fine. What happened?"
"She was found dead in the early hours of this morning. It's true, Mr. Taylor. I'm sorry," May said.
"I still don't believe it. I don’t accept this at all. I want proof of it. But if it’s true, I had nothing to do with it." His face was rigid, his eyes unblinking.
"You dated her recently?" May asked.
"Look I wouldn't call it dating. We went out once or twice. She might have exaggerated things. Probably did."
Owen cleared his throat, turning his iPad toward their suspect.
“Her mother confirmed it with us just now. And look here. On your social media page here, just two months ago, it said 'In a Relationship With - Alyssa Darlington.' There are lots of comments from your friends saying, 'About time, wondered when you were going to publish this' and 'You make a lovely couple.'”
May felt extremely proud of Owen's quick thinking. Miles on the other hand, looked mortified.
"Yeah, okay, we broke up recently. It didn't work out. I admit it turned nasty. We both threatened each other with stuff. But then I started dating Candace, who ended up being the prom queen. And it all calmed down again. Why would I care about Alyssa when I was with the prom queen last night?"
“She might have cared. She might have wanted some kind of payback when she saw you together.”
Miles shook his head. “Maybe she thought about that. But she didn’t do anything.”
He looked thoughtful. May wondered if he was thinking of his own reputation for violence.
"Were you with Candace last night? Do you have proof of where you were?"
Miles put his hand on his chin, thinking.
"We left the post-prom party at about one a.m. We went joyriding through town. Then we went to a nightclub in Chestnut Hill."
"Can you confirm that?" May asked sternly.
"Would that have been in your stepdad's car?" Owen asked curiously.
"Yeah. Yeah, it was."
"I took a photo of the car when we were there just now," Owen said. "Give me a moment, May. I’ll check something." He got up and quickly walked out.
"You need proof?” Miles asked. May could see he was now getting a little scared. The implications were sinking in, after his initial denial. He was now applying himself to this interview and taking it seriously. “Um, I guess so. I mean, I paid cash to get in the club. I was with Candace the whole time. We took some selfies there. She sent them to me."
Now, May was sure he'd realized the potential seriousness of his predicament.
He reached for his phone and scrolled through, looking panicked. As he began showing her the nightclub shots, Owen walked back in.