Chapter Twenty-Two
Everyone stood ready as Rory knocked on the back van doors.
“Western River County Sheriff. Come out with your hands up,” Rory said.
Maya could feel the vibration and tension sizzling up and down the leash. Juniper was ready to go in and apprehend someone
if needed. Maya had a bad feeling that wouldn’t be necessary.
Nick was on the other side and waited for Rory to nod. He pushed the handle and started to turn it. Maya had wondered if the
door would be unlocked. It was. He pulled the door open and Rory was ready, gun pointed directly inside. Maya was ready to
let Juniper go. But like a balloon deflating, Rory’s body language changed.
Maya knew then no one was alive. Was Hope one of the victims? Flies buzzed and the smell of early decomp wafted through the
air. It wasn’t too strong yet, so whoever was inside hadn’t been deceased long. Being inside the vehicle on a hot day had
probably increased the rate of decomposition. It always amazed Maya that flies would find their way in even with doors and
windows shut.
Nick was staring inside. No emotion was on his face.
Maya stepped closer and peered in. Relief flooded through her: Hope wasn’t one of the bodies.
But there were two people—a man and a woman—lying still.
Maya pulled out her phone and brought up the picture the lady at the campground had given her that morning.
This morning now felt like a million years ago.
She stared at the picture and then the two people.
The man was face down, but she was certain it was him. The woman was a match.
“That’s the kidnappers,” Maya said.
“How do you know?” Aaron said.
Maya was taken aback for a moment by him questioning her, but she made a quick recovery. “Remember the picture I sent you
this morning? It’s the couple who had Hope.”
“I didn’t receive a picture,” Aaron said.
“Sorry,” Nick said. “I should have shared it.”
“Here’s the picture,” Maya said, holding out the phone so Aaron could see it.
Aaron shrugged and then with a twinge of sarcasm in his voice said, “It does look like them, but fingerprints will tell us
for sure. That’ll be more accurate and I like accuracy.”
“Fingerprints will hopefully give us a solid ID,” Maya agreed, but she knew it was the couple and she knew who had killed
them. She didn’t like the condescending tone of Aaron’s voice.
Maya put her phone away, biting her tongue for the moment.
She had to remember that they were all tense.
If Nick was close to Hope, then Aaron might be too and that could be why he was being a jerk.
She also didn’t want to say the obvious.
There was immense relief Hope wasn’t in the van with a bullet hole, but this probably meant Abigail had her.
Now they really needed to find Hope and not waste time arguing about ways to ID remains. “You should reward Finn.”
Josh looked down at the Lab, who was sitting staring at the remains. “You’re right. I forgot.”
“I would have too,” Maya said, glancing at Aaron. He felt her look and stared back at her, flexing his muscles a bit. Maya
wasn’t intimidated nor would she let him get to her. She’d worked with guys like him before, but the thought did enter her
mind that Aaron was about ten years older than Nick. Did he know Abigail and had he worked with her? If so, how well did he
know her? Why would he come and help when there was probably a lot of work for them in Montana? Maybe because he needed to
be a part of the investigation and feed Abigail information. Maya didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but she’d be more observant.
Maybe Kessler could find out more about Aaron too.
Josh threw Finn the ball. Maya gripped Juniper’s leash. She was going to be mad that Finn had his toy and she didn’t. Josh
knew that too and took Finn a good distance away to play with him. With the heat of the day, their playtime was short. The
sun was starting to set, the last rays of the day shining up into the sky. The sky was a mix of orange and red from the sunlight
shining through the smoke.
Josh and Finn came back over. Juniper gave the Lab a look that said she’d be bugging him later since he got to play and she didn’t.
Maya made a mental note to try to hide some pseudo drugs—a training aid that smelled like the real thing, but wasn’t—for Juniper so she could have her toy too. Juniper kept score.
“I’ll radio Kessler,” Josh said, breaking the silence.
Maya knew they were all getting tired. Dogs included. Normally they’d kick into gear if they found human remains. She took
a deep breath and said, “We need to start taping off the scene. I really wish we could drive up here. I’ll check and see if
the road is still closed. Somehow Abigail got here. Or at least I’m assuming this is all courtesy of Abigail. Maybe if we
can find out when the road was shut down, we can determine how far away she could be.”
“Where would you go from here?” Nick asked. “I don’t know the area like I do Montana.”
