Michael McGarrity - The Judas judge

"I know that's important to you."

"Very."

"Is it also important to those you care about?"

"Of course."

"Including Dr. Joel Cushman?"

"Since you know about my relationship with Joel, why do you bother to ask?"

"He's been your therapist, lover, and friend."

"Yes, all of those things."

"And you care about him."

"That doesn't deserve an answer. I know you threatened him with exposure to the Board of Psychological Examiners. But I would have to file a complaint against him, and I have no intention to do so."

"That doesn't necessarily protect him from an arrest."

"Of course it does."

"I've researched the law, Ms. Murray. Under the statutes, psychotherapists who have sex with current or past patients, even if the consent is mutual, can be charged with criminal sexual penetration through the use of force or coercion. It's a third-degree felony."

"That's a stupid, intrusive law."

"I have your statement and Cushman's admission. That's all I need to ask the DA to press charges."

Murray's voice wavered when she spoke. "And of course you'll do it if I don't cooperate. You really are a son of a bitch."

"You can keep Cushman out of jail. What was the reason for your meeting with Eric?"

"I brought him money."

"How much?"

"I don't know."

"It wasn't your money?"

"Whose money was it?"

"His sister's. All of my meetings with Eric were to take him money.

Linda would send me a sealed envelope with a note asking me to pass it along to Eric. I'd call Eric and arrange to meet him in Capitan."

"Why Capitan?"

"Because Linda didn't want her father to know that she was helping Eric financially."

"How did you know it was money you delivered?"

"Eric told me. He gets a kick out of the fact that the sister he despises gives him money."

"And what did you get for your trouble?"

"Nothing."

Kerney waited a beat. "Are you sure?"

"That's what I said."

"Why would Eric rent a motel room if all he had to do was wait for you to show up with an envelope?"

"You can't stay away from the sex thing, can you?" Kay said.

"I can't see you spending an hour or two in a motel room with Eric on eleven different occasions without a good reason."

"We would talk for a time, that's all."

"Do you always tell the truth, Ms. Murray?"

"The one thing I can't stand is a liar."

Kerney tapped a finger against his lips. "I wonder what a search of your car and house would turn up."

"You have no cause to do that," Kay said. She brushed an imaginary hair away from her forehead and broke eye contact. "I want to speak to a lawyer."

Kerney leaned forward. "I think I know what's happening here. There is always at least one thing a person would rather not have the police know about. It doesn't have to be a big thing. What is it for you, Ms. Murray? Do you smoke a little pot?"

Kay Murray raised her eyes to the ceiling and sighed. "What is it you'd rather not have the police know?"

"Nothing."

"What would I find in your house, Ms. Murray? In your purse? In your car? If you're arrested, we'll take a very close look. You'll be strip-searched as well."

Murray's hand tightened on her purse, and her eyes snapped back to Kerney's face. "You'd find grass, okay? I smoke grass, and I buy it from Eric."

"Only to friends and people he knows well. He's a doper, not a dealer."

"How much money does his sister give him?"

"It depends; between five and ten thousand dollars each time."

"For what?"

"I don't know." "I believe you," Kerney said, getting to his feet. "Do you know where Eric is right now?"

Murray shook her head and stood. "I haven't seen him since we met in Capitan."

"When you meet with Eric in Capitan, do you wear a blond wig?" Murray looked bewildered. "I've never worn a wig in my life."

"You can go, Ms. Murray, but we may need to talk again."

"Are you going to arrest Joel?"

"That will depend on how truthful you've been with me."

Kay protectively tucked her purse under an arm, her eyes narrow and hostile. "You really enjoy shattering people's lives, don't you?"

"That usually happens long before I ever get involved," Kerney said.

"I don't like you at all, Mr. Kerney, and I doubt there are many people who do." Her cutting condemnation said, she hurried out the door, avoiding Kerney's hard-eyed scrutiny of her purse. She'd revealed her use of marijuana too easily, Kerney thought, and he wondered what still undisclosed secret went with her.

Unnoticed, Andy Baca stood in the open office doorway watching Kerney as he scribbled notes on a pad. Kerney looked up, and the troubled expression on his face smoothed out.

"What are you doing here?" Kerney asked, forcing a smile as he dropped the pen on the desk.

"I see you haven't lost your touch with women, Kerney," Andy replied.

"That was one pissed-off lady who flew by me in the hall. Who was she?"

"I'm not sure. A suspect, a witness, a victim of some sort. Maybe all of the above. Her name is Kay Murray."

Andy eased himself into a chair. "I haven't heard much from you in the last couple of days."

"There hasn't been much to tell. You could have called from Santa Fe if you wanted a progress report."

"I'm not here to check up on you. I came down to put Captain Catanach and Lieutenant Vanhorn back on the job."

"You're not going to terminate them?"

Andy shook his head. "It wouldn't be fair. Nate's Internal Affairs people tell me Catanach and Vanhorn aren't the only district supervisors who were lax about evidence protection. Seems my predecessor didn't pay it much attention, so things got sloppy. That's changing fast."

"I bet it is. How is Nate doing on the job?"

Andy grinned. "I should have made him my deputy chief a long time ago. He doesn't give me half the grief you do."

"How about I turn in my shield now so you can make Nate's appointment permanent?"

Andy cocked his head and studied his old friend. "Feeling a bit grumpy?"

"Stymied is more like it."

"Bring me up to speed."

Kerney took Andy through the high points of the investigation, the subsequent dead ends, and the circumstantial evidence that implicated Eric Langsford.

"Motive and opportunity sound like sufficient probable cause to me," Andy said, when Kerney finished up. "Find Eric Langsford and arrest him. Let the district attorney decide if he's got enough to file murder-one charges."

"Are we trying to make ourselves look good here?" Kerney asked.

"Making an arrest in a multiple-murder case always looks good," Andy replied.

"You sound like a careerist protecting the department's reputation, Andy."

Andy absorbed Kerney's words like a slap. "This has nothing to do with maintaining the self-interest of the department. You've got a viable suspect and enough cause to arrest him, so do it."

"Is that an order?"

"If you want it to be," Andy replied evenly.

Kerney's deep-set eyes became almost invisible, and anger darkened his face. "Fine," he said without emotion.

"What in the hell is the matter with you?"

Kerney swallowed his anger. "I want this case wrapped up right."

"That's not what's eating at you," Andy said. "Maybe not."

"Want to talk about it?"

Killing Shockley and discovering Clayton to be his son had unsettled Kerney in ways he'd never imagined possible. For the past two days he'd been questioning everything. He could talk to Andy about any one of his worries, but not all of them at once. It would sound like babble.

"No," he said, breaking into a rueful smile as he stood. "Let me get out of here and do my job. I guess I do give you grief, Andy.

Sorry."

Andy got to his feet and smiled back. "No sweat."