Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lucas stepped closer to Maya. She had frozen in place when she realized that Juniper had found evidence, but not just any evidence—Josh’s bloody knife.
“Maya? What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost,” Lucas said.
“It’s what Juniper found,” Maya answered.
Her voice shook as she took a deep breath.
Juniper was waiting for her reward by holding the alert.
The dog’s gaze never wavered. She continued staring at the knife.
Maya pulled out Juniper’s toy and threw it to her.
Happy to get what she wanted, Juniper danced around, throwing the Kong and chasing after it.
Maya still couldn’t move. Her feet seemed cemented in place.
“I’ll bag this knife. I wonder if it’s the murder weapon,” Lucas said, giving Maya a concerned glance. “Why are you so upset over Juniper finding this? It could be an important piece of evidence. You should be proud of your dog.”
“I am proud of my dog,” Maya said, closing her eyes and opening them again as if it would change what she saw in front of her. “But that’s Josh’s knife. He keeps it out at our camper in case we need it for something. It’s not used often. It’s kept inside.”
Lucas crouched down, started photographing the knife, and then stopped. What Maya said seemed to hit him. He stared at her. “Are you sure this is his knife? It’s a common brand.”
“I guess it could be an exact match, but then so is everything else we’ve found, from the gun to the hat and even the sports drink bottle. I think someone is trying to frame Josh.”
Lucas bagged the knife and sealed the evidence bag, filling in the information needed on the tag. “Do you know where he was last night? Was he with you?”
Maya fought off the anxiety. Tell Lucas the truth? Or lie and talk to Josh first? She decided to split the difference. “He visited his sister last night and came home late.”
“Are you sure he was with his sister?”
“Yes.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because Josh wouldn’t lie to me,” Maya said.
“He might not lie, but he’s proven in the past that he hasn’t told you the entire truth. I know you love him, but think about how you didn’t know anything about Amber until she showed up a couple months ago.”
“No,” Maya said. “I don’t care what you think. Josh is the last person who would be involved in this or kill anyone. But I’m telling you, there’s something going on and it involves this Illinois senator. I mean, all of this started when his daughter’s case was reopened.”
“Do you have his sister’s phone number? I’d like to call her.”
Maya’s anxiety turned to frustration and anger. “Josh didn’t do this.”
“I know that’s what you want to believe, but I have a job to do.
You can give me his sister’s phone number or I’ll get it myself.
But I can’t ignore this evidence. If the gun’s serial number matches Josh’s missing weapon and that victim is Amber, I will not only be questioning him, I’ll be reading him his rights before I do it. ”
Juniper had come back to Maya and dropped her toy at her feet.
Maya reached down and rubbed her ears, knowing she had to stay calm for her dog.
But the other part of her was furious at Lucas.
If he took Josh in for questioning and read him his rights, it meant Josh was under arrest. I have to let Lucas do his job, and I can’t help Josh if I get kicked off this case.
They need Juniper to help with evidence and tracking, which means they need me.
“I’ll give you Bianca’s number,” Maya finally said.
Lucas stared at the ground and then back at Maya.
“Thank you. I’ll call her, although you also know that even if she does give him an alibi, it wouldn’t be the first time a family member has lied to cover for someone.
If this evidence all points at him, it won’t matter what his sister says and I don’t know what to tell you, except he’ll really need you. ”
“I know,” she said. She could be strong.
She knew that and she knew that Josh would never do this, but it was going to get harder and harder to prove it.
The evidence Josh had given her was stashed in her vehicle near Juniper’s compartment.
She figured no one would be brave or stupid enough to break into a Forest Service law enforcement vehicle and steal it, especially when Juniper was back in the patrol SUV.
Even if Juniper couldn’t bite the person, she was better than a car alarm.
Maya took a deep sigh and Juniper leaned up against her, helping her with anxiety.
She was mad at Lucas, but she also knew he was just doing his job.
If she were in his shoes, she’d do the same thing.
But maybe the evidence Josh gave her could help Lucas figure out who was really behind these homicides.
“There’re not too many people I trust, but you’re one of them.
While we’re alone and you’re the only one who can hear me, Josh gave me some evidence he collected.
He was the one that found Sydney Bradford dead.
She was his dealer. He took pictures and made notes after realizing she was deceased.
