can enter through a back door without difficulty."
"Unseen?" Delfino inquired.
"Yes. A wall behind the alley blocks the view." Felix handed Carlos a pair of binoculars.
"You are my spotter.
Make certain, this time, you identify the correct man.
Park across from the school facing the courthouse. It provides the best view of vehicles approaching from any direction."
He gave Delfino a radio transmitter and stuck a receiver with an earplug in his coat pocket.
"I'll need no more than ten seconds after your signal to make the kill.
As soon as you see Watson fall, have Carlos drive slowly to the alley.
I'll be waiting."
"And if the police should return fire?" Delfino asked.
"Only Watson dies, unless something goes wrong," Felix replied as he grabbed his briefcase and opened the car door.
"But if necessary, we will kill them all."
He turned back to Carlos.
"Do you understand what you are to do?"
"I will follow your orders," Carlos replied.
They had to wait an hour before Felix could put his plan into action. nita let the telephone ring repeatedly before hanging up in frustration. She'd been calling home between appointments and Robert hadn't answered. She was worried about him, but couldn't break away from the office. After her arrest and all the press coverage that came with it, she'd expected business to fall off, but exactly the opposite had occurred. Not only were most of her regular clients sticking by her, a flood of new appointments had come in from area residents she had never seen in the clinic before. They came with their household pets, wanting annual shots, de worming or examinations.
She knew damn well they were there for the gossip value the visit would generate, but she took the cases anyway. And while none of them dared to raise questions about her status as an accused murderer, she felt their intense curiosity when they brought their perfectly healthy dogs, cats, and gerbils into the examining room. Being in the presence of an indicted cop killer obviously had high entertainment value.
Nita finished her last case for the day and called home again, with no luck- She drove west at high speed into a setting sun shrouded by clouds, worried sick about Robert. Maybe she'd made a mistake in bringing him home. But he'd seemed so coherent in the hospital, and so pleased with the idea of staying with her.
She ground the truck to a stop in front of her house and hurried inside. Robert was nowhere to be found. In her bedroom, all her underwear had been scattered on the floor. In the guest bedroom, even with the open window, the smell of cigarette smoke lingered. The bed hadn't been slept in. In the bathroom, she found a pair of her panties floating in the commode.
She had to find Robert, and she needed help to do it. Calling the county sheriff wasn't an option. She doubted any of the deputies would be willing to assist a confessed cop killer. Her only course of action was to call Kevin Kerney. He was unavailable when she tried to reach him, so she left her name, and a message reporting Robert's disappearance.
Light snow had begun to fall and the temperature had dropped by the time she got in her truck. There were hundreds of miles of back roads that crisscrossed the rolling plains between the two state highways that cut south to Mountainair. Robert could be on any one of them, or so far away that it would be impossible to find him.
If bringing Robert home resulted in his death, she would feel like a murderer twice over. buckt watson lay facedown on the pavement with his hands cuffed to the small of his back and his skull blown apart. Brain matter and blood splatter fanned out in an arc that spurted up the stairs and flecked the glass courthouse door.
Both the parking lot and the house across the street had been roped off, portable lights had been set up, and crime scene technicians were working the area. A state police agent and a city detective were talking to the officer who had brought Bucky to the courthouse.
Kerney stayed outside the police line and waited until they finished before calling the officer over.
The man came toward him shaking his head. Dried blood covered the front of his uniform shirt.
"I don't know what to tell you. Chief. It happened so damn fast, I didn't see it coming."
"You weren't supposed to see it," Kerney replied.
Although he had a good idea what the answer would be, he asked his next question.
"Did you hear the shot fired?"
"I didn't hear a damn thing. The back of Watson's head just exploded.
I hit the ground, rolled in front of my unit for cover, and drew my weapon. But there was nobody there."
"Did you see any traffic on the street?"
"I heard a car, but didn't see it. I took a quick look, but it was gone. From the sound it made, it wasn't speeding, or anything like that."
"Were you alone in the parking lot?"
"Just me and Watson."
"Are the investigators finished with you?"
"Yeah, except for the paperwork I need to do."
"Write your report at the office, then pack it in for the night and go home."
"Thanks." The man smiled and tugged at the front of his shirt. He wore gold piping and two stripes, denoting his rank as a senior patrol officer.
"You know what my wife is going to say when she sees this mess?"
"Probably something about a career change."
"You got it," the officer said as he walked off.
The radio in Kerney's unit squawked and he went to answer it. He had two messages; one from Robert saying he was Satan and he was going away, and a confirming report from Nita Lassiter that Cordova had disappeared.
Kerney gave the dispatcher a description of Robert, ordered a statewide APB, and suggested that the search should be concentrated in the Mountainair area.
"That's not going to be easy," the dispatcher said.
"We've got blizzard conditions down there, Chief.
Heavy snow and high winds."
"Understood," Kerney replied.
"If Cordova is found, have him placed in protective custody on a mental hold.
He's not a criminal."
"Ten-four."
