Page 31 of Hunting the Truth
“Think about it, though,” Josh said, stepping closer to Maya. “Maybe Kendra was gathering information for someone. Maybe even Torres. He’s now linked to your grandmother’s and mother’s crimes, and you’re the one who sent the DNA into the lab. You’re the one investigating this on the side. He could be planning to come after you. Will you at least think about it?”
Maya stared away from Josh, trying not to be distracted by how close he was to her. How easy it would be to reach out and kiss him. She hated that she had these thoughts when she needed to focus and be professional. “I appreciate your offer, but it’ll be better if I go to my cabin. I feel comfortable there and it’s my home.”
“I could come to your cabin. Sleep on the couch.”
“I did a tour in Afghanistan where I bunked with other soldiers. I can still hear them screaming from their nightmares, smell the sweat in the air, not because it was hot, but because of the tension. We were always on high alert. There was always something going on with someone. I like being alone now. It suits me and I don’t know that I could handle having someone else in my cabin even out on the couch.”
Josh took a deep sigh as anger and frustration flashed across his face. Maya could tell he was struggling with his emotions too. She knew she had a way of doing that to others. She’d seen the same look from Pops. All the more reason to stay on her own.
Miranda appeared in the doorway. “Um, don’t mean to get in the middle of this lovers’ quarrel, but I need more fingerprint powder out in the vehicle.”
Maya and Josh stepped away from each other, giving Miranda a chance to squeeze through.
“It’s not a lovers’ quarrel,” Maya said to Miranda as she went by.
“You’re in denial. Both of you,” Miranda said over her shoulder. “Just admit it already.”
“I agree,” Lucas shouted from inside Kendra’s apartment. “Admit it, Tree Cop, you’re in love.”
Maya stared off at the surrounding buildings, missing her forests. Lucas was right about her nickname. She was a tree cop and she liked it that way. She liked her solitude and having her own space out in the middle of nowhere without other people.
Josh rested his hands on his duty belt and studied the ground. Sweat trickled down Maya’s back. Fort Collins was much warmer than the high country. She needed to escape and get back to where she was comfortable. The mountains always soothed her. City life only created more chaos and made her feel claustrophobic.
“I’m heading back up to go on patrol. There’s nothing I can do here, and since the evidence in there deals with me, it’s better I leave the scene anyway,” Maya said. She heard Juniper giving short staccato barks meaning she wanted to get out and work. “Not to mention, Juniper needs to do something today before she goes insane. Keep me posted on anything new. I’m heading up to Deer Valley Pass to see if I can find booby traps.” She started to walk away.
“Maya,” Josh said.
“Yeah?” She stopped and turned around. His face had a mix of emotions. Hurt, anger, frustration and concern. All because of her. What was she thinking even allowing herself to like him? She wasn’t good for him. Juniper was the only one who understood her and accepted her for who she was.
“Be safe.”
“I will be,” she said, and then walked to her vehicle and left.
Maya was relieved to leave the city behind her and get out into the open space. Cattle grazed in fields that led to red cliffs. The sun was out, and the high mountain peaks sat in the distance, silhouetted against midday light.
Her heart pounded and she fought to slow her heart rate as she turned onto the road that would lead back toward Pinecone Junction and the national forest. She hated arguing with Josh, but she hated someone trying to take care of her even more. She didn’t know why. It wasn’t a bad thing to have someone care for you, but she wanted to be strong. Prove to everyone that she could take care of herself. That she wasn’t weak after coming home from the war. Maya had learned though through her veterans’ group that part of being strong was admitting when you were wrong and having the courage to change. Maya needed to have the courage to not push away those she loved. She should probably apologize to Josh later.
There were other complications too, though, when it came to giving in to her feelings for him. She would have to call her boss and tell him if she was in a relationship with another officer. He wouldn’t be thrilled, but at least she and Josh were in different agencies. But it would mean they couldn’t work cases together anymore because it would be a conflict of interest. One of them would have to excuse themselves and Maya wasn’t certain Josh could even be her backup officer when she worked Juniper. Nothing about this relationship seemed easy and she wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout. Not yet anyway.
She reached back and opened Juniper’s door. Juniper stuck her head through and watched out the front window. Maya knew she liked it when she could see.
Her mind raced as she thought about what she’d seen in Kendra’s apartment. Hopefully, Miranda, Lucas and Josh would be able to find something more. Something that might start giving them answers instead of just questions. She knew that was another reason she wanted to get away. Why would someone be after her?
The obvious reason was Maya reopening her mother’s and grandmother’s cold cases. There was someone who wanted to keep things the way they were—unsolved. She knew Josh had a point about staying alone at her cabin. She’d never admit it, but Maya really was vulnerable there.
She worked to quiet her mind as the road took her to a higher altitude. The trees became thicker and cast shadows across the road. The river was next to the road and ran slow and easy. Knowing that Kendra had been following her all this time, Maya kept an eye in her mirrors making sure that no vehicles were tailing her. The roads were empty today, though, and there were no cars in sight.
A little while later, Maya took the turn to Deer Valley Pass. Her mind hadn’t slowed down at all, but her breathing and heart rate were better. She parked in the area that led to the trailhead and stepped out of the vehicle.
Deer Valley Pass was a beautiful area. In the summertime, it was full of wildflowers. Most of the flowers had already gone to seed, but the aspen trees around the outskirts of the meadow were turning a perfect shade of gold. Nana used to love to bring Maya here as a kid to hike and camp. The area seemed like part of home for Maya. She took a deep breath. She had to admit that she was glad she had Juniper with her in case someone was following her. She still had to do her job even with Kendra’s murder investigation.
Stretching, Maya could smell the vanilla-like odor of the pine trees. She decided to do some training just to keep Juniper sharp and get some energy out. She went to the back of the vehicle where she kept some training narcotics and put on gloves so she wouldn’t get her scent on anything; she had to be careful that Juniper would never associate Maya’s scent with the odor of the narcotics. She pulled out a piece of cloth scented with methamphetamine and put it in a small container so Juniper couldn’t grab the cloth by accident.
Then she went and found a pile of rocks. She pulled up a few and placed the canister down underneath, making sure the rocks went back into place and were hidden from view. Juniper had a great nose, but if she could take the easy way out and use her eyes, she would.
Maya could hear Juniper yipping in the patrol vehicle. Juniper knew what was up and was excited to find something.
She went around to the other side of the vehicle and let Juniper out. A streak of brown fur flew by as Juniper landed on her feet and then shook, happy to be free of her area. She danced around Maya and at the same time gave some yips, expressing her displeasure at having to be locked up for the morning.
