Page 57 of Hunting the Truth
“I have him. I have Eric Torres handcuffed.”
“What? Where?” Josh asked.
“Follow me. And Torres just shot another suspect.”
“What?”
Maya waved, indicating that Josh should come with her. Juniper bounded up alongside her, but kept running back and forth between her and Josh.
“Yes, another guy showed up. I thought it was Blake at first, but it’s not. It’s his cousin. This man and Eric were in a standoff and Eric shot him. The body is down the hill over there.”
The trio approached the spot where she had left Torres, but he was missing. All that remained was Maya’s handcuffs on the ground.
Eric ran through the woods, putting as much distance between him and Maya as possible. He knew she’d come after him with Juniper once she found her handcuffs left behind. He’d learned a long time ago to always carry a spare key with him. Handcuffs had universal keys.
He continued sprinting toward his truck, which was parked on an old logging road. If he could get there, he could get a head start and get away, but now that he’d talked to her, he could only hope that she might believe him. Maybe he could connect with her again and wouldn’t have to do anything rash to get her to consider what he had to say.
In so many ways, the day had been perfect, better than anything he could have planned. If he’d taken her, convincing her that he was innocent would have been so much more difficult. It was one of the reasons he’d held off with his plan. Now he had made contact and hopefully she would think about what he’d said. She certainly had a lot of questions.
Luckily, she wanted answers and that delayed her taking him in and booking him. If he’d gone to jail tonight, he’d probably be dead by morning. Hopefully, whoever was coming wasn’t another hit man, but Eric now had faith that Maya could take care of herself.
She was tough and feisty. So much like her mother and yet so different too. What he didn’t know was what had happened to her when she’d discovered the body of the man he’d shot. It was like she was in another world. There were pieces to her that he didn’t understand, but maybe someday he could.
Torres got to his truck and hoped the old beast would start. He turned the key and the engine sputtered to life. He needed to check the oil—again.
“Hold together, baby,” Eric said to the truck.
He started to bounce down the logging road and a sense of relief washed over him. Maybe he could get Maya to listen to him. Maybe she could even help him. She knew something about the evidence, of that he was certain. She just might not realize it yet, but Eric vowed to help her remember. If he did it right, he could even keep his promise to protect her and clear his name.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Maya said. “I shouldn’t have left him, but I didn’t know if it was you approaching or someone with Harold.”
Juniper gave a low whine. Josh had his hands on his hips, staring at her. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You didn’t know who was approaching and you thought you had Torres secure and could leave him. Does Juniper have enough energy left to go after him?”
“Yes, she can do it,” Maya said. Juniper barked in response as if she understood.
“Okay, I’ll back you up.” Josh radioed dispatch and gave them the coordinates of where they were located. Once he was certain that someone was on their way, he said, “Let’s go.”
Maya knew that normally they would stay with a crime scene until a deputy showed up, but right now, catching Torres was top priority. Juniper was by her side and Maya reattached her leash. She patted Juniper’s sides and spoke to her in a high-pitched voice, pepping her up to start another track. She normally didn’t have to do that, but Josh was right, Juniper was tired, although Maya had faith that she had enough energy to still do this track. She took Juniper over to where Torres had dumped the handcuffs and told her to find him.
With her tail up in the air, Juniper put her nose down and started working. She headed off on a trail, and Maya saw some fresh boot prints, which she tried not to step on in case they were needed for evidence. Juniper settled back into a solid pace and Maya was proud of her dog. She’d come a long way working and had figured out how to better pace herself.
Maya heard Josh breathing hard behind her as they went up a hill and her own legs were starting to feel like jelly. They had covered a lot of terrain today. Who knew how far away they were from her cabin at this point? If this was how she felt, then Juniper would be the same. She couldn’t ask much more of her.
Juniper kept her nose down, and every now and then, she would slow and put her nose up to start air scenting. Maya did her best to not interfere. Juniper picked up a trot again and wound her way to an old logging road. There she started to act like she’d lost the scent. She turned back and forth, sticking her nose up in the air and back down on the ground.
“Good girl,” Maya said. She figured this was where Eric kept his vehicle and he’d probably taken off, and made a mental note to start working with Juniper on tracking scent once a person was in a vehicle. She could do it, but it wasn’t something they usually trained for.
“She’s lost the scent,” Maya said to Josh.
“He definitely parked here,” Josh said, pointing at the ground. “Here’s another oil spot.”
“Damn it. I can’t believe I lost him,” Maya said. “Maybe I should see if she can pick up the scent again even though he’s in a vehicle.”
“Maya, stop. Your dog is worn out. You’re exhausted. I know you want this guy and you had him, but you need to stop and think about your dog.”
“You’re right,” she said, taking a deep breath to try to calm her frustration. Josh was right. Juniper had worked hard for her today and couldn’t be asked to do more. Juniper would always work for Maya, and she didn’t want to take advantage of that.
