“Okay,” Maya said. “Deputy Wilson, Josh knows how to back me up. You stay behind him, but position yourself where if you need to pull your weapon, Josh and I won’t be in the cross fire. Otherwise, everyone follows my direction. The person with the K-9 is always in charge, no matter rank or anything else.”
“You got it, ma’am.”
Maya shook her head. Not only did she feel old, she also felt like she was back in the Marines. Josh didn’t say anything, the earlier smile at Wilson calling her ma’am now gone. Was he keeping something from her? Had he been in this area when he was supposed to meet with Amber? Yes, they had a lot to discuss later.
Juniper was waiting patiently, staring up at Maya, which meant she was actually getting tired. Maybe Maya wouldn’t have to take her out in the yard at home. “Okay, girly. Let’s go. Find ’em. Seek.”
Maya cast Juniper out, trying to get her dog toward areas that might have an odor for her to catch. It was a fine balance between directing the Mal but also letting Juniper go where her nose took her. Juniper started to air scent and then took off down the road. Maya was ready and stayed with her dog. Josh also knew how Juniper took off, but Deputy Wilson was caught a little off guard and trailed behind.
Juniper settled into a rhythmic trot and zigzagged down the road, her nose down. Maya thought she could see footprints—the small ones with tennis shoe tread—along this route. The snow had melted enough to make the shoe imprints appear more like blobs, but Juniper had no doubt. She had her nose down, tail up and she was hot on a scent. Throwing more slack in the leash, Maya let Juniper go where her nose took her.
They maintained their steady pace until the road turned and there were two options—continue up to Dead Man’s Pass or cut off on a trail into a neighborhood with houses mainly owned by well-to-do people who lived out of state and came for the summer to escape the heat in places like Arizona, Texas and even as far away as Florida. Summertime always brought a flood of out-of-state plates to the town and forest, which meant longer hours for Maya as she worked to help the visitors understand rules for things like fire prevention.
Juniper hesitated at the turnoff into the neighborhood and then took a decisive turn toward the back of one of the houses. Maya followed, slipping a little bit in the slush. In some of the shady spots where the sun hadn’t started melting the snow as much, there were more distinct footprints. Definitely small, which probably meant a petite female. Amber was about Maya’s height and size. These imprints were much smaller compared to Maya’s. Could this be Elena? Hopefully Rory would find pictures and more information about Elena sooner rather than later.
Juniper stayed on a path where the shoe prints showed up under a window, but the Mal didn’t stay there long. Instead, she air scented again and continued toward the next house. The track took them along the back of the houses. What was Elena looking for? Help? Or had she been involved in Amber’s death, assuming the remains were Amber; was she running away to hide? If Elena had witnessed a murder and managed to escape, then trying to find someone to help her would make sense.
Juniper took them up on a house deck and then sat at the door. Seeing that there was a broken window, Maya praised her and then had Juniper come back away from the shattered glass. Most of the pieces were probably inside, but a few shards were scattered around the outside. Someone had taken the time to tape plastic over the door. In Maya’s experience, no hardened criminal would ever do that. Someone who had ethics had broken into the house.
“I think we should go in under exigent circumstances,” Josh said. “I’m wondering if this was someone looking for help.”
“I’m thinking the same thing. We need to be careful. I would send Juniper to clear the house, but I don’t want her stepping in glass,” Maya said, now wishing she did have Juniper’s booties.
“I’ll enter first with Deputy Wilson and we can clear the house.”
Maya didn’t like that, but she also didn’t want to send Juniper through an area that could injure her. “Okay. Once I know how much glass is there, I can bring Juniper in and have her clear the house too.”
“Works for me,” Josh said.
They all stood to the side of the door. Things like doors and staircases were called fatal funnels by officers, because once you committed to entering or going downstairs, you were trapped and they were good areas for someone to ambush and kill an officer.
“Western River Sheriff,” Josh announced, knocking on the door. “If someone is inside, come out with your hands up.”
No answer.
Josh repeated himself and then opened the door that had been left unlocked.
“Western River Sheriff,” both Josh and Deputy Wilson announced together. “We’re coming in.”
No answer.
Maya waited, Juniper tense by her side, not understanding why she wasn’t going in first. Juniper loved apprehending people. For the Mal, taking a bite was all fun and games. “You’ll get your chance to clear the house, girly.”
Juniper wagged her tail and let out an excited whine.
“There’s no glass inside,” Josh told Maya. “It looks like someone cleaned up.”
“Okay, I’m coming in with Juniper,” Maya said. Whoever broke into this house was not a criminal. No criminal ever took the time to clean up glass or tape plastic across a broken window. Maya and Juniper entered and Maya unpinned the leash. “Go find ’em. Seek.”
Juniper bounded away, happy to be looking for a person hiding. Sometimes Maya let Juniper clear a house on her own, but this time she followed. If there was someone holed up here, based on the glass and plastic, they weren’t someone who needed a Malinois hanging off their arm. Maya would probably need to call Juniper off a bite.
The only sound was dog nails clicking on the hardwood floor. Maya stayed behind her dog. Juniper knew how to clear each room and go off into bedrooms and bathrooms. It never took long to clear a house, and in about thirty seconds, the job was done.
No one was home.
“What do you think?” Josh asked.
“I think someone from the crime scene was here. I’m guessing it could be Elena, since Amber has bigger feet than the prints we’re following. I’m also guessing that Elena was looking for help.”
