Page 90 of Chasing Justice
Chapter Forty-Eight
Maya’s stomach churned as she listened for yelps or other signs that Juniper was hurt. There was only silence. The gust of wind had settled just as quickly as it came up.
Not seeing Juniper or Jenna, she stepped toward their last location. Her gun drawn, she worked to stay quiet and not trip—something hard to do with branches littering the ground. These old pine trees were ravaged from the beetle kill and several had already fallen over, creating another hazard.
Maya stopped every few steps, listening for Juniper. A whine. A growl. Anything to let her know where her dog was.
But there was nothing.
Come on, Juniper. Where are you?
Maya kept her gun out in front of her and managed to avoid tripping over a stump and some jagged rocks. She wanted to pull out her flashlight and look around for Juniper, but that would only make her a target. She tiptoed as best she could and reached the giant branch that crashed down. The ragged dead limb stuck out like fingers. She searched the area, holding her breath, hoping Juniper wasn’t underneath it.
Nothing.
Maya breathed a sigh of relief.Thank God Juniper isn’t trapped under there.
Finally, she heard growling, and as she ran toward the sound, she saw Juniper’s tail straight up in the air. Maya peered around a pine and saw that a widowmaker had crashed down and landed on Jenna’s legs. With Jenna pinned down by the giant branches on her legs, Juniper had managed to apprehend her, biting Jenna on the bicep. Relief flooded through Maya’s body.
“Get her off me!” Jenna said.
“I’ll release her, but I need to see your hands. If you reach for anything, I’ll tell her to bite again. Once I get her off you, you need to put your hands behind your head and interlace your fingers.”
Jenna screamed in pain as Juniper continued to hold with a solid grip.
Maya gave Juniper the command “out” to ask her to release. Juniper rolled one eye toward Maya. She thought at first that Juniper wasn’t going to release, but she eventually let go and continued to stand guard as Maya pulled out her handcuffs.
“Can’t you just cuff me with my hands in front?” Jenna asked. Sweat started to bead up on her forehead.
“I’m sorry, Jenna. I don’t trust you. I need your hands behind your head. Once I get you handcuffed, I’ll help you get out from under this tree.”
She was beginning to wonder if Jenna was going to comply when she sat up and put her hands behind her head. “Good,” Maya said. “Now I need you to interlace your fingers.”
Jenna obeyed and Juniper continued to stand guard. Maya walked behind Jenna and pulled one arm at a time behind her back putting on the handcuffs. Maya didn’t release her hold on the pressure points until the cuffs were on and secure.
The gun was on the ground not far from Jenna, so Maya picked it up and cleared the weapon. She needed to frisk Jenna, but the branch was in the way. She told Juniper to guard, which meant that if Jenna tried anything, Juniper would come in and apprehend again.
Maya did her best to pat Jenna down.
Then she walked in front of Jenna and began to evaluate how to get Jenna out from under the tree. The old fir was thick and heavy, but luckily Jenna hadn’t been pinned too far under the trunk or else Maya might not have been able to help her on her own. “I’m going to pull this as much as possible and I know it will hurt like hell, but I need you to scoot back.”
Jenna nodded. Maya grabbed a few of the old branches and began to tug. She could see that Jenna’s leg might be broken. It was more likely the fibula, which meant she could help Jenna walk and get her to the command post to be taken to jail, where she would receive medical attention.
“Okay, now,” Maya said as she pulled on the tree with all her strength.
Jenna managed to wiggle back and free her leg. Juniper continued guarding, making Maya proud.
“Good,” she said. “I’ll help you to your feet and I’ll help you walk back, but you have to behave, or else Juniper will bite you again. I’ll wrap your arm up too until you can get medical attention for where Juniper bit you.”
“Why did she do it?” Jenna asked.
“Do what?”
“Attack me. I’ve always loved Juniper and we’d hang out together at Doug’s.”
Maya saw Juniper’s tail wag for a moment, but otherwise she never moved.
I knew Juniper was acting friendly toward Jenna in town. I was right—Jenna spent a lot of time with Juniper because she was Doug’s girlfriend.
