reached was to take decisive action.'
Gatewood rubbed his chin.
'Jesus. And Gene took that to mean you should go after Jim Stiles?' he asked in disbelief.
'He told me to take out whoever jumped at the bait. Kerney. Stiles.
Charlie Perry. Whoever. It didn't matter. It was time to send a message.'
Omar ran his tongue behind his teeth before reacting.
'I think your old man went over the edge on this one.'
Phil lunged across the seat and grabbed Gatewood's throat.
'Don't ever say that again,' he snarled.
Omar pried Phil's hand free and gasped for air.
'I'm not picking a fight with you, for chrissake.' He waited until Phil stopped glaring at him.
'I'm only saying Kerney was the target. No one else.'
'That's not the way my father saw it,' Phil replied tightly.
Gatewood grunted, gave Phil a sharp look, and let it pass. It was too late to split hairs with Phil, and the way he was acting maybe both Eugene and his son had a screw loose.
'What does Gene want done now?'
'We have to clean up the mess.'
'That's what I thought,' Gatewood replied, pulling a paper from his shirt pocket.
'So I did us a favor.'
Phil took the paper and read it.
'You got the assault-and-battery warrant signed.'
Gatewood smiled and nodded.
'You bet. I know a very obliging judge. Everything is legal again. All we have to do is go get them. After that, we can improvise.'
'Them?'
'That's right. I talked to your daddy after I called you. He wants both Kerney and Karen taken care of, and I agree. That's the only way we can handle it. We can't let Karen off the hook. She could fry our asses.
We're looking at first-degree felony murder charges if we don't contain the problem now.'
'Kill them both?' Phil asked.
Gatewood nodded.
'Are you all right with that?'
Phil's eyes were empty of emotion.
'Why not?'
'Good,' Gatewood said, exhaling slowly.
'But it ain't gonna be me who does it. You get my meaning?'
Phil gazed at Gatewood unemotionally.
'I'll make them disappear, Omar. But we leave Karen's children alone, understood? We're patriots, not terrorists.'
'Shit, Phil, I know that.' He cranked the engine.
'Edgar took his grandkids to Silver City. If we get our butts in gear, we can pick up Kerney and Karen and be gone before he gets home.'
'Where do we take them?'
'The Slash Z.' Gatewood reached across Phil and opened the passenger door.
'I'm taking out an insurance policy on this one. I want your daddy to help you make them disappear, Phil.'
Phil got out of the patrol car, stuck his head back inside, and gave Omar a wicked smile.
'He'll like that. This will all work out, Omar.'
'It better. Otherwise, we'll have to declare open season on every fucking federal and state cop the government sends after us.'
After treating his grandchildren to an early lunch and a matinee movie in Silver City, Edgar met briefly with Margaret's doctor, while Elizabeth and Cody waited in the hospital lobby. The doctor reported the cancer had not spread and Margaret would be discharged in the morning. The good news put a smile on Edgar's face. He took the elevator to the third floor and hurried to Margaret's room.
He found his wife sitting in the bedside chair with her hair done up in a bun, her makeup on, and wearing a pretty summer dress. She smiled and stroked his cheek when he bent down to kiss her.
'Karen couldn't come?' Margaret asked.
'She's working, and I'm looking after Cody and Elizabeth. They're in the lobby waiting to see you.
The doctor said I could take you down for a short visit.'
'I can't wait to see them.' She studied Edgar's face.
'You look tired.'
'I feel fine,' he replied.
'You look beautiful.'
Margaret beamed.
'I hoped you'd notice. I had quite a bit of help from the nurses to get gussied up for your visit. Have you kept your promise?'
Edgar's smile faded and his gaze shifted away.
'Not yet. I've decided I want to talk to Eugene before I tell Karen.'
'What on earth for?'
Edgar grimaced.
'I want him to know that the truth is something neither of us can avoid any longer.'
Margaret stood up and took Edgar's arm.
'I don't think talking to Eugene will make one bit of difference.'
'Maybe not,' Edgar replied as he walked Margaret to the door.
'But that's the way I want to handle it.'
'When?' Margaret asked.
'Today. After we leave here, I'll drop Cody and Elizabeth off at home with Karen and drive to the Slash Z. I'll tell Karen this evening.
Everything will be taken care of by the time you come home tomorrow.'
Margaret patted her husband's hand.
'I love you very much, Edgar.'
'I love you, too,' he replied.
'More than you know.'
The screened porch to Karen's house was filled with empty packing boxes stacked in neat piles.
Behind the porch was the living room, a rectangular space with doors opening to back bedrooms. The room held an astonishing number of books arranged in modular shelves along the walls. The only furniture was a love seat with a curved back that faced a small television and VCR on a portable cabinet next to a fireplace, and a Shaker rocking chair that sat next to the fireplace. An assortment of potted house plants was arranged on the outer lip of the hearth.
Several indoor trees, including a Norfolk pine in a large tub, sat on the floor. In front of the love seat, two sleeping bags were spread out on a Persian rug that matched the deep red color of the flagstone floor.
The room had the feel of a sheltered garden library.
Kerney scanned the spines of the books. Karen had an excellent collection of art history, architecture, biography, good fiction, and classic literature.
The wide range of interests the collection contained impressed Kerney.
He spied a biography of Vincent Van Gogh that he wanted to read.
Karen offered him the use of the bathroom to clean up. He jumped at the suggestion, and with a fresh towel and some new clothes he found his way to the bathroom. It was a cramped space in a corner of the oversized kitchen adjacent to the living room.
All the water lines running to the old pedestal sink and cast-iron tub were exposed. It was clearly a
