“Seek, go find ’em,” Maya said.
Juniper put her nose to the ground and started sniffing around. Her tail was in a neutral position, even a little droopy. That usually meant she wasn’t in the odor of the person they wanted to track and was maybe even smelling an animal. Maya cast her out again in a slightly different spot, giving her the same command. This time, Juniper’s body language changed as she tensed her muscles and her tail came up higher.
Then the Malinois took off like a racehorse out of a starting gate. When Maya was first getting to know Juniper, she’d been surprised by the way her dog took off when she caught a scent, but after almost a year together, Maya was prepared to follow. She lost her footing a little bit in the snow but managed to put some slack in the leash so Juniper could stay on the track.
Juniper went down the road at a solid clip, stopping every now and then to air scent. This side of the road had more sun and it was a mix of dry ground and mud, but overall better traction for Maya to keep up. Rory and Josh followed, each positioned to help Maya if someone tried to ambush them, but also making sure they were in a position where if they had to draw their guns, they wouldn’t shoot each other.
With her body language telling Maya that Juniper was staying in odor, they continued on before Juniper veered off the road. The Mal tracked parallel to some more imprints and Maya made sure she stayed away from them, since it was possible for Miranda to cast footprints in snow. Miranda was going to be busy today.
Juniper went over to an old tree that had fallen over and put her paws up on the log. She air scented, her nose twitching, and then hopped over the log, turned around so she was facing Maya and lay down—her alert for evidence.
“Attagirl,” Maya said peering over the log.
There was a gun tucked under the branches, but sticking out enough Maya could see that it was a Sig Sauer. She was about ready to reward Juniper and then get her away from the weapon when it hit her.No way. It can’t be. Can it?
“What did you find?” Josh asked.
Maya’s breath tightened. “I think we found the gun Amber stole from you in January.”
What was going on? What had Josh gotten himself involved in?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Juniper tilted her head and continued to stare at the weapon. Maya had forgotten to reward her dog.
Pulling the Kong toy out of her BDU pocket, Maya rewarded Juniper and unclipped the leash, since they were now far enough away from the road. She knew Juniper would want to run around with the toy in her mouth to play.
Josh’s face had gone pale.
“Why would that gun be here, Josh? What’s going on?” Maya asked. Maybe it wasn’t his gun, but it sure looked like it. They’d gone to the range together enough for her to know his weapon well.
“I’ll bag it for evidence,” Josh said, starting to put on gloves and avoiding her question.
“No,” Maya said. “Rory needs to bag this one.”
A confused look crossed Rory’s face, but she didn’t ask any questions. Instead, she pulled out gloves and started to put them on. Juniper was running laps in an open area down the road. Josh came over to the log, peered over, and then closed his eyes.
“It’s your gun, isn’t it?” Maya said.
“Yes,” Josh said. “Or if it’s not, it’s the exact same model. The serial number will verify if it is mine.”
“Rory, go ahead and photograph everything, bag the weapon, make sure you clear it first. Josh and I need to go talk,” Maya said.
She gave a shrill whistle, and Juniper came running over to her. She managed to convince the Mal to give her the toy, snapped the leash back on, and then they headed toward the main road. When they were far enough away from Rory where Maya thought she couldn’t overhear, she said, “What’s going on? Why is your gun here?”
“When Amber called and wanted the evidence, I made a deal,” Josh said with his hands on his duty belt, but not looking Maya in the eye. He stared off toward the mountain peaks in the distance.
“What kind of deal? Josh, look at me. What. Kind. Of. Deal?”
“I told her I would give her the evidence if she returned my gun. She’d never admitted to stealing it, but I knew it had to be her. I thought this way I could get it back and we could all move on with our lives.”
“And what if your gun is the murder weapon? What if Doc manages to get a bullet out of the remains and it matches your weapon?” Maya asked. Then she added what she’d been thinking, but didn’t really want to say out loud. “What if that dead body is Amber?”
“Do you really think I’d kill someone?” Josh fired back.
“What? No. But I won’t be your judge or jury. If someone wants to frame you, this is a good start.”
“You’re worrying too much. There must be a reasonable explanation,” Josh said.
