"Be polite and respectful, Bernardo. Speak with Senor Kerney, answer his questions, and be done with it."
Bernardo nodded abruptly, got back in his car, and slammed the door.
"Where are you going?" Nestor asked.
"It is late and you have work to do in the morning."
"I forgot something."
Bernardo peeled rubber out of the driveway, tailpipes rumbling as he shifted into a higher gear. He cruised past the burger joint, saw Orlando's car, and made a quick decision not to bother him at work. In the morning, he would call and find out if Orlando had talked to the gringo cop Kerney and what, if anything, Orlando had said.
His plans for Jessica would have to wait for a day or two.
Orlando woke up from a dream where he was lost in some strange city that was impossible to leave. No matter which way he went, every route took him back to a block of windowless, silent buildings on an empty street with no cars or people.
He got out of bed thinking that if he waited until the end of the semester to move to Albuquerque, it might be too late.
He showered, shaved, returned to his room, sat at his desk, and figured out how much money he could pull together if he split. If he used his car insurance payment, the two hundred bucks he had in savings, and his last paycheck, he could come up with about seven hundred dollars.
His stomach sank as the realization hit him that running away wouldn't change anything. His life would still be fucked. He threw the scrap of paper in the wastebasket, got to his feet, and slung his daypack over his shoulder. If he left now, maybe Dad would still be in the shower when he hit the front door. The phone rang as he reached for his jacket.
"Did a state cop named Kerney talk to you?"
Bernardo asked when Orlando answered.
"Yeah, last night" "What about?"
"You."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"We need to meet."
"Why?"
"To get our stories straight, before the cop gets all suspicious."
"How did he get on to you?"
"The bitch used to work at a place out near my ahuelo's ranch. He's just talking to people who might have known her."
"I thought you didn't know her."
"I already told you I didn't."
"So why is the cop interested in you?"
"He's interested in both of us, bro. He asked me about driving around Ojitos Prios in my grandfather's truck with somebody last April. Does he know that was you?"
"We're screwed," Orlando said.
"Does he know that was you?" Bernardo demanded.
"No. What are we going to do?"
"Come up with something simple about where we were and what we did. Get our stories straight. Back each other up. He already talked to my grandfather. He wants to talk to me again."
"Shit!"
"We gotta meet."
"Okay."
"Some place where no one will see us. How about down by the Gallinas River where we used to party in high school?"
"That's miles from here."
"It's halfway to town from my grandfather's ranch."
"When?"
"Can you make it by ten?"
"Yeah."
"Just don't say anything to your old man."
"I'm not stupid, Bernardo," Orlando said as he hung up the phone.
He hurried down the stairs, saw his father sitting at the kitchen table, and stopped in the doorway.
"Hey, champ, who was on the phone?" Gabe asked.
"A guy from school. He wants to borrow my class notes. Gotta go."
"Give me a minute before you take off."
Orlando stepped into the kitchen.
"Sure."
"My deputy chief wants to talk to you about Bernardo."
"He already did, last night."