Page 76 of Hunting the Truth
“She won’t just bite me, will she?” Eric asked.
“Don’t move and don’t stare at her. If you do that, I think you’ll be fine.”
“So why is this the only thing you can think of for the evidence?” Eric asked.
“When I was growing up, I was fascinated by this chest and what could be inside,” Maya answered. “Nana caught me trying to pry it open once with a screwdriver and was furious. Usually when I got in trouble, I could tell it amused her, but this time was different. She sent me to my room and when I came down later, she explained to me that this hope chest had belonged to my mother and was very special to her. I was to never touch it again. I didn’t understand because usually Nana was good about showing me things of my mom’s. When I moved out and enlisted and had a home on base, I asked Nana if I could have it. A piece of home. But Nana said no. I never understood, but if it’s holding the evidence, that could be why.”
“Let’s see what’s in it then,” Eric said.
Maya headed over to the wooden chest and first tried to open it without a key. It was definitely locked. For the first time in years, she unclasped the chain around her neck and then put the key in the lock. She started to turn it, and at first it was sticky. Maya fiddled with the key, wondering if she was completely wrong about this whole thing, but then she heard a click.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Maya’s hands shook as the key turned the old lock. She heard a final click and the clasp on the front released. She pulled the key out and put her necklace back on, rubbing it again for good luck.
Taking a deep breath, Maya lifted the lid to the wooden chest. The old hinges creaked and groaned in protest at being moved after all these years.
She stared inside.
Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing except a musty smell.
“Is it there?” Eric inched closer. Juniper growled and stood up.
Maya sat back, disappointment filling her. “No. There’s nothing. It’s completely empty.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” she said, standing. “There’s nothing in there.”
She’d been so certain that the evidence would be there. Why would Nana give her this necklace and be so stern about this hope chest unless there was a good reason? There had to be something Maya was missing.
She crouched back down and felt for panels or any kind of hidden compartment. Even a special button to release. There was nothing. As she pushed on the wood, her fingers grazed a rough spot. She leaned over more and peered inside. There were numbers etched into the bottom. They weren’t big, but Maya could make them out.
They were latitude and longitude numbers.
She stood back up and went to find a piece of paper. “Stay here. Don’t move. I don’t want to have to pry a Malinois off your arm. She’s so excited to bite that she probably won’t release well.”
“What did you find?” Eric asked. “Come on. You can tell me.”
Maya ignored Eric and went to the small reading nook off the living room. It had once held all her childhood books and had a window seat where she’d loved to read and dream. Pops now had his desk in there. Maya found a piece of paper and then rummaged through the desk drawers until she found a local map.
She went back into the living room where Eric was looking a little nervous with Juniper guarding him. Maya figured it was good for him. She wrote down the numbers and then unfolded the map. Finding the area where the coordinates matched, Maya saw a familiar area—Deer Valley Pass.
“Son of a...” she muttered. She’d just been up in that area looking for the booby traps.
“What?” Eric asked.
“I don’t think we should have been thinking about where my mom stashed the evidence. We should have been thinking about Nana. She loved to camp and would take me every summer up to this area to explore. There’s even an old mine we would hike into a little bit. I’m guessing my mom gave the evidence to her for safekeeping and Nana moved it. Wait here, I need to get some supplies together.”
“I don’t suppose I can get these cuffs off?” Eric asked. “They’re not very comfortable.”
“We’ll see,” Maya said.
“What about Juniper? Are you going to call her off?”
“Not until we’re ready to go.”
