"Jesus, cops.
We're a crazy bunch, aren't we?"
"Sometimes we are."
Inside the store, rows of caps and hats were hung on lines that ran above the center aisle, and cattle brands burned into wood boards were nailed to the walls above the shelves.
"Yeah, Bernardo was in this morning checking on something at the order desk," the manager said.
In his early thirties, the man looked impatient and not at all happy to have cops in the store distracting his customers.
"Who did he speak to?" Gabe asked.
"Jessica talked to him."
Gabe glanced at the young woman standing behind the center aisle order counter. She was blonde and very Anglo looking.
"Where is Jessica now?"
"That's her at the desk."
"Is her last name Varela?"
"You got it."
"Can you relieve her for a few minutes and give us a place where we can talk?" Kerney asked.
"Sure. Use the break room in the back. I'll have Jessica meet you there."
Just off the receiving dock, the break room doubled as a storage room for excess inventory. Jessica Varela entered and pushed some strands of hair away from her face.
"What's this all about?" Her voice carried a childlike quality.
"You spoke to Bernardo Barela this morning," Kerney said.
"I don't know why he came in." Jessica kept her head slightly lowered and gave Kerney a sidelong, timid look.
"He knew the fence post driver he'd ordered wouldn't get here for another ten days. I told him that earlier in the week."
"Did he talk to you about anything else?" Kerney asked.
"He always tries to talk to me. I don't mind it if I'm not busy."
"What did he talk about?" Gabe asked.
"This morning?"
"Yes."
"Silly stuff. He wanted to know if I liked to study and do homework with other students in my classes."
"He knows you go to the university?" Kerney asked.
"Sure."
"What else does he know about you?" Gabe asked.
"That I'm divorced and that I moved up here from Albuquerque. How old I am. That's about it."
"Has he tried to date you?" Kerney asked.
Jessica shook her head and her long hair covered one eye.
"I think he'd like to, but he hasn't asked. I'd turn him down anyway.
He's too young and I'm not interested in dating. After what I've been through, men aren't very popular with me right now."
"What, exactly, did you tell him about your study habits?"
"Just that I like to study alone, and with my job and school and all I don't have a lot of time to socialize and stuff."
"Did you mention there was an apartment for rent in your building?"
Gabe asked.
"Why would I do that?"
"He didn't ask?"
"Why should he? He doesn't know where I live."
"Have you ever seen Bernardo away from the store?"
Kerney asked.
"No, just here. Did Bernardo do something wrong?"
"What time do you get off work?" Gabe said.
"Today? At five. Then I go straight to the library and study before my classes."
"What time do you get home from classes?" Kerney asked.
"Nine-thirty. You're scaring me with these questions.
What's going on?"