Page 84 of Hunting the Truth
Juniper’s eyes locked with her for a moment. Maya swore Juniper smiled and then she put her nose down and started working. Maya only had a rough estimate of where Abigail and Eric had fought since she’d watched from a distance.
Since the day was still with no wind, they might have to get closer to the source of the odor for Juniper to catch the scents of Eric and Abigail. There was a chance Juniper would remember Eric’s scent too. Maya stayed out of her way and let the dog work.
Juniper paused and stuck her nose down into the dirt. Excitement rose in Maya as she watched her dog work back and forth, pinpointing the scent exactly. Maya was ready when Juniper took off.
The track was on.
Maya pushed herself to keep up with Juniper, but the track didn’t stay on a trail. Rather, it went through rough terrain. She slipped a few times but managed to catch her balance. There were fallen trees and rocks, but Juniper navigated through them, and Maya did the same.
Eventually, she realized they were heading back to the trail where the booby trap had been. She hoped they wouldn’t run into any more issues with the traps, but it went both ways—a booby trap could get Abigail and Eric too.
They arrived back on the trail and Juniper slowed, air scenting for a moment and then taking off again. She had her head down, following the footsteps with her nose. Juniper never wavered and they went past the point where Josh had been injured. Maya pushed thoughts of Josh out of her head. She couldn’t get distracted right now, but she also didn’t know what she’d do if she lost him.
The trail dipped and went up and down. Maya vaguely remembered hiking back in here with Nana. If she remembered right, the path would eventually lead to a clearing with a waterfall that probably was part of the water source for the creek along the willows.
Feeling her chest tighten from the exertion of running with Juniper, Maya gulped in air. Juniper, on the other hand, seemed just fine and wasn’t slowing down. They jogged on for what seemed like forever when Juniper slowed and lifted her head. The clearing should be just around the next bend. Juniper air scented and gave a low, guttural growl.
Maya shortened the leash and stood next to her dog, catching her breath. Based on Juniper’s reaction, they would need to proceed with caution.
“Okay, let’s go find ’em,” Maya said, releasing slack in the leash.
They moved forward, and as they came around the turn, Maya saw Eric and Abigail facing each other in a standoff.
Eric had his gun drawn and had possession of Abigail’s rifle. He may have grabbed it when they were fighting, but now he held the gun steady and was calm and cool. Maya didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Abigail’s face was bloodied and bruised. Eric was yelling at Abigail, but Maya couldn’t make out what he was saying. She needed to better assess the situation before she let Juniper go. Juniper could only apprehend one person and Maya could take the other, but she had to plan it carefully.
She would like to have both Eric and Abigail alive so that she had a better chance of figuring out the truth about Nana’s and her mother’s deaths.
“Quiet,” Maya whispered to Juniper, using the command for her dog to go stealth. She had trained different scenarios with Juniper, including keeping her quiet so they could have an easier time sneaking up on someone.
They slipped behind some large fir trees that provided good cover closer to Eric and Abigail. It gave Maya a better chance to listen. She pulled out her phone, turning it on. She hoped she’d left it in silent mode so that it wouldn’t make any noise. Much to her relief, it was quiet. Maya pressed the app for the voice recorder and hit record, hoping the phone would work at this distance. The more evidence she had to put Eric and Abigail away for their crimes, the better. Maya carefully put her arm through the branches and found a good spot on the fir tree where the phone could sit and record.
“Admit it,” Eric said, his gun straight out in front of him pointed directly at Abigail. “Admit that you framed me for the murders. That you’re dirty.”
Abigail laughed. “Why? Why admit it out here? There’re only trees as your witness. Plus no one will believe you. You’re as dirty as me.”
“Maybe I am, but there is a difference. I have a conscience and I want to hear you say it for once in your life.”
“Do you? You were doing corrupt shit before I was. I just figured out how to work the system better than you. You’re jealous,” Abigail said.
“No, I’m not jealous. I just finally want to move on with my life. I don’t want to look over my shoulder all the time and wonder if I’m going to get gunned down because I know too much or didn’t do what some judge or lawyer wanted me to do so they could make more money. I want out of this mess and your confession is one step towards that.”
“My confession is nothing,” Abigail said, “but if it makes you feel better, then hell yeah, I framed you for murdering those asshole cops and that judge. You feel better now?”
Maya leaned back against another tree. She had one answer now. Juniper looked up at her, wanting to know if she should wait. Maya used her hand command, asking the dog to stay. Juniper went back to staring through the trees.
“So,” Abigail said, “you know where that stupid whore stashed the evidence?”
Anger flashed through Maya at hearing someone refer to her mother that way, but she pushed it down.
I have to stay calm, wait this out and find the right moment to make my move. You’re a Marine. Act like it. Use your head and your training.
Maya went back to listening. Eric had a pretty good idea where the evidence was, but would he tell Abigail?
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” Eric answered.
“I’ll kill you,” Abigail spat back at him.