As Kerney clicked off, Joe Valdez opened the passenger door and got in the unit. He had his jacket collar turned up and he rubbed his hands together to warm them.
"It's too damn cold. Chief."
Kerney turned the car heater up a notch.
"Are you finished with the DA?"
Valdez snorted.
"While Bucky was getting himself killed, the DA was busy doing a little dance on my head- He feels his office ethically can't take action against Springer and Cobb, since both have served as special prosecutors in civil cases."
"That's standard protocol. Who is he farming the case out to?"
"The attorney general's office. I think the decision was made before I even got there."
"Where are Cobb and Springer?"
"They've walked. I didn't even get a chance to lock them up. They're both threatening to sue for false arrest."
"Did the DA challenge the probable cause?"
"No, but he and his chief deputy went over everything with a fine-tooth comb. I had to produce all the evidence, including the videotape of Watson's confession."
"Did you keep copies of everything?"
"Multiple copies. I'm not going to let this case bite me in the ass."
"Did you get anything out of Cobb and Springer?"
"Not a damn thing," Valdez answered.
"Know what I think. Chief? It's gonna be years before those two go to trial, if ever. In fact, I don't think there's even a remote chance they'll be indicted. Not with the potential star witness for the prosecution so conveniently dead."
Valdez put his hand on the door handle.
"Gotta go.
The AG wants to meet with me pronto."
"Do you want someone to go with you?"
Joe took a minute to consider the offer.
"No thanks, but I'll call for backup if he starts busting my balls. So who killed Bucky Watson, Chief?"
"I don't know who pulled the trigger. But whoever he is, he's damn good at his job." robbkt trudged through two feet of fresh snow down the side of the highway toward the village of Punta de Agua. Only the vague shapes of the mile marker posts and road signs kept him headed in the right direction. He was off the plains and in the foothills, and wind-driven snow obscured everything. The road was buried by deep drifts and no cars had passed in either direction, not even a snowplow.
Cold to the bone, his feet felt frozen, and his side ached from the cracked rib. Bl Malo kept laughing at him inside his head. Everything felt heavy: his breath, his feet, the top of his head-even his eyes.
He walked on with his head lowered. When he finally stopped and looked up, he was in the middle of the village, across from a church. Robert remembered that the Evil One didn't like churches, but Jesus did. He walked to the church door and found it locked. A side door was also locked. Next to the stoop was a small pile of firewood. Robert picked up a stick, broke a window, and crawled inside.
Out of the wind and protected by thick adobe walls, Robert started to warm up a bit. He groped his way in the darkness to the altar at me front of the church and fumbled around until he found a candle. He lit it with a match and looked around. A woodstove stood against a wall in the middle of the sanctuary. He opened the firebox door and found that a fire had been laid. He put the flame of the candle against the kindling and sat down to watch it burn. The heat felt good against his face and hands.
He began to feel light-headed. Did he leave Nita's house because he did something wrong? Did he hurt her? He hoped not. But what happened?
Paul Gillespie would know, Robert thought as he curled up in front of the stove. Paul was always at Serpent Gate. He would go there in the morning and talk to him.
"has the governor fired you yet?" Kerney asked as he joined Andy in his office.
"There's been nothing but ominous silence," Andy said.
"Aside from the fact that Bucky Watson was assassinated, what else can you tell me about the shooting?"
"Not much," Kerney admitted.
"But I'll bet Carlos Ruiz didn't pull the trigger this time."
"This time?"
"I've got him nailed to the Martinez murder."
"How so?"
Kerney told him about the Buick and getting an ID on Carlos from Ruben Contreras.
"We have to get to Ruiz somehow," Andy said.
"I agree. What's happening with the sanctions against De Leon "His assets are being frozen, his drug distribution network is shut down, and he's about to lose his diplomatic immunity. It may not bring him to his knees, but it will make him buckle a bit."
Kerney nodded.
"The DA has kicked Springer and Cobb loose and passed the ball to the attorney general.
Joe Valdez is with the AG now. He may need you to backstop him."
"The fucking politics never end," Andy said sourly as he watched Kerney head for the door.
"Where arc you going?"
"South."
"It damn well better not be Mexico again."
Kerney laughed.
"Mountainair. Robert Cordova is missing."
"That crazy guy in the Gillespie murder case?"
"That's the guy."
Andy looked out the window. Freezing rain was pinging against the glass, and the neon lights from the bar down the highway, usually so bright, were just a shapeless blur.
"Be careful driving," he said. carlos had no doubt that he would be killed as soon as Kerney was dead.
Since meeting Felix and Delfino at the airport, he'd been under close observation and never left alone. Whenever Felix looked at him, Carlos felt like he was a walking dead man.
He still retained his pistol in the shoulder holster, but it gave him no comfort. Any attempt to reach for it would be fruitless; Delfino would cut his throat before he could dear the holster. To survive, Carlos needed some kind of opportunity and a good deal of luck- He drove the two men to the house where Kerney stayed, only to find an unoccupied state police patrol car parked in front of the residence.
