Killer secrets, p.19
Killer Secrets, page 19
Josh picked up the cup and went down the hall to the bathroom. Pops was right—he should have called the moment he woke up. He only appeared guilty because of the way he’d handled this whole situation. To make matters worse, Pops followed him and watched him take the test to make sure he didn’t try to cheat it. Feeling humiliated, Josh finished and handed the cup to him. He washed his hands and went back to his office and waited. The test Pops used was a rapid one that they kept on hand in case of officer-involved shootings or anything else where they needed to find out if an officer was sober at the time of an incident. Josh should know soon if he still had drugs in his system.
Coming back in the office, Pops set the cup down. The test strip on the side was bright red, indicating a positive test.
“Based on this test you have several substances in your system. I’d really like to believe you, but with the way you handled this, I can’t. If what you said happened with Amber is the truth, then you should have told me and not come to work while you’re still under the influence. Right now, I don’t know if you’ve fallen off the wagon or what. I hope you’re telling me the truth because I gave you a second chance, and if this is how I’m repaid, saying I’m disappointed is an understatement. I’m putting you on paid leave pending further investigation. Go get a full blood panel from Doc Clark. That way if she did drug you, we’ll have a better idea of what she used.”
Josh stood and started gathering his things. Pops was right—he needed to go get a better test. He’d swing into Doc Clark’s office, the local general practitioner as well as coroner, on his way home. Then he planned on searching his house to see if anything was missing and finding Amber to confront her. He also needed to call Maya.
As if reading his mind, Pops spoke up again. “Sit back down,” Pops said. “I’m not done.”
Josh followed orders. It was best to not say much right now until he could gather more evidence and figure out what had happened to him.
“Until I know if you’re telling me the truth, stay away from Maya. Got it? She’s finally getting better and recovering. She doesn’t need you messing her up or your ex-girlfriend tormenting her. Call her and break up with her. Or tell her to stay in Antler Valley for longer. I don’t care, but she’s not staying in your home.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Josh said. “That’s between Maya and me. She’s an adult and so am I. I’ll let her know what’s going on and she can make her own decision. Our relationship is between us.”
Josh and Pops stared at each other, neither wanting to back down. Josh’s jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists. He needed to calm down now before he did something he’d regret, but he couldn’t break eye contact with Pops.
A knock on the door broke the tension. Josh’s dad, Spencer, stood outside. Josh figured he was here to get Pops and continue the questioning and investigation. This was supposed to be the last day of interrogating Pops. After that, from the investigation, it would then be determined if Pops would go to trial.
“Am I interrupting something?” Dad asked.
“No,” Josh said. “I was just heading home.”
“The sheriff give you the day off?”
“No,” Josh and Pops answered in unison.
“I think I’ll have several days off, actually,” Josh said. “I’ve just been put on paid suspension.”
Dad stepped into Josh’s office. “What do you mean? What’s going on here?”
Pops pointed at the cup of urine sitting on the desk. “Your boy just peed hot.”
“What? Josh, why? You’ve done so well. What happened?” Josh was a little surprised at his dad’s reaction. In the past, his dad would have told him how disappointed he was and how Josh was a screwup.
“I didn’t deliberately do any drugs,” Josh said. “I think my soda was spiked.”
“Really?” Dad said. “This is just like you, son. Be a man and take responsibility.”
That was more like usual for his dad. Josh should have known better.
“I’m telling you both the truth,” he said, placing his badge and his service weapon on the desk next to the drug test.
“Like I said,” Pops piped up as Josh was walking past him out the door. “Stay away from Maya.”
Josh stopped and turned to look at both of them. “I love Maya more than anything in this world. I would never hurt her. It would be good for you to remember that.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Caffeinated, showered, dressed for work and with Juniper exercised and fed, Maya realized she still had about fifteen minutes to kill before she had to leave. In the tense conversation with Josh, she had forgotten to ask about Pops. Rather than bug Josh again, she decided she’d call Pops herself. She hadn’t seen or talked to him for a few days.
Pops picked up quickly. “Hey there, Maya Bear.”
“Hey, Pops. How are you?”
Pops hesitated, which worried her. He only did that when he didn’t want to give her bad news.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is the investigation not going well?”
“No, the questioning is going very well. Spencer is a great attorney and I think I’ll get through this without having to go to trial.”
“That’s great news,” Maya said, feeling some relief. She couldn’t imagine the stress of a trial, much less Pops getting convicted and going to prison. “I get the feeling that something else is going on then. What’s up?”
Pops hesitated again and then said, “I just put Josh on paid suspension.”
It was Maya’s turn to be speechless. Josh hadn’t mentioned a suspension when they’d just talked, but she had felt like he’d been holding back. She finally managed to get out, “Why? What happened?”
“I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, but I guess it’s better you hear it from me.”
