Michael McGarrity - Hermit_s Peak

Bernardo didn't react. Gabe cocked his weapon.

Bernardo gurgled, choking on the barrel.

"Don't kill him with the gun," Kerney said. He picked up Bernardo's butcher knife and held it out.

"Use the knife. Open him up from his balls to his neck."

Gabe shook his head and jammed the gun barrel to the back of Bernardo's throat.

"Puck the knife. Is Orlando dead?"

Bernardo's eyes grew wide and he nodded.

"Did you kill him?" Gabe asked.

Bernardo nodded again.

"You pissant little fucker."

"Take the gun out of his mouth, Gabe," Kerney ordered, pulling on Gabe's arm.

"Puck you, Kerney." Gabe's eyes bored into Bernardo.

"Where is he? Where s Orlando?"

Bernardo gurgled some more.

"The gun, Gabe," Kerney said, pulling hard on Gabe's arm.

Gabe yanked the barrel out, busted Bernardo across the nose, and kneed him hard in the groin.

Blood spurted down the front of Bernardo's bare chest as he sank to the floor. He sat holding himself, gasping in pain.

Gabe bolstered his weapon and held out his hand.

"Give me the fucking knife, Kerney."

He took it, knelt down, and pulled Bernardo's hands away from his groin.

When the point of the butcher knife pricked Bernardo's balls, he started spilling his guts.

Arlin FuUerton brought the bulldozer out to the ranch road and started stripping dirt at the spot where Kerney had told him to start digging.

Four officers, including the lieutenant who had come to the ranch with Kerney earlier in the day, stood nearby. Police cars were lined up on each side of the road, all with headlights and spotlights on.

Fullerton trenched two feet down until the blade hit a buried granite boulder. That's how Bernardo gouged the dozer's lip, he thought, as he skipped over the obstruction and started scraping away broken shale and sandstone on the other side.

The twin spotlights on the cab roof lit up the excavation as he pushed the earth into a mound at tile end of the trench. It would have been faster and neater to use a backhoe or a front end loader. But Pullerton knew he could do the job. He'd logged countless hours on the 'dozer and could peel an inch of dirt away with each pass and have it be almost dead level.

The men on either side of the trench stood like statues as he worked, not talking, just staring and beaming their flashlights into the ever-deepening ditch.

Pullerton didn't want to mangle the body so it took a while to get three feet down. Even then, nothing showed. He backed up, got out of the cab, and adjusted the 'dozer spotlights to shine directly into the trench.

Then he climbed down, walked to the back of the machine, got two long-handled shovels off a jerry-rigged rack, and approached Kerney.

"Two more feet and I'll hit bedrock," he said.

"Best to dig by hand from here."

Kerney and the lieutenant climbed into the hole and started digging.

The three other officers stood at the edge of the pit and watched. When Kerney exposed the body, the lieutenant sank to his knees and started retching, his head turned away from the crushed face.

One of the officers, a sergeant, dropped into the trench, pulled the lieutenant to his feet, and hauled him out. Kerney slammed his shovel against the side of the pit and joined the men standing around the lieutenant, who quickly broke away from the group and walked into the darkness.

Kerney followed him while the other men stood fast.

One by one, their flashlights went dark.

Wisely, Arlin cut off the 'dozer's spotlights and retreated into the shadows to wait.

Gabe didn't cry as he walked down the road but his breath sounded ragged. Kerney stayed a few steps behind, keeping his distance. When Gabe stopped, a long time passed before he spoke.

"I wanted a good life for him. Chief," he said dully, his face turned away.

"College, a decent job, meet the right girl, start a family. Make me proud. You know what I mean?"

"I do."

"I always thought he'd be a great father. Better than me.

Kids just seemed to take to him. He had a way with kids."

Kerney didn't respond.

"Jesus, his mother is going to flip out. I need to call her. What do I say?"

"Do it later."

Gabe's back stiffened.

"He was a fucking rapist, Kerney."

"Maybe Bernardo made that part up."

Gabe kept his face averted and shook his head.

"You know he didn't."

"There was a lot of good in Orlando," Kerney said.

"He was my only son. My only child."

"I know."

"I raised him better than this."

"I know."

"What the fuck did I do wrong?" Gabe asked.

"You can't take the blame."

"Then who does. Chief?" Finally, Gabe turned toward Kerney.

"Tell me that. Who the fuck does?"

At the trench they found Orlando's body covered by a blanket. Kerney thanked Fullerton, guided Gabe to a unit, and put him inside. Garduno met Kerney at the front of the squad car.

"I'm taking him home," Kerney said.

"Is he okay?"

"How can he be? I want somebody with him all night and all day tomorrow. Maybe longer."

"Every off-duty officer in the district will volunteer."

"Have somebody standing by for us at Gabe's house."

"Consider it done," Garduno said.

"Gabe doesn't deserve this."

"Let's keep a close watch on him." Kerney glanced at Gabe. Through the windshield, Gabe stared back at Kerney with empty eyes.

"A real close watch."

"We'll stay on top of it, Chief."

Kerney looked up at the night sky. Venus dazzled like a pendant next to a three-quarter moon. He stared at it dumbly, numbed by all that had happened. He could only wonder what Gabe was going through. It had to be a thousand times worse.

"I'll take care of this," Garduno said, gesturing toward the body in the trench.

Kerney nodded, got behind the steering wheel, and drove Gabe away.

Kerney spent the next day in Las Vegas doing paperwork, dealing with the news media, and meeting with the ADA who had been assigned to prosecute Bernardo. Because Bernardo had lost some front teeth and sustained a broken nose, the lawyer hired by the Barelas was already making accusations of police brutality.

The ADA had questioned Kerney closely about the incidents leading up to the arrest. Without hesitating, Kerney lied about the facts. He told the ADA that Bernardo had entered Jessica's apartment armed with a deadly weapon and in the scuffle to disarm him, necessary force had been used. He knew full well he would have to perjure himself at trial, otherwise Bernardo's confession could be thrown out of court and the case dismissed.

Lying wasn't something Kerney enjoyed doing, or had ever done before in a criminal matter. But truth, in this instance, wouldn't serve justice.

The ADA seemed to buy Kerney's version of the facts, at least for the present. But Kerney needed to due Gabe in on the spin, just in case the ADA decided to call and take a preliminary statement from Gabe over the phone.

He parked his unit, stood on the sidewalk in front of Gabe's house, and looked around. It was the first time he'd seen the neighborhood in daylight. Behind him the Las Vegas Public Library, donated to the city by Andrew Carnegie, dominated a tree-lined park that covered a dry block. With its center dome, cross wings, and portico entrance, it looked like a miniature Monticello.

Gabe's house, lovingly cared for, stood directly behind the library. It was a two-and-a-half-story clapboard Victorian with a sloping mansard roof, an arched tower with circular windows, a widow's walk on the top level, and lead glass windows, Art Garcia, dressed in dwies, his eyes ringed with dark circles, came out to meet Kerney as he opened the gate to the walkway.

Art gave Kerney a tired smile.

"Chief."

"How is he?" Kerney asked.