There were no cars in the driveway and lights were on inside the dwelling.
"Is that the gringo's police car?" Felix asked.
"No," Carlos replied.
"He drives an unmarked vehicle."
"This is where you killed the wrong cop, is it not?"
Delfino asked with a chuckle.
Carlos grunted a response as he turned the car around at the end of the lane.
"Where is the gringo, Carlos?" Felix asked.
"If he is not here, he's working," Carlos said.
"Then let us go to the place where he works," Felix said.
Carlos drove to the state police headquarters building and parked across the highway. Using binoculars, he found Kerney's official vehicle in the parking lot and pointed it out to Felix.
"We will wait for the gringo to leave," Felix said, "and kill him on his way home."
Within a matter of minutes, a fast-moving storm bringing wind-whipped, freezing snow made it impossible to see the police parking lot. At full speed the windshield wipers barely cleaned the glass, and visibility dropped to less than twenty feet.
"Is there no other vantage point we can use?" Felix asked in disgust as he took the binoculars away from his eyes.
"None that provides a dear view of the exits from the parking lot,"
Carlos replied.
"We cannot even see the parking lot, let alone who comes or goes,"
Felix said as he stared into the whiteout.
"Get us closer. Cross the highway and drive past the building."
Carlos did as he was told, and in the vaporous light of the parking lot lamp they saw the empty space where Kerney's car had been.
"Go back to the house," Felix said in disgust.
"We will kill him there."
Only the police cruiser was in the driveway when Carlos drove by. Felix directed him to park on the street and wait.
After an hour, with no sign of Kerney and the snow piling up, Carlos got anxious.
"We will be stuck here if we don't leave soon," he said.
"We're wasting time," Delfino agreed.
"Where else can he be?" Felix asked Carlos.
"I do not know," Carlos answered.
"He has no girlfriend, he sees no one socially, and he does not go to dubs or saloons. All he does is work."
"Check his dossier," Felix told Delfmo.
"He investigated a cop killing in Mountainair recently," Delfmo said.
"Maybe he went there. Where is this place?"
"Southeast of Albuquerque," Carlos replied.
"You have a map?" Felix asked.
"In the glove box."
Felix got the map, unfolded it, and, using a pen flashlight, looked for the town's location.
"It's not too far," he finally said.
"Let us visit Mountainair," Delfmo suggested.
"Judging by the name, I'm sure it's very picturesque."
"The roads could be very bad," Carlos said.
"You are here to drive us, not advise us," Felix snapped.
"Delfmo is right; it is better to search for the gringo than to sit here and risk discovery. If we do not find him, we will come back."
Carlos nodded, cranked the engine, and made a U-turn. Except for a few snowplows and sand spreaders that were busy clearing one lane in each direction, the highway out of town was virtually deserted. the buzzard made Kerney's trip south unbelievably grueling. At times, he was forced to crawl along at ten miles an hour, and on several occasions his unit spun out on black ice without warning. Only the absence of traffic averted an accident.
In Estanda, he contacted the sheriff's department by radio and got directions to Nita Lassiter's house. He turned east into the teeth of the storm, and soon the car wipers were thudding against a rock-solid ice buildup on the windshield. He had to stop repeatedly and scrape the glass, while the storm raged around him, kicked along by gale-force winds.
The drive put him in a foul mood. Born and raised in the desert of the Tularosa Basin, Kerney didn't like snow much, and his aversion to it hadn't changed in spite of the years he'd lived in Santa Fe working for the police department.
He found Nita's house. Facing south, it had a wall of windows running the length of the structure. All the inside and outside lights were on, creating a lonely beacon that barely cut through the whiteout of the storm.
It was the only sign of habitation he'd glimpsed since leaving the outskirts of Estanda, Her four-wheel-drive truck was parked by the front door. He knocked and the door flew open. The look of relief on Nita's face dropped away as he stepped inside.
"I thought you were Robert," she said.
"You haven't found him?" Kerney replied as he unbuttoned his coat. He hung it on the rack in the small entryway.
"No. I have all the lights on in case he's nearby."
"He would need to be within a few hundred feet to see them. Have you searched outside?"
"Twice," Nita answered as she led him into a large room that contained a living area, dining alcove, and kitchen.
"Everywhere," she added.
Kerney nodded and looked around. The house was passive solar with exposed adobe walls, insulated glass panels, a corner fireplace, and brick floors. Doors at both ends of the room led to bedrooms.
"I have people looking for him," Kerney noted,
"although I doubt it will do much good in the storm.
Let's hope he's found shelter."
Nita sank into a low-backed tufted leather chair that faced a sofa.
"He put a pair of my underwear in the commode and rummaged through my bedroom dressers. I have no idea why he did it."
"Where have you looked for him?"
"I covered every back road between Estanda and Manzano, until the storm closed in and I couldn't see beyond the hood of my truck. We need to find him."
