“I’m going to call Lucas and find out more while you shower. The dogs are fed and I need to get dressed. And there’s also reporters camped across the street.”
“What?” Josh went to the front window and peered out. “Why are they here?”
“I don’t know for sure, but what if they have some inside source on the first homicide? If they know it’s Amber, it wouldn’t take much to connect us to her.”
Josh came over and pulled Maya into his arms. She hugged him back, leaning into him and placing her cheek against his chest. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll figure it out, okay?”
“All right,” Maya said, fighting back her frustration. Why was this happening to them and how could Josh stay so calm? She hadn’t craved a drink for a while, but right now, she felt the impulse kick in. Taking a deep breath, she worked to remind herself that she was sober and was staying that way. A drink wouldn’t fix anything. The feeling started to subside.
Josh kissed her on the head and went to shower. Maya picked up her phone and called Lucas. It rang a couple times before he answered.
“Hey, Tree Cop,” he said, using his favorite term to tease Maya.
Normally she would give him a hard time back, but she could hear the exhaustion in his voice. “You work through the night?”
“You know it.”
“Are you going to get a break soon?” Maya asked.
“I am. Miranda and I will go to her house and catch a few hours of sleep and then we’ll get back to work.”
“Probably not the weekend you had in mind,” Maya said.
“Not really.”
“I heard there’s another body. What can you tell me?” There was silence on the other end. “Lucas?”
“Yeah, Tree Cop, I’m here… Look, here’s the thing. We already have an ID on this body. He had a driver’s license on him, and we ran it in the system. He’s a known gang member. The Dark Angels from Chicago.”
Maya took a deep breath and let it out, thinking about how there was yet another connection to Josh’s hometown. “Chicago? I’ll admit, I’m not totally up on Chicago gangs.”
“Yeah, I’m not either, although in Denver there’s always some sort of gang activity. We found evidence that someone had broken into one of the cabins and was sleeping there. It appears that several people showed up and this person managed to get away. The shoe imprints of the person who ran away are small. They match the imprints at the first homicide. I think they belong to our witness.”
“Any word from Doc yet on the identification of the remains?” Maya asked.
“No, but it’s 0700 Monday morning, 0800 Central time. He probably won’t get them for a while.”
Maya took a sip of coffee and then closed her eyes, trying to stay in the moment like Dr. Meyers had taught her. She worked to keep her anxiety in check. “I can bring Juniper and come help.”
“I don’t know, Maya. With this gang member from Chicago, I think we need to be careful with your involvement in the case.”
“True, but until Doc gets an ID on our first victim, we don’t know if this has anything to do with Josh. I get having him stay away from the case, but I can still help. For now. The moment we find out for sure our homicide victim is Amber, I’m out too.”
“You promise?” Lucas asked.
“Cross my heart,” Maya said.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. You’re the most stubborn person I know, but that’s why I love you like a sister. Okay, bring Juniper and join us. When we find out the victim’s identity, we’ll go from there. But, Maya…”
“What?”
“At some point I might need to talk to Josh. You know, on more of an official basis. I’m just letting you know. As a friend.”
“Okay…” Maya hesitated. “Do you know why reporters would be camped out by our house? Is there anything more you’re not telling me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you have a leak? Did someone tell them that the homicide victim could be Amber?”
