RC: 'Yeah.'
KK: 'What happened at Serpent Gate?'
RC: 'He kept saying, 'Do you like my snake, Addie? Tell me you like it.' Stuff like that.'
KK: 'Slow down, Robert. Who are you talking about?'
RC: 'Paul GUles pie He fucked her, man. Had her pinned to the ground.
Raped her, man. Her panties were down at her ankles. Kept saying,
'Jesus Christ, you have a tight pussy.' He beat me up, man. Bad. I passed out for a minute or two.'
KK: 'Was he alone?'
RC: 'Yeah. He had a rifle. I should have killed him.
Addie made me promise not to tell anybody.'
KK: 'Maybe Addie wanted to have sex with Gillespie.'
RC: 'Fuck you. Addie isn't like that.'
KK: 'How do you know?'
RC: 'He held the rifle under her chin. Said she had to fuck him or he'd shoot both of us. Then he slapped her. He was drunk.'
KK: 'How drunk?'
RC: 'Well, maybe not drunk. But he had a six-pack of beer with him.'
KK: 'Can you remember anything else?'
RC: 'No. Will you take me to jail now like you promised?'
KK: 'In a minute. Nita means a lot to you, doesn't she?'
RC: 'She's my best friend. She doesn't let anyone but me caR her Addie.'
KK: 'Is that why you didn't want to tell me you saw Nita outside the police station the night GiUespie was killed?'
RC: 'Who says I saw her?'
KK: 'Nita does.'
RC: 'She's lying. I didn't see nothing.'
KK: 'You need to tell me the whole truth, Robert.'
RC: 'I want to go to jail now.'
KK: 'Nita wants you to tell the truth.'
RC: 'Satan killed Paul GiUespie.'
KK: 'Try to remember what you saw outside the police station.'
RC: 'Crazy people don't have to remember.'
KK: 'We're going to have to talk about this again.'
RC: 'Noway.'
KK: 'You're one tough customer, Robert.'
RC: 'That's right.'
Kerney stared out the window, thinking about Nita Lassiter, her pregnant daughter, and Robert, wondering how many other victims Paul Gillespie had left behind. sergbant Gilbert Martinez, the lead agent on the art theft case, stood in the open doorway of the conference room waiting for the new deputy chief to nonce him.
Chief Kerney stared out the window with a sheaf of papers in his hand, apparently lost in thought.
For ten of his fifteen years on the force, Martinez had been assigned to the criminal investigations unit in Albuquerque with officers and supervisors he knew well. His promotion to sergeant and transfer to Santa Fe had come through two months ago. Now he had a new boss he didn't know, responsibility for a case that could turn into a political time bomb, and information that made him believe the bomb might be ticking.
Over the years, Gilbert had watched some damn fine agents and investigators get demoted back to patrol duties or dumped at a desk job because they pissed off a department bigwig or politician. And while the brass bragged about having the best cop shop in the state-which wasn't an exaggeration-it was still a bureaucracy, where people covered their asses and shit flowed downhill.
Two brief meetings with Kerney had not yet told Martinez what kind of cop the deputy chief would turn out to be when faced with the tough decisions. He was about to find out.
Tired of waiting to be noticed, Gilbert cleared his throat to get Kerney's attention.
'Come in, Sergeant,' Kerney said as he turned, spotted Martinez, smiled, and walked to the conference table.
'Grab a seat.'
The chief looked tired and his limp seemed more pronounced.
'Thank you, sir.'
Tall, slender, with blue eyes and light brown hair graying at the temples, Martinez didn't fit the popular stereotype of a Hispanic. An unruffled man with a gentle way of speaking, Gilbert looked more like a college professor than a cop. He sat across from Kerney and opened a thick file.
'We've got a potential hot potato on our hands, Chief.'
'What's the problem?'
'I talked to a journalist with some reliable sources.
He relayed some rumors floating around about Roger Springer, the governor's nephew, that may be of interest.'
'What kind of rumors?' Kerney asked.
'Springer's marriage fell apart midway during the governor's first term. Springer is a lawyer. He was serving as deputy general counsel on the governor's staff at the time. Rumor has it that Springer was screwing around with some of the women in the governor's office.
Springer left his position to enter private practice with a firm here in town. According to my source, the governor called in a few favors to keep the situation hushed up.'
'How did he do that?' Kerney asked.
'The two women in question got promoted into jobs at state agencies.
One now works in the health department and the other one has a position at the state library.'
'Go on,' Kerney said.
'From what I've been told, it's like Springer never left his uncle's staff. His law firm has a consultant contract with the governor's office. He's handling litigation with Texas over the apportionment of water rights in the Pecos River. He has free and unrestricted access to the governor's suite.'
'Does that include underground parking and use of the private elevator in the Roundhouse?' Kerney asked.
'According to the night janitors, it does. Springer sometimes shows up late at night, with different women in tow. It has happened three or four times.'
'Are any of them blondes?'
'I don't know,' Martinez replied.
'Is he currently dating anybody on the governor's staff?'
'If I can believe what I've been told, he's not.'
'What else have you learned about Springer?'
'He runs with a fast crowd of thirty-something yuppies.
He drinks at the best watering holes, gets invited to the most prestigious gallery openings, has opening night tickets to the opera, dates a lot of different women-that sort of thing. He lives high off the hog, but supposedly can afford it.'
'Have you verified his financial status?'
'Not yet,' Gilbert replied.
'One more thing. Chief.
Some of the people Springer hangs with are known recreational drug users. Mostly cocaine, hashish, and marijuana.'
'Is Springer a user?'
'Not as far as I know.'
'When is the last time Roger Springer was seen at the Roundhouse with a woman?' Kerney asked.
'I don't know.'
