Michael McGarrity - The big gamble

Determined not to cry or throw her coffee cup against the wall, Sara decided to draw a warm bath and take a long soak in the tub.

Kerney arrived at the crime scene to find Potter's body covered with a tarp. A large number of onlookers were clustered in the courthouse parking lot watching television reporters broadcast live feeds about the murder to network affiliates in Albuquerque. One reporter started shouting questions at Kerney from across the street.

He ignored the woman and took a quick tour of the evidence markers which, except for the bloody footprints, looked like nothing more than street litter. But if they found a suspect, DNA testing of the cigarette butts that had been marked as evidence might prove valuable.

He bent down and uncovered Potter's body. Jack's wide-eyed, handsome features were frozen in shock, and his bloody hands were pressed against a dark stain on the tank top just below the entry wound in his chest. Potter had died hard.

Jack had started his law career with the district attorney's office a few years before Kerney first joined the police department, and Kerney knew him well, professionally and socially.

After a fairly long stint as an ADA, Potter had opened a private practice specializing in criminal law, quickly becoming one of the most sought-after defense lawyers in the city. When he came out of the closet as an advocate for same-sex marriages some years later, it didn't hurt his reputation in Santa Fe one bit.

Of all the prosecutors Kerney had worked with in the district attorney's office, Jack had been the best of the lot. Outside of the job, he was charming, witty, and fun to be around.

Kerney flipped the tarp over Jack's face and stood. Entering Potter's office he found Sal Molina talking with Larry Otero, his deputy chief and second-in-command. Kerney nodded a curt greeting to both men and turned his attention to Molina. "Fill me in, Sal, if you don't mind repeating yourself."

"Not a problem, Chief," Molina said. "Potter was shot once in the chest at close range. I'm assuming you saw the blood trail on your way in."

"I did," Kerney replied.

"He crawled down the sidewalk and died in front of his building. The ME estimates Potter was shot about fifteen minutes before his body was discovered. We're canvassing the area, but so far we haven't turned up anyone who either witnessed the event or heard the shot."

Kerney glanced around the front office, once the living room of a modest residence. It was nicely appointed with matching Southwestern-style furniture consisting of a large desk, several chairs, a couch, and a coffee table. Two large museum-quality Navajo rugs hung on the walls, and a built-in bookcase held neatly organized state- and federal-statute books. The door to Potter's inner office was closed.

"Have you ruled out robbery?" Kerney asked.

"Pretty much," Molina replied, "as well as burglary. We've only done a plain-view search so far, but the office and his car appear undisturbed. There are no signs of breaking and entering, and the vehicle hasn't been tampered with. Both were locked, and Potter had his keys in his possession when he was shot."

"Also, his wallet containing three hundred dollars and his credit cards is in the bathroom along with an expensive Swiss wristwatch," Otero said.

"Where's his secretary?" Kerney asked.

"She showed up a few minutes ago," Molina said. "Detective Pino has her over at the courthouse, conducting an interview."

"Is Pino the primary?" Kerney asked.

"No, I am," Molina replied.

"That's what I wanted to hear," Kerney said. "Get the secretary over here soon. Have her double-check to see if anything is missing."

"That's the plan," Molina said.

"What have you learned from her so far?" Kerney asked.

"She says that unless Potter had a court appearance or trial scheduled, he worked abbreviated hours during the summer months," Molina replied. "He'd come in early, go running for a half hour or so, and then shower and change here before starting his day. He usually finished up by midafternoon."

"Several neighbors have seen Potter running in the morning, and he keeps a change of clothes in his office closet," Otero said.

"So Potter kept to a daily schedule," Kerney said, "which means this might not be a random shooting."

"That's the way we read it," Molina said.

"Have you contacted Jack's life partner?" Kerney asked. Norman Kaplan, Potter's significant other, owned an upscale antique shop on Canyon Road.

"According to Potter's secretary, he's in London on a buying trip and not due back for three days," Otero said. "I called his hotel, but he's not there. I'll try him again later on."

"Are there any other next of kin?" Kerney asked.

"Not that we know about yet," Otero answered. "But the story is already on the airwaves, thanks to the photographer who showed up before our people arrived on the scene."

"What happened?" Kerney asked.

"He walked through the blood trail, took pictures, and called the newspaper on his cell phone to tell them Potter had been gunned down," Molina explained. "Detective Pino had to order him away from the crime scene."

"Do we have this bozo in hand?" Kerney asked.

"Yeah, he's outside in the panel truck cooling his heels, waiting to give a statement," Otero said. "He's not too happy about it."

"Have a detective take his statement and then arrest him for tampering with evidence and interfering with a criminal investigation," Kerney said.

"Those charges probably won't stick, Chief," Otero said.

"I don't give a damn if they stick or not," Kerney said. "Let the DA sort it out."

Otero eyed Kerney, who was usually levelheaded when it came to dealing with the media. He wondered what was biting the chief. It had to be more than a stupid photographer's mistakes. "Are you sure that's what you want us to do?" he asked.

Kerney bit his lip and shook his head. "You're right. It's a dumb idea. Put a scare into him instead."

"We can do that," Molina said.

"Get a handle on this fast, Sal," Kerney said. "Let's find someone with a motive-friends, clients, enemies-you know the drill."

Molina nodded.

"I'll talk to the reporters," Otero said.

"Give them the usual spiel, Larry," Kerney said, heading for the door, "and keep me informed. Call me on my cell phone."

The spat with Sara had put Kerney in a bad mood, and Jack Potter's murder only added to it. He decided to cool down before going home, and drove to the South Capitol neighborhood where Fletcher Hartley lived. In his seventies, Fletcher was a highly regarded Santa Fe artist, a retired museum director, and an old friend who'd assisted Kerney in a major art heist investigation several years ago, during Kerney's tenure with the state police.

A colorful eccentric, Fletcher was a prominent fixture in the gay community and a potential source of good information about Jack Potter's personal life.

Fletcher's sprawling adobe was nestled at the bottom of a large sloping lot behind a beautifully landscaped, expansive front yard filled with hedges and trees that screened the house from the street. Situated in a neighborhood of older homes lined up in tidy rows, Fletcher's hidden rural oasis was the crown jewel of a charming residential area that still retained a small-town feel.

Kerney rang the doorbell and listened to a Beethoven piano sonata that flowed through the open windows of the front room. Fletcher opened the door, clutching a book. He wore his favorite kimono and a pair of screaming-pink silk pajama bottoms. Reading glasses where perched on his nose, which had recently been made perfect by plastic surgery. Fletcher fought the aging process by every possible means. In the past, his cheeks had been lifted and his wrinkles tucked to give him the face of a fifty-year-old.