"Police in Sunnybrook tracked down a series of threats that were made against them. They got an email in return to one of their messages yesterday afternoon, which allowed them to pinpoint the IP address.”
“Yes, I heard about those threats.” May had seen the notification that the raid would occur. She’d had it on her to-do list today to contact Sunnybrook and ask if it had been successful, as well as congratulate them on tracking down the IP address.
Jack continued in a heavy voice. “They traced them to a cabin in the woods outside town. But when they went in early this morning to do the raid, the whole thing blew up."
May hissed in her breath.
"Was anyone hurt?" she asked.
Jack sighed. "Yes. Two good and experienced officers were killed instantly. Another three are in the hospital with concussions, broken bones, lacerations, and burns."
"No!" May's eyes widened. Cops killed? She couldn't remember the last time this had happened in Tamarack County. The loss of a police officer was an absolute tragedy. And an emergency.
"Where is the scene?" she asked, pulling herself together after the blow of shock had dissipated.
"It's a way off the main road, about three miles from Sunnybrook town center. I’ll send you the coordinates now."
May watched her phone, waiting for the message. “Received,” she said.
"The cabin is still locked down, and being searched by the bomb squad. It's not going to be easy to investigate, and there is most likely going to be no evidence available at the site of the blast. But I'm sending you out there now. As county deputy, you need to be on the scene and help manage the situation."
"Understood," she said.
"They're waiting on the bomb disposal team to arrive, and then they'll go in there. The FBI is also on their way; they've been called out, and are helicoptering in urgently."
May guessed, with a twist of her stomach, that would mean her older sister Kerry was en route to the crime scene. Kerry, the super-successful one of the family, who'd aced the FBI entrance exams when May had been overcome with nerves and flunked out. She was sure that the FBI would deploy Kerry to the scene, knowing she was originally from the area.
But this was no time to worry about family tensions. Not at such a terrible moment. May knew that she needed to do whatever she could to help out. This was a crisis. A state-level emergency, in fact, most likely a national emergency, playing out in their usually quiet county.
Jack knew she was prepared to give everything to the job, and that she was up to the task. He knew that she had what it took. He always had faith in her, and May always felt motivated to prove that he was right to do so.
"I understand," she said. "I'll be there."
May's heart hammered in her chest. It felt like she was being thrown into the deep end, into the very deep end. The investigation of a cop killer. A bomb blast.
She didn't know how she felt about that. Her head was spinning, and it was only seven-thirty in the morning.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but I'll let you know," Jack told her. "For now, just get to the scene. We need as many people as we can on site. It’s still a developing situation."
May had the feeling that this was going to be a day that she would remember for a long time.
"I'll be there in thirty minutes. I'll report in then," she said.
She still felt as if she was resonating with shock. Wired to explode? That was the most terrible, cowardly thing she'd ever heard of. Who could set something like that up and then flee, knowing people would be killed?
And how had the killer gotten away?
There were so many questions, and she needed answers. It was time to drive to the woods outside Sunnybrook, and see what awaited her.
May ended the call, and took a huge, deep breath to calm herself. Then she started her car, and headed out, as quickly as she could, to the scene of the crime.