Michael McGarrity: Under the color of law

Ingram stuck it in the trunk and closed the lid.

"Tell me one thing," Kerney said.

"What started all the killing?"

Ingram hesitated and looked away.

"A floppy disk."

"Stolen?"

"I didn't say that," Ingram got behind the wheel.

"But think about your question, Kerney. Where did it all start?"

Kerney nodded.

"Who was the triggerman?"

Ingram gave Kerney a tight smile.

"Don't you mean trigger person?"

"I guess I do." Kerney smiled back.

"No more questions," Ingram said.

"When do I get my truck back?"

"Soon," Ingram said, cranking the engine.

After Ingram drove away, Kerney carefully checked cottage and grounds for wiretaps, bugs, and cameras. Everything apparently had been removed.

Unwilling to risk the possibility he'd overlooked something, Kerney took Sara to the hotel in his police vehicle. At the reception desk he upgraded from the junior suite to an executive suite and tipped a porter to fetch Sara's luggage.

He told Sara what Ingram had said after the porter left the room.

"Are you surprised?"

"That Ingram answered my question, yes. That it all leads back to Hamilton Terrell, not at all." Kerney checked his watch.

"I figure we've got an hour to talk freely before they catch on that we've changed rooms. Why do you think Ingram let us off the hook?"

Sara sank onto the couch in the large, elegant sitting room.

"He could have simply been following orders. It would've been stretching it to claim that a police chief, his wife, and a detective had all been killed in one traffic accident."

Kerney eased into an overstuffed chair.

"Why did he warn you?"

"To ease his conscience. No, more than that, I think. He never asked for the message he sent me last night, and he didn't seem eager to kill us."

"So, do we abide by the terms of the agreement?" Kerney asked.

"Is there a way not to?"

"Ingram didn't get everything. Andy Baca and Sal Molina have a lot of documentation, and they're not bound by any constraints."

"To be sent to Straley?" Sara asked.

Kerney nodded.

"I say offer him something-not a lot-if he renews his promise to use it with discretion, and tell him he'll get more if he doesn't blow it.

Just make sure you're not the one who puts it in Straley's hands."

"I think Andy would be willing to help out."

"So what's next?" Sara asked.

"When big brother stops watching us, we're going to live happily ever,"

Kerney said.

"That's a scary thought."

"Which part is scary?"

Sara laughed.

"I'll reserve comment. Will you stay on as chief?"

"For two reasons. I want to finish what I've started with the department and see Hamilton Terrell taken down a peg or two. Bobby Sloan and the other victims deserve that much. What about you?"

Sara smiled and rubbed her stomach.

"I'm having a baby. But before that I plan to graduate from the Command and General Staff College, preferably at the top of the class.

Then I'll see."

"Are you thinking of leaving the army?"

"It's something we need to talk about." She patted the cushion.

"Will you please come here and put your arms around me?"

Kerney moved to her. Sara turned so she could lean against his chest and snuggle in his arms.

Kerney kicked the sheets off and looked at the clock. He'd slept until eight.

The look of anguish he'd seen on Lucy Sloan's face last night remained frozen in his mind.

Sara had stayed with him throughout the afternoon and evening, as he met with Andy Baca, Sal Molina, and Larry Otero, and then paid a visit to Bobbys widow.

On the way to the airport last night they agreed to use e-mail sparingly, watch what they said on the telephone, and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

The need to be paranoid felt like an invisible wedge thrust into their lives.

He thought about his meeting with Andy, Sal, and Larry. They all took the news of Bobby's death hard, but agreed to keep the truth buried.

Andy didn't have a problem with filtering information to Proctor Straley as long as Kerney set it up. They decided on what would be included in the first envelope. The taped hotel-room conversations between Applewhite and Perry, and Applewhite's phone calls to Terrell, would go out first. Andy would mail it if Kerney's contact with Straley result in a green light.

He dressed and went outside to get the Sunday paper. Sometime during the night his truck had been returned. It looked a mess. He opened the door to retrieve the key. On the seat were the tracking devices Molina and Sloan had planted on Applewhite and Ingram's cars.

It seemed that Ingram had done a lot more than simply ease his conscience. He'd have to tell Sara.

He drank a cup of coffee and read the paper. He found the phony fatal-accident story in the regional news section. The accident victim wasn't identified.

Tomorrow it would become front-page news when Bobby Sloan's name was released to the press.

A sidebar national news article reported a helicopter accident at Kelly Air Force base in Texas. Two federal civilian employees had been killed, but the pilot had survived unharmed. Kerney figured that took care of Applewhite and Charlie Perry.

An international news headline caught Kerney's eye:

MEXICAN DRUG LORD ASSASSINATED El Paso Texas: According to Mexican police, Enrique De Leon considered to be the most powerful drug lord in Juarez, was found shot to death at a remote location south of the city.

Authorities speculated that De Leon was killed by members of a rival drug gang. An unnamed police source said that "there is evidence to suggest that a meeting took place between De Leon and unknown parties which resulted in the shooting," and also noted that "the killing was professionally done."

De Leon driver was also found murdered at the scene.

Maybe there was a silver lining at the end of a terrible week. De Leon had tried to kill him once, and Kerney had often wondered when he would try again.

Kerney flipped to the business briefs section. A headline read:

LOCAL CEO TO INK SOUTH AMERICAN TRADE DEAL Clarence Thayer, CEO of APT Performa, left Saturday for Caracas, Venezuela, to sign an agreement with banking officials from five Latin American countries.

Under the pending agreement Thayer's company will install state-of-the-art computer security software based on research carried out at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. The countries involved are Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Panama.

"Our software tools will assist developing countries in managing liquid financial assets, resulting in improved fiscal accountability," Thayer said before flying to Venezuela.

In Washington a Commerce Department spokesman said the pending agreement will play an important role in helping Latin American countries actively participate in the global economy.

Kerney folded the paper and put it aside. Wallace Brooks had told him SWAMI was three months away from launch. Kerney wondered if some special features were being brought on-line early. If so, he could imagine rows of intelligence analysts drooling on their monitors as they waited expectantly for the data to roll in.

He dressed in his uniform, and went to work. He called the mayor and city manager to inform them of Bobby Sloan's death. He wrote a memo to all personnel for distribution on Monday morning. By radio he spoke to the day-shift commander, gave her the word about Bobby, and asked to have the flag outside the building lowered to half-mast. He alerted the departments honor-guard commander and requested a full police escort to accompany Bobby's body back to Santa Fe. He made contact with the police chaplain and requested support service for Lucy Sloan. He telephoned every senior off-duty officer above the rank of sergeant and gave them the news.