answer.
'No, don't tell me. Let me guess. You must be the police chaplain.
Although the fact that you're wearing a suit and tie raises some doubts in my mind.'
'Chaplain?' Kerney asked.
Fletcher nodded.
'Yes. The last time I saw Gilbert he was going off to a seminary in the Midwest to study for the priesthood. That was twenty years ago.'
Gilbert smiled.
'Well, I am a father. I have two daughters.'
'Were you defrocked?' Fletcher asked.
'Excommunicated?
Tell me everything.'
'Nothing that dramatic, Fletcher. I changed career paths. I'm a state police sergeant in criminal investigations.'
'Unbelievable.' Fletcher turned his gaze to Kerney.
'He was the perfect altar boy. Angelic.'
'Stop exaggerating,' Gilbert said.
'The old neighborhood doesn't look like it has changed too much.'
'I try to keep the riffraff out.'
'Who lives in my parents' old house?'
'It has changed hands five or six times since you moved away. The current owners are a New York couple.
They use it as a vacation home. He's a book publisher and she's a literary agent. I've been thinking of approaching them with a proposal to write my memoirs.'
'Maybe I should try to buy it back the next time it comes on the market.'
'Would that you could.'
'You don't think a sergeant's salary could swing it?'
'Perhaps you might want to wait until you get another promotion or two,' Fletcher said.
Gilbert's laugh was bitter.
'That, along with another full-time job, would probably get me a mortgage on the garage my father built.' He turned to Kerney.
'I'd like to bring you up to speed, Chief.'
'What have you got. Sergeant?'
'My conversation with Roger Springer went basically nowhere, although I did get the names of two women he took on unofficial, late-night tours of the Roundhouse. He swears he wasn't there last week after hours, and the two women aren't blondes.'
'What else?'
'A curator at the fine arts museum by the name of Amanda Talley-she's a blonde, by the way-picked out the art for the governor's office.'
'I've already told Kevin about her,' Fletcher announced.
Gilbert gave Kerney a perplexed look.
'Fletcher made a round of the galleries yesterday at my request,'
Kerney explained, 'and Amanda Talley's name came up. It seems she did some public complaining about lax security for the art in the governor's office, and talked about how easy it would be to rip it off.
What did you learn from her?'
'Nothing,' Gilbert answered.
'Talley started a vacation late last week. She's in Belize. She left a hotel number where she could be reached, and I called. She's on a three-day boat expedition, touring some wildlife sanctuaries off the coast. The boat's not due back until the day after tomorrow.
'One more thing. Chief,' Gilbert added.
'The three O'Keeffe paintings were due to be sent to the O'Keeffe Museum this week.'
'Find out where Talley lives,' Kerney ordered.
'She has an apartment on Yucca Road. I have the address. It's one of those big rental units.'
'Have the apartment manager let you in. If you're questioned, treat it like a missing person case. See what you can turn up.'
'Without a search warrant, whatever we find will be fruit from the poisoned tree. The courts won't admit it into evidence.'
'Do a plain-view search only. Bring back a sample of any hairs you can find.'
Gilbert nodded as Kerney stood. Fletcher held up a hand to keep Kerney from departing.
'Frank Bailey said that Amanda Talley was with Roger Springer and some other people the night she made her little speech,' he said.
'That's very interesting,' Kerney replied.
'Did you get the names of the other people?'
'There was a local couple who dabble in collecting art, Bucky Watson, and a Spanish or Mexican gentleman.
Frank wasn't sure which nationality he was.'
'I need their names, Pletcher,' Kerney said.
Fletcher made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
'I have them written down somewhere.'
Kerney nodded.
'Give them to the sergeant.' He switched his attention to Martinez.
'I want deep background checks done on everybody who may have overheard what Talley said.'
'You've got it. Chief.'
'Allegedly, she was tipsy at the time,' Pletcher added.
'Fletcher, tell Sergeant Martinez everything you learned from Frank Bailey.'
'Of course.'
'Meet with Bailey personally, Sergeant. Find out what else he knows and go over everything in detail with him.'
'It's already on my list, Chief.'
'Hook up with Chief Baca and fill him in.'
'Will do.'
'What's my next assignment?' Fletcher asked.
'Have you finished talking to gallery owners?' Kerney replied.
'The local ones are covered, but I need to start calling Albuquerque dealers.'
'Do that, but pass any leads on to Sergeant Martinez.
He'll assign men to do the follow-up interviews, if anything looks promising.'
Fletcher's unhappiness showed on his face.
'So, am I to be consigned to the back room with a telephone?'
Kerney stepped around the table and squeezed his old friend's shoulder.
'Don't fuss, Pletcher. You're still my expert consultant on this case.
I'd be lost without your help.'
Kerney nodded at Gilbert and left the kitchen.
Gilbert waited until Kerney's footsteps faded away before he asked the irresistible question that had formed in his mind.
'Tell me, Fletcher,' he said in a low voice, 'is Chief Kerney gay?'
Fletcher laughed deeply.
'Not in this lifetime, I'm sorry to say,' he answered. after burning the van, retrieving Amanda Talley's body at Emory Pass, and recrossing the border, Carlos dropped Facundo and the body at the rancho in the desert De Leon used as a landing field for drug shipments arriving from South America. Pacundo knew what to do with the body;
