'Butt out, Kerney,' Ordway said.
'This is my business.'
Kerney quickly closed the distance to Ordway.
'Move, Cordova,' Ordway commanded. He applied more force to the hold.
Robert gasped in pain and lurched toward the police car.
'I said, let him go,' Kerney repeated, grabbing Ordway's shoulder.
'Sure thing, hotshot,' Ordway said as he pulled free, released Robert, and swung at Kerney with the baton.
Kerney kicked Ordway in the nuts. He dropped the baton, fell to his knees, and grabbed his groin.
After disarming Ordway, Kerney looked for Robert, who stood next to him, bouncing on his toes in delight.
'Kick him again,' Robert said, as he threw uppercuts into the air.
'Wait for me by the fence.'
'Fuck you,' Robert replied, still punching the air.
'You lied to me.'
'What?'
'You promised me some smokes, man.'
'They're in my car, on the passenger seat. Go get them. Then wait by the fence.'
'Okay,' Robert grumbled, moving away.
Kerney moved behind Ordway, stood him up, put the baton against his throat, and applied some pressure.
'You're not a man who takes advice easily,' he said.
'Fuck you,' Ordway gurgled.
'I could file charges against you,' Kerney said.
'Unlawful arrest. Use of excessive force. Do you want that kind of grief?'
Ordway thought about it and shook his head.
'I didn't think so.' Kerney released the pressure, pushed Ordway out of kicking distance, and circled around to look the man in the eyes.
'Take my advice, Ordway. Find a civilian job. I don't think you're cut out to be a cop.'
Ordway's expression turned ugly when Kerney locked his handgun, baton, and car keys inside the police cruiser.
'That should slow you down,' Kerney said to Ordway.
'Get in my car, Robert.'
'Why?'
'I thought you wanted to go to jail.'
Robert beamed.
'Can I smoke in your car?'
'No, but I'll stop along the way so you can have a cigarette or two.'
'That sucks.'
'Humor me,' Kerney replied. kerney let Robert sit up front weaning no cuffs. He fought off Cordova's bad smell by running the air conditioner with the window cracked, even though the cloudy late afternoon had dropped the temperature into the low forties.
'You're supposed to cuff me and lock me in the back. I'm an escaped mental patient.'
'You don't like sitting up front?' Kerney asked.
'Yeah, I do. I need a cigarette.'
They had just passed the Mountainair town limit sign. Kerney pulled off the road next to a cottonwood tree and got out with Robert, who quickly lit up. The cloud cover broke, and for a moment the high mesa south of the village shimmered in pale yellow sunlight.
'You were in town the night Paul Gillespie was killed,' Kerney said.
Robert exhaled.
'Who?'
'Paul Gillespie, the police officer.'
Robert tugged at his beard.
'I don't know him.'
'You went to high school with him.'
Robert shrugged indifferently and looked away.
' I don't remember.'
'Did you see Gillespie get killed?'
'I've never seen anybody get killed. But I'd like to.
That would be neat.'
'Do you know who killed him?'
The wind picked up and Robert started to shiver.
'I'm cold,' he whined, grinding out his cigarette with his sneaker.
'Am I going to jail or not?'
'You're going. Get in,' Kerney answered, gesturing at the car.
Kerney drove for a time without talking, keeping one eye on Robert, whose foot beat a steady tattoo on the floorboard. Kerney wondered if the habit signaled anxiety. He decided to test the theory.
'Did you see Gillespie the night he was killed?'
Robert's foot started bouncing off the floorboard.
'I saw Satan.'
'What was Satan doing?'
Robert's foot jiggled wildly.
'Raping my daughter.'
'Where did it happen?'
'Serpent Gate.'
Kerney remembered the peculiar stone snake on Pop Shaffer's fence.
'Do you mean by the fence next to the hotel?'
'Yeah.' Robert changed his mind.
'No, not there.'
'Where?'
'I don't want to talk about it.'
'Okay,' Kerney said gently.
'Tell me about your daughter.' As far as he knew, Robert was childless.
'She's in heaven with Jesus,' Robert replied flatly, as he gripped the back of his skull with his fingers and stuck his thumbs in his ears.
'Is that where Satan rapes her?' Kerney asked loudly, trying to get through to Robert.
Robert grunted and shut his eyes. The conversation was over.
When Kerney pulled into the sally port at the Torrance County jail, Cordova removed his thumbs from his ears, popped out of the car, and waited at the door to the booking alcove while Kerney locked his handgun in a weapon box.
'Hurry up,' Robert barked, snapping his fingers.
Kerney pressed the button to the booking alcove, and the electronic door latch snapped open. Inside, Robert immediately relaxed. He smiled at the female guard behind the glassed-in booking counter and began emptying his pockets.
The guard, a sturdy-looking woman with broad shoulders and a close-cropped haircut, welcomed Robert back with a greeting and a grin.
'What's the charge?' the guard asked, eyeing Kerney skeptically.
'Protective custody,' Kerney answered.
'Twentyfour-hour hold.'