"In the morning," Kerney said wearily as he went to get his coat. The cold weather had stiffened his bum knee, and he had to force it to work.
"You can't possibly go back outside," Nita said as she followed him.
"Stay here. I have a guest bedroom."
Kerney shook his head.
"I can't do that."
"You looked exhausted."
"I'll be fine." Kerney slipped into his coat.
"Are you always so bullheaded?"
Kerney turned and looked directly into Nita's eyes.
"Under different circumstances I would gladly accept your offer, Ms.
Lassiter. But you are a confessed cop killer, and I'm the guy who busted you. Staying here tonight is not an option; it would be misconstrued."
"No one needs to know."
"My presence here is a matter of official record. Both the county sheriff's office and the state police dispatcher know exactly where I am."
"You're right; you can't stay."
"I'll get a room at the Shaffer Hotel in Mountainair."
"Will you at least call me when you arrive so that I know you made it safely?"
"I'll do that. Try to think of where Robert might be heading."
Nita nodded and forced a smile, but her eyes were worried.
"What's wrong?" Kerney asked.
"I don't want anything to happen to Robert."
"Robert is a survivor, just like you," Kerney replied evenly.
"He'll be all right."
"Have you always been such an optimist?"
"I have my black moments every now and then."
"When was the last one?"
"The day I had to shoot you," Kerney replied.
Kerney's unexpected response shook Nita.
"I'm sorry that happened. You must think I'm terribly weak."
"I think you're a woman who needs to get on with her life."
"In prison?"
"I hope not, Ms. Lassiter."
"It wasn't fair of me to say that."
"No harm done."
As soon as Kerney said good night and slipped out the door, Nita wanted him to come back. With all the constraints that existed between them, she knew he wouldn't. But she could sense Kerney's loneliness ran as deep as her own, and that left her feeling very sad. ^ Ugly things had happened in Robert's dreams, forcing him awake. Paul Gillespie's face floated through his mind. The face changed into El Malo; horns snaked out of his forehead like worms and his eyes turned fiery red and evil.
Robert opened his eyes, found himself in total darkness, and scrambled to his feet. He could feel the pressure of the walls and ceiling gripping him-pushing him down-and his heart pounded in his chest.
He ran, stumbled against something, groped his way toward a current of cold air that blew against his face, and found a broken window. He crawled out, fell on his knees, and ran until a pain in his side forced him to stop.
Gasping for air, he turned and looked back. The setting moon behind the church made the spire look like a dagger stabbing the sky. He shivered in the cold, but the tension in his body lifted, and he felt better now that he was outside. Then the voices returned.
He could only use his right thumb to plug his ears; somebody had put a plaster cast on his left arm. He tried to rip the cast off, but the plaster was too hard and thick. He gave up and started walking down the road.
Snowdrifts buried the road and covered all but the tops of the fence poles along the highway.
Somewhere, Robert had gotten a new coat, and it felt warm. But the air was frigid and his feet were cold.
He looked down at the boots that flapped against his ankles, wondering where they had come from. As he walked, snow seeped over the boot tops, soaked his feet, and made it hard to move. He stepped carefully to keep the boots from coming off in the snow.
There was no traffic on the road. Everything was silent and still. He stuck his thumb out as soon as he heard the sound of an engine and the scrape of a plow on the pavement behind him. An orange highway department snowplow slowed to a stop. Robert got in.
"Did you go off the road?" the driver asked.
"I didn't see your car."
"No, I'm just walking." Robert stared at a pack of cigarettes on the dashboard.
"Got a spare smoke?"
"Help yourself."
Robert grabbed a cigarette and lit it.
"Looks like you got banged up a little," the man said, eyeing the cast on Robert's arm and his missing teeth.
"Got in a fight," Robert replied, thinking maybe it was true.
"No big deal."
"Where are you heading?"
"Mountainair."
"I can take you as far as the maintenance yard in town."
Robert nodded.
"That's cool. Got any coffee there?"
"The pot is always on." The driver dropped the transission into gear, lowered the blade, and began plowing his way toward Mountainair.
Robert puffed on the cigarette and tried to concentrate on where he was supposed to go after he got to town. Nothing registered. The voices were gone, replaced by a noise like radio static.
Close to town, with the sun just up and the glare off the snow bouncing into the sky, a state police car passed them. Robert turned his head to follow the car, thinking that if he got out and waited, the cop might come back and take him to jail. He shrugged off the thought and snorted. Cops were assholes.
The driver gave him a strange look.
Robert bummed another cigarette and stared out the window. He liked the way the snow covered everything and made things look clean. His feet started to hurt as the driver turned into the maintenance yard. It felt like somebody was sticking pins into his toes.
He jumped out of the truck and went with the driver into the empty office.
"Got any rubber bands?" Robert asked.
The driver rummaged through a desk drawer and held out a handful.
Robert pulled them over his boots.
Maybe they would help keep the snow out.
"What happened to your laces?" the driver asked.
"I don't like them."
