Page 45 of Chasing Justice
“Okay, easy, girl,” Wayne said.
But the filly continued to get more and more upset. Just when Wayne was thinking about turning her in a circle, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t have time to process it. Velvet reared up and he was caught off balance.
Falling off seemed to happen in slow motion. He remembered seeing the side of his saddle. Then the ground. Then the reins being pulled through his hands. Lying on the ground, he worked to catch his breath. The filly was galloping off toward home, bucking with reins flying and stirrups flapping.
Wayne pushed himself up to a sitting position, trying to suck in air. The fall had knocked the wind out of him. He peered around, trying to see what had spooked Velvet, but didn’t see anything obvious. There could be a predator in the area.
He started to push himself to his feet when he felt it—the tingle developed by years in law enforcement. Someone was watching him.
He stood, trying to observe everything, but he missed the person in the bush behind him. The person rushed him. Still dazed by his fall, Wayne couldn’t react quick enough.
A hand and cloth covered his mouth.
Then everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Maya had spent her morning on patrol checking campgrounds to make sure fires were properly put out. She’d covered a lot of territory and was ready to head back to the office for lunch. Juniper rested in the back as Maya went through her mental to-do list.
Up ahead a cloud of dust billowed. She slowed down as she approached the vehicle in front of her. The vehicle was a black truck with a camper top. Excited, she accelerated and pulled up closer, checking a sticky note on the dash with the plate number. Maya had been keeping an eye out for the pickup ever since the funeral incident.
The plates were a match.Roberta Lind. Maya’s connection to the Ray family.
Maya wanted to pull the vehicle over, but she needed probable cause. The black truck pulled up to a stop sign, and as the driver slowed down, only one rear brake light lit up.
Maya grinned.Perfect.
She allowed the driver to make the turn and followed them down the road. Maya radioed dispatch that she was going to pull the vehicle over and then flipped on her lights.
Maya could hear Juniper circling in excitement. “Sorry, girl, you don’t get to do anything fun on duty until we get certified.”
Juniper continued to pace. The vehicle pulled off the road onto the shoulder. Maya drove up behind the truck, parking at an angle. She radioed in to dispatch again and received information about the vehicle owner. Roberta Lind had a record for a few misdemeanors, but no outstanding warrants. Of course, Maya couldn’t be certain who was driving until she approached the vehicle.
She stepped out of her SUV, and approached the truck, taking in every detail. There was a bumper sticker with the Don’t Tread on Me rattlesnake. The truck had some rust over the wheel wells but otherwise seemed to be in good condition. The tire tread was thick and meant for off-roading. Maya peered in the camper window for weapons or anything associated with the drug lab. There wasn’t anything obvious.
She touched the back of the vehicle, leaving her fingerprints and DNA. That way if anything happened, she could be connected to the vehicle later for evidence.
She approached close to the vehicle and observed the back seat of the truck, but it was empty. Maya made sure the passenger seat was empty too.
The window rolled down and a small blonde stuck her head out. Her hair was styled with gallons of hairspray. She had bright red nails and lipstick. Makeup coated her face in an attempt to hide wrinkles and crow’s-feet. Maya recognized the lady from the bar. She was the same person who helped drag Cody outside.
She thought about the blond hair found at Doug’s. Could Doug have been in a relationship with this person and hiding it because of the age difference?
“Problem, Officer?” the lady asked.
Maya stayed close to the vehicle and had herself in the best position possible to see into the vehicle and yet stay safe. “I noticed you had a taillight out.”
“Is that a crime?”
“No, ma’am. In fact, I was just letting you know so that you can go get it fixed,” Maya said, scanning the inside of the vehicle. The truck was clean. There was nothing that could give her probable cause to search the vehicle, but she wanted more information on this person. “I’ll just need your license, insurance and registration.”
The lady rolled her eyes and then reached over to the glove box. Maya watched her open it up and start rooting around. A black gun handle appeared under a stack of papers and maps. If Roberta was driving the truck at Doug’s funeral, then she could be the one who threatened Maya and Juniper.
Maya put her hand on her Glock. “Stop what you’re doing. Show me your hands.”
“What?”
“Show me your hands. I need you to step out of the vehicle.”
