As Terrell passed through the lobby door, Andy Baca called on Kerney's cell phone and requested a quick meeting in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
He wouldn't say why but sounded a little peeved. Kerney gave him a five-minute ETA and drove hurriedly through the empty downtown streets, wondering what was up.
As he cruised through light traffic on Cerrillos Road, Lieutenant Molina made radio contact, asking for clearance to allow two FBI agents access to the crime scene.
'Let them in,' Kerney said, 'and meet me in my office in twenty minutes so I can bring you up to speed.'
'Ten-four,' Molina grumbled after a slight hesitation.
At Wal-Mart, Kerney spotted Andy's unmarked unit at the side of the building away from the parking lot lights and got in beside him.
'I got a telephone call right after I spoke with you,' Andy said.
'Applewhite?' Kerney asked.
Andy shook his head.
'The U. S. attorney. Supposedly he wanted to let me know about the task force and make sure the resources of my department would be made available to the FBI.'
'How polite.'
Andy grunted.
'Yeah, right. When was the last time you ever heard of the FBI using a U. S. attorney as a front man for a task force investigation?'
'Never. What did he really want?'
'After he chatted briefly about national security implications and the need for discretion, he gave me Applewhite's name as the FBI contact person and asked me to call her at her hotel. So I did. She basically gave me the same line that she fed you, minus any aspersions about Mrs.
Terrell's sexual escapades.'
'So, you get a reassuring call from the U. S. attorney within minutes of our conversation. What a coincidence.'
'Your phone is tapped,' Andy said.
'Either that or they're using a telecommunications-intercept system through the National Security Agency, which means they probably know we're meeting right now.'
Andy brushed a hand through his thinning hair.
'Jesus.'
'Drop the Applewhite fact check,' Kerney said.
'You don't want to get involved.'
Andy smiled slyly.
'Too late. I did it myself just to be obstinate. Her story checks out. I verified the car rental, the date she and her husband arrived by plane in Albuquerque, when they checked into their rented Taos condominium, and the time today that she reserved a hotel room in Santa Fe. But what I found interesting was that everybody I talked to, once I connected with the right people, had the information I needed at their fingertips.
No paper shuffling, record searching, or computer scan.'
'Oops,' Kerney said.
'Tomorrow should be a very interesting day.'
'I know a retired special agent who might be willing to give me some background on Applewhite,' Andy said.
'Let it go. If they're listening to my conversations, they're probably listening to yours. Best for them to think I'm satisfied that all is as it seems. I picked Terrell up at the airport and drove him to his hotel.
He brought two company men masquerading as FBI.'
'You're sure?'
'That's my guess.'
'Want some advice?' Andy asked after a pause.
'Sure.'
Andy pulled at the collar of his off-white uniform shirt.
'Start wearing your blues, Kerney.'
'Do you think that will impress the feds?' Kerney asked with a laugh.
'No, but it might make your troops start to think you're proud to be their chief.'
'You know how I feel about uniforms.'
'Then you should have been an accountant instead of a cop.'
Kerney studied Andy's serious expression.
'What have you heard?'
'The same gripe that dogged you when you were my chief deputy. I put up with it because I knew what you did was far more important than whether or not you wore a uniform on the job. But now you're the chief of a department, and you damn well better dress like one. Wear the uniform.'
Andy was right and Kerney knew it.
'I'll spit-shine my shoes and polish my brass in the morning,' he said as he opened the car door.
'Call me if you get into a firefight with the feds,' Andy said.
'If that happens, it will be too late to call,' Kerney said.
'All of this could turn out to mean nothing.'
'You never know,' Kerney replied.
CHApter 3
About the only thing Cloudy Herrera liked about working days was that the shift started at six in the morning and usually nothing much happened for an hour or two. Assigned to the north patrol, Cloudy expected he'd catch some false burglary alarm calls and take spillover assignments on the south side of the city where the units stayed busy with shoplifting, assault, auto theft, vandalism, and traffic accidents.
So far his radio had been quiet.
At a stop-and-rob convenience store just off the Interstate, Cloudy bought an extra large coffee, left it on the counter, and went to empty his bladder in the public restroom. As he zipped up, his call number came over the handheld radio.
Cloudy keyed the microphone clipped to his shirt and responded.
'Unattended death at the College of Santa Fe,' the dispatcher said.
'See Brother Jerome Brodsky at the Christian Brothers residence hall.'
Cloudy acknowledged and checked the time. It was five minutes after seven.
'ETA four minutes,' he added, hurrying to his unit.
Morning traffic was still light and he could get to the campus running with lights only in plenty of time. Halfway there he remembered he'd left his coffee behind on the counter, which had cost him a buck and some change. That didn't make him happy, but the thought passed when he realized he didn't have a clue where the Christian Brothers' residence hall was located on the campus. He called dispatch and asked for directions.
Two dead bodies in two days, a first in his three years on the force.
He parked in front of the old World War Two barracks where the brothers lived. There better not be any damn dogs around, he grumbled silently, thinking about his ruined uniform trousers.
He announced his arrival and the shift sergeant came on the horn to say he was rolling and would be there in two.
'Ten-four,' Cloudy replied, staring at a tall, older man in long black robes who came hurrying down a pathway to a gate, his expression dazed and shaken.
Kerney passed the National Guard recruitment billboard, turned off the frontage road that paralleled the Interstate, and drove toward the new armory. He parked and listened for a minute to the radio traffic about an unattended death at the college before entering the building. Inside a female staff sergeant dressed in army
