Bernardo shrugged.
"Yeah, well maybe for a little while. But she wasn't interested in me."
Roque snorted.
"That's no lie."
Bernardo shot his uncle a dirty look as he walked down the steps.
"So I liked her and she didn't like me. Big deal."
"Was it a big deal?" Kerney asked.
"I don't have to waste my time with babes that don't like me."
"So, it wasn't a big deal."
"That's what I said."
"Did you see her after she went to work at the Horse Canyon Ranch?"
"Yeah, once or twice. But not to talk to."
"How about last April, outside Ojitos Frios, on the road to Romeroville? Did you see her walking?"
Bernardo shook his head.
"Is that a no?"
"No, okay?"
"You were seen on that road in your grandfather's truck with a passenger the day Luiza disappeared."
"Maybe I was, but I don't remember seeing her."
"Who was with you?"
"I don't know, man, that was a year ago. It could have been a lot of people-one of my bros, one of the family, anybody."
"Think back, Bernardo. It was a weekend evening last April. A Saturday." Kerney gave him the exact date.
"Do you have any idea what you might have been doing in the area?"
"Going to work, throwing a cruise, giving somebody a ride home. What's the big deal?"
"What would take you to the mesa in the evening?"
Kerney closed in on Bernardo. The boy flinched but held his ground.
"Maybe I left the gate unlocked. I could have been going to check it.
Maybe we had some cattle on the road. That happens a lot."
"That all makes sense." Kerney moved even closer to break into Bernardo's personal space. He used his height advantage to force Bernardo to raise his head and look him in the eye.
"But you didn't see Luiza?"
"I already said that," Bernardo replied, stepping off to one side.
"You'd remember if you did?"
"Sure."
"Look," Roque said, "if Bernardo was driving my father's truck, he was working. That's the only time he gets to use it."
"But it wasn't you in Nestor's truck with Bernardo?"
Kerney asked Roque.
"Not likely," Roque said.
"I always drive my own truck."
"So, who was riding with you?" Kerney asked Bernardo.
"Like I said, maybe one of my bros," Bernardo said, jamming his hands into the pocket of his jeans.
"Maybe I gave somebody a ride. Who said they saw me?"
"Do you remember if you gave somebody a ride that day?"
"This is bullshit," Bernardo said.
"Why the fuck are you asking me these questions again? I already answered you."
"I'm just trying to find somebody who may have seen Luiza."
"I didn't see her."
Roque jabbed his finger hard against Kerney's shoulder before he could ask another question.
"Don't jack my nephew around because my father won't turn over his lease to you."
"I'm sorry if you have that impression," Kerney said.
"That's the way it sounds to me," Roque said.