Chapter Sixteen
Returning to his vehicle, Josh pulled out his phone and checked to see if he had service.
He needed to find out if Amber had come to Colorado and if there really was a prosecutor named Elena Pierce.
If both were true, then finding his gun wasn’t a good thing.
Hopefully Maya doesn’t find anything more.
It was Sunday. No one was going to answer the phone in the state attorney’s office right now.
But Josh was certain his dad still had connections there, although he hesitated to ask Spencer for much help.
In the past, when Josh wasn’t making the best decisions, his dad had always bailed him out.
Literally and figuratively. He didn’t want that to happen again, but he did need information.
Josh dialed his dad’s number, but there wasn’t enough service in the area to connect a call, so he switched to texting.
I was wondering if you could do me a favor.
I’m trying to find out if there’s a prosecutor in the Cook County State Attorney’s office named Elena Pierce.
I’m also trying to find out if she might be here in Colorado with Amber.
Do you know of anyone you can contact who might have that information? Thanks.
Josh hit Send and then waited. It would take a little while for his dad to find out more, so he opened his back door where Finn was napping in his crate and petted him to help calm Josh’s nerves.
The Lab lifted his head, and his tail made a thumping sound in greeting.
“Hey there, boy. You did a good job finding the blood spot earlier.”
Finn licked his hand in response and his big brown eyes stared at Josh with love. “You’re the best. I’m glad I have you now,” Josh said. “Maybe along with Maya and Juniper we can figure this all out.”
The Lab tilted his head and then stared behind Josh.
Turning around, he saw Maya, Juniper, Lucas and Rory all heading in their direction.
Lucas was carrying several evidence bags.
What else had they found? He gave Finn one last rub on the head and then closed the crate door.
Maya had Juniper’s compartment door open and the Mal had jumped inside and turned around before giving Maya a slurp on the face.
She closed the door but didn’t look at Josh right away.
That wasn’t good.
“Maya?” he asked. “What is it? What did you find?”
“I don’t know if I should say, Josh.”
He stared at her. A strand of her red hair had come loose and was waving in the breeze. Her green eyes were intense and her face a bit pale, bringing out some freckles. Why was she withholding information? “I won’t tell anyone you told me. What did you find?”
Maya sighed and then said, “Your stocking cap. The Forest Service one I gave you for Christmas.”
“What?” Josh said, surprised. “I just wore that the other day when we were out snowshoeing. I left it in the camper.”
“I know.” Maya paused. “But we found it.”
“Are you sure it’s mine? I’m sure that’s not the only Forest Service stocking cap ever made.”
“True. So, no, I don’t know for sure that it’s yours, but we also found an empty sports drink bottle that matches what we drink. We also had some of those after snowshoeing the other day.”
Josh nodded. That had been a fun day outdoors enjoying some of the last snow before mud season really hit in April. The dogs had come and run with them. Then they’d spent the night in the camper and that had been nice too.
“If we hadn’t found your gun, I wouldn’t be so worried,” Maya said, breaking the silence. “I think someone is trying to frame you.”
“Yeah, but who? And why?”
Maya shrugged. “I hate to say it, but this all seems to center around Amber and this prosecutor. And who knows how this victim today plays into all of this.”
“I texted my dad and asked him if he still had contacts to find out if Elena exists and if Amber might be out here. I’m sure he’ll get back to me soon.” Josh pulled out his phone and checked it. His dad had sent a quick text.
I’ll ask your mother to call Amber’s mother and see if she knows anything. I called a friend who still works in the Cook County’s office. I’ll let you know when I hear back on both.
Josh relayed the message to Maya as Lucas, finished with putting the evidence in Miranda’s vehicle, came over.
“I called my boss and filled him in. If the sheriff wants the CBI’s help, we are happy to investigate this with you,” Lucas said.
“I think given the circumstances, having the CBI’s help would be good,” Josh answered. “But I will reach out to the sheriff and confirm that.”
“Sounds good,” Lucas said. “I’ll go see if Miranda needs anything. Let me know what the sheriff says.”
Maya hadn’t said a word. Was she in shock? Of course. She had to be upset. She wouldn’t think he’d do something like this, though, would she?
“What are you thinking?” Josh asked her.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this. All of it. Amber calling you. Finding this body. The evidence. I’ll be glad if Lucas takes over the investigation, but at some point he’s going to question you and find out you were supposed to meet Amber last night—unless you filled him in on everything?”
“No, I just told him that the gun appeared to be the one Amber stole, but I didn’t tell him I was supposed to meet her to get it back.”
“I think we need to call Pops,” Maya said.
“I agree. I’ll text him now.”
Maya leaned back against her vehicle as a breeze picked up.
Josh had learned that springtime in the Rockies was always windy.
Everyone called Wyoming windy, but Pinecone Junction wasn’t that far from the border and he figured the spring winds might not be too different.
Getting ready to text Pops, he saw a message from his dad. That was a fast response.
Your mom got ahold of Amber’s mom. She said Amber was supposed to fly home this morning, but she hasn’t heard from her. My friend who works in the state attorney’s office said there is a junior prosecutor named Elena Pierce. He called her a go-getter. I hope that helps and everything is okay.
Josh took a deep breath. He’d been in denial, but Maya was right: this was adding up to becoming a mess. He’d even been at the scene of the crime because he was supposed to meet Amber there. This did not look good, but he didn’t want to mention any of this to his dad. Yet.
Thanks, he typed back. I appreciate the information.
He sent a text to Pops and put the phone back in his pocket.
How was he going to break the news to Maya?
She was strong, but this wasn’t what she needed right now.
It wasn’t what he needed either. She was staring straight at him, her expression asking what the text he received had said. He had to tell her.
“That was my dad. Amber was supposed to be on a flight home this morning, but her mom hasn’t heard from her. And there is an Elena Pierce working as a junior prosecutor.”
Maya didn’t say anything at first. Josh waited her out. He knew her well enough to know she was thinking things through and figuring out the next best move.
“Then we need to verify that they came together and see if either Amber or Elena made it to the airport and on that flight and when they arrived. If they came here together, then there’s one deceased person and one missing person. We need to figure out which one is which.”
“I agree,” Josh said. “I texted Pops too. I think even though he wanted me to take over this week, at least for this investigation, he needs to take the lead and decide who’s in charge. He has options with Lucas and the CBI, and since it’s federal land, we could also contact the FBI.”
“I’ll let my boss know what’s going on and then, after Juniper rests, I’d like to take her back out and see if we can find any more tracks…
and, I suppose, evidence, although right now, I’d rather not find anything other than human tracks.
Maybe they’ll lead to the person who put everything out and Juniper can bite them,” Maya said.
Josh smiled a bit. This was what he loved about her.
She was ferociously loyal and while some called her hotheaded, he saw it as Maya not stopping until the truth was revealed and justice was served.
She was also one of the more bluntly honest people he knew, which he also appreciated.
“If someone is setting me up, I wouldn’t mind seeing Juniper bite them either. ”
“Let’s go talk with Lucas and fill him in. We need to figure out if there’s any way this body could be Elena or Amber, and then we need to figure out if we have a missing person or another possible deceased person.”
Maya turned and walked away from him. Josh knew what she was thinking.
He would be the number one suspect thanks to the evidence and the fact the victim was his ex.
He could handle being questioned by Lucas and other investigators, but he didn’t think he could stand it if Maya didn’t believe he was innocent.
If that was the case, he would be devastated. And he didn’t know if he could ever recover from that heartbreak.