CHAPTER TWO
May had never seen so many police on site at a crime scene. The ordinarily peaceful, small town of Sunnybrook was buzzing with frantic activity. As she approached the wooded area beyond town, she saw the road had been barricaded off to allow a hovering helicopter to land. Cars were parked in the emergency lane. Three policemen were redirecting traffic, and she saw two ambulances still on site, as well as an armored bomb disposal vehicle and two fire trucks.
She showed her badge when she pulled up, and the cops moved the barricade and waved her through.
Already, May was realizing that this was by far the biggest disaster in her entire career.
There was still smoke billowing into the air from a point in the woods, and May felt a frisson of dread as she saw the inky black, curling residue of the explosion, still dissipating into the clean blue sky. She imagined the violence of the blast. How terrifying it must have been.
She pulled up behind a Sheriff's Department car, which was parked just outside the barricade, and which had its light bar flashing. She squeezed between the police cars and vans and parked her own car next to the road.
May got out, feeling as if her stomach were still in her throat. She felt as if her whole world had changed, and as if she had just been catapulted into a new, and darker, reality.
Sheriff Jack was already on the scene, standing by the trail leading into the forest, and he was talking to the bomb squad leader.
May put her hat on, and went over to them.
"May.” Jack acknowledged her with a nod. “The bomb disposal team is on site, and the FBI has just arrived.” He indicated the helicopter. "It's a bomb site, but it's also a crime scene. Until we know what's going on in there, it's too risky to go further. We're waiting to make sure the area is cleared."
"What about the perpetrator?" May asked. "Have you identified him? Was he killed in the explosion?"
"We haven't been able to tell," the bomb squad leader replied. "We'll know more in the next half-hour."
"The bomb blast was designed to kill and maim. It's a miracle that the cops who surrounded the back of the cabin are still alive. They are reporting that just before the blast, the team leader shouted that the cabin was empty. If the perpetrator set this up and then fled, it looks as if we've got one hell of a case on our hands," Jack emphasized.
"Who were the cops that were killed?" May asked, dreading to know. It was likely that she'd met them personally, or else had heard of them.
"Ryan Harris was the team leader, partnered with Lester Biggs," Jack told her in a quiet voice.
May nodded solemnly. They were both younger than her, and she'd been present at a parade where they had received awards from the local mayor for their conduct in a case. They were good, up and coming cops who had a promising career ahead, until the killer had ended it.
She felt a flare of resolve that although nothing could bring them back, they could at least get justice by capturing the killer.
At that moment, May saw Kerry disembarking from the helicopter.
Her sister's slim figure was unmistakable as she jumped down, landing lithely on the tarmac and staring around her, taking in the activity, staring at the crime scene tape cordoning off the trail head, while running a hand through her short, blonde hair.
Behind her, her investigation partner Adams climbed out, looking stern and focused.
Three other grim-faced FBI agents that May didn't know followed them down.
Kerry hadn't seen her yet, May noticed. She was turning back to the other agents, deep in conversation.
May knew this meant the local cops would have to wait on their decisions. Being a disaster of statewide magnitude, where cops had been killed, the FBI would be handling the case from this moment on.
She walked over to the crime scene tape at the trail head, hoping that with all the combined might of these different investigation departments, this killer could be found. She wished there was something she could do, some action she could take. Even though she knew the scene was still unsafe, she wished she could go down and help with the search for evidence.
But there was nothing she could do to hurry the process along. For now, the only thing she could do was stand by until she was given instructions by the new team in charge.
It was easier for May to see the crime scene from here. There was a path that led down into a small valley, with trees and bushes lining it, but the cabin itself was visible.
She caught her breath at the scale of destruction. The ground itself was blackened. The cabin was nothing more than one flame-streaked wall. Everything else had been annihilated. Nearby trees and bushes were still ablaze, and she could see fountains of water as the fire department fought to control the fire.
Paramedics in protective jumpsuits were loading body bags onto stretchers, and May swallowed hard as she witnessed that sight.
Then, from behind, a hand clapped her in between her shoulder blades and she let out a cry of surprise, spinning around to find herself staring into Kerry's intense blue eyes.
May suspected she saw a flash of amusement there at her involuntary startle. But then Kerry was back to her serious, professional, on the job persona.