CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
May sped through the streets of Willow, hurtling toward the courthouse as fast as she could. Glancing down at her phone, she stabbed the buttons, trying yet again to call Owen and Kerry. Their phones were not connecting, and she guessed they'd either turned them off for safety reasons, or else that with the evacuation under way, and the chaos in the area, the networks were jammed.
She told herself over and over that they must be okay, but even so, anxiety closed up her throat and made her palms cold as she sped ever closer to the street where the courthouse was located.
The thought of Owen and Kerry being bombed made her sick with fear.
This was, without a doubt, the final showdown.
She had a momentary vision of the killer, cleverly disguised as a hard working construction worker, or services person. She was sure he'd gotten inside, courthouse or not. May cringed at the thought of it, whipping the car around the final bend.
The man was a monster, and in her mind's eye, she saw a distorted, ugly face, eyes glinting with cold, killing rage. But in reality she knew he was most likely a normal guy, just as his father had appeared to be. He could fit in and pretend to be one of the crowd. He could be any of the people she'd passed on the street.
The courthouse was a pretty building, with a white, elegant exterior, columns and white railings. The thought of it being disfigured by a blast was terrible, but it was the people inside that May was more concerned about. Owen, Kerry, Judge Zackary, and the innocent citizens going about their daily work.
She parked, jumped out of the car, and ran as fast as she could.
As she reached the building, she saw to her relief that evacuation was already under way. People were beginning to file outside in an orderly fashion. That must have taken some persuasion, to stop court proceedings. It was definitely not a quick or easy thing for police to do, without a direct bomb threat having been made.
May felt a wave of relief. This was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.
She climbed out of the car and rushed over to the main entrance.
And, as she did, a massive boom came from the building's interior, deep inside.
Smoke shot from the windows. A thundering noise filled the air and the ground shook. May almost fell to her knees from the sheer force of it, but she managed to hold on to her balance.
She watched, appalled, knowing that this was not just an explosion. It was a bomb so powerful it would destroy the entire building.
The window glass shattered outward, and a blade of flame shot from one of the gaps, as the emergency sprinklers burst into life.
Horror-struck, May stood there. She didn't know what to do. She felt paralyzed.
"No," she whispered.
Owen and Kerry were in there. May didn't know what to do, but she had to do something.
Bolting toward the building, she rushed to the entrance, forging her way through the billowing smoke.
As she reached the main doorway, a hand grabbed her arm.
It was Kerry, standing just outside the lobby and clearly managing the evacuation process.
"May! Don't go in there! It's dangerous. There could be other bombs."
"But where's Owen? Where is he? Did he get out?"
Kerry made a face. "That, I'm not sure about. Someone told him about a technician, someone from the electrical department, who'd gone down to the basement and was working there. Owen went down to make sure he knew about the evacuation, and to tell him to leave. But I’m sure he got out okay, May."
May stared at her, appalled.
"But the bomb - the explosion - it seemed to come from underground! What if they wired it in the basement?"
"It's likely they did," Kerry said briskly. "Judge Zackary was due to go out for lunch at this time. That was her habit, what she always did. Court recessed at one, and she would go down to the basement, get into her car, and drive down the road to the coffee shop. She told us this as I was escorting her out. She's safe now. Sheriff Jack has taken her to the police department already so she can be guarded there. But May, we've just got to hope Owen survived. You can't go down there now!"
"Oh, yes, I can," May hissed. She could not believe this worst-case scenario. Her partner, who meant so much to her, had gone down, straight into the killing zone. She had to find him! If he was still alive, if he'd managed to escape the blast, she had to help him out.
"No, you mustn't! May, wait! Are you crazy? I absolutely forbid it! It's too dangerous!"