Page 72 of Hunting the Truth
“Except you’re a criminal,” Maya said. “Maybe that’s what you deserve.”
Eric shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve made mistakes, some serious ones. But people can change. I believe that. I want out of all of this. I want to change. I’m not a young man anymore and I’d like to see if I can salvage some sort of relationship with my kids. Let’s work together and find this evidence.”
Maya stepped away and peered over to the parking area below. There were still no vehicles. She never turned her back to Eric, still not trusting him. If everyone thought that she would know where her mother had hidden things, they were wrong. She had no idea who to trust. Maybe Eric, Abigail and Blake were all working together to find this evidence. This could be the plan they had come up with. Or Eric really could be on his own, but as soon as the evidence was found, he wouldn’t need Maya anymore. He might just kill her.
She still had an advantage, though. A weapon that could help keep her safe and maybe keep the bull’s-eye on her and off Pops and Josh. That weapon was Juniper. With Juniper by her side, she had backup. Maybe Maya could manipulate things too. What was the saying about keeping your enemies close?
“I’ll help you and work with you to try to find this evidence, but if you try anything or do something I don’t like, I’ll arrest you and take you in. I won’t help you get a deal with the prosecutor,” Maya said.
“It’s a deal,” Eric said. “Let’s get out of here. We need to keep moving. The longer we stay in one place, the better the odds that either Abigail or Blake will find us.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Maya contemplated everything Eric had told her. All of it seemed surreal, but many of his points fit the evidence and answered her questions. She had a choice—continue on with him or take him in. She had him in cuffs already. What was she waiting for? Maya had to admit she wanted more answers, and for now, she felt safe.
“Before we leave, I’m texting Josh,” Maya said. “I’m going to warn him about Abigail and Blake. He can also verify some of your information. I don’t want him or Pops getting hurt. I know I’ll have a cell phone signal here, so you just need to have some patience.”
Maya turned on her phone, while Eric leaned against a tree. Juniper moved so that she was between them, which made Maya feel better. She petted Juniper and praised her while she waited for her phone to turn on. When it did, it started chiming with messages coming in. They were all from Josh.
Most of them said,Where are you? Let me come help you.
Maya felt bad. Hopefully, Josh would forgive her after all this or else her stay at his place really would be short-lived. She typed a quick text trying to fill him in.
Don’t trust Abigail either. I’m okay. Keep an eye on Pops and keep him safe. You need to be careful. There’s more to this than we realized. Don’t worry about me. I have Juniper. I’ll be fine.
Maya hit send and then shut her phone back off. Not only did she want to make it more difficult to be tracked, but she didn’t know how long she’d be out in the woods. She didn’t have a cell phone charger with her and even if she did it wouldn’t matter. There was nowhere to plug it in.
“Ready?” Eric asked.
“I am,” Maya said.
The trio headed off, and she kept Eric in front of her. No way would she let him get behind her. But at the same time, he could be leading her to a trap. She kept her right hand on her Glock and her left hand on Juniper’s leash. Juniper tugged and pulled on the leash in excitement. She was ready to work and do whatever Maya needed her to, which was reassuring. A four-legged backup officer was the best kind, in her opinion.
The trail went back into the woods and wound its way around. Maya thought that if you hiked it long enough, it might end up near her cabin. Maybe that’s why Eric knew this trail.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I just want to get away from the road. I found a good place to camp last night, and I thought when we got there, we’d sit and chat. Maybe I can help you remember where your mom would have taken the evidence.”
Maya shook her head. This guy didn’t seem to be getting the point and he made this sound like they were meeting up at a coffee shop for a light conversation. “I told you, I don’t remember anything. I was four years old. Do you remember things from when you were four?”
“Probably not. That was a long time ago.”
“No kidding,” Maya muttered.
“Heard that.”
“Glad your hearing is still good,” she said. “What makes you think the evidence wasn’t burned up by now?”
“Because,” Eric said, stopping to catch his breath. “Your mom said she hid it somewhere in the mountains. She told me that the night she died.”
“She told you that? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“She did. I had to know I could trust you before I told you more.”
“You were worried about trusting me? And ‘somewhere in the mountains’ doesn’t narrow it down,” Maya said. “That gives us an area of millions of acres. I don’t suppose she mentioned anything else?”
“No, she didn’t.” Eric turned around and started hiking again.
