Chapter Twenty
As they were about ready to walk out the front doors, Isabelle came over to Maya. She placed a hand on her arm. “Thank you
for all you’re doing, and thank you for letting Nick help you.”
“I believe you,” Isabelle said. “And Nick has been like a father to Hope. He understands her too . . . sometimes I think better
than me. I know with your dogs and Nick’s tenacity, Hope will come home.”
“Like a father?” Hope’s dad, John, interrupted.
“It’s true,” Isabelle said. “Ever since you remarried, you’ve barely shown interest in her.”
“Well, at least he’s here now,” Maya said, hoping to smooth things over before they left. The last thing they needed right
now was more family drama. “Let’s stay focused on finding Hope.”
That seemed to placate John.
“You’re right,” Isabelle said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Maya answered, heading out the door before she was caught in between them again. Josh was waiting for her outside. The evening air was starting to smell even stronger of smoke and there were particles landing on the sidewalk and landscaping.
“Just wanted to talk with you before we got going,” Josh said. “I asked Nick and Aaron to go wait by the patrol vehicles.”
“Sure, what’s up?” Maya asked. Although she was guessing it had to do with Nick and Aaron joining them.
“You really okay with them coming along?” Josh asked, nodding in the men’s direction. Juniper had decided Nick was a little
close to Maya’s vehicle and let out a sharp bark.
Maya noticed he didn’t get upset, but rather stepped away. She liked that. He understood. Most marshals had worked with a
K-9 and their handler at one point or another. “I am. For now, at least. If they start getting in the way or Nick isn’t thinking
clearly because of emotions, we can always change our mind.”
“Okay. I have to admit, so far I like the guy . . .”
“But?”
“No buts, at least not yet regarding them,” Josh said. “My only other thought is Hope’s dad.”
“Yeah. Interesting guy.”
“That’s a nice way to put it. I don’t like his vibe and the way he’s reacting,” Josh said.
“What do you mean?” Maya asked, although she had her own doubts. Nick and Aaron, both in law enforcement, wanted to help.
John had wanted them to start searching, but hadn’t asked them if he could come with. She wanted to hear Josh’s opinion.
“If we had a daughter who was missing, I’d do anything I could to find her, just like Nick is doing. And she’s his niece. Why isn’t her father begging to help us?” Josh said.
“I had a similar thought,” Maya agreed.
“He also works for the same department as Abigail. He’s calm. It’s almost like he’s not that worried.”
“Is he just a jerk or is he involved?” Maya said.
“Right. He’s so calm that I wonder if there’s any chance he has inside information. What if he’s Abigail’s partner? Or caught
up in this someway?”
Maya put her hands on her duty belt. She had to agree it could be a possibility. John was way too calm. “I don’t want to believe
that a father would allow his daughter to be kidnapped, but we should know with our jobs that nothing should surprise us anymore.
I say we follow Eric’s advice and not trust anyone. But it could be a possibility. Maybe Kessler can find out more about him.”
“I’ll call him on our way out and mention our observations,” Josh said.
“Knowing Kessler, he’s probably already thinking the same thing.”
“I’ll definitely be curious to learn more about that guy,” Josh said, then adding, “I believe there’s something else we need
to consider.”
“What’s that?” Maya asked.
“If we’re not going to trust anyone, that may include Nick and Aaron.”
Maya nodded. “I agree. Nick would be a little young to be Abigail’s partner, but we don’t know Aaron. He’s definitely older than Nick.”
“Nick is just old enough to have been a first-year marshal back when that officer was shot. He could have had access to files
and other information. Maybe even worked with the FBI,” Josh said. “We both know it’s a possibility.”
“I know,” Maya said. She was finally meeting her older brother, she didn’t want to think he was corrupt. But at this point,
Josh was right. She had to keep an open mind and not make assumptions. “Let’s get going. It’s getting smoky and we’ll have
to make sure it’s not too much for the dogs. But I think we can still do a couple short tracks. Maybe we’ll get lucky and
find Hope right away. If at any point either of us is uncomfortable with Nick and Aaron, let’s send a quick SOS text. It’ll
be our code for coming up with an excuse to stop the track and regroup.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Josh said.
As Maya drove, she thought about what Josh had said. It was true. John Dawson seemed cold and uncaring, which had to be hard
on Hope. At least she had Nick, but Maya also agreed with Josh that they shouldn’t trust him yet. Or anyone else outside of
their inner circle.
