Michael McGarity - Mexican Hat

Kerney quietly slipped out of the room and went to the kitchen.

Molly sniffled and wiped her nose, still a little red from crying. She sat with Kerney and Jim at the kitchen table.

"Sorry I sounded so bitchy," Molly said.

"You have every reason to bitch," Kerney allowed.

"You're right. I do. I called Karen Cox this morning after I started worrying about Jim." She shot him a dirty look, and he flinched.

"She said Gate- wood went over her head to the DA in Socorro to get the warrant signed. She wants you to stay out of Catron County and turn yourself in to the police in Silver City."

"I have no intention of going to jail on a murder one charge," Kerney retorted.

"I'll bail you out," Jim countered.

"I may not be allowed to make bail," Kerney replied.

Molly wrinkled her nose.

"Fine. Jim can harbor you, and you can both be fugitives." She took a slip of paper from her purse and passed it to Stiles.

"A lady called for you. She got your message on her answering machine asking about Eugene Cox's wife."

Jim read the name and address.

"Emily Wheeler.

Pie Town. What did she say?"

"She wrote a book about the Great Depression and World War Two in Pie Town. It's a history other family and friends who homesteaded in the area. It sounds like she did a lot of research. Tracking down former residents, searching public records, interviewing folks, and corresponding with old-timers who had moved away. She published it herself and sent copies to all her friends and relatives."

"Did she say anything about Louise Cox?" Jim asked.

"She won't talk about Louise unless you can prove you're really a police officer. She was quite insistent about it."

Kerney raised an eyebrow.

"Go and see her," he said to Jim.

"Take Molly with you."

"Right now? It's too late."

"Get her out of bed if you have to."

"It can wait until morning," Stiles argued.

"I'm going with you."

"No, you're not. Take Molly and go to Pie Town."

Jim gave him a stormy look.

"I don't want you with me," Kerney added.

"I think we should do what the man asks," Molly said.

Jim's expression softened when he looked at Molly.

"Okay. Pie Town it is."

"Can I use your truck?" Kerney asked.

Jim tossed him the keys.

"Don't get busted, for chrissake. At least not until we get back."

"If I'm caught, I'll tell Gatewood I stole the truck," Kerney replied.

Amador's house was dark, but a quarter mile up the road the Lujan house was filled with people, and a large number of vehicles were parked in front of the chain-link fence. Kerney debated delaying a confrontation with Ortiz and decided to wait and see how long the gathering of mourners would last.

He parked Jim's truck out of sight, walked back to the road, and settled under a tree halfway between the two houses. With moonrise several hours away, the night was dark. Above him the Milky Way cut a swath across the sky and sprinkled out into a vast, random pattern.

He heard a car engine fire up, and soon it passed him, traveling to the blacktop highway and turning toward town. More cars began to leave, along with a few people on foot, walking down the dirt road to their houses. Finally all the cars were gone, except for the Lujans', but Amador had yet to appear. Half an hour later, Amador and his three children came out, walked slowly down the road, and veered up the path to their house.

Kerney waited, wondering if Amador's wife was staying with Yolanda. He tried to think of a way to separate Amador from the children without announcing his presence, but no ideas came, short of breaking in and yanking him out.

Amador supplied the solution. The bedroom lights were doused, and within minutes Amador was on the porch lighting a cigarette. Kerney waited until Amador walked into the yard before making a long, looping circle behind the house.

Amador flicked his cigarette away, turned to go inside, and felt the muzzle of a gun pressed against his ear.

"Walk across the road," Kerney whispered.

"You motherfucker," Amador said.

Kerney slapped the barrel against Amador's temple, just hard enough to get his attention.

"No talking," he hissed.

"Move."

In the darkness under the trees, he ordered Amador to turn around. Ortiz spun quickly, and Kerney hit him hard across the bridge of the nose with the pistol. Amador's hands flew to his face.

"You broke my fucking nose," he gasped.

"Isn't this fun?" Kerney replied, as he backed up a few steps, out of Amador's range.

"Now, very slowly, I want you to drop to your knees and lie facedown on the ground with your arms and legs spread out at your sides. You know the drill."

"Are you going to kill me?" Amador whined. His stomach heaved and his breath came in quick gasps.

"Do it!" Kerney snapped.

Ortiz sank down and assumed the position.

Kerney walked behind him, cocked the pistol, and patted Amador down. He had no weapons.

"I had a little chat with Steve last night before he died," Kerney said.

"He told me you knew about his freelance poaching job. In fact, he said you let him take time off from work to go hunting."

Amador grunted.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"I knew about it."

"That makes you an accessory to murder."

"You're a fucking murderer yourself."

"I guess we're both in a shitload of trouble. Who told you to call Jim Stiles and tell him about Padilla Canyon?"

"Nobody."

"Don't lie to me, Amador."

"Let me get up," Amador begged.

"My nose hurts real bad."

"Come slowly to your knees and keep your arms outstretched."

Amador complied.

"Who told you to call Jim Stiles?" Kerney repeated.

"Gatewood has me by the balls, man. I did a burglary three years ago. I needed money, so I hit one of the vacation cabins. The owner had it wired with a silent alarm. Gatewood got a call from the alarm company and caught me on the road with all the goodies."

"So you're Gatewood's snitch," Kerney said.

"Did he tell you to call Jim Stiles?"

"That's what I'm saying, man."

"Thanks, Amador. You can go home now."

"You mean it?"

"I sure do. Get that nose looked after."

As Amador started to rise, Kerney cold-cocked him.

Ker emey left Amador where he fell. A bad feeling about beating up the man left a sour taste in his mouth. He cursed himself for giving in to the anger and drove away.

From the number of the squad cars patrolling the streets of Reserve it looked as though Gatewood, all his deputies, and the state police were out searching for him. Fortunately they weren't looking for him in Jim's truck. On the highway to Silver City, Kerney considered his options. With a murder-one APB out on him, playing hide-and-seek with Gatewood and his cronies wasn't an appealing idea. He could go to ground, stay in the open and risk the possibility of the danger inherent in a felony arrest, or turn himself in to the Silver City police and deal with Karen Cox. He had no place to hide and no desire to get conveniently shot for resisting arrest-which was a distinct possibility, given Gatewood's culpability.

That left jail as his only option. He would have to gamble that Karen Cox would play by the rules.

In Silver City he called Charlie Perry from a pay phone, told him what he planned to do, and asked him to get in touch with Karen and fill her in on the facts about Steve Lujan's murder. Perry was willing to oblige: Spence's handgun had been recovered, ballistics had matched the weapon to the slugs in Steve Lujan's body, and Spence's fingerprints had been lifted from the gun.

"I'll tell Gatewood to cancel the APB and void the arrest warrant,"

Perry added.

"Leave Gatewood out of it," Kerney snapped.

"According to Amador Ortiz, it was Gatewood who told him to set up Jim Stiles for the ambush at Padilla Canyon."