I think it was like instinct kicking in even though by that time he was off the department. ”
“That’s not helping his case,” Lucas said. “Unless this evidence has something important.”
“I don’t know if it does or not, but he gave it to me this morning. Like I said, I trust you, and if the notes or photos can point to the real killer, then I want to make copies of everything and give it to you. But I want to keep this between us. For now.”
“Fair enough,” Lucas said. “Let’s do that. I’ll keep it somewhere safe.”
“Good. I’ll make copies at my office before the day is over and get you everything,” Maya said.
Juniper tensed by her side and let out a soft, guttural growl.
A vehicle had pulled up to the gates and a man was getting out to open them.
It was Doc’s van. Another vehicle was behind it.
Miranda. “Please keep the knowledge about this evidence between us for now. Will you do that?”
“I will,” Lucas said. “You’re like a sister to me. I’ve told you that before. I’ll do what you need as long as I’m not breaking any laws.”
“Thanks,” Maya said. “I’ll put Juniper away and we can see what Doc and Miranda know.”
They each headed to their respective vehicles.
Maya’s heart was pounding. Josh would never do this.
Never. Lucas is right, there must be a good explanation.
But he did come home late last night…he was with Bianca, so he has an alibi.
She opened Juniper’s compartment door and the Mal hopped right in and took another drink of water.
“You did good, girly,” Maya said, rubbing her dog’s head.
Juniper finished her drink and, sensing that Maya was upset, slapped a big paw onto her shoulder.
Then the other paw on the other shoulder and she gave Maya a big slurp.
Maya returned the love by scratching Juniper’s neck and behind her ears. “Thank you.”
Juniper took her paws off Maya and sat back down.
Grabbing the blanket, Maya put it down for the dog on the mats in the compartment.
Juniper happily curled up on it, ready to nap, although she kept her golden eyes open until Maya shut the door.
Doc, Miranda, and Lucas all stood together in the distance. Maya could feel them looking her way.
Josh would never do anything like this. But there was another little voice reminding her that she hadn’t known Josh when he was using, before he hit rock bottom. He had told her that he was a different person.
But he’s still not a killer, Maya thought. As she approached, Lucas looked away. Something is up. Doc cleared his throat.
“I have an identification of our victim,” Doc said. “It is Amber Zielinkski. Dental records match perfectly. Of course, we’ll still do DNA for the final test, but that will take a while to get the results.”
Maya’s heart sank. She took a deep breath and hooked her thumbs on her duty belt. This couldn’t be happening. Miranda moved over by her and hugged her.
“It’ll be okay,” Miranda said, stepping back. “I know we’re all worried now that Josh will be the prime suspect, but I will work on the evidence until we can figure out a reasonable explanation or figure out who’s framing him.”
“What else do you know? Like the gun? Is it really Josh’s?” Maya asked. She already knew the answer, but there was a part of her that had to make sure.
Lucas looked her in the eye. Maya knew he would never back down from telling her the truth. “Yes. I’m sorry, Maya, but Miranda heard from my guy at the CBI before she left. The gun is Josh’s.”
Miranda took her hand, something Maya normally wouldn’t like, but as her friend gave it a squeeze, she felt comforted until she realized that Miranda had something to say too.
“What?” Maya asked, working hard to keep herself together.
“The tire tread at the scenes match Josh’s vehicle—his patrol vehicle—and I found footprints that match his size.
Not too many guys are as tall as him, and size fourteen isn’t too common.
The average size for men is around ten. And the sports drink bottle…
it has his fingerprints.” Miranda gave Maya’s hand another squeeze.
“We’ll figure this out. It would shock all of us if Josh did this. ”
Maya nodded. Doc cleared his throat again.
“You have more too?” Maya asked, beginning to realize that Doc cleared his throat every time he had something difficult to say.
“I do. I haven’t completed my autopsy—I need people to stop dying around here—but I did find a bullet in Amber’s chest. It wasn’t damaged and I sent it off to the lab for ballistics. It’s the same caliber as the gun found on scene, though. Josh’s gun.”
Maya fought to control her emotions, to stay levelheaded, but she had a bad feeling where this was all going. But the same mantra kept going through her head. The man she loved would never do this. Ever. She was sure of it.
But how far would someone go if they were pushed far enough? If they were desperate? Did Amber push him to a breaking point?
No. Maya would never believe that. She would always believe in Josh. That would never change for her.