And yet, York had spoken about it with familiarity. As if he knew exactly where the place was. Of course, there was a chance he'd managed to hear through the grapevine, small towns being what they were. But maybe, too, there was another, more obvious reason why he knew where it was. And that reason was that he himself had followed Sadie there, and killed her.
All of that had a very important bearing on the other thing he'd said, and May gripped the wheel as she remembered that bombshell.
He'd said that he thought the coach might have had time to take another victim.
But thinking ahead, May wondered if this was maybe just laying the groundwork for what he had planned, except the police arrived too soon.
So maybe, by saying this, he was setting the scene for another body to be discovered, supposedly killed by Coach Adamson, in a remote place, a few days from now, when the exact time of death might be difficult to establish.
Only, the final victim hadn't been killed yet, because he hadn't had time. Instead, he was on his way to commit the murder now. And by dropping that bombshell, he’d made very sure that the police would all be swarming around Adamson, trying to get the truth from him, leaving him free and clear to go and find Berenice himself. They wouldn’t expect him back at school for a while, since he was the last to be interviewed.
May let out a traumatized sigh.
It was as if she was looking at things from two totally different angles. Was she completely right or was she embarrassingly wrong?
She shook her head. This was all conjecture. She had no actual proof.
But if she was right, then she was doing what she needed to do. Of course, if she was right, then she might also be putting herself in danger. But she had to find out more.
What did she really know about York?
She'd been so impressed by his story. Until those little details starting nagging at her cop's mind. But beyond that, he'd shown an alarming talent for being convincing. He'd come across as sincere. A humble, everyday man stepping up to the plate when it mattered. And the awful thing is, that could be who he really was.
As she watched, York made another turn.
He might be heading back to the school. If he was heading back to the school, then he was surely innocent.
The next minute would be the deciding factor.
May turned along with him, keeping a couple of hundred yards behind, counting down the moments that would help to prove York’s innocence, or his guilt.
CHAPTER THIRTY
May felt as if her hands were welded to the wheel as she waited to see which way York would turn. Thoughts were racing through her mind. She veered again and again between thinking she was right, and being sure that she was following a mad theory that was just wasting time.
And then York turned onto the secondary road that wound its way down to Sleepy Hollow School, and May felt her tension ebb away. It was okay. She'd been wrong, but it had still been a very important lead to check out.
Now she could turn back, rush to the police department, and plunge straight into her interrogation of Coach Adamson, so that they could find out where the third victim had been dumped, and bring the family closure.
But, at that moment, as May was slowing down for her turn, the Chevy sped up and darted down a side road that led in the opposite direction of the school grounds.
"It is him! It is!" May yelled.
Correcting her course, she flattened her foot, desperate now to catch up with him because he was suddenly driving faster.
He was off on a mission, that was clear. He'd totally changed his driving style. Now he was accelerating along, swerving around the bends of the narrow, winding road that led out of town, skirting the woods and the lake. Perhaps he was doing that because he thought he was alone and unobserved, and he was in a hurry to get where he was going.
May got on the phone to Owen. She had to tell him what was happening, and at the same time she had to keep the car in sight.
He picked up immediately, to her relief.
"News?" he said.
"Yes," May replied breathlessly. "I'm following a suspect.
"What?" Owen asked, astonished. "Another suspect?"
"The math teacher," May said. "Mr. York. It was him all along. I think he's taken the third victim somewhere already. And he's going to find her now and kill her."