The driver filled his thermos, gave Robert a cup of coffee, and went outside to load sand into the truck's spreader. When he returned the hitchhiker was gone. nita found Kerney sitting in the Shafier Hotel dining room picking over a light breakfast. The room was full of railroad workers just in from a night of clearing a freight derailment at Abo Pass. Snow and mud had been tracked into the room, and small brown puddles had formed under the tables where the workers sat.
Nita dropped her coat over the back of an empty chair and joined Kerney at the table.
"Good morning," she said.
"Morning," Kerney answered, inspecting her outfit.
She wore insulated boots, jeans, and several layers of sweaters.
"Going somewhere?"
"With you," Nita replied.
"That's not possible."
"Do you want to waste time trying to find your way to Serpent Gate, or do you want to get there in a hurry?"
"There are a lot of other places Robert could be," Kerney said.
"I've already looked everywhere else."
"Then I'll start at Serpent Gate."
"It's not that easy to get to. Do you have a four wheel-drive vehicle?
It's going to take one to get in."
"No, you're not going."
"Then I'll go by myself," Nita said as she started to rise.
"Hold up."
"Robert is out there, and I'm going to find him if you won't."
"Why are you so sure he's there?"
"Can't you figure it out? What happened to me-and Robert-took place at Serpent Gate. He's always gone back; I never have."
Before Kerney could respond a patrol officer entered the room and walked quickly to the table. He gave Nita a questioning glance and a tight nod before addressing Kerney.
"No luck so far. Chief," he said.
"I covered all the major roads in a ten-mile radius."
"Robert may come here," he said as he laid some bills on the table to cover the meal and the tip.
"Pick him up if he shows. Don't scare him off. He doesn't like cops much. I'll be on my handheld radio if you need me."
Kerney stood up, took Nita's coat off the back of the empty chair, and held it out.
"Let's go to Serpent Gate." carlos tried to act cordial and relaxed with Felix and Delfino, but his attempts at small talk were rebuffed. He drove through the night while one man slept and the other stayed awake, watching him. Even when he had to take a piss along the side of the road, he had company. When he suggested a meal stop, the idea was rejected. Carlos had to come up with a plan to save himself, and soon.
The blizzard had made travel almost impossible. Felix had ordered him to take the interstate in the hopes that the road would be in better condition. But south of Albuquerque the highway became a nightmare, and Carlos missed the exit to Mountainair because of a fierce whiteout that obliterated the road signs. When he got back on track, it took hours to travel fifty miles to Mountainair.
Carlos drove into the village with a low sun in his eyes. It wasn't much of a town from what he could see: a cheap motel or two, boarded-up businesses, a school, and a main street that sputtered to a stop after two long blocks.
"I need some coffee," he said to Felix as he slowed to let a crazy-looking man with missing teeth scurry across the street, the coat draped over his shoulders flapping in the breeze.
"We'll get some to go," Felix said.
"I saw a sign for a hotel restaurant. It should be on the right, a block down."
Carlos made the turn and saw the man in the flapping coat run across the road toward an abandoned warehouse next to some train tracks. In front of the hotel, a man, woman, and a cop came out the front door.
Carlos accelerated.
"That's Kerney," he said as he passed the trio in front of the hotel.
He went around the block and returned in time to see Kerney and the woman pull away in a pickup truck.
"Are you positive?" Felix asked.
"Completely."
"Don't follow too closely."
The cop paid no attention as Carlos cruised by.
Carlos let several vehicles pass him, but kept the truck in view. The road had been sanded and plowed, but black ice slowed traffic. Several miles beyond the village, Carlos topped out at the crest of a hill and panicked.
The pickup was nowhere in sight. He started scanning for the truck off the roadway.
"You've lost them," Felix snapped.
The highway divided a slender valley cut by wandering arroyos that gradually opened to a large pasture.
To the south, a half circle of hills hid the mainline railroad tracks from view. Fresh tire tracks entered a ranch road.
Carlos squinted against the glare of reflected sunlight on the snow and caught sight of the truck traveling toward the hills.
"There," he said, pointing.
"Follow," Felix ordered.
At the gate to the ranch road, the car lurched to a stop in the middle of a snow-filled ditch. Carlos tried backing up, and the wheels spun without grabbing. He got out to take a look and Delfino joined him.
The rear wheels were deep in snow to the top of the hubcaps.
"We'll have to dig the car out," Carlos said.
"Leave it here," Delfino replied.
"Open the trunk."
Carlos unlocked the trunk and watched Felix and Delfino slip backpacks over their shoulders.
"Let's go," Felix said to Carlos.
"I'll wait here," Carlos replied.
"Move," Felix said, stepping out to take the lead.
"The police will notice the car."
"Today it is just another stranded vehicle in a snowbank," Felix replied.
"Let's go."
The sun gave no warmth and the glare off the snow was intense. Carlos followed Felix while Delfino stayed behind him. They walked single file at a fast pace in the ruts left by the truck. Behind him Carlos could hear the even breathing of Delfino close at hand.
