Owen looked red-eyed and tired too, even though May could see that, like her, he wasn't giving up and was going to take this all the way to the wire.
Owen was as determined as she was to catch this killer.
"Owen, I've had a thought," May said.
He looked up. "What is it? Have you come up with a different angle we could look at?"
May sighed. "Nothing so constructive. My thought is this — what if he's not our guy?"
Owen gasped. "What do you mean? Of course, he's our guy! He’s got the right shoe size. He threatened a patient with a knife. He even left a note apologizing for what he did."
"But the note could have referred other things. I mean — what if we've been going about this all wrong?" May asked, feeling her stress surge. "I've read the case file, and it seems like there are two sides to the whole story. He's not coming across as such a violent man as I thought. I'm starting to worry we'vemissed something. And we're running out of time to get this right," she said, in a low voice.
"Impossible," Owen said quickly. Then, as if thinking more seriously about what May had said, he added, "But if there is someone else, how are we going to find him now? We can't leave. We have to question Nurse Keyes to rule him out. There are no other leads yet. Nowhere we can go."
May felt despairing. Owen was right. A new day might bring new ideas, but for now, she sensed they were stuck here.
At that moment, her phone beeped. It was Kerry, texting her.
"Nothing as yet, sis. The databases are slow. I'm going to try again first thing tomorrow. Night!"
Not even Kerry had yet been able to uncover the critical evidence that May knew they needed.
"I wonder if we can get some rest somewhere?" she said.
Owen nodded. "I think we need some rest.”
"I guess we could go to the car," May said. It wasn't ideal, but it was the only place she could think of. Driving home would be a bad idea since their suspect might wake up at any time now. Then perhaps, finally, they could rule him out.
"I guess we could sleep in the car, but maybe they have a spare bed or two here?" Owen suggested. "This is a hospital after all. Let me see what I can do, May."
Owen rushed out of the room.
May packed away her laptop, feeling exhausted and discouraged. And then, the quick tread of footsteps told her Owen was coming back.
"There's a break room we can use. It's an old ward, with a couple of beds in it. It's on the next floor, and I have the key for it here," Owen said.
May shouldered her bag and followed him out of the small waiting room and up the stairs.
The break room was tiny, and it was basically furnished. All the comforts and amenities had been stripped out, and only two basic beds were left, lined up side by side, with a blanket and pillow on each.
But to May, it looked as comfortable as a five-star hotel. She couldn't wait to put her head down on that bed and get a couple of hours' rest. She sank gratefully down onto the mattress.
"Owen, thanks so much. You know, I value you more than I can imagine." In her tiredness, May found herself babbling, letting her thoughts out, saying more to him than she'd normally allow herself to.
"What for?" he asked.
"For helping me. For supporting me. For always picking me up when I fall down. For just being there. You're everything I need," May said.
"Don't thank me," Owen said. "No one else can do this job better than you, May. You're — you're my idol. You always have been. I can't explain how much I respect you. And admire you. And — "
He stopped, as if not wanting to say more.
May felt her heart thumping. She'd wanted to tell him exactly how she felt for a long time. But she'd been waiting for the right time.
"You're my hero too, Owen," she said.
She realized it was true. He was her hero.