Page 81 of Chasing Justice
He held up his hand in surrender. “Okay. Just give me a second.”
Wayne forced his body to move. He felt dizzy and his head hurt like hell. He managed to get to his feet. Jenna, to his surprise, put one of his arms around her shoulder and started to help him walk out of the barn. “I’m sorry to have to do this,” she said.
“You still have a choice.”
“No. I don’t.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Maya went to her vehicle to leave. She was relieved the body wasn’t Pops, but to see another officer shot wasn’t easy either. Not to mention Bobbi had been left out in the wilderness where animals had scavenged on her body. Even with the carnage, the murderer had shot her so many times that bullet holes were still visible.
Were Bobbi and Doug’s murders connected? If so, how did they connect with Pops’s disappearance? Bobbi led back to the Rays. The Rays were possibly trafficking drugs, which led back to Doug, and Pops’s last known location was near the Ray Ranch. They really needed a warrant for the Ray Ranch, but the judge had made it clear much more evidence was needed.
Maya said hello to Juniper, who was running circles in her compartment. She had been in the car too long and needed to get out and work off some energy.
An idea started to form. They weren’t certified, but that didn’t mean that Maya couldn’t take her for a walk outside the crime scene and see what Juniper might find. Say, put on the tracking harness and see if they could figure out where Bobbi had been killed. There wasn’t enough blood behind the rock for it to be the spot where Bobbi was shot. There was probably a blood trail somewhere, but using Juniper to find the scent would be much easier and less time-consuming than Maya and Josh searching. If they could find the location of the murder, there could be more evidence that might help secure a search warrant for the Ray Ranch.
Maya grabbed Juniper’s tracking harness and put it on her. They would go for a walk. Nothing wrong with that. They might catch a track back to the crime scene since the suspect would be nervous and give off a lot of scent. There might also be evidence along the way for Juniper to find.
“What are you doing?” Josh asked. He was finishing up giving directions to his deputy before he headed back to the office. Dustin was in the back of his car waiting for a ride to town.
“Juniper needs a walk. Way too much energy. I thought I’d get her out here for a little while.”
“With her tracking harness on?”
Juniper stared back and forth between Maya and Josh and then let out a sharp bark.
“See?” Maya said. “She wants to do something. And I figured the tracking harness would be the best to use. Easier to hang on to. If we happen to find anything on our little jaunt around, I’ll let you know.”
Josh sighed. “How about I help you out and go with you? You know, just in case your walk turns up anything that pertains to the crime scene.”
“Only if you back me up properly. I’m still not happy about earlier,” Maya said.
Juniper, sitting on her haunches, wagged her tail in the dirt, sending small pieces of gravel flying around.
Josh shook his head. “I promise I’ll do things right. It’s been a while since I’ve been a cover officer for a K-9 team.”
“Then no more mistakes. Pops’s life could depend on it,” Maya said.
“I understand. Trust me, I’m not taking this lightly. I’ll stay out of the way. Let me get Dustin a ride with another deputy who’s heading back to town. I’ll be right back.”
While Maya waited for Josh, she took Juniper to the trail that led into this location. It seemed like the most plausible place for Juniper to be able to pick up an odor. She needed Juniper to find the hottest track without all their scents interfering. Hopefully, Dustin’s scent didn’t mess Juniper up either.
Josh came back and nodded to Maya, indicating he was ready. She said, “Okay, girl. Let’s go. Track.”
She ran forward after Juniper, letting a little slack out of the leash and casting her out in different directions until her telltale body language changed. Maya was finally getting to know her dog and their partnership felt stronger. This was good practice before they had to go to certification. Or so she told herself.
Practice. That’s all they were doing. Okay, if her boss found out she could be fired, but if it meant finding Pops, it was worth it.
Juniper started back down the trail Dustin had said he’d hiked. She quickly took a hard left and headed up a hill. If Maya remembered right, they were headed for a road that went over a pass and would connect with the Interstate. She thought she saw some drag marks on the hill and maybe some blood spots. She yelled back to Josh.
“I’m on it,” he said, setting the marks for the crime scene techs.
Juniper went a short distance and found the road. She sniffed around for a minute and then sat. Maya saw what was left of a cell phone on the ground, and tire marks. She pulled Juniper up and praised her, giving her the toy to play with as a reward for finding the cell phone.
Josh was right behind her and saw the same thing. Nearby they spotted a large pool of blood that had soaked into the ground.
“I think this is where she was killed,” Maya said.
