Page 34 of Chasing Justice
“What are you thinking, Thompson?”
“You know that I was a K-9 handler for the Marines.”
“Yes, that’s why I thought you’d be good to step in. It’s a big reason why we hired you. We wanted to get another K-9 for this area when you were ready. Doug told me you were the best. Your CO told me you were the best. Hell, don’t you have a bunch of medals? The achievement medal? Your dog did too, right?”
Maya nodded. “Yes, but what they left out was that I screwed up as a handler. It’s my fault that he died. No medal can make up for that.”
“Hell, Thompson. It’s war. You didn’t screw up—you were just lucky to get out alive.”
Maya wanted to believe Todd. “You ever serve?”
“No. Thought about it, but went into law enforcement instead. That’s war too. Just in a different way. Look at what happened to you and Leyton.”
“I know.” Maya hesitated again and stared down at Juniper. Her golden eyes stared back with a mixture of intensity and contentment. Her ears pricked up, waiting for Maya to give her the signal that they would be doing something that wasn’t as boring as lying around and discussing the past.
Maya owed Doug. She’d made him a promise.
“I’ll do it,” she said, turning her gaze from Juniper back to Todd. “I’ll be Juniper’s handler and go to certification.”
“Good. You think she’ll be ready? Vet give her clearance?”
“The vet wanted her to stay quiet for a couple more days and then said she could get back to work. Keeping her quiet hasn’t been easy. She needs to do something with her energy.”
“Keep in touch with the vet, but go ahead and start working her when you think she’s ready. I trust your judgment.”
“Okay. There’s one other thing,” Maya said.
“What’s that?”
“I really did see another person at the cabin. They detonated the bombs. I know what I saw, and I know that person had the bombs set up to go off. We walked into a trap. I can’t explain Doug’s DNA or fingerprints, though.”
“I believe you,” Todd said. “But evidence doesn’t lie.”
“No, it doesn’t. When Juniper is ready, I’d like your permission to go back up and do an evidence search with her. I know we’re not certified yet, but I also can’t believe that Doug would have done this. There must be another explanation. And maybe it’ll give us a lead on the drug product being made there.”
“Permission granted. I agree with you—Leyton was a good officer. I was as shocked as you to get the results. Just keep me in the loop. It’ll be a couple days for Juniper to be cleared to work, so the evidence will probably lose its scent.”
“I know,” Maya said, “but I think it’s worth a try. And there’s one other angle I’d like to investigate.”
“What’s that?”
“I was in the bar the other night. Off duty,” Maya added quickly, seeing Todd’s eyebrows rise. “Some locals came in. The Ray family. I grew up and went to school with Cody and Jenna Ray. Cody was spouting off about feds and how much he hated them. They left in a black pickup. Doug and I passed that pickup on our way to the cabin.”
“Why didn’t you say this when Coleman and Kessler were here?”
“Because the Ray family is full of crap most of the time. They’ve always been troublemakers around here. Cody especially. I thought he was just trying to make me mad, start a fight. I’m wondering what he knows. I’d like to go talk to the Rays at some point, although I’m not sure when. Do you think we can work with the sheriff’s office and get a search warrant?”
“We need more evidence for a search warrant. A local redneck wanting to start a fight with you isn’t enough. If that was all we needed, we could have tons of search warrants. You know that.”
Maya shrugged in agreement.
“See if you can find out more and keep me in the loop. If you go talk to them, make sure you have backup too. Take Deputy Colten with you. He’s been really good about working with us. And please, be careful.”
“I can go on my own if I’m just asking questions,” Maya said. “I’ll have Juniper with me as backup.”
“No. This is a dangerous situation. If this Ray family is involved in drug production and running, they won’t think twice about killing you. I agree with you that something is off here with Doug, the evidence...and the lack of evidence of the second person at the scene. If you go there, I want to make sure you have backup to help keep you safe and also as a witness. Work with Deputy Colten. You’ll need to foster these relationships as you take over Doug’s area.”
“I’ll make sure I take someone with me then, but I can’t guarantee it will be Deputy Colten.”
