Free The Key by Sarah May Palmer Page B

laughing together.
    Carly inched forward on the wooden bench to get a better look at the girl. Then her eyes darted around, trying to catch a glimpse of the ‘would be killer’. Suddenly she spotted a young man further along the street, and he was also shaded by the trees. Rising slowly Carly wandered in his direction, hoping that he would turn around so that she could get a good look at him. As she got a little closer she missed her footing and let out a yelp as she twisted her ankle. The mystery man looked in her direction, turned and walked quickly away into the distance .
    Now I’ve done it, he’s seen me. I wish I’d got a better look at him. Oh well, maybe now he’s seen me he’ll panic and won’t come back. Maybe, Ian Bradley was wrong; maybe I can prevent Tracey dying. Maybe I should try and follow him, get a better look at him, see where he goes .
    Thoughts were buzzing in Carly’s head about what she should do next. Strike up a conversation with Tracey; maybe warn her that someone seemed to be watching her.
    Well, here it goes. I’m just going to walk right up to her and take it from there .
    Taking a few deep breaths to steady her nerves, Carly stepped quickly into the road. Before she knew it there was a screech of car tires combined with the high pitched sound of a car horn beeping constantly. A s she whirled round she saw a large pickup come to an abrupt halt inches in front of her.
    It wasn’t the sound of a car horn that Carly heard next; it was the sound of that dreaded alarm clock. She was awake, and she wished that she wasn’t. Questions rattled through her head one after another. Had she saved Tracey or w as Ian Bradley right after all ? Would the murderer strike again, and would it be all her fault for interfering?
    She needed to pull herself tog ether and get onto the computer; s ee if the story had changed; see if Tracey Dawn Jackson still disappeared that day.

THREE
     
    It didn’t take Carly any time at all to find the story of Tracey Dawn Jackson’s disappearance on her laptop . She had still disappeared.
    Well, she still disappeared. But maybe I spooked the killer and made him more edgy. Maybe that would have made him more careless, and he’d leave another clue to his identity at the crime scene .
    Still shaking from the dream, she headed for the living room, turned on the TV , and began flicking through the news channels to determine whether the story about the discovery of Tracey’s body remained the same as yesterday and if there would be any further clues in the hunt for Tracey’s killer.
    “Damn it, I haven’t changed a thing. In fact, I scared the damn murderer away; so maybe it’s partly my fault that no one but me saw him. I have to put this right. I have to go back there and find out who that guy was. Maybe, if I can find out who that key belonged to I stand a chance.”
    Carly turned up the volume as she finally got the break she was looking for. A picture of Tracey Dawn Jackson flashed up on the screen, then a picture of the mystery key. The news item was already part way through, but she listened closely as the broadcaster continued.
    “ In a further development, police have been inundated with calls about the key found close to the body, including some calls from Tracey’s former college friends. It has emerged that the same type of keys were used on the lockers at the Harvest Spring Junction College , where Tracey was studying. ”
    Turning off the TV Carly decided it was time for a rethink.
    Looks like I’ll have to get into that college to f ind out who the key belongs to; do n’t think I ’ll pass for a teenager though , Carly thought after catching a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror , en route to the kitchen .
    This is going to take longer than I thought. Just as well I decided to take a week’s vacation from work. I need to find some cover story for when I’m snooping around in the college. I need to find the connection between Tracey and the owner