Page 22 of Hunting the Truth
“We haven’t,” Maya said, holding out her hand.
“Taylor Wilson, ma’am,” the deputy said.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Officer Maya Thompson. You don’t have to call me ma’am. Makes me feel old.”
“Sure thing.” Maya thought the deputy looked like a kid. Did that mean she was getting older? Or maybe Pops was hiring younger?
Josh spoke up. “We just need you to stay here and watch the scene. You know the protocol. No one in unless it’s Miranda, our crime scene investigator, or one of us.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks. Radio us if you need anything,” Josh said.
He and Maya started back down the road to the Big Gulch parking area. She glanced at her watch. It wasn’t even noon yet and they had multiple crime scenes. But...someone had killed Kendra. Was it random? Maybe someone asked for her help and then ambushed her? Or was it someone Kendra knew? She’d never mentioned that she had any boyfriends or even friends. In fact, as Maya thought more about it, Kendra was always just focused on her.
“You look like your brain is going a million miles per hour,” Josh said.
“It is.” Maya glanced up the mountainside. Large fir trees were silhouetted against the baby-blue sky. The trees blocked some of the sun. A small stream gurgled in the distance. “You ever wonder how we can live somewhere so beautiful and yet have so much ugliness around us?”
Josh shrugged. “To be honest, I haven’t thought about it. After being in Chicago, one murder here and there seems pretty laid-back, although this is a bad one.”
“I guess it’s all perspective,” Maya said. “My mom’s homicide was the first one in twenty years in this town. Kind of crazy. And I guess we’ve had our fair share with Nana and everything that happened last summer with Doug. But now Kendra too? I don’t understand it. Who would do this to her and why?”
“I don’t know,” Josh said as they approached the trailhead parking area. “But we’ll investigate this and figure it out.”
“I know we will. Let’s start by getting Juniper out and doing an evidence search. Then we can tape off the scene depending on whether or not we find anything.”
“Sounds good to me,” Josh said.
Juniper started barking in the vehicle. Maya knew that meant that she was also turning circles and dancing up and down with her front paws.
“Guess she’s ready to work again,” Maya said. “She did well on the track and didn’t test me at all.”
“Has she been testing you?” Josh asked.
“Let’s just say I think we’re out of the honeymoon period. Zinger and I went through times like this too. We teach these dogs to be independent and think on their own. We want them to follow their nose and we follow them for the most part, so it’s not unusual for a dog to test a handler. I just hope I’m up for it,” Maya said, thinking about her military K-9. Zinger had also been a Malinois but was a brindle color. She had loved working him, but he had lost his life to an IED. She had never forgiven herself for that.
“You’re a good handler, Maya. You got this.”
“Thanks,” Maya said, wishing she felt the same confidence. Juniper had been working well for the most part—it was more at home that she was testing Maya by jumping at windows and barking. Maybe Maya had relaxed too much on the at-home dog rules. She’d have to think about that, but having Juniper helped her feel better. Juniper wasn’t a service dog, though. She had a job, and when a dog cost around $50,000, Maya had to make sure she didn’t ruin that asset.
Approaching the vehicle, she opened the door and made Juniper wait to come out. When Juniper settled, Maya stepped back and allowed the fur missile to launch. Juniper flew out, landed gracefully and then started jumping up and down.
“Sit,” Maya said.
Juniper sat, but her tail kept going back and forth, scattering rocks from the gravel. Maya smiled. She did love her dog.
She waited for Josh to grab more tape and evidence markers and then the trio started together back toward the crime scene. Maya’s stomach churned, and for a moment she thought she might throw up, but she willed it back down.
She’d seen death. Smelled death and flouted death herself. Maya had learned to compartmentalize except when the nightmares came, and the flashbacks. But seeing a person she personally knew become a victim of such a brutal crime brought up different emotions. Ones she hadn’t been expecting.
“You look a little pale,” Josh said. “You need water?”
“No, I’m fine. Just upset,” Maya said. She’d started sharing how she felt with Josh. It was something that Dr. Meyers wanted her to work on. Before the group sessions, Maya had tried unsuccessfully to stuff her feelings inside and tell everyone that she was fine. That only increased her drinking. Now that she was tackling being sober, she realized she had to feel again and she didn’t like it, but she trusted Josh to share with him. “I mean, it’s not like Kendra and I were great friends, but now I know that the next time I go to our group she won’t be there, and this is the image of her I’ll have in my mind.”
“I understand,” Josh said. “It’s not easy.”
“Makes me want a drink so I can quit feeling.”