Wind gusts seared against his face, his breath froze on his mustache, and his sunglasses fogged up. On the back side of the hills, the road dipped under a double set of train tracks. At the top of a rise beyond the tracks, Carlos spotted the pickup.
Felix saw it also. He bolstered his handgun, took off the backpack, and removed an Uzi submachine gun.
Delfino did the same.
"Take Carlos to the trestle and wait for me," Felix ordered Delfino. He left the road and started a loop in the general direction of the truck.
From the tres de Carlos and Delfino watched Felix approach the truck.
He checked the bed and the cab, returned to the tailgate, crouched down, and signaled them to approach. With Delfino at his side, Carlos trotted to the pickup. Beyond he could see two figures moving toward a low ridgeline.
"Get down," Felix said.
Carlos ducked behind the tailgate.
"How do you want to take them?" Delfino asked.
"Prom both flanks," Felix said. The figures up ahead were small dots against a white backdrop.
"Carlos, you go with Delfino."
Carlos took out his handgun, glancing at Delfino for a reaction.
"Take the point," Delfino said.
Carlos broke trail through the crust of snow, his legs sinking into drifts up to his knees, slowing his pace. He looked back once; ten steps behind, Delfino had the Uzi pointed directly at him. He scanned the left flank for Felix; he was nowhere in sight.
Carlos was a sitting duck. All he could do was keep moving. from insidb the old grain warehouse, Robert watched the cop in the squad car. The man just sat in the cruiser with his engine running, tailpipe exhaust billowing like frost in the cold morning air. Robert knew if he went to the hotel, the cop would beat him up, just like Ordway had.
He didn't know what to do. Seeing Kerney and Nita together had left him with a mean, jealous feeling, and his head felt full of hissing snakes. He had to get away and never come back, but where should he go? He went out the rear of the warehouse and scrambled down a small embankment to the train tracks. Behind him stood the old train station. Maybe east, he thought, to Texas.
The hissing snakes whispered Paul Gillespie's name in his ear. He would go west to Serpent Gate.
He hurried down the tracks to the underpass. The cop never saw him.
Cops were stupid-too dumb to realize that the train tracks were highways, just like roads, only better.
The cast on his arm banged against his broken rib as he ran, but the pain didn't bother him. He laughed until cold air rushed into his lungs and made him cough. tub snow at the top of the rise was too deep for the truck, so Nita and Kerney pushed ahead on foot. The storm had erased any footprints or tracks. Kerney scrutinized every drift they passed for telltale signs of Robert. He saw nothing. If Robert's body was nearby, it wouldn't be found until the first good thaw.
The raw Arctic wind kept the temperature well below freezing, and the branches of the pinon and juniper trees cracked like gunshots as they snapped under the weight of the snow. Each step they took broke trail in the frozen crust, and they were knee-deep in drifts. Nita didn't tire or falter, but Kerney had a hell of a time with his bad knee. The tendons and few remaining ligaments ached every time he pulled the leg free to take another step.
The ridge ran at a right angle to the hills. At the top, Nita held them up. Without warning, the ridge sheared off, revealing a granite monolith standing in the middle of a narrow gorge. A rockfall closed off one end, and the only approach seemed to be through a shallow arroyo that ran up to the ridge.
Kerney guessed the monolith to be fifty feet long and ten feet away from where he stood. He looked into the shadows and waited for his vision to adjust. Fifteen feet below the drop-off, a slender ledge ran along the length of the monolith. Above the ledge, at about the chest height of a small man, a duplicate of the serpent on Pop Shaffer's fence had been chiseled in the stone. It was surrounded by images of birds, fish, and other symbols, including a horned demon.
"How deep?" Kerney asked. The snow in the gorge stopped at the ledge of the monolith.
"Less than twenty feet. Do you think you would have found it on your own?"
"I probably would have fallen into it," Kerney said.
"What's on the other side?"
"More rock art and lots of rattlesnakes in the summer," Nita answered.
"It gets good sun, and the snakes like the heat. I don't think Robert's been here," she added.
"We'll poke around anyway."
The wind died down and Kerney heard crunching sounds from behind. Out of the sun, two men were coming straight at them. Another man flanked them, cutting off any retreat. He saw weapons in their hands, and without thinking he pushed Nita over the ledge and jumped with her as the men opened fire. He crashed into a snow-covered shrub, branches whipping his face, and landed in a heavy cushion of snow.
He scrambled to the ledge of the monolith, grabbed Nita by the hand, and pulled her to him.
"Move," he hissed, freeing his handgun.
"Get to the other side, out of sight."
Nita gave him a petrified look. He pushed her to get her started.
Automatic rounds sprayed the gully as he turned the corner. Nita was off the ledge, standing waist-deep in a drift.
"What is it?" Nita asked.
"What's happening?" It was all she could think to say.
"Don't talk."