“Pops, you’re scaring me. What the hell happened?” She gripped her phone harder and sat down on the edge of the bed. Juniper, sensing the strain in her voice, jumped up next to her on the bed and slapped a giant paw down on her leg. Maya petted her absentmindedly.
“Sorry, Maya, I didn’t mean to scare you. Josh was seen in uniform at the Black Bear Café intoxicated or high. Maybe both. I’m not sure. He just failed a UA. Big-time. He lit it up like I haven’t seen in a while.”
Maya was speechless again. Juniper gave her a quick lick on the cheek. “I’m sure there must be some mistake or some reason. Josh is serious about staying sober. He would never jeopardize all the work he’s put in.”
“I don’t know, Maya. All I know is that I need to investigate. Based on the drug test, it appears that Josh mixed cocaine with some roofies. I know from the initial interview I did with Josh before I hired him that cocaine was his go-to drug, but I didn’t know about the roofies. I supposed that could be something new. He might have mixed them to offset the upper effect of the cocaine.”
“I know about the cocaine, Pops. And I know that sometimes users mix cocaine and roofies, but I’m telling you, Josh wouldn’t do this.”
“Are you sure about that?” Pops challenged. “I thought I knew him too. He was my chief deputy, for Christ’s sake. But Maya, drug tests don’t lie and we’re not talking about one witness here. There were multiple. I don’t know what’s going on except for that Josh is suspended.”
She flopped back on the bed, regretting that as Juniper lay across her chest, pinning her down. Maya gently asked her to move and sat back up.
“There’s more,” Pops said. “It gets worse.”
“How could it get worse?” Maya asked. Although she already had a feeling she knew. It had to have something to do with Amber. That’s the only thing she could think of that would make things worse.
“He was seen leaving the Black Bear with his ex-fiancée. She apparently spent the night at his house. Josh’s mother was coming over to bring him some breakfast pastries early this morning and saw Amber leaving. She told Josh’s dad, elated, thinking that they were getting back together.”
Maya took a deep breath. This couldn’t be happening. The Josh she knew wouldn’t do drugs and wouldn’t cheat on her. She had to give him a chance to explain himself, although it had better be a damn good explanation. If she had managed to get into another relationship with someone who cheated, she figured she would swear off love forever. She knew he’d been holding out on her this morning.
She glanced at her watch. She might have time to call Josh again before she had to leave.
“You still there?” Pops asked.
“Yeah, I am,” Maya said. “I’m just trying to come to grips with everything you’re telling me. What was Josh’s version of the story? Did you ask him some questions?”
“I did, but I’m having a hard time believing him. He claims Amber drugged him. I think it’s an excuse for losing his sobriety. I’m sorry.”
“I am too,” Maya said. “But I don’t think Josh would throw away all the work he’s done to stay sober that easily. Amber could have drugged him. I need to talk to him and find out more. I’m going to let you go and give Josh a call.”
“Think about something for me, will you?” Pops said.
“What’s that?”
“Maybe you should take a time-out with Josh. If he’s going down a bad road or this ex is going to cause problems, I don’t want to see you affected. You’ve done so well and I want you to stay healthy.”
“I can take care of myself, Pops,” Maya said. She knew he was telling her this out of love, but she was also irritated that he was stepping into her personal life. “This is between Josh and me.”
“He said the same thing,” Pops said.
“You know, at one point you were happy that Josh and I were together, but you have to realize that, in any relationship, there’s going to be ups and downs. We’ll work through this.”
“I just want you to know that I’m there for you,” Pops said. “If you decide you need to move out, then you and Juniper can always stay with me until your cabin is done.”
“We’d kill each other, Pops. We’re too much alike.”
“True.”
“Look, I need to get going. I appreciate you telling me everything so I wasn’t blindsided. I know you have to do your job and investigate as Josh’s boss, but as Josh’s girlfriend, I need to be there for him. Got it?”
“Got it,” Pops said.
Maya could hear the resignation in his voice. She said her goodbyes and then hung up. Juniper had managed to drape herself across Maya’s lap. She hugged her dog and thought about everything she’d learned. She didn’t have much time, but she needed to talk to Josh.
Maya had just unlocked her phone when a call from Ben came in. She answered it.
“Thompson, I need you to join me at Saddle Rock Falls immediately,” Ben said. “There’s been another homicide.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
It didn’t take Maya long to get to the crime scene since the famous ice-climbing area was not far from her motel. She had wanted to visit the falls on her trip, but this was not the plan she’d had in mind.
Ben hadn’t said much more other than it was linked to their case, the killer was escalating and she needed to get there right away to help.
Maya parked next to Agent Kessler’s unmarked FBI bureau car, or “bucar.” There were other emergency responders’ vehicles from different agencies in the same area. In the law enforcement world, when there were this many first responders, the saying was “the world has arrived.”
Before Maya stepped out of her vehicle, she took a deep breath, still shaken by what Pops had told her about Josh. She wanted to contact Josh and find out his side of things, but there wasn’t time for a phone call. She picked up her cell phone and wrote:
Pops filled me in on what’s going on. Are you okay? I’m worried about you. Let’s try to talk to later. I love you.
