Page 7 of Hunting the Truth
Maya shook her head and finally had to laugh. “Okay, I will. See you next week. And maybe see you up at the station for an interview.”
As Kendra waved bye and headed to her car, Josh said, “She sure talks about the scenery a lot.”
“I think she really likes Colorado...” Maya said, stifling a laugh. “What are you doing here? I thought Pops had you buried in paperwork.”
“I finished early.”
“Really?”
“Okay, maybe not, but your grandfather told me to finish later and come meet you.”
“He told you that, huh?”
“You sound like you don’t believe me,” Josh said, pretending to be hurt.
“I don’t know. That doesn’t sound like Pops...” Maya stopped herself. Why was she arguing? Josh had made the time to come see her and Juniper. She should be more appreciative.
“If my paperwork is worrying you, I could always head back and finish it.”
“No, no, it’s not worrying me.” Maya stared into Josh’s dark chocolate-brown eyes. To her relief she saw that he seemed more amused than hurt.I’ve never met someone who understands me this well.She unlocked her vehicle and said hi to Juniper. Turning back to Josh, she said, “You want to go for a walk along the Poudre River?”
“Actually, I have some good news for you first.”
“Really? What?”
“I found your mom’s friend, Denise Douglas. She lives here in Fort Collins. Want to go see if she’s home? See if she remembers anything?”
“Yes,” Maya said. Denise and Maya’s mother were best friends in high school. In fact, her mother, Zoey, had convinced Denise to run away with her. Maya suspected Denise could fill in some holes in their information about her mother’s activities up in Montana that might help them find her killer, but they’d had a hard time locating Denise. Josh had volunteered to take on that task. She couldn’t believe that Denise was right here in Fort Collins. She was limited on what she could do with the investigation, but one thing she could do was talk with witnesses. “Do you have her address?”
“I do. How about I ride with you?” Josh said, opening the passenger door and climbing into the front seat.
“I would love that,” Maya said. She locked gazes with Josh. “Thank you so much for continuing to pursue this lead and finding Mom’s friend. It really means a lot to me.”
“Of course,” Josh said. “Hopefully she’ll have some good information that we can pass on to Lucas.”
Maya headed around to the driver’s side of her patrol vehicle, trying not to get too excited about meeting her mom’s friend. She might not even be home. Maya slid into the front seat and opened the partition between the cab and Juniper. Juniper poked her head through, her pointy ears flipping forward as she licked Josh on the cheek.
“Getting fresh with me, huh, girl?” Josh laughed and scratched Juniper behind the ears.
Maya started the car as Josh gave her the address to Denise’s house. Would Denise be able to provide information to unanswered questions? Maybe something that would explain why her mother was murdered? Maya could only hope those answers were minutes away.
Chapter Four
They pulled up to a nice house on the west side of town. The neighborhood showed the growth the Colorado Front Range had experienced over the last decade. Two-story houses sat side by side not too far from an old farm that clashed country with urban living. Each house had a manicured front lawn, backyards with swing sets and toys and flowerbeds that were starting to be cut back for the fall. A few dogs barked from surrounding houses and Juniper started to bark back.
“Quiet,” Maya said, getting a pathetic “what did I do wrong” look back from Juniper. She still needed to burn off some energy today and Maya hoped they had time to get out on the trail.
Josh double-checked the address with his notes. “This is the right house.”
Maya took in the two-story home painted a light cream color with a dark red trim. A wave of sadness hit her. If her mother hadn’t been murdered, maybe they would have had a home like this. What would it have been like to have a mother to meet up with and share hopes and dreams with? Maya was so grateful for Nana, but she realized how much grief she still had over losing her mother.
“You okay?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, I just hope she’s home.” Maya opened the door and stepped out of her vehicle, shoving her emotions aside for the time being. He never judged her, and she appreciated that. It was just hard for Maya to open up.
They started up the walk to the front door. Josh was behind her and gently put a hand on her back. Maya flashed him a smile, knowing he was there to support her.
She rang the doorbell, both of them staying off to the side—a habit from being law enforcement officers. A dog started yapping inside. Maya guessed it was probably a small dog based on the bark. She was about ready to ring the doorbell again when she heard footsteps approaching the front door and then it opened.
