Page 11 of Hunting the Truth
Maya could tell he was holding back. “But...” she prompted.
“I just don’t want you to get your hopes up and then find out there’s no match in CODIS, that’s all.”
Maya sighed. Josh was right. She knew it. “You’re right, but it just feels like this could move the case forward. I can’t wait to tell Pops.”
“I know and I hope too that this is the big break we’ve all been waiting for. Time will tell. Ready to head back?”
“Yeah, I’ll drop you back off to get your car. I need to head to the store and then I’ll meet you with dinner at my cabin.”
Maya whistled and caught Juniper’s attention as she was all the way out on her leash. Juniper was staring at something in the bushes and ignoring her. Maya shortened the leash and put some pressure on it, but Juniper still didn’t want to budge.
“What the heck?” Maya asked. She went closer to the bush and saw what had grabbed Juniper’s attention. A large bull snake was lying in the shade, but seeing Juniper, it had coiled up. Bull snakes weren’t venomous, but they mimicked rattlesnakes and a bite could still cause problems. “Juniper, pfui,” Maya said, using a stern tone and the strong command for “no.”Man, she’s testing me lately.
“What is it?” Josh asked, coming up behind Maya.
“Bull snake. I don’t need her getting bit. Juniper, come.”
“That’s a big one,” Josh muttered.
“Probably about six feet long when it’s not coiled up.”
Juniper finally listened and left the snake alone, coming back over to Maya. They all watched the snake uncoil, but it kept its head lifted staring at them, making sure they wouldn’t be a threat.
Dark, snake-like eyes.
Maya could still remember the man that day at the door when she was a kid. Like a snake, the man had looked like he was ready to strike. He had scared her mom, Maya knew that much. She thought she vaguely remembered the smell of cigarettes too. Maybe the DNA would lead to him. Maybe the man was like a snake and had struck back at Maya’s mom and Nana. But the big question was, why? What did they have or know that it made it worth killing them?
Maya finished her errands, glad that Juniper was finally asleep in the back. Although that was a catch-22 because by the time they got back to Pinecone Junction, Juniper might have more energy to burn. If that was the case, then maybe after dinner, Maya could work Juniper on the odor wall she’d built out of cinder blocks. The wall was up against one side of her cabin and was a great exercise for working narcotics odors and keeping a strong indication.
They would practice with it to make sure Juniper stayed independent from Maya and wasn’t trying to cue off her. Maya even placed distractions on the wall like socks or other toys. When it came to narcotics detection, she needed Juniper to be one hundred percent and not waver off the scent. Maya thought of the foxes that morning. Maybe they needed to find some sort of distraction that would mimic an animal when tracking. Juniper’s training never stopped. Maya trained almost every day to keep her dog sharp.
But she had her own distraction that evening—Josh. Maya had picked up dinner for both of them from the Black Bear Café on her way home. Josh texted that he’d be at her cabin waiting for her and Juniper. Maya was happy to spend time with him and have him as a friend, but there was a side of her that wanted more too. Was she ready for a commitment like that? While she knew she was doing better learning to manage her PTSD, there was still a part of her that felt broken. A piece that no one would want—not even Josh. She was afraid of scaring Josh away, but the flip side was she didn’t know if she could handle having a relationship either. Things definitely seemed complicated.
As she pulled down her driveway, she saw not just Josh’s patrol vehicle parked at her place, but also Pops’s sheriff’s vehicle.
“What’s he doing here?” Maya asked Juniper.
Juniper yawned and gave a squeak in response.
“It’s not like I’m not happy to see him. Didn’t mean to give you that idea. But he usually doesn’t just drop on by without calling first, so that makes me worry.”
Maya checked her cell phone making sure she hadn’t missed any calls.Nothing.As she pulled into her parking spot, she saw Josh and Pops sitting on her camping chairs on the porch. Neither of them looked comfortable.
“Maybe I should invest in some nicer porch chairs,” Maya said to Juniper, who gave a bark.
Maya climbed out of the vehicle, grabbing the food off the front seat. “Hey there,” she said to the guys. “Pops, I didn’t know you’d be here. I picked up dinner for Josh and me, but there’s plenty to go around.”
“No, I’m good,” he said, standing and stretching.
He stepped off the porch, and Maya could still see a slight hitch in his gait left over from when he was shot taking down a drug ring last summer. The same drug trafficking ring that was responsible for the investigation into Pops’s ethics. He had been shot in his thigh and broken his fibula. He’d made a good recovery, but now the doctor kept talking to him about knee replacements. Maya knew he was considering it and that worried her. Pops had always pushed off medical care, so he must be in pain to actually think about surgery.
Maya opened Juniper’s door and let her out. Juniper ran over to Pops but didn’t jump on him. It was like she knew she had to be a little more careful.
“There’s my girl,” Pops said, scratching Juniper and petting on her. Juniper returned the love by leaning up against him.
“She really loves you,” Maya said with a smile. She glanced back at Josh, who was leaning against one of the cabin’s log support beams. He had his hands in his pockets and didn’t look happy. Something was up.
“So, anyone going to tell me what’s going on?” Maya asked.
