Chapter Forty-Nine
About a half hour later, Maya and Juniper parked on her property.
Rory was right behind them. Miranda had texted Maya that she had finished processing the camper and hadn’t found much.
Whoever broke in was good and wore gloves.
She did find one hair that could belong to someone other than Maya and Josh.
She would see if there was a root on it back at the lab.
If there was, then she could do a DNA test.
Maya parked and Juniper started turning circles, excited to go back to work.
The last time Maya had run a track from her cabin was the previous fall, when she’d been after Eric Torres.
Pops knew about the notes Eric had been leaving, but she had left out that she thought there was a chance that Josh had somehow connected with Eric and they were now together.
That would make Pops concerned, but Maya truly believed Eric would never hurt her or anyone she loved.
In fact, she thought the opposite—that he was more of a guardian angel or protector.
She had conflicted feelings about him. On one hand, Maya wanted to catch him, but on the other hand she didn’t.
Something to think about later. Right now, her focus was finding Josh, helping him stay safe, and clearing his name.
Maya stepped out of her vehicle. Rory was already patiently waiting for her.
Juniper was not as patient and was letting out little yips and barks in the back.
She wanted out. Juniper knew that the cabin was a training area and she loved coming here because it meant a guaranteed toy.
Sometimes in real-life work, Maya couldn’t reward Juniper if she alerted.
She could only reward her dog if she knew for sure that they’d found something, which was why training became so important.
“I’ll get her Kevlar vest on with the tracking harness,” Maya said.
Rory nodded and waited as Maya prepped Juniper.
The Mal barely wanted to stay still enough for Maya to get everything on but finally gave in and stopped moving for a few seconds.
Maya helped her out of the vehicle by grabbing the handle on the Kevlar vest. Juniper jumped down and then started a dance with her front feet.
“She’s ready to go,” Rory said.
“She really is. I’ll take her over by the chimney and see if she can pick up anything there.
Hopefully the wind and this storm will wait to move in,” Maya said.
The wind had died back down a bit, but clouds had come over, blocking the sun and making everything gray.
The forest was dark from the thick trees and made Maya shiver. Where would Juniper take them?
The trio headed over to where Maya had found the backpack. It was hard to know exactly where to start the track, but she trusted Juniper. If there was a scent to pick up, she’d find it. Maya cast Juniper out, trying to get her nose into areas where she might find Josh’s odor.
“Let’s go find ’em,” Maya said. “Seek, Juniper. Let’s find Josh.”
The Mal had her nose in the dirt around the chimney and suddenly her tail poked up as she sprang forward toward the tree line.
Maya followed her, throwing some slack in the leash.
She didn’t want to do the whole track on foot.
If she could figure out where Josh, Elena, and possibly Eric were headed, then she and Rory could drive to the location.
Maya felt better having her vehicle there with all the necessities, including her long gun, a first aid kit, satellite phone, and radio—everything she’d need to call for help and assist.
Following Juniper, whose tail was waving back and forth like a flag, they quickly came to a worn path in the woods.
This wasn’t a designated trail, but rather a path that someone trekking back and forth had made.
It could be a game trail, but Juniper wouldn’t pursue an animal.
They continued the track until Juniper took a hard turn, still following the path.
“Good girl,” Maya said, pulling Juniper up. Rory was behind them, so Maya turned to her and said, “I know where Juniper is headed. Let’s go back to our vehicles and drive there.”
“Okay,” Rory said. “I’ll follow you.”
Juniper gave Maya a look that said she wanted to keep going. Maya praised the Mal and told her, “You’ll get your chance to have some fun. We’ll still need to figure out which building everyone is staying in when we get there.”
* * *
Even though the research center was not far from Maya’s cabin, driving the curvy roads to the entrance took a little bit.
It might be faster to hike there, but I’d rather have my vehicle with me.
I know this is the direction Juniper was headed, so hopefully it is Josh and Eric and even Elena at the research center.
Maya knew that she and Rory would need to take precautions.
She was certain that they were headed to the right location as far as where Juniper was going, but who was really at the research center could be another story.
This was when she wished her dog could talk.
The lane to the buildings still had some snow, but no tire marks.
Yep, whoever was there had hiked in. At least, Maya hoped that was right.
There could be other entrances; she wasn’t certain.
She had pulled her dog off the track and made an assumption, which could get her into trouble.
On the flip side, Juniper would help once they arrived at the research center.
She would let Maya know if there was anyone there.
Hopefully there would be and that person would be Josh.
Juniper had her head through the compartment door to the cab with an intense look on her face. She was ready to keep working. Maya parked at a safe distance and stepped out of her vehicle. Rory was waiting for her, observing their surroundings.
“What is this place?” she asked Maya.
“It’s a research center with the university. It closes for the winter when the weather gets bad and usually reopens for the summer.”
“It would be a good place to stay, then,” Rory said, adding, “If you needed a hideout.”
“It would. I want to get Juniper out and let her work and clear the buildings. She’ll know if one of them is inhabited.
We need to use caution, as I don’t know for sure that it’s Josh here.
But I’m guessing it is. It could also be someone else who doesn’t want to be found.
” Maya left out the part about that person being her father.
She really didn’t think he was dangerous, but it did put Rory in a tough spot too.
As law enforcement officers, they were required to arrest Eric if they found him.
She’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
Maya secured Juniper’s gear on her and then let the fur missile fly out of her patrol vehicle. Juniper landed, shook, and was ready to get back to work. Maya knew the Mal didn’t appreciate being pulled off a track. She couldn’t explain to Juniper that they’d needed their vehicle.
“Which building do you want to start at?” Rory asked.
“Let’s go clockwise and start over there,” Maya said. “If Juniper takes us somewhere else, we’ll follow her.”
“Trust your dog,” Rory said, reciting the number one rule she was learning and the one most humans struggled with.
“Exactly. I’m going to let Juniper work this off leash.”
“Got it,” Rory said.
Maya still had a leash just in case she changed her mind, but she headed toward the first building and told Juniper to “go find ’em” and “check.” There wasn’t a track to start from, at least not an obvious one that had footprints in the snow, but Juniper would pick up the scent of anyone inside the buildings.
The first building appeared to be a classroom and maybe even a lab.
Maya knew there was more than forestry research going on in this location at times.
Wildlife biologists would often come along with other science programs. Juniper went around the building, her body language telling Maya she was working well but hadn’t caught a scent that would mean someone was in one of the structures.
If Maya were to place a bet, she’d say that the dorm was the place they would have the most action.
That was the next building.
As they approached, Juniper’s body tensed and her tail poked up a little higher.
Her dog was coming into odor. This time, Juniper didn’t check around the perimeter, but instead went straight to the door.
Her tail began wagging and Maya’s heart soared.
Had they found Josh? Normally Juniper would never wag her tail like that.
“Juniper, come,” Maya said.
She didn’t want Juniper right in front of the door, even if it did seem like she was on the odor of someone she liked. Maya and Rory nodded at each other. They drew their guns but didn’t place their fingers on their triggers. Maya had Juniper by her side. Her dog was intent on the door.
She realized that if it was Josh in there, she needed to be careful Juniper didn’t apprehend him. Josh often helped her with training exercises that included him hiding and wearing the bite suit. If it was him, he wouldn’t have the sleeve on, but Juniper might still try to have some fun.
Knocking on the door, Maya said in a loud voice, “Forest Service law enforcement, open the door.”