Page 13 of Hunting the Truth
Josh stayed quiet and continued staring at the table. He looked back up at Maya. “And I’ll help. Whatever you need, I’m here for both of you.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that,” Maya said. She paused for a minute, thinking about the Colorado law that said if a sheriff was arrested, the coroner would be in charge. “So, Pops, if you have to step down as sheriff, would Doc Clark take your place?”
“Yes and no. Technically yes, but I’ve already discussed it with Doc, and Josh would essentially take over. Doc doesn’t have a background in law enforcement, so Josh has agreed to oversee things if that should happen.”
“Okay,” Maya said. “What’s next?”
“Next is I’m heading home and you two can have your date,” Pops said, pushing his chair back. “I have horses to feed and I’m ready to relax in my recliner for the night.”
Outside, Juniper heard the chair scraping on the wooden floor and started barking again.
“It’s not a date,” Maya said, glancing at Josh. “We’re just friends. Having dinner.”
Josh stayed quiet.
“Well, whatever you want to call it, dinner, date, I’m still heading home. You two enjoy your time together,” Pops said, starting toward the door. “And if you don’t let poor Juniper in with you, she’s going to have a heart attack. It’ll be easier for her to calm down if I’m gone.”
“Pops,” Maya said. He paused and turned toward her. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Maya,” he said with a smile, and then he headed out the door, pausing to turn around and look at Josh. “You have that interview set up for tomorrow? For the possible new deputy?”
“I do. She should be there at 0900 sharp. Are you going to sit in?”
“Planning on it, but why don’t you run the interview? You know, to get some practice with it as chief deputy,” Pops said.
“Sure, I can do that,” Josh said. “But as long as you are still here, you’re still the sheriff.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure I sit in, but it’s good for you to start running more in the department,” Pops said, continuing down the stairs. He climbed in his vehicle and drove off with a wave out the window.
“Is that Kendra you’re talking about?” Maya asked.
“It is. We really need one more swing shift deputy and your grandfather liked her resume. I called her. She was excited and I figured we could schedule it tomorrow. Always takes a while to go through the rest of the tests once you do the initial interview. You know how it is.”
“I do. That’s great,” Maya said. “Hopefully, it works out.”
Chapter Six
Maya let Juniper out of her run and brought her back in the cabin. She pulled out her at-home dog bed that had duct tape holding it together thanks to Juniper ripping it up in small strips. A Maligator, that’s what Maya called her, since it seemed patrol K-9s were more of a cross between a Malinois and alligator.
Maya placed the bed in the middle of the living room, telling Juniper to stay in place on it. “Place” was something she had been working on with Juniper so that she could hang out in the house, but not be running around destroying things. Juniper was doing well with it.
The Malinois went over to the bed, did a couple circles and then curled up, keeping her back to Maya and Josh just to let them know she wasn’t happy about being left out in her run.
“So, what’s your thoughts on all of this?” Maya asked Josh. “Do you think the sheriff’s committee will make Pops step down right away?”
Josh sat back down at the table and leaned forward, rubbing his forehead with his hands. “I’ll do anything for your grandfather. Whatever he needs. He gave me a second chance, but when I moved here, I wasn’t expecting that second chance to turn into possibly being an interim sheriff. And I have no idea on the sheriff’s committee. My guess is that they will figure that out sometime this week.”
“I think you’d do well. As sheriff, that is, but I know that’s a big responsibility.”
“It is a big responsibility. Sometimes, I still feel like I’m barely over losing my partner. I’m not sure I’m ready to run a department and some of the guys don’t trust me. It’s hard to be a leader without trust.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Maya said. She reached out and put her hand on his. “You’re a good cop and your prior experience makes you stronger and better able to deal with department crap because you understand both sides.”
Maya knew Josh’s story about losing his partner when he was a cop in Chicago. Josh had made a mistake any cop could have, but it cost his partner his life and caused Josh to spiral out of control and into his own drug and alcohol addiction. He had gone to rehab and been sober for almost two years now, but she understood that some ghosts haunted you even after you faced them.
Maya squeezed his hand. He stared at her and interlaced his fingers with hers. Her heart pounded as she stared back at him. What was she doing?
She gently pulled her hand away. “Are you hungry?” she asked.
