It was a message from the killer who had sent them this puzzle that as yet, she barely understood.
It was time to probe deeper into who could have done this, and that meant speaking to the people who were close to Emily.
“I can’t help feeling that there must be something here, something we’re missing,” she said. “Some piece of evidence that will point us in the right direction on this one,” she said, almost to herself.
She cast her mind back over the case file. All the interviews and phone calls had been listed in the records.
But there had been just one interview still outstanding, one family member who had been elusive. May had noted it earlier, and resolved that she was going to follow up on it as soon as she could in case he was avoiding them for a reason.
She turned to Owen.
“I know it’s late, but we need to get going with this. Do you want to come with me to do an interview?”
He nodded. “Of course. The sooner we can make a start, the better.”
Turning away from the scene, May headed up the hill to her car.
This was the first step to getting answers. And they would hopefully be able to speak to someone close to Emily who had not been available for questioning when she’d disappeared, as he’d been away. But he had also not come forward to be interviewed afterward. The rest of the family had done so eagerly.
May hoped that tonight they could finally pin down Emily’s brother Gordon. Perhaps he held clues that could take them further.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I was rereading the case notes tonight, just before I got the call about Emily’s body being found,” May told Owen as soon as they were in the car. “And I realized that Gordon never came forward to be interviewed.”
Owen blinked. “You’re right. He never got back to us.”
“We interviewed her parents at least three times, her aunt, her schoolteacher, and her younger brother. But we never spoke to Gordon properly. With all the other interviews and information we had, we didn’t chase him down. Now I’m wondering.”
“You think he was avoiding us?”
“I don’t know. It could have just been that it was too painful for him to talk about his missing sister when he had no real information to add. But it could also be that he was protecting her, and himself, from getting into trouble. You know how people sometimes behave when the police start asking questions, if they’ve been doing something they don’t want the police knowing about,” May thought out loud. “Now that there’s been a murder, it might be very important to find out if he was doing anything.”
In fact, May was kicking herself for not pursuing him earlier. What if he’d had vital information?
“I did try and contact him again the day before yesterday,” Owen remembered. “He was still away on vacation at the time. On some sort of hunting trip, I think. He said he was getting back today, but now I think about it, he did sound evasive when I spoke to him. He couldn’t give me an exact time when he’d be available.”
“All the more reason why we need to speak to him now,” May resolved.
They knew the route to the Hobbs’ home well. They lived in a sprawling house in a gated estate on the edge of Chestnut Hill. The first time May had been there to speak to Gordon, she’d been told he lived in the cottage on the side of the house, with its own entrance, but that he was away.
May turned off the main road and took the winding route that led to Chestnut Hill, one of the larger lakeside towns. As she drove, she could see lights from the town twinkling in the darkness.
“I hope we can speak to him,” Owen said.
May turned up the short road where the Hobbs’ home was located. She could already see that there were several vehicles parked outside the main house. She recognized the car belonging to the local pastor, and guessed that a few of the friends and neighbors had rallied round at this tragic time.
Yet again, May felt a guilty clench of her stomach. They’d tried their hardest! But a young woman had died.
If only they’d been in time to save her. Now, all she could do was find the killer.
“Look!” Owen pointed, and May felt her pulse quicken.
The driveway leading to the side cottage, which had been empty last time they’d arrived, now had a car parked there.
The taillights were on. Hopefully, that meant either Gordon had just gotten back from somewhere, or was just going out.
At last they could speak to him and learn what he knew.