Page 49 of Chasing Justice

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Sam came back from putting Velvet in her stall and joined Maya and Josh. “You two have only done short tracks, right?” Josh asked.

Maya didn’t want to answer. She knew as well as Josh that she needed more time to bond and form a working relationship with Juniper. Creating a solid partnership didn’t happen overnight. “You’re right, we’ve only done short tracks for practice. Nothing this intense, but Juniper’s ready. We can do it.”

“Okay,” Josh said. “Let’s go for it then.”

“Now hold on,” Sam said, turning to Maya. “You’re like a daughter to me, and I’d do anything to help you and your grandfather, but if you don’t think your dog is ready for a track, then let’s not waste valuable time and resources.”

Maya hesitated.I can do this. I can trust my dog.

Before she could answer, Josh spoke up. “Maya and Juniper are a solid team. If anyone can find Sheriff Thompson, it’s them. Let’s quit talking about this and get going.”

“Thanks.” Maya shot a grateful smile to Josh.It helps having someone believe in me. “I’ll be right back.”

She sprinted toward her grandfather’s house and up the front steps. She needed something that belonged to her grandfather so she could give Juniper a scent article to track. That would help in case the deputies on scene had contaminated the scent from Pops.

Maya rushed through the kitchen. A cup of coffee sat on the table, cold from this morning. Next to it was Pops’s notebook. The one all law enforcement keep on them to take notes during their shift. It was open to a page titledDoug. The date was a couple weeks before the explosion. Pops had probably been reading it while he ate breakfast. Maya knew that he often did that when he worked a case. Then he’d let his mind think about things while he rode. She grabbed the notebook and shoved it in her pocket to look at later.

She continued to her grandfather’s bedroom and stopped short. The familiar scent of Pops’s cologne wafted through the room. As a kid she always loved snuggling with Pops as he read her a story.

Nothing can happen to you, Pops. I can’t lose you too.

She strode over to his closet and pushed back the door. The shirts hung straight and orderly. Maya saw a flannel shirt she’d bought online last Christmas and had sent to him since she was still deployed at the time. She’d looked forward to celebrating with him in person this year.When I find him, I will tell him how much I love him. No more fighting.

Next to the closet was the laundry basket. Maya saw a shirt in the pile that would have a strong scent. She put on gloves and bagged it up in a durable plastic Ziploc bag so she wouldn’t get her scent on the shirt.

She ran back outside to her patrol vehicle and found Juniper’s tracking harness and the thirty-foot-long leather lead. The dog started turning circles in the back seat.

“Settle, settle,” Maya said, letting Juniper out of the car. Juniper danced around, giving Maya quick licks on the hand. “You can’t waste all your energy right now. You have a big task ahead of you. I need you to find Pops. You have to do this for me, okay?”

Maya put the harness on her and gave Juniper a chance to get a drink. Juniper lapped the water up and stared at Maya, intense eyes waiting for her command.

Josh came up and rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “You ready?”

“Let’s go up to the area where they stopped looking, and I’ll cast Juniper out and see if she can pick up the scent,” Maya said, thinking that location would be the best place to start casting or directing Juniper away from her so that the dog could get her nose in different areas and catch Pops’s odor. Maya needed to make sure they weren’t near the house or barn because Pops’s scent would be everywhere there and could confuse Juniper. Going up the trail and starting where the deputies had stopped searching seemed the best place to start. “Hopefully, his odor is still hot.”

Maya, Josh, and Juniper hiked up to where her grandfather’s scent would be the freshest. Maya took a deep breath. This track was important. Would Juniper be up for this? More importantly, wassheup for this?

Maya’s hands shook and she closed her eyes, willing her heart rate to drop. Then she held out the bag with her grandfather’s shirt to Juniper and said, “Let’s find him, Juniper. Track. Track.”

Juniper heard the change in Maya’s voice and put her nose in the bag. She turned and air scented, catching the breeze, then sniffed the ground, working back and forth. Maya noticed that on the trail there were fresh hoofprints—some from Velvet heading out on the trail and more where the little mare had galloped back home.

Juniper suddenly sprang forward, almost pulling Maya off her feet. She struggled to catch up and get in rhythm with Juniper. The dog continued up the trail, tail poking straight up in the air, pausing for a split second and then continuing. The only sound was of Juniper sucking air in and out.

They worked together, finding a sync, and the old feeling of the dance came back to Maya. Reading each other, allowing the dog to work. Trusting her dog. Trusting herself.

They worked their way up the trail; the mountain air seemed still and hushed. Josh followed but stayed back far enough so he wouldn’t distract the dog. Juniper flushed a gray squirrel out of a bush. The squirrel ran up the tree and chattered in an indignant manner. For a second Juniper eyed the squirrel, but then the dog put her nose back to the ground, continuing her work.

About twenty feet ahead, Maya could see some deputies at the split in the trail. Juniper didn’t seem to mind them or get distracted, which made Maya happy.She’s an excellent dog. She didn’t want to admit it, but having a K-9 partner felt good again.

Juniper paused, sniffed around in a circle, and then whined.

“What’s wrong with her?” one of the deputies asked.

“Nothing is wrong with her. You walked so much here you messed up the scent. She’s having a hard time trailing.”

“Let’s give Juniper a break, get her some water and then see if she can pick the trail up again,” Josh said.

Maya agreed that was a good idea. She pulled a portable water bowl off her duty belt and poured in some water from her backpack. Juniper happily lapped it up and, tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, she wagged her tail.