Page 101 of Chasing Justice
“What’s that?”
“You didn’t seem surprised that Sam had sided with the Rays. Did you know he was feeding them information?”
Wayne gazed out his window, and just when Maya thought he wasn’t going to answer, he said, “Sam had changed over the last few years. He and Carson were buddies from high school, and I suspected he was giving them information. I mean, it’s a small town. You see things and hear things. Like when Sam last went hunting, he told me he went alone. I found out later that he actually went with Carson. If he hadn’t deceived me, I probably wouldn’t have been suspicious. I caught him in a few more lies too. I decided I wanted someone from the outside who didn’t have ties to folks in this area. That’s why I promoted Josh instead. I was hoping I was wrong about Sam, but I guess I wasn’t.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I always liked Sam. He was like family. I don’t understand why he did the things he did.”
“I don’t either. I supposed he got caught up in everything and couldn’t get out. Or maybe that’s who he really was all along.”
“That’s true. I’m still sorry to hear that.”
Wayne nodded and then went back to staring out his window. Maya pulled into the grocery store parking lot, ran in, bought three bouquets of red roses and came back out. Wayne had opened the door between Juniper’s compartment and the front of the car. He and Juniper were snuggling, and Wayne was feeding her dog cookies.
“Looks like you’ve completely spoiled her,” Maya said.
“She deserves it.”
“Yeah, she does.”
Maya headed out of town toward the cemetery. She pulled into the parking lot and helped her grandfather out of the car. Juniper stared at her, and Maya decided that since no one else was there, Juniper could use the exercise. She opened the door, and Juniper bounded out, running around in a large circle and pouncing on some grasshoppers before coming back to Maya’s side.
They visited Doug’s grave first. Juniper went and lay down near the headstone. Maya put the roses near her, gave Juniper a rub and a kiss on the head, and stepped back beside her grandfather.
“I’m so mad at him and yet I miss him so much,” she said, breaking the silence. Juniper lifted her head and tilted it toward Maya.
“I understand. If I could go back in time, I would have arrested him when he came and talked to me...when he told me everything. I wouldn’t have kept that from you either. I’m sorry I put you in danger. I’ll never forgive myself.”
“I understand why you didn’t tell me, though. You were protecting both of us. I just couldn’t see it.”
“You’ve been through a lot, Maya. I know that and I should have been more supportive. When I came home from Vietnam, I was a mess too. It took time to get back to whatever normal is. If it hadn’t been for your grandmother, I don’t know if I could have done that.”
“Are you ever going to tell me the whole story? What Doug came in and told you?”
“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I should have done that from the start.”
“I know Doug was taking bribes from the Rays, but did he say why? How did it start?”
Her grandfather hesitated. “I don’t know why he started taking money from the Rays. Maybe he had debts. The money was good and that can be hard to ignore. He never really said, but what he did say is that he fell in love with Jenna and that’s why he kept doing it.”
Maya stared at the mountains. She knew that Doug had loved Jenna, and as his friend, she wished they could have gotten married and had a normal life together. But what was normal anymore? Regret washed over her. She had to forgive Doug and let him go. “Was he protecting her?”
“He was. When he came to me, he was ready to turn himself in, but he didn’t want her to go to prison. He wanted to take the fall for her. I lost my temper then and started yelling at him. I told him I would help him, but he had a week to turn himself in. Then three days later the explosion happened.”
“I wonder why he created a fake dispatch call. He put Juniper in danger. And me. I didn’t think he would do that.”
“I don’t know for sure. We didn’t talk about that, but I have a feeling he was going to tell you everything. You wouldn’t have believed him if you didn’t see it for yourself. He was probably going to have you arrest him, but we’ll never know for sure. Jenna made sure of that.”
“I was so mad at him when I started finding the evidence against him. But I miss him too. I miss his friendship.” Maya squeezed Pops’s hand. “We have each other, though. I never want to be mad at each other again or keep anything from each other. I love you, Pops.”
“I love you too, Maya Bear. But there’s something else I need to tell you.”
Maya hadn’t heard him use his pet nickname for her in years. She gave him a smile. “What’s that?”
Pops’s tone changed to concern. “There’s a good chance the DA will be opening up an investigation into my lack of action when Doug came and told me everything. I broke the law enforcement code of ethics and there will be consequences.”
“I understand why you did it, though. I’ll help you. We’ll deal with this together,” Maya said, trying to sound confident, but her heart pounded. Not only could Pops lose his job, but he could serve time.
“Thank you, Maya. This may be my battle, but I don’t want to push you away.”
