'Pair enough,' Gilbert said.
'Are you using your unit today? If not, I'd like to borrow it. I'm stranded without a vehicle.'
'No way,' Joe answered with a snort.
'I only do one favor a day for newly anointed sergeants.' caklos couldn't remember a time in the past when he had been invited to join the patron for a cup of coffee.
He sat at the dining room table holding the delicate cup carefully in his hands while the maid cleared away the breakfast dishes. De Leon gazed out the window at the snowcapped mountains and didn't speak until the woman departed.
'So Kerney has no girlfriend? No private life outside of his job?' De Leon asked, shifting his gaze to Carlos.
'No, patron. He works and goes home. That is all.'
'What did he do in Albuquerque last night?'
'According to a nurse at the hospital, he visited a patient, a man who had been found beaten in a small village called Mountainair.'
'What prompted Kerney to visit this man?'
'I do not know, patron. But he identified himself as a police officer to the nurse in charge of the unit.'
'Where is this village?'
'South of Albuquerque, east of the mountains.'
'Tell me about Kerney's workplace.'
'The buildings are fenced, isolated from the highway, and on a small hill. There are many police around, including students and officers who stay at the police training academy. Those who work there must either pass through a reception area or use security cards to enter the exterior doors. Cards must also be used after hours to open the security gate.'
'Could Kerney be killed from a distance as he leaves?'
'Yes, but at some risk,' Carlos replied.
'The highway is very busy and there are nearby businesses along the strip that attract customers.'
'What is the best vantage point?'
'There is a new car lot directly across the highway.
From there I can see who comes and goes, but only if I use binoculars.
I have been able to follow Kerney by identifying his vehicle. He parks in the same reserved space every day.'
'Using a sniper won't work.'
Carlos nodded.
'We would have better success where Kerney lives. He resides in the guest quarters of a house near the state capitol. It is on a private lane at the end of a street, shared by only one other residence.
The house is situated in a hollow, almost hidden from sight. From the lane, you can see only the roofline and part of the driveway. There are many places that can be used for concealment.'
'Who is Kerney's host?'
Carlos pulled a scrap of paper from his shirt pocket.
'His name is Fletcher Hartley.'
De Leon eyes closed. Fletcher Hartley was the man at the Rancho Caballo clubhouse who had forced Bucky to make an introduction. Had Hartley been acting on Kerney's behalf?
'Can the house be entered easily?' Enrique asked.
'Yes, jefe. There is one door at the front, a patio door at a rear garden, and a separate entrance to the attached guest quarters. There are no alarm or security devices to contend with. Under cover of darkness, with three men to assist me, there should be no problem.'
Enrique nodded, pleased with Ruiz's thoroughness.
He now had a clear picture of what needed to be done.
'Is the information sufficient?' Carlos asked.
'You've done well,' De Leon replied as he refilled his coffee cup.
'Go to the house tonight. After Kerney arrives, send the men in. One through each entrance.
Have them kill Kerney and his host. When it is done, rendezvous with me at the airport.'
'Are we returning home, patron?'
'For a time.' gilbbkt dug through the sheaf of National Crime Information Center reports on the people who had been interviewed and questioned since the investigation began. There were no hits for arrests or convictions until he reached Bucky Watson. In the early seventies, Bucky had served eighteen months in a California state prison for drug dealing.
Gilbert reached for the telephone just as Chief Kerney appeared in the doorway.
'Chief,' he said, pulling his hand away from the receiver.
'Sergeant,' Kerney replied with a smile.
'I understand you've been assigned as my partner.'
'I'll try not to cramp your style,' Gilbert said, smiling back.
'Do you have anything new on Carlos Ruiz?'
'Nada. We don't even know where he is.'
'What about Enrique De Leon
'Nothing.'
'Fletcher met a man last night named Vicente Fuentes. He's pretty sure Fuentes is a Mexican national.
He said you have a snapshot of him that was taken at the O'Keeffe Museum benefit.'
'Has Fletcher been playing detective again?' Gilbert asked, handing the photograph to Kerney.
'It would seem so.' Kerney looked at the photograph and froze.
'What is it?'
'Enrique De Leon he said, tossing the picture on the desktop.
'Have this photo enlarged and cropped. Give it to every officer in the district. I want De Leon located ASAP. Hit Rancho Caballo hard. Put an entire team on it.'
Gilbert slid the NCIC hit on Bucky across the desk.
Kerney scanned it.
'What eke do you have on Watson?'
'He's been funneling millions into Rancho Caballo through a company called Matador Properties, and getting it back in accelerated repayments.'
'Put somebody on it to do a full probe,' Kerney said.
'We need to know if Watson is linked to De Leon 'Sherman Cobb and Roger Springer are officers in Rancho Caballo.'
'Dig into it,' Kerney said.
'Is that all?' Gilbert asked as Kerney stood in the doorway.
Kerney grinned.
'Try not to piss off Roger Springer again for a while.'
'Don't make me wait for the other shoe to drop, Chief,' Gilbert said.
'Give me the full skinny.'
Tve been ordered to reprimand you.'
Gilbert sighed.
'What should I expect?'
'Nothing. I refused to comply. What did you do to Springer, anyhow?'
Gilbert laid out the specifics.
'Springer's reaction sealed it,' he concluded.
'If he wasn't screwing Amanda Talley on his uncle's office carpet, I'll eat my hat.'
'Very slick. Sergeant,' Kerney said.
'Slightly over the edge, but slick nonetheless.'
Gilbert smiled at the compliment.
'I won't do it again, promise. Any word from Belize on the Amanda Talley double?'
