Chapter Forty-Two
Large embers were landing near them. Some of them were hot enough to glow orange. Maya knew they needed to get out of there,
but she had to make sure Hope would be safe. She needed to keep the promise she’d just made.
“I have a plan to draw Abigail in my direction,” Maya explained. “While I have her distracted, you can go the other way. There’s
a good spot for the helicopter to land. I’ll make sure that dispatch knows where the helicopter can find you. You just need
to make it around the lake. You see those two large fir trees on the other side?”
Hope nodded.
“That’s another trail. It’ll take you down to a meadow where the helicopter can land.”
“No, I want to stay with you. I don’t want to be on my own.”
“I understand that, but it’s not safe to be with me.”
“What if something happens to you? I already saw my grandfather shot.”
Maya could feel Hope’s anxiety building. She didn’t blame her. No one at fourteen should be faced with something like this. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll have Juniper. And your grandfather is fine. It wasn’t him who was shot.”
“What?”
“An FBI agent came in posing as your grandfather,” Maya explained. “He was trying to distract Abigail so the FBI could save
you.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Maya said.
“But what if something happens to you? I want to stay with you. I can help you catch Abigail. I wouldn’t mind kicking her
or something.”
Maya stared at Hope. They looked nothing like each other. No one would suspect they were related. Hope had the dark features
of Eric and Isabelle. Maya was the spitting image of her mom, with auburn hair and a fair complexion. But apparently stubbornness
did run in the family and they both had that. Maya could see some of herself in her niece and she was proud of the girl. Hope
had survived a tough ordeal. Most adults, much less a kid would have given up a long time ago.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind kicking her. I wouldn’t mind doing the same thing.”
“Seriously?” Hope asked, appearing surprised.
“Seriously. The thing is, I’m a trained law enforcement officer and we try to arrest people without kicking them,” Maya said.
“Abigail needs to return to prison. Putting her in handcuffs and seeing her back in custody will be much more satisfying than
kicking her.”
“Do you know why she took me?” Hope asked.
“I do. And I’ll tell you, but only if you follow my directions and promise me that when Juniper and I head out, you’ll go the opposite way around the lake.
” Maya took a deep breath and tried not to cough with all the smoke in the air.
How wildland firefighters did what they did was beyond her.
“Here’s the thing. If you see Abigail come this way and you don’t see me, I need you to do something. ”
“What’s that?”
“Get off the shore of the lake. Get back into the trees. The terrain is much rougher, but she won’t be able to find you. You’ll
be able to get around it still, it’ll just be harder, but I know after watching you run, you can do it,” Maya said. “Got it?”
Hope nodded. “I really wish I could stay with you and Juniper.”
“I wish you could too, but it’s not happening. Sorry.”
“I’m a good swimmer. I could always swim across the lake too.”
“You could,” Maya said. “But it’s cold water.”
“That might feel good right now.”
Maya smiled, “Yeah, it might. If you feel like you need to get into the lake and swim, then do it, but know that it’s chilly.
I don’t want you to get a cramp or anything. Or hypothermia.”
“Hypothermia? It’s freaking hot out here.”
“I know, but that water is from a glacier. You know. Snow. Ice. It’s freaking cold in there,” Maya said, giving her a hard
time back. “But if for some reason you think you should swim, then do it. You good? Juniper and I need to get going and find
Abigail. Otherwise, this plan isn’t going to work.”
“I’m good. Will I see you and Juniper again?”
“We’ll see you after I arrest Abigail,” Maya said. “Juniper seems to like you. You can hang out with her if you want. She
has a buddy too. Finn. He’s a yellow Lab. You can meet him as well.”
“You swear.”
“I swear,” Maya said. “Now quit stalling and get going. Wait over in those rocks for about five minutes and then start walking
the shoreline. Get to the other side of this lake and stay there. I’ll find you.”
Abigail had listened to the radio chatter. She was right, Maya and Hope were still in the area. The dog probably was too.
Why would Maya tell dispatch that they were going to go on a trail where the fire was burning? They weren’t going to do that.
Abigail was certain. Should she wait for the kid? Maya was probably trying to pull her away from the stupid snot-nosed teen.
But it really was Maya who Abigail wanted, so she would go to the location where Maya had radioed. The question was, would
she and her dog show or would they be trying to escape with Hope? Abigail really wished she had a long gun. Then she could
just get up on a ridge and wait. She was a good shot with a long gun. They’d have to go along the shore or take their chances
swimming across the freezing lake. It would be easy to pick them off.
Maya probably knew that Abigail was listening to the radio. If Maya was drawing her away, then it was her chance to have a one-on-one with her again. It was what she’d been dreaming about since she went to prison.
Abigail certainly hadn’t expected Maya to grow up to be a marine or law enforcement officer. When Maya started running DNA
in her mother’s cold case, Abigail knew she had to stop her.
But instead, Maya had managed to stop Abigail, and the fact she’d lost the upper hand had always bothered her. Not this time,
though. The more Abigail thought about it, the more she decided Maya had deliberately radioed what she did. She was telling
Abigail where to meet.
It was kind of like a schoolyard fight. You said when and where and you met there to have it out. That’s what this was going
to be.
Only this time, Abigail was going to win.