Page 3 of Hunting the Truth
Eric needed to figure out what made Maya tick and how to best approach her. Taking another drag off the cigarette as he drove away, Eric wondered, what weaknesses did Maya have other than the pictures? What could he use to get her attention and get her to give him what he wanted? If she didn’t, she’d be joining her mother and grandmother in the cemetery.
So far, the few things he could see that meant the world to her and could be used to get his way were the dog, the deputy sheriff, who obviously had intentions other than helping with the investigation, and her grandfather, the local sheriff. Going after a sheriff was way too risky. But the dog and her deputy friend—those two were good possibilities. He’d have to think it all over and list out the pros and cons of each one.
Not much stopped him from getting his way.
Chapter Two
A few hours and four cups of coffee later, Maya and Juniper got in the patrol car and headed down the mountain toward Fort Collins. Exhaustion washed over her. The caffeine didn’t seem to be helping. Juniper, on the other hand, shredded her current blanket in her K-9 compartment and then curled up and went back to sleep.
Maya came out of the mountains and down toward the front range. The drive took about an hour, but she had decided it was worth it to go once a week to the veterans’ support group. Her boss, the patrol captain, Todd Davis, had agreed to give her every Tuesday off so she could do this. Josh often came with her and then they’d have lunch afterward. Sometimes they’d attend an AA meeting too. Maya knew she had a ton of support, but that didn’t always make things easier. Sometimes it even made it harder.
As she turned onto Highway 287, her cell phone chirped.Josh.
“Hey there,” Maya said, putting the phone on speaker. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” Josh said. “Sorry I couldn’t go today.”
“No worries. I’m going to the support group and then to do a little shopping in Fort Collins. Might take Juniper on a jog on the Poudre Trail since she has enough energy to shred blankets.”
Josh laughed. “Maybe you should quit giving her things to rip up.”
“And take away all her fun? I couldn’t be that mean.”
“You sound tired. Did you sleep okay?”
Maya hesitated.How the heck did he know that just by talking to me? I thought I sounded all right. I don’t want him to know how I just about shot a fox family because I thought they were intruders.
“Yeah, I’m sleeping pretty good,” she eventually answered.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Would I lie to a law enforcement officer?” she asked, mixing a bit of humor and sarcasm.
“I don’t know, would you?” Josh said.
She laughed and then said, “Will you be done with the mountain of paperwork Pops gave you by dinner? I was thinking I could grab some food at the Black Bear Café, and we could eat it at my cabin.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Great. I’ll call you when I get back from down in the valley.”
“I look forward to it,” Josh said.
They both hesitated. Maya knew that in most relationships this would be her opportunity to say something important that showed she cared for Josh. Something simple like,I can’t wait to see you tonight. Or even going further and telling himI love you.
But instead, Maya said, “Me too. Talk soon.”
Then she hung up.
“What’s wrong with me?” she muttered.
Juniper answered with a grunt.
“I don’t need your opinion.”
A few miles later, Maya and Juniper arrived at the building for the support group. She parked next to a blue Jeep that belonged to one of the group members, Kendra. Maya and Kendra had sort of become friends, although Maya had a hard time with any type of close relationship ever since she’d returned home. But Kendra had just moved to Colorado after discharging from the Air Force and was searching for a job in law enforcement, so Maya had agreed to have dinner sometime with Kendra and discuss different agencies in the area. As a Forest Service officer, Maya worked with several sheriff departments since the forest boundaries were in multiple counties.
“Hey there,” Kendra said to Maya as they each stepped out of their vehicles. “How’s it going?”
