Researching and tracking down suspects was not always an easy job, and May acknowledged that records and information were not always complete or up to date. Sometimes, puzzle pieces fell into place and other times they had to be searched for.
"Let's do that. In a small town, hopefully someone living nearby will know him and know where he works."
May began the drive to Forest Hill, but as she headed along the main road, she saw Owen was still hard at work, tapping the iPad with an intent look on his face.
"Now this is interesting," he said.
"What?" May glanced at him.
"I'm having a look online. I’ve called up Tim Walters' profiles on two social media sites. It’s definitely the right guy. But on neither of them can I find any mention of Hayley Meakin."
"Are you sure?" May asked. "The profiles aren't just private?"
"No, they are public enough to see that his status is listed as single. And I'm looking back through photos and posts, and I don't even see any mention of Hayley. It’s weird."
"No photos?" May asked.
"No photos of her, and I mean none whatsoever. I don't think that he was such a loving boyfriend at all. I'm wondering what part he played in her life, and what on earth was really going on between them."
May drove along the main road, feeling even more motivated to get face-to-face with Tim. There was definitely a disconnect between what Hayley's family thought, and what Tim himself thought. And May knew well enough that those disconnects could often point the way to lies, cover-ups, or even worse. It was the even worse that she was worried about now.
As she turned onto the main road for Forest Hill, Owen said, "Wait a minute, May. I think I've found his place of work here. That's searchable on social media, even if nothing about Hayley is."
"And where does he work?"
"He works at a local slaughterhouse."
"Is that so?" May thought again of those knife marks through the heart, so clean, accurate, and deep.
"Yes. He's a butcher, according to this site. And the slaughterhouse is a small one, servicing the local farms."
"Am I going the right way?" May asked.
Owen checked the map. "No. You need to take a right turn here, and then a left. Get onto the road going past town. Theslaughterhouse is at the far end of town, heading out into the farmlands."
"Will do," May said.
Quickly, she changed lanes and headed on the road leading out of town.
She felt that things were adding up here. They had a suspect who had either not mentioned his relationship with Hayley, or else, more likely, erased all evidence. And also, it occurred to May, they were about to get face-to-face with someone who was highly proficient with knives and blades of all kinds.
That made May wonder something else. Could this man have been in trouble before?
"Owen, have you heard of any recent issues at the slaughterhouse?" she asked him. "Or any cases involving Tim? I'm wondering if he has a history at all."
"I can have a quick look." Owen pressed keys hurriedly. "There's nothing here, nothing in the recent history. But if we feel we need to, we could ask the local police. You know what it's like. Local police often get called out to solve issues that never make it as far as being an actual crime case."
"Let's do that if we have any doubt about him at all or need any other background," May decided.
She pushed away her own sense of unease and decided to focus on the facts that were in front of her. As she headed along the quiet country road, just a minute later, the low, compact slaughterhouse building came into view.
This really was a small, local butchery, May saw. It looked more like a farm outbuilding than a place where large scale processing of animals was done. At first glance, the place looked clean and neat. There was a livestock truck parked outside and a few cars in the parking lot.
Climbing out, she looked around, feeling the warm, summer heat of the day. She didn't know what to expect from the man shewas about to meet, although she had the feeling that he wouldn't be too happy to see them.
But he was going to have to give them answers, May thought.
They walked across the paved driveway and headed for the building's main door, which was firmly closed.