The gorge was wider on the back side of the monolith, where the arroyo had eroded the ridge. Kerney heard the thud of two men dropping into the gorge, and looked for cover. Below the ledge circling the monolith was a crevice large enough for one person. He yanked Nita by the hand, forced her down, and shoved her into it.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Curl up in a ball and be quiet," he said.
"I'll come back for you." He pushed her knees to her chest and piled snow over her, trying to make the mound look as natural as possible.
He held his breath and listened. Nothing. Three men were coming at him from front and back, and there was no place to hide.
The mound covering the crevice was in deep shadows.
Maybe they wouldn't spot Nita; maybe she could survive.
A small conical cedar tree stood at the far end of the monolith, where sunlight had yet to reach. Kerney eyed it. About the height of a man, the tree would be the first thing a shooter would see coming around the front end of the monolith.
Kerney took off his coat, went to the tree, wrapped the garment around it, and buttoned it up. At a quick glance, it might pass for a standing man. With his back against the monolith, he hunkered down and waited, listening for footfalls in the crusted snow, scanning left and right. He saw a long shadow flicker on the snow beyond the cedar tree.
The shadow appeared again as the silhouette of a man.
Automatic fire ripped through Kerney's coat. When the man stepped into view, Kerney shot him twice in the chest, checked his flank, and ran to the snow-filled arroyo that sliced into the side of the ridge. With any luck, he could belly-crawl to the top of the ridge without being seen, and swing behind his pursuers. delpino kept Carlos in front of him as they moved slowly along the ledge of the monolith, following the tracks left by Kerney and the woman. He stopped at the sound of Felix's Uzi and the two answering shots that followed. He waited for Felix to fire again. All was silent.
"Something's wrong," Delfino said. He dropped off the ledge, stepped past Carlos, and chanced a quick look around the corner. He spotted Felix's prone body near a coat wrapped around a tree. There was no sign of the gringo or the woman.
"Felix is down," Delfino said, turning the corner.
Carlos followed and stopped by a mound of snow that filled a small crevice under the ledge. Ahead, Felix sprawled on his back, not moving, the Uzi clutched in both hands.
"He's dead," Carlos said.
"We can still cut them off," Delfino replied.
"They must be up ahead. Go back the way we came, and circle around."
Delfino glanced down and saw only one set of footprints in the snow-Kerney's tracks. Where did the woman go? Before he could look to find her hiding place, Carlos shot him in the back of the head.
Smiling, Carlos picked up Delfino's Uzi, bolstered his pistol, and retreated. Now that the odds were even, he would follow Delfino's advice, backtrack around the monolith, find Kerney, and kill him. kbrney winced when he heard the pistol shot. He cursed himself for leaving Nita behind, reversed his crawl, and scanned from low to high ground as he moved down the arroyo. The sun was higher in the sky, but the monolith cast a fat shadow, and he could dearly see only the dead man by the tree, where his bullet shredded winter coat flapped in a light breeze.
As far as he knew, two more men were still in the gorge, setting up a cross fire, which would be the smart thing to do. The arroyo gave him cover only if he stayed prone and low. He wanted to get up and make a dash to Nita. He forced himself to wait. The men stalking him controlled the action. All he could hope to do was counterpunch and survive.
Cold and soaked to the skin, he burrowed into the snow and tried not to shiver. carlos workbd his way slowly and quietly through the snow until he reached the end of the monolith.
Darkness still lingered in the constricted ravine, but the sun was in his face every time he glanced up.
He took one more look at the ridgetop, and a snowball hit him in the face. He squinted into the sun, and started firing the Uzi at the moving shape above. It vanished before he could focus on it. He stepped forward to fire again and a bullet tore through his stomach and shattered his spine. He took another bullet in the chest as he fell.
Carlos hit the ground and Kerney ran in a low crouch, zigzagging past the dead man by the tree, waiting for bullets to tear into him. He made it to Nita's hiding place and found another man with the back of his skull blown open, the snow around his head icy pink.
He dropped his handgun, dug into the mound with both hands, and pulled Nita out of the crevice. She was pale, shaky on her feet, but unhurt.
"My God," she said, staring at the body. She started to cry.
"Not now," Kerney said sharply.
"Robert is out there somewhere. Find him."
She nodded and began to move. Kerney left her and went to check on Carlos.
Carlos lay on his back staring into the sun until a shadow passed over his face. He felt the Uzi being pulled from his hands. He blinked and saw Kerney leaning over him.
"You're a hard man to kill, gringo," he said.
"You're dying, Carlos."
"I was going to die today, anyway."
"Is that why you killed one of your partners?"
Kerney asked.
Carlos nodded and coughed up blood.
"Where is Nick Palazzi?"
"He fucked up, just like me. De Leon had me kill him."
"And Amanda Talley, did you do her, too?"
"I never killed such a beautiful woman before."
"Where's her body?"
"No more body. Gone."
"What about Gilbert Martinez?"
"I thought it was you, gringo. I really wanted you dead."
"You've been a busy boy, Carlos."
Carlos gurgled once and died.
