Page 54 of Hunting the Truth

Maya strode back over to where Eric was sitting. Sweat poured down her back and face after her flashback, as if her body were in Afghanistan too. She thought about the grounding and mindfulness Dr. Meyers had been working on with her. Then she decided, screw it. She wanted answers. Now. It didn’t matter where her mind was.

Maya grabbed him by the arms, hoisting him to his feet with strength that surprised even her.

“Tell me what’s going on now. Why did Harold Conner come after you?” she said, her face inches away from his. Juniper growled, feeling Maya’s anger and frustration, but she stayed in place. Maya was to the point she didn’t care if Juniper bit this man. He had caused her nothing but pain and hurt since he had come into her life.

“He probably followed you and was sent to kill both of us.”

“Why?” Maya snapped.

“That answer will take longer than we have right now.”

“Then you’re going to answer some other questions. Now,” Maya said. She didn’t know where to start.

Why had he killed her mother and Nana?

What did he want? Just the evidence?

Why did he have to burn down her cabin?

She decided to start there. It was the most recent crime. “I bet you’re pissed that you didn’t kill me the other night when you shot up and burned down my cabin.”

“I didn’t shoot at you, and I didn’t burn down your cabin.”

“Yeah, right, and Juniper is the Easter Bunny.”

“Seriously, Maya,” Torres said.

“Don’t call me Maya. I’m an officer and that’s what you’re going to address me as. Give me that respect at least since you took everything from me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My mother. My grandmother. My cabin. All for what? So you could find some supposed evidence and destroy it?”

Torres shook his head and stepped back a little bit to lean against a tree.

“Don’t move again without my permission,” Maya said.

“Or what? You’ll shoot me?”

Maya stared him down. While shooting him was tempting at the moment, she knew she had to keep her temper in check and maintain the upper hand. Somehow she had to keep him talking. “No, I won’t shoot you, but I’d rather get answers before I take you to jail.”

“I will answer your questions as best as I can. They may not be the answers you’re looking for, though.”

“I’ll take my chances. First question: why did you burn down my cabin?”

“I didn’t.”

“Bullshit. Stop lying to me. We have evidence putting you at the scene. Juniper tracked you here today from some of that evidence.”

“Juniper, huh? Good name.”

Juniper bumped Maya on the leg with her nose as if she was telling her to calm down too. Maya took a deep breath. She needed to stay calm and try to get answers. Eric Torres did not make that easy. “I’ll ask nicely one more time: why did you burn down my cabin?”

“And I’ll tell you one more time that I didn’t. But I was there.”

“No kidding. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Okay, here’s something you don’t know. I was there because I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”