“Good,” Maya said. “I’m just glad that it’s only Josh and the guards.”
Josh didn’t say anything. Maya hoped that meant he’d been able to slip the paper clip under his tongue.
Lucas nodded to Josh and they walked to the van. Josh got in and Maya could see Lucas placing the ankle shackles on him. How was this happening? Anger replaced her tears. She had to find the prosecutor before anyone else did.
Then she’d make whoever did this pay. No one messed with someone Maya loved.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Josh followed the instructions from the guards in the jail transport and let them belt him in. The guards didn’t say much except for what they needed from him and then the transport left Pinecone Junction. He’d never thought he’d be riding in this part of the van. At least not in a belly chain and ankle shackles.
He’d managed to fake cough and move the paper clip under his tongue when he was changing into his jail scrubs. He and Maya both knew that was a good way to pick handcuff locks and even the ankle shackles. Did she really think he’d use it?
Maya knew that he’d do everything by the book. He wouldn’t fight. She’d probably given it to him in case he needed to escape from someone trying to kill him. That scared him, but he’d never admit it to anyone. Except maybe Maya.
His dad was right. She was the best thing in his life, and once he was out of this mess, he should ask her to marry him. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. No one else. He was certain she felt the same way.
Maya’s concern was justified. He needed to watch his back. He probably couldn’t even trust that the guards in the van with him were on the up-and-up. If someone needed money, then they were always susceptible to a bribe. Josh studied the two guards and the driver, but they weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary. In fact, if anything they seemed tired. They’d probably been on the road all day, and having to oversee people who were arrested and facing trial all day was exhausting.
Josh figured it might be worse than a prison transport. When suspects were arrested, they weren’t in prison yet, but they were facing the prospect. It was probably one of the times they most wanted to escape. Once they were sentenced it was most likely the other big time they wanted out. He had to have faith in the system, right?
His dad would help. He knew that, although there was a part of him that was embarrassed about that too. Once again, his dad was there to pick up the pieces. But Josh reminded himself he was in a different part of his life now. This wasn’t him spiraling out of control, but it was starting to feel just as bad.
I hope Maya can find this missing person. I know Juniper will help her. She has Finn too if Juniper gets tired. She won’t rest until I’m free. But I hope she never has to visit me in prison. I’d tell her to move on with her life at that point.
He’d put on a brave face for Maya and tried to act like this was no big deal. Even cracking some jokes as she had pointed out. But he knew and Maya knew too, this was serious. All the evidence, nothing that could be easily explained away, pointed toward him.
Fighting depression over what lay ahead—a case that had very strong evidence against him—Josh peered out the back window. He couldn’t see much because of the metal mesh meant to make sure no one escaped out the back. The two guards were keeping an eye on him but seemed somewhat relaxed. Josh guessed that they figured if he was going to cause problems, he’d have done it by now.
Headlights came around the curve behind them. Josh didn’t think much at first until he realized the car was coming up behind them fast. Extremely fast. Mountain roads weren’t easy to pass on because of the curves and the speed this car was going at could lead to the driver losing control. Glancing at the guards, he realized they hadn’t noticed it yet.
The transport driver looked in the rearview mirror and said a few choice words about Colorado drivers. His words caught the attention of the guards. They both peered out the back.
“This person is nuts,” one guard said.
“There’s a slow vehicle pull-off up ahead. I’ll let them go by,” the driver said, starting to hit the brakes and turn the wheel. Josh knew that normally a jail transport would never stop, but he also was a well-behaved detainee, so it was safer than having a head-on collision from a crazy driver passing them.
As the van started to pull off, the car sped up again. Josh realized it was a small truck. Everything happened in slow motion. The driver was turning into the pull-off. The truck behind them accelerated, hitting their tail end.
“What the—” the driver exclaimed.
But he never finished as the van hit the guardrail, broke through, and nose-dived down the mountainside.
* * *
The stream widened as Elena followed it. Her feet were sore, the blisters killing her. The water gurgled more as the creek turned into a river. According to her map, which she had just about memorized, this meant she was getting closer to where it would connect with the road.
Maybe someone would help her, but Elena had rationed her water and prepared herself to hike the whole way into the town where she and Amber had stopped at a bank. That felt like a million years ago, but she was alive. She had her backpack and she wasn’t going to let anyone stop her.
Being tired, battered, bruised, and exhausted, Elena was starting to lose track of time, but she hadn’t lost track of her goal with this case. If someone thought they could stop her easily, they were wrong. To help pass the time, she’d gone over the case again and again.
Someone else had killed Sydney. Of that she had no doubt. The original prosecutors were now judges. Had they withheld evidence or made an agreement to get to their seats? It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had happened.
“Typical Chicago,” Elena muttered to herself. She felt like she was talking to herself more and more alone in the woods. Hopefully she would find civilization before she lost her mind.
Focusing now on placing one foot in front of the other, she heard a loud noise and realized it was water running fast. The river? She stopped for a moment and took a small drink from her bottle, trying to keep herself from becoming completely dehydrated, but also making it last as long as she could.
She placed her backpack on the ground and crouched down to stretch her back and put the water away. Glancing up, from her lower position, she could see the road. It had been hidden by the treetops when she was standing.
