Page 50 of Hunting the Truth
“Okay. Thank you so much,” Maya said.
“You’re welcome. I hope you can find your mother’s killer.”
After Denise left, Maya went back into her office and took out a notepad, writing down everything she’d been told. She tried to stay unemotional, but all she could think about was her mother and all the ways she’d tried to do the right things. Life hadn’t been fair to her mom, although Zoey had certainly made her own choices.
Maya glanced at the scent article sitting on her desk and then down at Juniper who had decided to take a morning nap. If what Denise said was true, then why was Eric’s DNA at every scene? Why did Maya remember him at their house the night her mother was killed? Denise had said herself that Zoey protected her. Maybe she didn’t know everything about Eric. If she could find him, then maybe she could get more answers. But the fact that Blake Conner could also be dirty made Maya wonder if she should tell Josh and Lucas to talk with him.
Juniper lifted her head and looked at Maya with her golden eyes. Something had to be done, and Juniper was her best bet to find Eric. She couldn’t question Blake, but she could certainly do another training track.
She quickly texted Josh and Lucas that she would fill them in more later, but that Denise had come and talked with her this morning. They needed to look into Blake Conner’s background and not trust him. He could be involved with Eric Torres.
Then she grabbed her purse and a backpack. The camping supply store opened early this time of year. It not only outfitted campers, but also sold ammo and other supplies for hunting.
Maya and Juniper got in her patrol vehicle and headed down the road to the store. They parked in front. Juniper’s ears pointed straight up, and she made little whining noises.
“I’ll be right back,” Maya said to her.
She went in the store and bought supplies, including ammo, nonperishable food and a special backpack for water. Maya paid and headed back out to her vehicle, where she grabbed the Forest Service maps in the glove box and put them in the backpack along with a compass. You couldn’t rely on cell phone service and GPS out in the woods. It was best to be prepared the old-fashioned way.
Once she had everything together, she drove out of town and arrived at what was left of her cabin. As she stepped out of the vehicle, a wave of sadness hit her and then anger. This had been her home. Her safe place. Her place to recover from the war and find some solitude. How dare Eric Torres do this to her? Or could it be Blake Conner?
Whoever it was, Maya would figure it out and they would pay.
She slipped on her bulletproof vest and tightened it down, grabbed her satellite phone, then put Juniper’s collar for working narcotics in her backpack, along with the squeaky toy. She didn’t know what she would be asking Juniper to do workwise, so she wanted all options available.
Maya put on her backpack, which felt bulky and awkward over the vest, but she didn’t want to confront Torres without it. She grabbed her long gun from her patrol vehicle and slung it over her shoulder. Her Glock was already in the holster on her hip. She hadn’t had this much gear on since Afghanistan.
Maya let Juniper out of the vehicle. Now fully awake, Juniper bounded around, excited at the prospect of going to work, but Maya managed to wrestle her tracking harness on.
She settled Juniper down and took her down near the cabin, careful to avoid any of the debris from fire and all the glass shards from the shooting. Maya got her rifle in place where she could quickly access her firearms. This time she was prepared with both her Glock and rifle. Once she felt organized, she pulled the scent article out of her pocket.
She let Juniper sniff it and then told her, “Track. Go find ’em. Let’s get the bad guy.”
Maya cast Juniper out in different directions and Juniper put her nose to the ground, zigzagging back and forth, searching for the scent. Maya had to move around a bit before Juniper’s body language changed and her tail went straight up.
Maya smiled.
The hunt was on.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Juniper shot forward and Maya gave some slack in the leash, following her. So much of the work with a dog felt like a dance, but Juniper always had the lead.
With all her gear on, Maya strained a little more to keep up. Juniper stayed on the trail that led to the ridge. There was a path that eventually went back onto Forest Service land and, if you stayed on it long enough, went to a campsite at a glacial lake. Maybe Torres was camping there?
That thought quickly went away when Juniper veered off the path. As Maya worked to stay on her feet and not get tangled in the vegetation and fallen tree branches, she noticed that the grass was stamped down where Juniper was tracking. So apparently Torres not only parked and watched her, but he hiked in. Maya didn’t like that, but with her cabin gone, it didn’t matter much anyway.
She started huffing and puffing as Juniper continued tracking. She stayed on the scent, never losing it. Her tail pointed straight up in the air, and as Maya watched her work, she knew that she was a sitting duck if they did come upon Torres. It was always best to run a track with a backup officer to help keep you safe. Josh would be furious with her right now.
At this moment, though, Maya didn’t care.
Maybe she was being reckless, but underneath it all she wanted first dibs on Eric Torres. She needed to know why. Why did he take everyone from her? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone now and turn himself in? Who else was involved? Could Blake really be a dirty cop? Maybe his cousin was the ringleader?
As a law enforcement officer, Maya knew some questions would never be answered. Sometimes you never knew why and there was no closure. Eric would probably lie to her too, but at least she would have a chance to interrogate him before he lawyered up and Abigail claimed him.
But first they had to catch him.
Juniper kept sniffing, never wavering from her path. Sometimes she would take some sharp turns. Maya worked to remember those turns in her mind so that she could find her way back out. Juniper had settled into a steady pace and Maya was able to find her rhythm with her.
