Page 75 of Hunting the Truth
“Let’s go,” Maya said, indicating to Eric that he still needed to stay in front of her. Juniper strained on the leash, ready to go as well.
Eric took the lead and said over his shoulder, “Where should I go?”
“The barn,” she said.
As they came out of the tree line, both mares lifted their heads and turned in their direction. They spooked and took off with their tails up in the air. They galloped for a few hundred feet and then turned around, staring and snorting at the odd trio heading their way.
“Let’s go a little bit wide,” Maya said. “I don’t want to scare the horses to the point that they go through a fence. Pops is already going to be mad enough at me.”
Eric followed Maya’s directions and they made it down onto the property. Guilt washed over her as they walked by the round pen to the front of the barn. Not only was she not keeping Pops up to date on what was going on, but she was going to break into his house as well. Although she knew where the spare key was hidden. Did that count as breaking in?
“Stop here,” Maya said. “I need to grab the spare key out of the barn.”
“I’ll come with you,” Eric said.
“No, you won’t. Juniper is going to watch and guard you. If you flee, she’ll apprehend you. If you come after me, she’ll also apprehend you. Got it?”
“Got it.”
She turned to her dog and told her to watch and guard. Juniper wagged her tail and then locked her eyes on Eric. Maya knew the dog was secretly hoping he would run. She’d love nothing more than to take a good bite.
Maya headed into the barn. The sweet aroma of fresh-cut hay filled the space. She wasn’t sure if it was first cutting or second cutting, but the hay bales that were stored in the extra stall were a lush green. It had been a good hay season this year. She went to the tack room, pausing to make sure she didn’t hear Juniper growling or any other indications that she’d latched onto someone.
Maya opened the door to the tack room where the saddles all sat on their racks and the bridles hung in a perfect row. The smell of leather mixed with saddle soap and oil permeated the room. She went to a shelf that had shoeing supplies. Pops didn’t do his own farrier work anymore, but he kept extra shoes and nails just in case one of the horses lost a shoe. The nails were in a jar and so was the spare key to the house.
Opening the jar, Maya finagled the key out and went back outside. Juniper was staring at Eric, still hoping he would run. She was like a statue.
“Good girl,” Maya praised her. “Relax.”
Juniper gave a little whine, obviously disappointed that she didn’t get to have any fun. Maya couldn’t explain to the dog that sometimes not biting a person was actually a good thing.
“This way,” she said, heading to the back door. They climbed up the stairs and Maya pointed at the side of the back porch. “Stand there and don’t try anything.”
Eric did as he was told, which continued to unsettle Maya because it meant either he was telling the truth and didn’t want to hurt her or he was waiting to get the evidence and would then try something. The back door gave an eerie creak as Maya opened it up.
“You go first,” she said to Eric.
He complied again. Maya stepped into the mudroom behind Eric. Juniper was still by her side with her gaze locked onto Eric.
Juniper let out a low growl, feeling Maya’s tension. Maya didn’t mind that at all.
She said, “Go straight ahead, through the door and take a left. We’re headed to the living room.”
Eric followed her instructions and they all headed farther into the house. The living room had large picture windows that looked out over the meadow where the horses grazed. They had settled back down and were eating. The mountain peaks sat regally in the distance, a nice clear day in Colorado.
Maya scanned the living room and her eyes landed on what she thought her key belonged to. A large hope chest sat off by a rocking chair. She had sat with Nana as a child in that rocking chair. She’d been consoled there, read to and loved. But it was the chest next to the chair that held Maya’s interest. She moved Eric off to the side where she could see him while opening up the wooden chest.
“Stay here,” she told him.
“You think everything is in that chest?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? We hiked all this way, you’ve kept me cuffed, and you don’t know?”
“It’s the only thing I can think of,” Maya said. “Juniper, watch and guard.”
Juniper sat down on her haunches and locked her gaze onto Eric again. Maya could tell she was still hoping Eric would give her an excuse to have some fun and bite.
