CHAPTER ONE
Pinecone Junction, Colorado—March
Maya Thompson watched her K-9, Juniper, with pride as the dog wove back and forth working a scent cone. The slight breeze whistled through the trees, making the training aid harder for Juniper to find, but it didn’t take long for the Malinois to zero in and pinpoint the odor. Juniper sat and stared down at the ground where Maya had hidden some pseudometh—a training aid that smelled like methamphetamine but wasn’t real—under scraggly dead branches.
Maya waited to make sure Juniper held the alert. Juniper’s ears flicked in her direction, but the dog held the indication the way she wanted. She threw Juniper’s favorite squeaky ball in front of her to reward her dog for a job well done. Juniper snatched the toy and then took off, running circles and leaping in the air, her antics making Maya smile.
As she made her way over to pick up the training aid, clouds moved in front of the sun, creating a sudden chill. Maya shivered and zipped up her jacket before picking up the pseudometh and putting it back into the special container to preserve the odor and keep her scent off the pouch.
Putting the training aid in her jacket pocket, Maya realized Juniper had frozen near a stand of trees. The Mal had dropped her toy and was staring intently, hackles raised.
“What is it, girly?” Maya asked as she unholstered her Glock and kept it in low ready. She already suspected her dog had caught the scent of a visitor. One that had been coming for a while. If it was who Maya thought it was, she didn’t need her gun, but out in the forest, you never knew.
Curious to see what had Juniper agitated, Maya stepped closer to the dog and peered back into the thick evergreens. She couldn’t see anyone, but she did notice a footprint going away from her property.
It matched the others and had to be him. Her biological father—wanted fugitive Eric Torres.
Maya praised Juniper and holstered her gun. By now Eric was long gone.
They came out of the trees, back to where her cabin once stood before a criminal tried to kill Maya by burning down her beloved home. The cabin had been left to her by her grandmother. Now, the only thing that stood was the stone chimney. But she had plans to rebuild, and she was excited because those plans included her boyfriend and undersheriff, Josh Colten. She’d never thought she’d have someone like Josh in her life, and she was excited for their future together.
She stomped her feet to try to warm them up. Away from the scent of a stranger, Juniper ran around in the snow with her toy back in her mouth. Maya loved watching her dog enjoy the playtime. The two-year-old Malinois would sometimes toss it ahead of herself and then go retrieve the ball.Wear yourself out a little bit, girly. Then maybe you’ll go home and relax.
They’d been paired up for almost a year now and worked for the Forest Service law enforcement. Maya was an officer and Juniper was her dual-purpose K-9. At first, Maya had hesitated about working another K-9. It wasn’t just the commitment but also the fear of losing another dog. Her first K-9, Zinger, a military dog, had been a casualty of the war in Afghanistan. But with the help of a veterans’ support group and working Juniper, she was starting to face her fears. She and Juniper had become a solid team. Maya trusted her dog, and that was the most important thing.
She couldn’t wait to move back to her sanctuary in the forest. Right now, she and Juniper lived with Josh and his new K-9, Finn, in town. But this was Maya’s happy place.
Juniper continued running zoomies, kicking up a mixture of snow and mud on her belly.
“I’ll be glad when it’s summer and you don’t need as many baths,” Maya said, whistling to her dog to come over. “And I’ll also be glad when Josh and Finn are home so you can get some energy out playing with your buddy.”
Josh and Finn, a yellow Lab, had been gone for the week finishing their certification in search and rescue. Maya had been helping Josh with Finn’s training, and they had finished their air scent, trailing and human remains certifications.
Finn was already proving that he knew the odors well. Maya was proud of both of her students. And she couldn’t wait to see them that evening. She had missed both Josh and Finn and knew Juniper had too. The Malinois had ripped up more things, including blankets and parts of the wooden yard fence, this past week, which was what led them to getting some energy out in the woods.
Maya praised Juniper for coming over to her and managed to convince her to give up her toy. Knowing that Eric had been on her property recently meant that he had left her another note. Eric was playing games and it frustrated Maya. But at the same time, she longed for the connection with her father. The notes gave her answers she craved and Juniper would help her locate where Eric had hid his latest letter.
Maya had been raised by her grandparents and never knew who her father was until he came back into her life the previous fall. He had tried to stop the same criminal who burned down Maya’s cabin, but Eric had a past too, and was a fugitive on the run. He’d started leaving Maya notes around her cabin. She would come out about once a week and have Juniper find them.
One of the notes was in an evidence bag so Maya could give Juniper the scent and see if he’d left anything recently. Josh had bought an Airstream camper and parked it out on Maya’s property. They wanted to get away from town, but maybe also catch Eric. Eric was smart, though, and Maya wondered if he’d ever be caught. She had told FBI Agent Mark Kessler about them. He was convinced that Eric would make a mistake. Maya wasn’t so sure.
Holding the bag open, she allowed Juniper to stick her nose in it and take a sniff.
“Go find it, girly,” Maya said, directing her dog out with her hand. “Let’s go find it.”
Juniper immediately started jogging back and forth, nose to the ground and, every now and then, picking her muzzle up to air scent.
“Attagirl. Go find him. Seek.”
Then she stayed quiet to allow her to work the scent. Juniper loved this game and went around the chimney to the other side, where there was a woodpile. Following behind, Maya watched her dog and listened to her sniff. Juniper’s breathing would change when she was in odor. Juniper’s tail popped up—an indication she had caught a scent.
Juniper put her front paws up on the firewood and sniffed up top, but then dropped back down and went to the other side. Maya followed her and saw Juniper lie down and stare at the pile. Sure enough, stuck in the wood was a rolled-up note.
“Good girl,” Maya said, proud of how her dog worked the scent and maintained her alert by staring at what she’d found. Maya threw the toy. Juniper grasped it and started playing again, running circles.
“You are definitely going to need a bath,” Maya muttered. Juniper hated baths with a passion. Putting on gloves, she extracted the note from the woodpile. Inside the rolled piece of paper was an old photo, now curled from being inside the letter.
Maya’s heart pounded as sadness and happiness hit her at the same time. The picture was of her and her mother, Zoey, who had died when she was a little girl. Maya was the spitting image of her mother, who in this photo held a probably six-month-old Maya on her lap with a wide grin. Tears trickled down her face and she swiped at them. What would life have been like if her mother had lived?
