Page 36 of Chasing Justice

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Just as Maya stepped forward, the black truck flew by. The driver floored the vehicle and sprayed gravel toward her and Juniper.

“What the...” Maya grabbed Juniper’s leash and hauled her back, getting them both clear of the vehicle as it fishtailed on the dirt road by the church. Brake lights came on and the truck slammed to a stop. The tinted window rolled down. Maya couldn’t make out the person driving, but she could see the hand pointing at her gesturing as if it were a gun and Maya and Juniper were the targets.

Then the window rolled back up and the truck sped off again.

Maya checked over Juniper to make sure she was okay, but the dog seemed fine.

Now I really want to find and question Roberta Lind. Threatening me just makes me mad, especially when my dog is involved.

“We’re going to find that truck the next time we’re on duty,” Maya said to Juniper. Juniper tilted her head and made a soft humming sound. “And when that happens and we pull it over, we’re going to figure out exactly who Roberta Lind is and why she just threatened us.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Maya and Juniper went back inside the church and a few people gave her disapproving glares. She ignored them. The preacher was elaborating on how Doug loved this community, hunting, fishing, and keeping the national forests safe. He died doing something he believed in.

Then he ended the service by inviting folks to come up and give speeches about Doug. Maya knew she should, but she stayed put. She wasn’t ready to get up in front of a crowd and spill her feelings—especially after Doug had kept so many secrets from her. For the first time since Doug’s death, she was furious.

Todd went up front, looking uncomfortable in his official dress uniform. He tugged for a moment at his shirtsleeves and then pulled out some cards and started reading. Maya tuned him out too. She didn’t want to remember Doug by all these people making speeches. They didn’t know him like she did.

The speeches came to an end and everyone started to go up and pay their final respects. Maya and Juniper stood at the back of the line and waited their turn. When Juniper got up to the front of Doug’s casket, she lay down and whined.

Maya fought back tears. She gave Juniper a moment and then touched the casket, cold and hard. It was closed, of course, because after the explosion no one would want to see what Doug looked like. It was better to remember him as he was.

Maya didn’t want to remember him from the day of the explosion, so she closed her eyes and focused on the past, when the sun had highlighted Doug’s hair while they were fly-fishing. The look of contentment on his face as he cast out and then reeled back in.

She heard someone behind her clear their throat, and Maya picked up Juniper’s leash. The dog climbed to her feet and nudged the casket. She stared at Maya inquisitively, gave a sigh and followed her down the aisle.

Maya’s breath came in short gasps. She walked out the back door and took in the fresh air. The sun penetrated through the clouds feeling warm and harsh against her skin. She hadn’t put on sunscreen, and with her light complexion and freckles, it was much needed.

Sunscreen. It had always struck Maya in Afghanistan how someone would die and then the rest of the soldiers would go on worrying about stupid things like the movie that would be shown that night or if the chow hall would serve the god-awful spaghetti and meatballs or delicious burritos. Such simple things that make everyone’s day and helped you move on from thinking about death.

“You okay?” Josh asked.

Maya hadn’t realized he’d followed her out. “What do you think?”

“Good point. I don’t know why people ask that at funerals.”

“Neither do I.” Maya took a deep breath. Josh was only trying to be nice. He was courteous and kind. He’d been nothing but friendly toward her. Just because she had issues being around him didn’t mean she had to be mean. “Sorry. It’s been a tough day.”

“Yeah. I know what it’s like to lose your partner.”

“Oh yeah?” Maya said. “How do you know about that?”

“Another story for another day. I’ll tell you sometime if you’d like, but not today. Today is about Doug. Speaking of which, are you helping to carry his casket?”

“I am,” Maya said, reaching down to scratch Juniper’s ears. Juniper gave another sigh of pleasure and pushed her head into Maya’s thigh.

“Then you better come soon.”

“Okay, I’ll need to put Juniper in the car.”

“I can hold her or walk with her. Seems like she should be part of this too. I mean, if you want.” Josh shrugged.

“She doesn’t know you and you don’t have that much K-9 experience.”

“Actually, I think she likes me because she keeps wagging her tail when I’m around. I’ll be right by you with her, so you can save me from her jaws of death should she decide to not like me, but it’s up to you.”

Maya nodded and stared off toward the high peaks still dotted with snow, then glanced back to her dog, whose tail wiggled from side to side. “Okay, let’s try it. If Juniper isn’t happy, we can switch places.”