She had him now. Wrestling the handcuffs off her belt, she got one of his wrists in and then the other. They clicked closed.
May kept a tight grip on them, but she could see the fight had gone out of him. He was dazed, winded, and in pain.
Backup was needed now. She grabbed the phone out of her pocket and made a call.
Owen answered in one ring.
“I’m on my way to you,” he gabbled out, sounding stressed. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I have him,” May said. “I have him. It’s over. Call the others. I’ll send you the coordinates.”
She sent them quickly. Then she closed her eyes, feeling thankful beyond belief that this terrifying takedown had succeeded.
Finally, they had the killer.
And she had done what she thought would be impossible, and had saved his final victim.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
An hour later, the entire lakeside area was abuzz with police. May felt astounded that even an FBI helicopter had flown in. Police were swarming the scene and recording evidence. From the stash of sleeping tablets in the cabin, to the stack of wooden logs in the nearby forest, with nails scattered around, and the raft itself by the water’s edge, there was no shortage of proof that finally, the killer’s lair had been located.
Jackson himself was in an ambulance, sedated and handcuffed, being taken to the hospital for examination before he would be assigned to his longer-term incarceration, ready for court.
Chanel had been quickly debriefed and then examined by the paramedics on the scene. After she was declared to be healthy and unhurt, she’d been collected by her jubilant and tearful parents.
May was so relieved that she had carried her part of the plan out perfectly. At the end, she knew, they had walked a tightrope of risk that had been precarious, and could so easily have gone wrong.
Swathed in Owen’s jacket, she had finally stopped shivering from her ordeal in the lake’s deep, chilly waters.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he said for the third time.
“I’m fine,” May said.
They were seated under a tree. May had wanted to help, but she was under strict instructions from the paramedic team to get warm and dry first. She already felt warm, and she would soon be dry. She was well hydrated thanks to the bottles of water Owen had brought her, and she knew that in another minute, she would be ready to head into the scene and complete her reports.
And she had to admit, there was no shortage of help in the meantime.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
May looked up. This time, the question came from Sheriff Jack.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“It sounds like you and the captive girl acted in a most heroic and resourceful way to save yourselves,” Jack said. “I’m extremely impressed. What you did was a classic example of thinking on your feet and adapting to circumstances. It was so well thought through that I can see this being an example in police textbooks one day.”
May felt a thrill of pleasure to hear that.
Kerry, who had been coordinating the search at the cabin, marched over.
“Mom’s on the phone,” she said. “I told her everything that happened. She wants to know if you’re all right.”
“I’m fine. But I’ll speak to her,” May said.
Kerry handed her the phone.
As May stood up to take the call, she surveyed the complex scene, feeling a satisfied thrill. Everyone here was a hero, playing their part.
“May!” Her mother’s voice resounded with admiration. “Your sister told me what you did out there in the forest, to make sure that dear Chanel, who we’ve actually met, was freed. That was amazing. It sounds like something out of the movies. Congratulations, my angel.”