She hadn’t realized how happy she would be meeting her brother and sister.
And even happier that they hadn’t rejected her.
She would have understood if they’d been more standoffish.
But maybe Nick was only that way because he was trying to get Maya to trust him.
Was there any way he was involved with Abigail?
She couldn’t believe it, but she had to admit to herself, she didn’t want to believe it.
Juniper stuck her head through the compartment opening and gave a little whine. Then she slurped Maya on the cheek.
“You’re a good judge of character. You barked at him, but he was getting close to your vehicle, wasn’t he?”
Juniper yipped and then pulled back so she could do a couple circles, before sticking her head back through the compartment
door.
“I know, I know, you want to work.”
Maya heard the tap dance of Juniper’s front feet on the compartment mat. Juniper knew she was going to get to work and couldn’t
wait. “Not much farther, girly.”
Maya had checked on the fire status and what roads were open. She would have loved it if she could have gone back to the area
where Juniper had taken her earlier. It would have been a better starting point. She felt like they were guessing on the other
areas considering what they knew about Abigail.
Maya turned in and parked at the trailhead where she wanted to start tracking. This trail would lead to another campground.
There was a way to drive to that campsite which would have been much faster and ideal, but the fire had crossed the road needed
to access the area. She didn’t want to get trapped back in there. She and Juniper would have a short hike.
Rory, a rookie deputy, pulled in beside her.
Maya trusted Rory completely and she had the goal of also becoming a K-9 handler.
Maya had been teaching her how to be a backup officer and she was excellent at it.
Rory might have been with the sheriff’s office, but the Forest Service didn’t always have other officers nearby.
It was good to have an officer who knew what they were doing and could help Maya and Juniper safely respond to calls.
Maya also figured that if Josh won the election for sheriff, he might have Rory take over some of the duties with Finn. Maybe.
Josh was pretty attached to him. Rory was already giving hints to Josh that maybe they needed another K-9 around. Maya had
agreed that another dual-purpose dog would be good for the department. Or even an arson dog.
Nick was riding shotgun with Rory. Josh, Finn, Deputy Wilson and Aaron were driving to another location. That trailhead could
lead to the same campground that Maya and Juniper were headed for or it could go off to yet another campsite. Josh had decided
to let Finn tell him where they should go. Maya was proud of how well Josh was doing as a handler. He’d immediately learned
the hardest lesson—trust your dog.
Juniper was spinning circles in the back, yipping and only stopping her turns to jump up and down in excitement. Then she’d
start circling again.
“Don’t use up all of your energy, girl,” Maya said, stepping out of her vehicle.
Rory and Nick were already out waiting. Maya grabbed Juniper’s tracking harness. The air was a little less smoky in this area, which made Maya happy. She worried about Juniper, but right now, with Hope’s life on the line, she had to take this risk.
Maya opened the compartment door and managed to secure the harness. She didn’t put on Juniper’s Kevlar vest because of the
heat. Maya didn’t like her dog being exposed without the vest, but the possibility of overheating was more dangerous than
getting shot or stabbed.
Or at least she hoped so.
She gave Juniper some loving pets as she clipped on the long leather tracking leash. Then she made sure the Mal took a drink.
The dry air and heat meant that Juniper would need lots of hydration breaks. Juniper lapped up the water and then rubbed her
nose against Maya’s pants to wipe drool off her mouth.
“Thanks a lot,” Maya said with a laugh.
“And here I was going to say she was a beautiful lady,” Nick said, also chuckling.
“Well, she’s beautiful,” Maya said. “But sometimes she’s not a proper lady, but that makes two of us, doesn’t it, girly?”
Juniper gave a yip and then a loud bark making everyone laugh, which helped break some of the tension. Maya was glad about
that. If they could loosen up a little bit, then they would all work better. She grabbed the scent article from the front
seat of her vehicle. Then the trio all headed to the trailhead.
“I’ll stay back,” Nick said. “I know you and Rory have worked together and I’ll let her back you up, but if need be, I can help.”
“Thanks,” Maya said, glad that Nick obviously had some experience working with K-9 teams. She opened the bag with Hope’s shirt
and let Juniper stick her nose in it. “Let’s go find her.”