Chapter Six
Maya didn’t know how to respond to what the lady had just told her. A message written in blood? Could it be a hoax? Wouldn’t
be the first time. She’d heard about a similar case with a message written in blood on a hotel room wall. It had turned out
to be a joke.
“If you don’t mind, can you show me really quick?” Maya asked. “I’d like to see what you’re talking about, but I don’t want
to hold you up. And sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“My name is Jocelyn Hollinger,” the lady said. “I’ll just let my husband know where I’m going.”
Jocelyn headed over to their camper and spoke to her husband and then waved at Maya to follow her. They went down the path
that turned into dirt and arrived at the outhouse. Jocelyn opened the door and pointed at the wall. As Maya held the door,
she noticed marks on the lock. It appeared it had been tampered with. In fact, Maya didn’t know if she’d be able to lock the
door again. She’d need to make a note of that for a maintenance crew. She took some pictures before stepping inside.
There was enough sun coming through the skylight to see the message Jocelyn had noticed.
Maya stepped closer and examined it. It did appear to be blood, but she couldn’t be sure without testing it.
If it was blood, it had dried and oxidized to a dark brown.
Normally she’d call a crime scene tech to see if it was human blood and do a sterile swab for a DNA test. Or even do those tests herself.
With the fire moving fast in this direction there wasn’t time for either.
Maya took a couple pictures with her cell phone. Then she pulled out her notebook, tore off a page and folded it into a bindle.
She took out her knife and scraped some of the dried blood into the small makeshift envelope. That would have to do for now
as far as possible DNA collection. She could always return if the fire changed direction.
“Have you seen anyone else around here?” Maya asked.
“Well, that’s the other strange thing . . .”
Maya turned around and stepped back out of the bathroom. “What’s that?”
“Like I mentioned, there was this family. My husband and I had just finished a hike and were coming by here on the way back
to our camper. The guy, I assume the father, was yelling at someone in the bathroom. He was also using some tools to break
the lock.”
Maya glanced at the door again. The condition of the lock fit Jocelyn’s story.
“My husband approached the couple,” Jocelyn continued.
“By that point, they’d opened the door and grabbed a teenage girl who had shut herself in the bathroom.
I’d guess she was about thirteen or fourteen.
My husband asked if everything was okay and they said they were just having trouble with the girl.
They assured us everything was okay, but I swear the girl was going to ask for help.
She started to say something and then stopped.
She seemed terrified. But I know how my girls were at that age.
Everything was dramatic. I did wonder if I should call the police.
My husband thought they might be homeless. ”
“What makes you think they’re homeless?”
“I guess I’m just assuming and I shouldn’t do that, but they were dirty. They all needed showers and along with that, I could
smell alcohol on both parents. I know sometimes people down on their luck camp in the woods.”
Maya nodded. She agreed that some of those things were signs of homelessness, but people also camped for days and didn’t worry
about showering. And she knew from her own battle with alcohol that you could be a drinker and not be homeless. But the conditions
of the parents and the girl asking for help did concern Maya. If there was some kind of abuse going on, she’d need to find
the family, investigate more and possibly report them to Child Protective Services. And if they were camping back in the woods,
they were in danger from the fire.
“Have you seen them since?” Maya asked.
“No, I haven’t. But they did go that way.
” Jocelyn pointed in the direction of a trail that led to some of the tent camping areas Maya was planning on checking anyway.
“And I thought they were odd so I snapped a picture on my cell phone as they were leaving. I was trying to be careful so that they didn’t see me, so it’s not the best picture. ”
Jocelyn pulled out her cell phone and showed the picture to Maya.
“Can you send this to me?” Maya asked, giving Jocelyn her cell phone information. “Plus, that way I have your number too in
case I have further questions.”
“Sure. And feel free to contact me at any point.”
You might get to work today, Juniper. Hopefully you can help me find this family quicker.
“Thank you for this information,” Maya said, staring at the picture. If these were the girl’s parents then she looked nothing
like them. The man had sandy brown hair and the lady was fair-skinned with blond hair. The girl had long dark hair and olive
skin. She wore jeans and a shirt that seemed like it had seen better days. Maybe Maya was also assuming because of the situation,
but the teenager did appear terrified by the expression on her face versus the parents who were clearly angry.
“You’re welcome,” Jocelyn said. “I’ll get back and help my husband pack up and shut down the camper, but I felt better letting
you know.”
“I appreciate it.” Maya closed her notebook as Jocelyn walked back to her camper. If there was a family out in the woods,
she and Juniper needed to find them. She waited for the couple to finish packing, hook their camper to their truck and drive
out. Maya closed and locked the gate behind them.
As she headed over to get Juniper out, her radio crackled. “FS 28.”
Maya hit the button on her shoulder mic. FS 28 was her assigned number from dispatch. “This is FS 28.”
“Please be advised that the fire is moving in your direction based on your last location.”
“Roger that,” Maya said. “There’s possibly a family camping in the tent area of this campground. I’ll see if I can find them
and then clear out.”
“Proceed with caution. Winds are increasing.”
“Roger that,” Maya said.
Dispatch signed off and she opened the door to Juniper’s compartment.
“Guess what, girly? You do get to work today,” Maya said.
Juniper responded by doing a couple quick circles. Stopping, she slurped Maya and did a little dance with her paws. Maya had
to laugh. The Mal loved her work more than anything else. And Maya loved working with her. Juniper was a great partner.
Securing her harness, Maya stepped back and did her best to assist Juniper out of the vehicle. Juniper never liked help. She
preferred to be a fur missile, as Maya called her.
Juniper landed and danced around. Maya pulled out her water bowl, making sure Juniper had a chance to take a drink.
Not only was the day hot, but the water would help Juniper’s nose by moistening the mucus membranes.
If Juniper was dehydrated, she wouldn’t pick up odors as well.
Once Juniper was done drinking, Maya clipped on her leash and headed in the direction of the restrooms.
If they were lucky, the family’s scent would still be hot and Juniper could pick up a track. Maya hoped they could find them
before the fire came any closer.