Michael McGarrity - Hermit_s Peak

"Are you making any progress?" Griffin asked. He opened a tin of chewing tobacco and put a pinch in his mouth.

"It's hard to say. Did Luiza give notice before she quit?"

"Nope. She just left."

"How did she leave?"

"She walked away."

"Didn't you think that was unusual?"

"Not at the time. She didn't know how to drive, and most evenings, if the weather was nice, she'd go for a walk. She liked to walk."

"Was she carrying anything when she left?"

"Not that I noticed."

"Where would she walk to?"

"Mostly down to Ojitos Frios."

"Was she visiting somebody in the village?"

"I don't know."

"How was she dressed that evening?"

Griffin shrugged.

"Jeans, some sort of top, I think.

That's usually what she wore."

"Did she ever hitch rides?"

"Only with people she knew from the ranch."

"You're sure of that?"

"Yeah. Couple of times I'd be on the road and see some guy in front of me trying to pick her up. She'd wave him off."

"What exactly did she say to you before she left?"

"That she was going home. At the time I didn't think she meant right that minute."

"Who was here that day?"

"Me, my crew, and Richard, the boss's son. The boss was in Los Angeles that week. Richard brought a friend from college with him for the weekend, a girl."

"Tell me about Richard."

"He goes to college down in Santa Fe. He comes up on weekends, when school is out, and during summer vacations. He's twenty. A good kid."

"Did Richard ever come on to Luiza?"

"Richard doesn't like girls that way, if you get my drift."

"When did Richard and his friend leave?"

"Soon after Luiza did."

"What was his friend's name?"

"Nancy something."

"Does Richard live on campus?"

"No, Alida bought him a condo in Santa Fe."

"Do you have the address?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather you got that information from the boss. I'm sure she won't mind telling you."

Gabe arrived at the newspaper office promptly at eight in the morning and waited for Viola Fisher to show up for work. A big-boned woman with a round, cheerful face. Fisher entered her office at eight-fifteen.

"The receptionist said you were a policeman."

Gabe had his badge case ready. Fisher took it and studied the credentials before giving it back.

"How can I help you?"

"I'd like information on Joaquin Santistevan. He attended some of your singles parties last year."

"The name rings a bell." Fisher turned to the file cabinet behind the desk, pulled out a stack of papers, and ran a finger down the pages.

"Yes, here he is. He came to our Valentine's Day event a year ago in February. That's our most popular gathering."

"Was that his first time?" Gabe asked.

"Yes." Viola flipped through more papers.

"Then he attended in March and April. After that, he stopped coming."

"Do you know if he met somebody?"

"I really couldn't say," Viola replied.

"We use a voice mailbox system. A customer places an ad, a voice mailbox number is assigned through our special telephone line, and each person records a brief message. If a caller likes what they hear, they leave a message in return."

"Do you have records of those mailbox assignments?"

"Not unless they are still active. Once a party drops out or makes a connection, the mailbox is reassigned."

"What kind of information do you collect from your customers?"

"Age, address, and phone number. Whatever else a person is looking for romantically is usually spelled out in their recorded message and weekly personal ad."

"I'd like the telephone numbers and names of the women who attended the events from February through April of last year."

"That information is strictly confidential."

"One of those women may be able to help me solve a murder."

"Our policy is very dear. We do not release that information."

"What you're telling me is that some guy can sign up for this dating service you run, rape and murder one of your female customers, and you can't help me because a policy forbids it." Gabe got to his feet and played a bluff card.

"Tell your boss I'll get a court order."

Viola looked startled.

"Who was murdered?"

"I can't release that information."

Voila raised herself from her chair.

"Let me speak to the city editor."

"I'll be happy to wait," Gabe replied.

In five minutes, Viola Fisher returned looking a bit chagrined.

"We'll be glad to assist you. Sergeant Gonzales All we need is your assurance that the information will be used with discretion. We don't want to create any unnecessary anxiety among our customers."

"I'll handle the matter delicately."

"Good," Viola said as she started pulling files.

Gabe left the newspaper building with the names and phone numbers of sixty-eight women. At home, he called the phone company, read off the names and numbers, and asked to have them cross-checked with Santistevan's home phone, the business phone at Buena Vista Lumber and Supply, and the telephone number of Joaquin's uncle, Isaac Medina.

"Is that all?" the phone company supervisor asked sarcastically.

"If you get any hits, I'd like a record of the calls placed by the women, starting in February of last year."

"This is going to take a while, Gabe," the supervisor said.

"Mid-afternoon?" Gabe asked hopefully.

"I'll see what I can do."

Richard Bingham weighed in at no more than 150 pounds on a six-two frame. He had long, curly hair that fell over his forehead, and he was trying hard to grow a mustache.

He sat on a chair with a day pack positioned between his knees, busily filling it with textbooks and papers.

He laughed when Kerney questioned him about Luiza.

"Didn't Emmet tell you I'm gay?" he said as he zipped the pack shut.

Kerney didn't respond.

"It's no secret," Richard said. He walked to the Murphy bed, folded it against the wall, and closed the doors that hid it from view.

Bingham lived in a studio condominium of no more than 800 square feet, yet given its location in downtown Santa Fe, Kerney figured it was worth a pretty penny.

"I gotta go," Richard said.

"I've got a class."

"Give me a few more minutes," Kerney replied, gesturing at the chair Richard had vacated.

Reluctantly, the boy sat.

"Did anything happen to upset Luiza the day she disappeared?"

"Well, Nancy kind of freaked her out."

"How so?"

"She wanted to get it on with Luiza."

"Nancy's gay?"

"Yeah, and she can be very butch at times."

"What happened?"

"She kept grabbing at Luiza and talking sexy to her."

"Anything else?"

"Luiza slapped her in the kitchen after Nancy grabbed her ass. That chilled Nancy out. Then Luiza split and went to her room."

"When did this happen?"

"About three o'clock in the afternoon."

"Did you see Luiza after the incident in the kitchen?"

"Not until we left the ranch. She was walking down the side of the road, about halfway between the ranch and Romeroville, when we passed her."

"Going in which direction?"

"Toward the interstate."

"Did you stop?"

"No. After what happened we didn't think Luiza wanted to talk to either of us."

"What time was that?"

"It was getting on toward dusk."

"Emmet Griffin said that Luiza never hitched rides with strangers. Did you see anyone on the road who might have given her a lift?"

"No." Richard paused for a moment.

"Well, not right away."

"What about later?"

"You know where the pavement ends as you make the turn out of Romeroville heading toward Ojitos Frios?"

"I do."

"Bernardo Barela passed me in his grandfather's pickup."

"Would that be Nestor Barela's grandson?"

"Yeah. He had another guy with him. I didn't know him."