May turned onto the main road that led to the sports center, which was a communal sports ground situated between three towns, Fairshore being one and Chestnut Hill being another.
The sports center was a large building with a big, paved parking lot and very extensive facilities. It had three football fields, a gym, an athletics track, basketball courts, and tennis courts, as well as various other sports facilities and fields.
May parked outside. Even though it was still morning, and a school day, the place was busy. A lot of schools bused their students here, she saw. There were two buses in the parking lot, and several students waiting outside the main entrance.
All were engrossed in their phones.
May saw that there were cameras along the building’s front wall, which she felt glad to see. She headed inside to speak to someone who could organize access to the footage.
A middle-aged woman sat behind the reception desk. She was speaking on the phone as they walked in, but disconnected the call soon after.
“Can I help you, Deputies?” she asked, nodding a greeting.
May thought she seemed like a competent and efficient type, and clearly a sports lover, with her outdoors tan and her graying hair cut in a short, chic style that reminded May of Kerry’s.
“We need to view your camera footage, please,” May said.
The woman raised her eyebrows.
“Is this in connection with that strange murder?” she asked, sounding horrified. “I know Emily came here a couple of times with her school. Is there a chance her killer was here? We’re already getting calls from parents, asking if it’s safe for their children to be here alone.”
“We’re following up on some information that may be connected to the crime,” May said, not wanting the town’s grapevine to buzz any more than it was already doing until they had confirmed what they were looking for. “But it is definitely worthwhile for everyone to be more aware of safety. Please remind students they should only get into a car with their parents,” May said, feeling the warning couldn’t hurt.
The receptionist gave her a curious look as if hoping she’d reveal what she meant by that, but May wasn’t willing to say more.
“You are welcome to search the footage,” the receptionist then said. “We keep records in the back office. Let me take you through there and show you how to work it.”
She got up and headed across the reception room to a small office on the far side.
Inside, it was semi-dark, with blinds covering the small window and several computer monitors on the wall.
“To access the records, simply click Archives. The footage is saved by date, so each day has a different folder. We keep it for thirty days,” she explained.
“Thank you,” May said.
She and Owen sat down on the chairs and as soon as the receptionist had left, they went hunting.
“Here’s the date that Emily went missing,” May said, finding it in the archives. “She went missing in the early afternoon. I’m going to see if Kerry’s found any information on Jessop’s vehicles so far.”
She checked her messages.
Sure enough, Kerry’s first stop must have been the car details, knowing that May and Owen would need them. May read her text.
“Jessop drives a black Merc most of the time, registration below. Two outstanding speeding fines. Also owns a few other cars that he uses mainly for out of town trips and supercar conventions. Descriptions and registrations below.”
“Afternoon, black Mercedes. Let’s go back and look,” Owen said.
Owen scrolled back through the footage, while they both scanned the moving images, looking for any sign of the relevant vehicle.
“Is that one? No, sorry, that’s a BMW,” May said.
Owen kept scrolling. They had another false alarm when a black Lexus pulled up. May’s stomach was churning. She couldn’t believe that this intricate teamwork might lead them to the moment when they saw the killer—the actual killer—take his victim. Had it happened at all? Was Callum telling the truth? And if so, what had played out on this sunny afternoon two weeks ago, but what felt like a lifetime ago?
And then they both said, “Stop” at the same time as the car they wanted came into view.
“That’s it. A black Mercedes.”
Sleek and shiny, it was clearly a new and expensive vehicle. The driver got out, and May had her first view of the slightly grainy footage of Jessop as he strode inside. She was sure by now, Kerry would have texted her a whole selection of clearer photos of the suspect, but for the moment, this was enough.