I’ll ask your mother to call Amber’s mother and see if she knows anything. I called a friend who still works in the Cook County’s office. I’ll let you know when I hear back on both.
Josh relayed the message to Maya as Lucas, finished with putting the evidence in Miranda’s vehicle, came over.
“I called my boss and filled him in. If the sheriff wants the CBI’s help, we are happy to investigate this with you,” Lucas said.
“I think given the circumstances, having the CBI’s help would be good,” Josh answered. “But I will reach out to the sheriff and confirm that.”
“Sounds good,” Lucas said. “I’ll go see if Miranda needs anything. Let me know what the sheriff says.”
Maya hadn’t said a word. Was she in shock? Of course. She had to be upset. She wouldn’t think he’d do something like this, though, would she?
“What are you thinking?” Josh asked her.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this. All of it. Amber calling you. Finding this body. The evidence. I’ll be glad if Lucas takes over the investigation, but at some point he’s going to question you and find out you were supposed to meet Amber last night—unless you filled him in on everything?”
“No, I just told him that the gun appeared to be the one Amber stole, but I didn’t tell him I was supposed to meet her to get it back.”
“I think we need to call Pops,” Maya said.
“I agree. I’ll text him now.”
Maya leaned back against her vehicle as a breeze picked up. Josh had learned that springtime in the Rockies was always windy. Everyone called Wyoming windy, but Pinecone Junction wasn’t that far from the border and he figured the spring winds might not be too different. Getting ready to text Pops, he saw a message from his dad. That was a fast response.
Your mom got ahold of Amber’s mom. She said Amber was supposed to fly home this morning, but she hasn’t heard from her. My friend who works in the state attorney’s office said there is a junior prosecutor named Elena Pierce. He called her a go-getter. I hope that helps and everything is okay.
Josh took a deep breath. He’d been in denial, but Maya was right: this was adding up to becoming a mess. He’d even been at the scene of the crime because he was supposed to meet Amber there. This did not look good, but he didn’t want to mention any of this to his dad.Yet.
Thanks, he typed back.I appreciate the information.
He sent a text to Pops and put the phone back in his pocket. How was he going to break the news to Maya? She was strong, but this wasn’t what she needed right now. It wasn’t what he needed either. She was staring straight at him, her expression asking what the text he received had said. He had to tell her.
“That was my dad. Amber was supposed to be on a flight home this morning, but her mom hasn’t heard from her. And there is an Elena Pierce working as a junior prosecutor.”
Maya didn’t say anything at first. Josh waited her out. He knew her well enough to know she was thinking things through and figuring out the next best move.
“Then we need to verify that they came together and see if either Amber or Elena made it to the airport and on that flight and when they arrived. If they came here together, then there’s one deceased person and one missing person. We need to figure out which one is which.”
“I agree,” Josh said. “I texted Pops too. I think even though he wanted me to take over this week, at least for this investigation, he needs to take the lead and decide who’s in charge. He has options with Lucas and the CBI, and since it’s federal land, we could also contact the FBI.”
“I’ll let my boss know what’s going on and then, after Juniper rests, I’d like to take her back out and see if we can find any more tracks…and, I suppose, evidence, although right now, I’d rather not find anything other than human tracks. Maybe they’ll lead to the person who put everything out and Juniper can bite them,” Maya said.
Josh smiled a bit. This was what he loved about her. She was ferociously loyal and while some called her hotheaded, he saw it as Maya not stopping until the truth was revealed and justice was served. She was also one of the more bluntly honest people he knew, which he also appreciated. “If someone is setting me up, I wouldn’t mind seeing Juniper bite them either.”
“Let’s go talk with Lucas and fill him in. We need to figure out if there’s any way this body could be Elena or Amber, and then we need to figure out if we have a missing person or another possible deceased person.”
Maya turned and walked away from him. Josh knew what she was thinking. He would be the number one suspect thanks to the evidence and the fact the victim was his ex. He could handle being questioned by Lucas and other investigators, but he didn’t think he could stand it if Maya didn’t believe he was innocent.
If that was the case, he would be devastated. And he didn’t know if he could ever recover from that heartbreak.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Maya’s hair whipped around her face as another gust picked up. She tried to smooth the long strands back down and turned her head slightly so that the dirt flying from the wind didn’t hit her in the eyes. With the spring winds, there were patches of dry ground and snowdrifts in other areas, making the terrain interesting and unpredictable.
It also made a potential track difficult, as the wind would blow the scent around, making it hard for Juniper. As the day heated up, the humidity would also drop. And Colorado was a dry state anyway. Sometimes the humidity was a low twelve percent. Maya loved the dry air versus a humid environment but knew it made working odors more difficult for Juniper and Finn. Somehow, though, the dogs always managed to amaze her with what they found and how good they were at their jobs. Just when she thought she’d seen it all, Juniper would find something that made Maya realize how good her nose really was.
Hopefully Juniper’s nose can help prove Josh’s innocence… He would never kill Amber…would he?That thought scared Maya. She didn’t believe that Josh would ever do such a thing, but maybe Amber coming back into his life had pushed him.
They approached Lucas and filled him in about the possibilities with Elena and Amber. He agreed to find out if they had returned their rental car, made their flights or if they had a hotel room that they’d checked back into. Maya thanked him and waved Rory over. The young deputy approached, a worried look on her face.