“There’s a couple options. That road will lead to Stone Creek Falls which is closed, but maybe Abigail got through before
that happened. It’s a small town with a motel, convenience store, gas station and restaurant. The town goes from barely anyone
there to a booming business in the summer and during hunting season. It’s big enough to have a small police department. I’ve
worked with them a couple times. I’ll call the chief and let him know that Abigail could be heading their way.”
“That would make sense,” Nick said. “Although I would expect Abigail to stay off the grid.”
“Yeah, I would too,” Maya said. He was right.
And if Abigail was going to a town like that, she had a plan.
She knew police response. Would she be trying to set up some sort of trap?
Or just send them in the wrong direction knowing that Maya would trust Juniper?
Maya could see Abigail driving that way, knowing Juniper would track in that direction.
“I think she’s planning something and we’re doing exactly what she wants. We need to be careful.”
Josh had finished radioing Kessler and came back to where they were all standing. “Kessler is on his way and he’s going to
get the FBI ERT to come,” he said, talking about the FBI evidence response team. “But they are coming from Denver.”
“It’ll be dark by the time they get here,” Maya said. “Is the road open again?”
“I’ll find out,” Josh said, stepping away so he could radio dispatch.
If it was open, then they could drive back here and at least start running tape and securing the scene. Where would Abigail
go? What was she up to?
Maya pulled the water bowl off her duty belt and filled it, giving Juniper a drink. The Mal lapped up the water eagerly. When
she was done, Maya passed the bowl to Rory. “Will you fill it and give Finn a drink? I’d do it, but Juniper is already jealous
he was able to play. If I give him any attention, she’ll be really upset.”
Rory laughed and took the bowl from Maya. Finn was also thirsty. By the time Rory handed Maya the bowl back, the sun had set.
Thanks to the smoke, they wouldn’t be able to see the stars. The moon was just a sliver right now too. Give it another thirty minutes and we’ll be in the dark, Maya thought.
“I wish we could do an AMBER alert,” Nick said.
“We might be able to if Kessler knows the make, model and vehicle license plate of the guard’s car that Abigail stole. I’ll ask him,” Maya said. “And honestly, we don’t even know that Abigail has Hope. We’re making assumptions.”
“Yeah, true, but they’re good assumptions,” Nick said.
“Do you know Abigail?” Maya asked, deciding it could be a good time to fish for some information.
“Not well. Worked with her here and there when there was a fugitive she wanted. A lot of my work was guarding federal judges,
but then I moved into doing more fugitive apprehensions. Can’t say I know her well, though.”
“What about your partner?” Maya asked.
“I think he knows her too, but not well. To be honest, I haven’t asked him. He offered to help and I took him up on it. You
have a history with Abigail, don’t you?”
“You could say that,” Maya answered, still wondering about Aaron and his motives. She would keep a close eye on him from here
on out. “At some point, I’ll tell you more, but my mother had evidence that could prove her guilt in many crimes. She hired
someone to kill my mom and then my grandmother. She tried to kill me, but Juniper helped save me.”
Nick leaned against a tree and stared up at the sky. “I met your mother once.”
Maya didn’t know what to say. All she could think of was, “Eric mentioned that to me.”
“Yeah. I tried not to like her, you know? In my mind she was the enemy, but she was really nice. I’m sorry you lost her.”
“Thanks.” What else should Maya say? She added, “I wish I’d known her better and could remember her.”
Nick didn’t answer and Maya turned her attention back to the case. Talking about their dysfunctional family could come later.
Josh came back over, glancing between Maya and Nick.
“Are the roads open?” Maya asked.
“They are,” Josh said. “The firefighters were able to get some control on this side of the fire thanks to it running into
a prescribed burn area. It didn’t have the fuel it does in other areas. I think these roads will remain open for now. Although
late tonight we’re supposed to get some more thunderstorms. Dry, though. Lots of wind and lightning, not much rain. Let’s
leave Wilson and Rory here to watch the scene. We’ll get back to our vehicles and drive up here. That way we can do what we
can and hope the weather cooperates both for the crime scene and the fire.”
“Before I go back, I want to see if Juniper catches a scent in the direction we’re suspecting,” Maya said. “I want to see
if she tracks that direction and make sure we’re not wasting time. Juniper’s had a break now and should be ready to go. You
go ahead and head back to your vehicle, I’ll have Rory back me up.”