Michael McGarity - Mexican Hat

It was early morning when Kerney turned the corner of the hospital corridor on his way to see Jim before leaving Silver City. He almost ran over Karen Cox. She wore black linen trousers and a vanilla colored jacket over a silk shirt. It made her seem even more willowy.

"How's Jim doing?" he asked, glancing down the hallway to the hospital room where Stiles temporarily resided.

"He seems okay, thankfully. I expect a full briefing from you."

"Whenever you say."

"Not now. I'm running late. I understand you had a talk with my father," she said.

"What was that about?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"I'd like to hear your version."

"According to your father, he came to the hospital on Sunday to find out if Jose Padilla was someone he once knew."

Karen blinked. Kerney waited for more of a reaction.

"And?" she demanded.

"He's not sure," Kerney replied.

"But if it turns out that Padilla is an old acquaintance, your father may be a source of information."

Faced with confirmation that her father had lied to her about his meeting with Kerney, Karen struggled to keep her composure.

"What did you learn about Jose Padilla?" she asked.

Kerney read the distress in Karen's eyes.

"He was born here. He was attending medical school in Mexico City when his father died. He came back because he believed his father, Don Luis, was murdered sixty years ago."

Karen's tone became guarded.

"I thought the working hypothesis was that Hector Padilla was shot to protect the poacher's identity."

"That's one motive," Kerney said.

"Another is that the killer simply panicked when Hector came on the scene. A third motive is that the killing might be tied to Jose and Hector Padilla's arrival in Catron County to look into the death of Don Luis."

"When can I talk to Jose Padilla?"

"You can't. He died last night. What I've learned was supplied by his daughter, who came up from Mexico City."

"I want to talk to her." Kerney told Karen where Cornelia Marquez was staying.

She nodded, broke eye contact, looked at her wristwatch, and glanced at him impatiently.

"Anything else?"

"What can you tell me?" Kerney leaned forward to test Karen's reaction.

She inched back from him.

Something had her uptight.

"I have no new information."

"Do you think your father is holding something back?"

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know." He held out the special investigator commission card.

"Here. Take it. I'm afraid you can't borrow my services any longer."

Karen looked from the card to Kerney's face, her expression vexed.

"What's this all about?"

Kerney shrugged.

"Politics. I got fired. Read the morning paper."

"What will you do?"

"I'll think of something," he said, placing the card in Karen's hand.

She reached out and touched Kerney on the arm.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. I was looking forward to working with you."

She reacted with a flush of agreement in her voice.

"I still need you to fill me in on what happened."

"I will." He left her standing in the hallway and paid a quick visit to Jim.

"You just missed Karen," Jim said. He was propped up in bed with two pillows stuffed behind his head.

Kerney nodded.

"How are you doing?"

"The food sucks and I want to go home."

Full vision was back in Jim's right eye, but the doctor wanted to keep him under observation for another day. His arm was sore as hell. They talked a bit about Jose Padilla's death, and Jim promised he'd redouble his research efforts now that the only potential eyewitness was gone.

Kerney groaned at the pun and waved goodbye.

Jim belly-laughed as Kerney left the room.

As Kerney crossed the lobby he saw Karen in the gift shop buying the morning paper. For someone who was running late, he wondered why she was still at the hospital. He dismissed the thought as he walked outside. Carol Cassidy's decision to give him two extra weeks to solve the case was a nice gesture, but Kerney had already decided before the offer was made to nail the perpetrator, no matter how long it took. He hated leaving a job unfinished, and Jim Stiles deserved to have the asshole who shot him caught.

Karen bought the paper and looked at the wall clock in the gift shop.

Her parents were due to arrive soon for Mom's appointment with the doctor, and Karen had made arrangements to go to work late so she could be with them when they received the results of the biopsy. Mom had made sure Daddy knew that Karen had been told about the cancer.

Both had welcomed her demand to be included in on the meeting with the doctor.

She was angry at her father-much more so than before. He had lied to her twice. She wanted to believe that his lies were inconsequential, motivated by his desire to protect her from his personal conflict with Eugene. But now it seemed more damaging.

Raising the issue with him today was out of the question. She wondered if bringing it up with him at all was the right way to go. Maybe she needed to do some digging on her own before broaching the subject again.

She folded the newspaper under her arm and walked to the hospital cafeteria. It had just opened for business, and no one was in the serving line. She poured a cup of coffee, paid for it at the cashier's station, and carried it to an empty table in the corner of the dining room, away from the only other occupants, a surgical team dressed in green scrubs and plastic booties, sitting in an area reserved for hospital staff.

She took a sip, and opened the paper to the front page. The headline read:

FIRED RANGER RESCUES WOUNDED GAME AND FISH OFFICER

Kevin Kerney, a ranger fired yesterday from his job with the Forest Service, rescued Game and Fish Officer James Stiles, who had been shot by an unknown assailant while investigating the murder of Hector Padilla, a Mexican national.

According to the Catron County sheriff, Omar Gatewood, Kerney found Stiles, administered first aid, and carried him out of a remote canyon in the Mangas Mountains north of Reserve to a waiting helicopter.

Stiles, who was wounded in the arm, face and left eye, was airlifted to the Gila Regional Medical Center, where he is listed in satisfactory condition.

According to Dr. Harrison Walker, attending physician. Officer Stiles will make a complete recovery from his wounds. Walker credits Kerney for responding in a "timely and appropriate manner," and for "possibly saving Officer Stiles' life."

Kerney, who was released from his position with the Forest Service because of his appointment as a special investigator with the district attorney's office, served as the chief of detectives for the Santa Fe Police Department until a gun battle left him seriously wounded and forced him into retirement.

Kerney was fired from the Forest Service after having been enlisted by Assistant District Attorney Karen Cox to assist in the inquiry into the murder of Hector Padilla. Acting Regional Forester Samuel Aldrich released a press statement from his Albuquerque office saying "the investigation of a murder is not an appropriate function for Forest Service personnel. We regret having to terminate Mr. Kerney's temporary employment sooner than planned, but are pleased that he's now free to pursue his investigation for the district attorney's office without distraction."

Sheriff Gatewood, who commissioned Stiles to help his department investigate the Padilla murder, has announced that Stiles will receive special commendations for bravery from his office and the state Game and Fish Department. Stiles, Gatewood said, will continue to hold a commission with the sheriff's department until the murder of Padilla is solved. There are no suspects or new developments in the case, but police believe that the murder of Padilla and the wounding of Officer Stiles may be linked.