'Let's go outside,' Pratt suggested.
'I'm allergic to sawdust.'
'What in the fuck is this all about?' Skip asked.
'Building inspection,' Pratt answered.
'Do you have a problem with that, Skippy?'
Pratt's use of his diminutive nickname, which he hated, made Skip's face turn red.
'You know me?'
'I sure do. I know your friend Kiko, too. Now, let's go outside.'
Clyde smiled broadly at Kiko.
'Don't even think of reaching for that hammer.'
Outside, Pratt stood them with their backs against the loading dock.
Skip wanted to smoke a cigarette and Clyde suggested he could do without. Kiko kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Every time he moved, Clyde clamped a hand on his pistol grip and Kiko froze.
Finally, Wadley appeared on the dock with a flushed, excited look on his face and looked down at Pratt.
'This place is a building code disaster,' he said.
'The first floor has been ruined.'
'That's a shame,' Pratt replied, staying focused on the two men in front of him.
'There's something I think you should see, Officer,' he said.
'I'm no expert, but it looks like drugs to me. A lot of drugs in a hidden basement.'
'Don't touch anything.' Clyde took his handheld radio out of the belt case and called for assistance.
'Turn around, boys,' he ordered, after he ended the transmission.
He cuffed and frisked them while he read them their rights, and sat them both on the ground.
'Are there really drugs inside, Skippy?' Clyde asked as he stepped back.
'I don't know nothing about that shit,' Skip replied, his face turning red.
'How about you, Kiko? Do you know anything about drugs?'
'I just build shipping crates. That's all.'
'Well, you're both going to have to answer a lot of questions.'
'I want a lawyer,' Skip said.
'Me too,' echoed Kiko.
'Fair enough,' Clyde said.
'But first you get a ride in a shiny new police car.'
Pratt turned the men over to an arriving patrol officer and waited for the agents to appear. As the arresting officer, Clyde needed to confirm the presence of narcotics in the building. He went in with the agents, and Wadley led them to the storage locker and a built-in shelf that swung open to reveal steps to the secret basement.
Bundles of crack cocaine and heroin were stacked on pallets. It was a hell of a lot of dope, enough to fill the trunk of a full-size car.
The agents did a quick test of the drugs and pegged the street value at a million plus.
'What charges do you want on Kiko and Skip?' Pratt asked.
'Start with trafficking,' an agent said, 'and then be creative.'
Like most of the shops along Canyon Road, Bucky Watson's gallery had once been a private residence.
The interior of the building had neoclassical features accentuated by antique furniture and expensive art in ornate frames. Watson's office continued the theme.
Behind the Shaker table that served as a desk, logs burned in a fireplace bordered by a gilt-edge Georgian surround. An old Mexican grain chest sat on sturdy legs under a window that looked out on the narrow street. On a high shelf over the window was an impressive array of Apache Indian baskets.
Paintings by early twentieth-century Santa Fe artists and a bookshelf of art reference publications completed the decor.
Kerney sat across the table from Bucky. Watson's eyebrows had started twitching the moment he arrived.
He smirked at Kerney's questions, toyed with a ring, and answered impatiently.
'Is all this rehashing necessary?' Watson said.
'Sometimes it can jog a recollection or two,' Kerney replied genially.
'Go ahead and finish asking your questions.'
'You said Amanda attended the benefit alone. Did you see her arrive unescorted?'
'No. That's just the impression I had. She didn't act like she was with anybody.'
'Why do you say that?'
'Because she was milling around, mixing, chatting people up.'
'Did any of the men at the benefit seem interested in Amanda?'
'Every straight man who meets Amanda is interested in her.'
'What about Vicente Puentes? Was he interested?'
Bucky flinched slightly.
'I don't know if he was or not.'
'Is Puentes straight or gay?'
'I don't know.'
'Can you put me in touch with Fuentes? I'd like to talk to him.'
'I don't know how to do that. I've only met the man a couple of times.' Bucky ran his finger under the collar of his teal blue linen shirt.
'Doesn't he own a home in Rancho Caballo?'
'He's a member at the dub, so I suppose he does.'
'I had the impression you knew him fairly well.'
'You're mistaken.'
'I understand Fuentes is wealthy. How did he make his money?'
'I have no idea.' The phone rang and Bucky grabbed the receiver. He listened momentarily and handed the instrument to Kerney.
'It's for you.'
Kerney took the call, and listened as the agent reported that over a million dollars in black tar heroin and crack cocaine had been found in the secret basement.
Suppressing a smile, he expressed his thanks and handed the receiver to Bucky.
'Are we finished?' Bucky asked as he dropped the phone in the cradle and stood up.
'I'm afraid you have a problem, Mr. Watson.'
'What kind of problem?'
'With the city. It appears a citation has been issued.'
'What for?'
'Building code violations.'
'Which building?'
'The Victorian house where you have your art crating shop. Supposedly, you gutted the inside without a permit.'
'Those jerks at the city are always trying to screw with me. I'll have my lawyer handle it.'
'There's one more problem, Mr. Watson,' Kerney said, reaching for his handcuffs.
'A large quantity of heroin and cocaine was found in the basement of the building.'
'I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.'
'Call it the luck of the draw,' Kerney said as he stepped to Bucky, spun him around, and cuffed him. buckt's refusal to talk without his lawyer present came as no surprise to Kerney. After the lawyer arrived at headquarters, Kerney assigned four agents working in pairs to interrogate Watson. The teams switched every hour to keep the pressure on, while search warrants were executed. Officers were at the art crating shop, the gallery, the design studio, and Bucky's residence, looking for anything that could be added to the list of charges against Watson.
Kerney hoped to overwhelm Bucky with hard evidence and force him to cooperate. Watson's two employees, Skip Cornell and Kiko Segura, were undergoing separate interrogations and being pressured to cut a deal and testify
