"How did Bernardo handle it?"
"He seemed real happy. They both did."
"And then what?"
"Patricia had a lot of problems carrying the baby, especially morning sickness. One day I came home for lunch and found her crying. Bernardo had come over, wanting sex. When she said no, he beat her up."
"Was she badly beaten?"
"Mostly he slapped her and pushed her around. She had some bruises and her face was all red."
"To your knowledge, had this happened before?"
"No. Patricia was like in shock about it."
"What did she do?"
"She broke up with him right away. Patrida isn't stupid.
She wasn't going to put up with an abusing asshole."
"What did Bernardo do?"
"He kept calling and stopping by, trying to apologize.
But Patrida wouldn't see or talk to him."
"Did Patrida report the inddent to the police?"
Melissa shook her head.
"No, but she told her parents.
When school got out she moved back home and lived with them until the baby was born."
"Why did Patrida go to Denver?"
"To get away from Bernardo. He was like stalking her."
"In what way?"
"Mostly just following her when she left the house.
But only when she went out alone. He wrote her a few letters about how she was making a big mistake by breaking up with him, and that he'd get even with her."
"You know this for a fact?"
"Patricia showed me the letters."
"Did she get a restraining order against Bernardo?"
"No. Her parents talked to Bernardo's parents and it all just stopped."
"I understand Bernardo pays child support."
"From what Patricia told me, Bernardo's parents had to force him to do it."
"Has Patrida had any problems with Bernardo since her move to Denver?"
"Not as far as I know."
"Would Patricia tell you if Bernardo was giving her grief?"
"Sure. She's my oldest friend. We talk on the phone a couple times a month, and she comes home to visit at least twice a year. If Bernardo was acting like a jerk, I'm sure I'd know about it."
"Do you know of any other women Bernardo has bothered?"
Melissa inclined her head and thought about the question for a moment.
"It may be nothing, but talk to Jimmy Wooten."
The name wasn't familiar to Kerney.
"Why should I speak to him?"
"Jimmy's home on leave from the air force. He and my husband were good friends in high school. He told my husband that he ran into Bernardo at a bar recently, and that Bernardo acted like a real creep toward some cocktail -waitress. I don't know anything more than that."
Kerney got an address for Jimmy Wooten and smiled at Melissa.
"I appreciate your time."
"Why are you investigating Bernardo?"
"It's a small matter," Kerney said as he walked to the office door.
Jimmy Wooten, dressed in jeans and an air force sweatshirt, stood outside his parents' ranch-style subdivision house. He ran a hand through his short, light blond hair and gave Kerney a puzzled look.
"I didn't know that hustling a barmaid was against the law," he said in response to Kerney's question about Bernardo.
"Did she file a complaint, or something?"
"No," Kerney replied.
"Then what's the problem?" Jimmy asked.
"There might not be one," Kerney said.