There were other things Maya wanted to text, like, What the hell were you doing with Amber and did she hurt you? Or did she get you to use drugs again? Instead, she put her phone back in her pocket, trying to give Josh the benefit of the doubt. She grabbed her heavy coat as clouds had moved in and the wind was starting to pick up. The weather was putting a time constraint on getting this scene processed.
Once this massive winter storm moved in, it would destroy or cover up evidence. She would do everything she could to help. Maya had wanted to try to go home for her day off, but with this murder, it appeared she would be staying in Antler Valley longer. Exiting her vehicle, she heard Juniper start yipping and even giving a howl or two.
“I’ll let you know if you’re needed,” Maya said to a very unhappy Juniper. “I promise.”
She made her way over to the crime scene tape. Ben was waiting for her and, again, didn’t seem like himself. She wondered what was up or if it was her imagination. On the other hand, this case was starting to wear on her. Why wouldn’t it do the same thing to him?
“Wait until you see this,” he said. “The victim is Bryce.”
“What?” Maya asked. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Ben logged her into the scene—standard protocol to keep track of everyone who went behind the crime scene tape. Maya followed behind Ben, being careful about where she was walking to avoid interfering with any possible evidence. When they arrived at the falls, she stopped in her tracks trying to process the scene in front of her.
The victim hung from some climbing ropes, red blood contrasting against the ice. He had an ice pick lodged in his torso and a note pinned to him. Her breathing became shallow and fast. Had their plan to use him as a CI gotten him killed? If he had been set up, they may have done exactly what the killer wanted. Bryce may have been safer remaining locked up. Maya closed her eyes and worked to slow her breathing. She used to get upset about her reactions, but as she learned more about PTSD and worked with her therapist, she was starting to accept them. She knew she had to work on staying in the moment, which would help her anxiety.
Maya had to process what she saw, but even in Afghanistan she hadn’t seen a horror like this. The amount of blood and violence showed that the killer had been angry. Actually, angry didn’t even cover it.
“It’s bad,” Ben said.
“That’s one way to put it,” she said. All she could think to ask was “What does the note say?”
“The investigators said it read ‘He got the exclusive interview.’”
“That’s awful,” Maya said.
“I know.”
“Wasn’t Deputy Glen supposed to be watching him?”
“He was,” Ben said. “According to the deputy, somehow Bryce slipped out without him seeing anything. There was a back window with a fire escape in his apartment. Maybe he went down that way.”
“Unbelievable,” Maya said as Agent Kessler came over and joined them.
Overhearing, Kessler added, “It is unbelievable. This killer is taunting us. The only good thing about this escalation is that I was able to get our ERT up here immediately. This case was just bumped up a few notches in importance.”
“I’m glad your evidence response team could come process this,” Maya said. “I know you’ve been studying the other cases that ViCAP matched to this one. Did the suspect in those crimes ever do something like this where he taunted law enforcement?”
“No,” said Agent Kessler. “His MO is changing. He’s evolving, and that’s not good.”
“Maybe that means we’re getting closer to him,” Maya said. “We’re doing something that’s setting him off. We need to go through every little detail in this case. Maybe something we’re overlooking will lead us to him.”
“I agree,” Kessler said. “I’m sending crime scene photos and information to our BAU at Quantico. I’m hoping they’ll see something that we’ve missed.”
“Possibly,” Ben said, jumping back into the conversation. “All we know for sure is that Bryce Riley wasn’t the main killer. Maybe he was the partner and when we arrested him, the killer decided he needed to be taken care of. Have you heard from Quantico about the DNA samples?”
“Not yet,” said Kessler. “I did my best to put a rush on it, but of course all of us think our cases are the most important and need to be bumped up ahead of everyone else’s. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon.”
“What if I get Juniper out and see if she can find a fresh odor to track?” Maya asked, changing tactics. Juniper had the ability to track the suspect and find evidence. Juniper tracking was something that Maya didn’t need to wait on like DNA testing. They could do it right now. She took in the number of people processing the scene. “There’s a lot of people here who could have disturbed a scent while processing the scene, but maybe if I try the perimeter outside of the crime scene tape, she’ll be able to pick up an odor.”
Agent Kessler shrugged. “It’s worth a try, and if it leads us to where the suspect parked, then maybe we can get tire tread or some other kind of evidence.”
“I agree,” Ben said. “It’s worth a try.”
“Okay,” Maya said. “I’ll go get Juniper.”
She hoped that they could find something. This killer was only becoming more violent, and who knew who was next on his list?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Juniper was thrilled to have the chance to work. She danced around as Maya wrestled her to put on her snow booties, Doggles and tracking gear. With the temperature dropping and the wind picking up, Maya hoped Juniper could catch a scent. The steep cliffs would block some of the strong wind and make the track less difficult.
