Page 88 of Hunting the Truth

“For what?” he asked.

“For telling me the truth. For the first time in my life everything that happened makes sense.”

Juniper’s ears perked up and she turned and faced the trail. There were sirens in the distance.

“My backup is finally here. He was supposed to be here a while ago. New guy, maybe he got lost,” Maya said.

“Before he gets here, can I ask you something?” Eric said.

“You can. I don’t know if I’ll answer,” Maya said.

“Fair enough. What’s going on between you and the deputy sheriff?”

“Why do you care?”

“I still take my promise to Zoey seriously. I just want to make sure you’re okay and he’s a good guy.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I understand, but—are you happy with him?”

Maya hesitated. She didn’t owe him anything, but for some reason she decided to give him the truth.

“Very happy,” she said.

“I’m glad. That’s all I need to know.”

Chapter Forty-Five

Maya and Eric stood there staring at each other. Juniper made sure she remained between them.

“What do you say?” Eric asked. “Will you let me go? Now that you know everything.”

“I’m sorry,” Maya said. “You still have felony warrants out. I need to arrest you.”

“I appreciate that,” Eric said. “I can tell in the end you’ll always do the right thing.”

“I try, although I was ready to stab Abigail. Thank you for stopping me.”

Eric took a step back. “You’re welcome,” he said. Then he took another step. “I’m sorry, Maya. I’m a cop. I won’t survive prison either. Abigail isn’t the only one with a list of felons who want revenge.”

“Please don’t run,” Maya said. “Turn yourself in. Make a deal. I’ll vouch for you. My phone is still recording over there. It has Abigail’s confession.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry. I need to go.”

“Then I have one last question,” Maya said. “It’s about something you said earlier.”

“What’s that?” Eric asked.

“You said your involvement in all of this cost you your family.”

“It did.”

“You said children. How many do you have?”

“Three,” he said. “Two daughters and a son. They don’t want to have anything to do with me. I can’t say I blame them, but I do dream that someday, I might be able to reconcile with them. My ex-wife left me and moved to Alaska when they were young. I haven’t seen them since. She took custody and I didn’t blame her, so I didn’t reach out, but I want to change that. It’s one of many big regrets I have. Another reason prison just doesn’t work.”

Maya shook her head. “Maybe they would actually be more willing to connect with you if you did the right thing.”