"Did you kill them all yourself?" Robert asked.
Kerney wheeled to find Robert and Nita at his side. Frozen snot hung from Robert's nose. He wiped it away with a sleeve.
"No," Kerney answered.
"Did you kill one of them, Addie?" Robert's eyes were jumpy and big as saucers.
Nita stiffened as though she'd taken a body blow.
"No."
"Yes, you did," Robert said, inclining his head.
"I saw his body over there. You killed the motherfucker."
Kerney eyed the crazy grin on Robert's face.
"Do you need a ride to jail, Robert?"
Robert nodded.
"Let's go." Kerney led Nita and Robert away from Kerney drove to the highway and found a car blocking their way through the ranch road gate.
He keyed the handheld radio, made contact with the state police officer he'd left at the Shafier Hotel, reported the shootout, and requested a tow truck.
"Send a snowplow also," he added as an afterthought.
"We'll need the road cleared to the crime scene."
"And an ambulance," Nita said as she dropped Robert's boots on the floorboard.
Robert was in the back of the extended-cab. Kerney looked over his shoulder. Robert's feet were badly frostbitten.
Kerney relayed the message.
"Get me some snow," Nita said.
He got out of the truck and passed handfuls of snow to Nita, who rubbed it on Robert's bare feet. Robert howled, kicked wildly, and tried to fight his way out of the truck. Kerney popped the driver's seat forward on its tracks and pinned Robert down while Nita finished the job.
"How bad?" he asked.
Nita answered with a wary shrug.
The ambulance arrived with the state police unit.
Kerney carried Robert to the vehicle. He struggled fiercely as Kerney put him on the gurney. It took all of his strength to hold Robert while the paramedics strapped him into the restraints.
Robert screamed in protest.
The ambulance pulled away for the trip to Albuquerque just as a tow truck arrived. Kerney looked around for Nita. She was in her 4x4, behind the steering wheel.
He walked to her and she rolled down the window.
"Did you hear what Robert said to me?" she asked, without looking at Kerney. Her eyes were fixed on something-or nothing-outside the windshield.
"I may have missed it."
Nita kept looking away. Her hands gripped the steering wheel and her knuckles were white.
"He said he raped me."
"He didn't mean anything by it."
"I think he believes it."
"Gillespie left a lot of victims behind."
"Addie is going to come and live with me, at least until my trial is over," she said without emotion.
"That's good." Kerney watched the officer guide the tow truck into position behind the car.
Slowly Nita switched her attention to Kerney. Her eyes were empty.
"Do I have to stay here?"
"You can leave as soon as the way is dear," Kerney said.
"Who were those men?"
"Killers hired by a Mexican drug lord. They were after me, not you."
"Have you killed men before?"
Kerney didn't reply. The rear wheels of the car were off the ground.
The operator stopped the winch, got in the truck, and pulled the vehicle out of the way.
"It's not a good feeling, is it?" Nita added, directing the question to herself.
Kerney answered anyway.
"It never is, and never should be."
"Can I go now?" Nita asked.
Kerney nodded. A highway department snowplow came over the hill and stopped at the side of the road.
Nita smiled stiffly.
"I guess I'll see you in court someday, Mr. Kerney."
"Someday you will, Ms. Lassiter."
Nita drove away and the patrol officer brought Kerney a jacket to wear.
He put it on and went to the cruiser to get warm, while the officer talked to the snowplow operator. The driver dropped the blade and started the truck down the ranch road.
Kerney thought about the three dead men in the snow, and about Nita, Robert, Addie, Paul Gillespie, and Serpent Gate. He wondered if Robert would ever go back there again, and if Nita would be able to leave it behind for good. the morning after the gunfight at Serpent Gate, Kerney found his way to a new residential subdivision off Airport Road. The houses were pueblo-style one and two-story structures on small lots. He parked at the curb in front of the Martinez family home.
Gilbert had only recently bought the house and moved in. It had yet to be landscaped, and snow covered the raw patch of land surrounding the house. Railroad ties were stacked against the side of the garage.
Kerney wondered, now that Gilbert was dead, who would build the flower beds and plant the trees and shrubs when warm weather returned. The thought made his gut feel like a lead ball.
He got out and rang the doorbell.
Sandra Marrinez, Gilbert's widow, used the partially open front door as a barrier, and studied the stranger standing on die porch.
"What is it?"
She had dark, intelligent eyes, a grief-filled face, and spoke in a drained voice.
"Mrs. Martinez, I'm Kevin Kerney."
Sandra's hand tightened on the doorknob. She forced back a response, while the man who should have been killed instead of her husband looked at her.
"Is there anything I can do for you or your family?" Kerney asked.
"No," Sandra said.
"Thank you for stopping by." She closed the door in his face.
Kerney hesitated before ringing the bell again. After a minute, it grudgingly opened.
"Mrs. Martinez-" he said.
Sandra raised a shaky hand to cut him off, and her breath caught in her throat. She swallowed hard.