"Can you give me a last name?"
"Alarid. Gloria is Bema's mother. She married Lenny after divorcing her first husband."
"What else can you tell me about Berna?"
"She's never been in trouble, as far as I know. She went to college up in Las Vegas for a couple of years, driving back and forth to her classes. She dropped out when she got pregnant."
"How do I get to Bema's house?"
With directions in hand, Gabe sat in his car and thumbed through the quick field notes he'd made after his last visit to Buena Vista Lumber and Supply. Twenty years as a cop had taught him to write everything down, no matter how inconsequential it seemed at the time.
Lenny Alarid's name popped up, followed by the notation that he hauled pinon chips to Texas under contract to Buena Vista.
He had no idea how everything would shake out when the dust settled.
But he found the developing connections intriguing.
Bernadette Lucero and the Alarids lived behind the church and rectory.
A fenced lot enclosed two houses and a free-standing carport large enough for a semi tractor. Surrounding the carport was an assortment of large truck trailers, a stack of spare tires, and accumulated junk.
A full-size domestic sedan and a pickup truck were parked in front of a pitched roof adobe house. A smaller double-wide manufactured home, with full skirting and an add-on deck, stood nearby. At the front of the deck steps was a late model sport utility vehicle.
Behind the carport, among some cedar trees at the backside of the lot, was an old garage with an attached shed. Next to the shed was a major pinon and juniper woodpile.
Gabe drove past the open gate, turned around, parked between the two homes, and knocked first at the adobe dwelling. After a few minutes and no answer, he tried the manufactured home.
The young woman who greeted him cradled a baby in one arm. She was bright-eyed, wore her long brown hair in soft curls, and was dressed in a dark blue sweatsuit.
"Bernadette Lucero?" Gabe gave her a reassuring smile and flipped his badge case open.
"Yes."
"Do you have time for a few questions?"
"I guess so. About what?"
"May I come in?"
"Sure."
Gabe followed Bernadette inside and waited until she settled on the couch with the baby before sitting across from her.
"What a beautiful baby," he said.
Bernadette's face lit up.
"Everybody says that." Holding the infant under his arms, she placed him on her knee facing Gabe.
"You must be very happy."
"I am. He's my little jito." She kissed the baby on the top of his head.
"Does he look like you or like his father?"
"Oh, his father, of course."
"Joaquin must be very proud."
Bernadette's smile vanished.
"You know about Joaquin?"
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Only my mother and Lenny are supposed to know."
"Debbie doesn't know?"
"Why should she? Besides, Joaquin is leaving her soon."
"Is he going to marry you?"
"In the summer," Bernadette said, her smile returning.
She bounced the baby happily on her knee and it gurgled in response.
"I really stopped by to see Lenny."
"Lenny and my mother are out of town. She goes with him sometimes on his short runs."
"I'm sorry I missed him. Maybe you can help me. Did you know Rudy Espinoza?"
"I knew Rudy. He used to cut wood for Lenny."
"Lenny sells wood?"
"He takes truckloads to Texas every fall and sells them there."
"And Rudy supplies the wood?"
"He did last year."
"What kind of truck did Rudy drive?"
"It's in the garage behind the carport. Rudy always left it here. He didn't like to drive it every day because it used too much gas. He just used it mostly when he went woodcutting."