I appreciate her concern, but something doesn’t seem genuine. Maybe she’s learned to act this way since her husband is a politician.Maya kept her thoughts to herself. She also noticed the woman seemed like she was trying to fit in with the mountain environment a little too much. Her perfectly manicured nails, hair that didn’t move even with the wind, caked makeup that covered some wrinkles, and diamond jewelry didn’t go with the flannel shirt, jeans, and boots she was wearing. Especially not the diamond tennis bracelet.
Maya wouldn’t have been surprised if Laura normally wore a white pantsuit or something along those lines. Not that she had anything against wearing makeup or fine clothing—it just wasn’t the usual style in the area. Plus, wearing any kind of jewelry, especially diamonds, out in the mountains was just asking to lose something expensive and meaningful where it would never be found again.
Their son, Miles, stood behind everyone, hands in his expensive coat, and didn’t say a word. He probably wasn’t that much younger or was even maybe the same age as Maya and Josh, but he came across as almost a teenager—like he’d never left high school. A sullen expression stayed on his face, and he kept staring away from everyone, absolutely no interest in what was going on around him. With his leg twitching nervously, he pulled out his phone a couple times and checked it. Finally, he put the device away and put a piece of gum in his mouth, chewing hard.
He seems like he’s coming down off a high. Sydney supposedly sold Josh drugs. Maybe she got her brother hooked too. The two extra guys must be his security details. The former officers Josh worked with.
“Are you the security detail?” Maya asked the extra men with the senator. They nodded in response and continued to survey the surroundings.
“Yes,” one of the men answered. He was about Josh’s size and height. He didn’t say anything further, but kept looking around.
Josh glared at the man who answered. He had asked about the men working for the senator at breakfast and seemed to know them. Yet another piece of his past coming back to haunt him. Now she really wanted to speak with Josh alone and find out more.
“I asked them to come back on protection because of all this danger,” Laura said. “I can’t believe someone was murdered. I didn’t think things like that happened in the mountains.”
Maya raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t like they were in danger. They weren’t the ones lost in the woods or burned in a slash pile. Although if Amber was the victim, this could tie into their daughter, which made the Bradfords showing up a little bit suspicious in her mind. “This is an active crime scene and investigation. I can’t say anything further right now.”
“I hope you can figure out who did this,” Laura said.
Maya nodded. The day darkened as the sun set another notch and was blocked by some of the mountain peaks. A few rays illuminated up against the clouds. Normally she would love to watch a sunset like this, but right now, there was a missing person to find and a killer to catch.
“Oh dear,” Laura exclaimed again, pulling her jacket tight around herself. “It’s going to be so cold tonight. Dale, you need to do something to help find this girl.”
“Seriously, ma’am,” Pops said. “We have a good team out looking for her. If anyone can find her, it’s them. I appreciate your offer of help, but right now, what I need the most is for all of you to head back to your Airbnb tonight. I can keep Spencer updated and let you know if we find the missing person.”
Spencer spoke up. “I think we’re all set for tomorrow, Sheriff. Make sure you get some rest so you are ready for your day in court.”
Maya swallowed hard. The rescue mission had helped her avoid thinking about the next day, when Pops’ trial would start. Hopefully Josh’s dad was as good of a lawyer as he was supposed to be. Josh had come over and stood next to Maya while his family and the Bradfords were talking to Pops. She leaned into him now, feeling his strength and a bit guilty because while she needed him, the evidence they had found was still going through her mind.
The stocking cap and sports drink bottle could possibly be circumstantial or even a coincidence. But the gun was most likely Josh’s, and if it could be confirmed as the murder weapon, that was not circumstantial. That was strong evidence. Hopefully Josh wouldn’t need his father’s help too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The sun was setting. Night was coming. Elena shivered and hugged herself, gripping her arms like that would make her warm and take away the situation she was in. This had to pertain to the case with Ref. What else could it be? She had thought about it as she hiked all day, lips parched. She’d run out of the water she’d taken from the house. Her feet seemed to become heavier and heavier with each step.
She knew Amber had been in trouble when she was here in January, but the call to Josh was about the case. Ref had warned her, and Elena hadn’t listened. Now she knew why he had been so hesitant. Someone was desperate enough to pursue her in the mountains to keep her quiet. Keeping an inmate quiet was much simpler. All they had to do was hire the right person on the inside and Ref would be a goner whether he was stabbed or beaten or who knows what. It happened all the time.
The thoughts were what kept her going. She was angry. The system had failed, but she wasn’t going to. The other thing keeping her going was that not too far ahead were some recreation cabins. She could break into one—her new career move, apparently. She never thought as a prosecutor that she’d resort to breaking and entering, but here she was. Right now, Elena didn’t care. She wanted water and rest. Hopefully these cabins would have running water.
Coming to a stream, she searched for a good place to cross. Her feet were already moist from the snow she’d gone through. She didn’t need to make them soaking wet. Hopefully she could dry out her shoes and socks at the cabin when she arrived. Would the cabins have heat? Making a fire if there was a fireplace wasn’t an option. That would only send up smoke like a flag waving to say she was here. Elena had learned from the previous house not to turn on lights or anything electronic as well. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Lesson learned.
She came across an area of the stream that had some rocks that she thought she could step on. The water was running fast under spots that were still iced over. The rocks seemed dry. If they were wet, they would be slick. Tired, she took a deep breath and concentrated. She had to focus on this task because if she slipped off a rock and fell in the water, then she’d have to worry about more than her feet getting wet.
The light was difficult as the sun continued to set, but she managed to step on one rock at a time and make it over the stream. Stepping onto the bank on the other side, Elena breathed a sigh of relief. Based on the map, she needed to backtrack up the stream and then hike about another quarter mile to the cabins. The map had topographical marks and she was certain that she didn’t have too hard of a walk into the cabin area.
The sound of something crossing the creek behind her made Elena startle. She moved behind a tree and waited, holding her breath. A large mule deer buck trotted by, barely turning his head to acknowledge her. Had something startled him? Were the men pursuing her still on her tail? She’d been certain that she’d lost them, but now Elena’s heart pounded and her hands shook.
Waiting for about five minutes, there were no other disturbances, animal or human. Stepping out from her hiding spot, Elena continued her trek, daylight almost completely gone. Her eyes were adjusting, but still, nighttime in the mountains scared her and she wanted to be inside a building.
Just as she was certain she’d gone the wrong direction and was completely lost, some structures appeared in the distance. Tears of joy cascaded down her face. She had found shelter. She could rest, warm up, and drink water. Her stomach rumbled, but she didn’t care. She could go without food for now, but her lips were cracked and bleeding. She needed water.
Almost jogging, even though each step took enormous effort, Elena came to the first cabin. She peered around, making sure no one else was there. If someone had rented the cabin, they might be able to help. But the men pursuing her might think to check areas like this too. They had driven around the neighborhood where she’d gone, although that was a little more obvious from her starting location.
Sneaking up to a cabin, she pressed herself against one of the log sides, the rough wood scraping her back. She listened first, but there were no noises. The silence was eerie. Elena was used to the sounds of a city, like cars honking, buses driving by, people laughing or whistling for a taxi. The clank of the El as the trains traveled down the tracks. Out here, there was literally nothing except the wind, which made a creepy whooshing noise through the trees when it gusted up.
She peered around the corner and evaluated each cabin. No lights on. No vehicles parked anywhere. No smoke coming from the chimneys. Gaining confidence, she stepped out from her hiding spot and walked toward the other cabins. There were only four total and a road coming into the area that formed a circle drive with little offshoots to each structure. When she was in the middle of the circle drive, Elena noticed a gate across the access road. Probably meant the cabins were seasonal or something. That helped her out.
