Kerney watched the patrol car drive away. Busting Ordway felt good, but it didn't relieve the anger that gnawed at him about Gilbert Mamnez's murder. He wondered if he would get a chance to even things up with Enrique De Leon and Carlos Ruiz.
Antonio Vallaverde turned off the main highway south ofjuarez onto a blacktop road that cut through the saddle of two hills along the Rio Grande. He stopped at the security gate and announced himself. A high-ranking official in the Mexican Ministry of Justice, Vallaverde coordinated all cooperative borderland investigations with North American law enforcement agendes, including the New Mexico State Police.
Two miles in from the highway, a sprawling hacienda sat at the base of a hill with a lovely view of the bosque and the low-lying west Texas mountains across the river. The old rancho had been restored to its original splendor. The main hacienda, a private chapel, rock stables, a stone granary, and several other out buildings had been rebuilt from the ground up. Old stone fences divided the grazing and farm land that bordered the basque, and some of the melting adobe walls of the original peasant quarters still remained visible in the distance.
During the Mexican Revolution, the site had served as a government jail and execution grounds before being sacked and burned by Pancho Villa's troops.
A houseboy in white linen stood outside the arched hacienda doorway.
Antonio parked in the circular cobblestone driveway and followed the servant into the courtyard, with its charming brick lattice balustrade and central fountain. They passed through the vast living room and into the billiard parlor. De Leon had a guest: A young woman bent over the billiard table with a cue stick in her hands. She had strawberry blond hair that fell against creamy white shoulders, long legs, and a small waist. The woman made her shot as Enrique looked on.
Antonio had spent a number of pleasant evenings in the parlor with Enrique and various industrialists, senior military officers, and prominent politicians who were De Leon friends. It was a long room with a high ceiling and an arrangement of comfortable chairs in front of a fireplace at one end, where a well-stocked liquor cabinet stood close at hand. Above the fireplace hung an antique cavalry officer's sword in a scabbard.
In the center of the room, chairs for spectators and players lined the walls facing the billiard table. A door along the back wall provided passage to Enrique's richly appointed library, where key arrangements in the last national election had been brokered.
Antonio coughed and De Leon looked in his direction.
'Go now,' De Leon said to the woman, taking the cue stick from her hand.
The woman left without saying a word, passing by Antonio with a look and a smile. She had a soft, sensual step, a long, elegant neck, and lustrous green eyes.
Antonio could smell her scent in the air.
'I hope I find you well, Enrique,' Vallaverde said.
'Indeed, I am,' Enrique replied. Antonio was one of the few paid informants he truly liked.
'You have something to tell me, Antonio?'
'Not good news, I'm afraid. The New Mexico State Police have seized a large quantity of drugs in Santa Fe and arrested a man named Watson, who has confessed to being one of your distributors.'
'Where is Watson now?' Enrique asked.
'In jail.'
'How much merchandise was confiscated?'
'The street value is reported to be over a million dollars.'
De Leon knew immediately that Bucky had held back some product from the Chicago shipment. He would deal with him harshly.
'Such things happen occasionally,' he said.
'It is the cost of doing business.'
'There is more, Enrique. Records of Tortuga International were seized in Las Cruces by the New Mexico State Police this morning. A United States judge has been asked to freeze all your North American corporate assets.'
'What else do you know?'
'Stolen art worth many millions has been recovered from your Santa Fe house. The authorities believe you are behind the theft. They are seeking your whereabouts in Mexico. Of course, I have suggested that they look for you in all the wrong places.'
'You give the Americans such wise counsel,' De Leon said with a smile.
'I can do no less in light of your past generosities,' Antonio replied.
'May I offer some advice, Enrique?'
'By all means.'
'A request has been made to the State Department to declare you persona non grata, which would bar you from any future visits to the United States. It will be favorably acted upon. Additionally, the Americans are prepared to ask our government to strip you of your diplomatic status and extradite you for prosecution.
I have been told on highest authority that we will be sensitive to their demands. It is a difficult time for trying to sweep such issues with the Americans under the rug.'
'These political manipulations can be dealt with.'
'In time,' Antonio said.
'But if the Americans fail to get what they want, they may come after you on their own. The new drug laws passed by their Congress give their federal agents that prerogative.'
'What do you suggest?'
'Perhaps a trip abroad is in order, until matters settle.
I would not wait long to decide, Enrique. The American ambassador plans to discuss your diplomatic status at the highest level of our government before day's end.'
'Thank you, Antonio. You have been most kind to bring these matters to my attention. Do one small favor for me. Find out the identities of the persons overseeing the state police investigation. Perhaps they would not be unresponsive to an offer to become rich men, if an arrangement can be made.'
'I'll get back to you,' Antonio said.
Vallaverde departed and De Leon went to the library.
Antonio's report was troubling. The loss of the Tortuga assets would sting, but hardly ruin him. He doubted the complexities of the company could be easily unraveled by the police in a short period of time. If he moved quickly, millions of dollars could be saved.
He rang for Carlos, who answered promptly.
'I want arrangements made to have Bucky Watson killed immediately,'
Enrique said.
'He is in the Santa Fe County jail. I do not want him to live to see another day.
Report to me when your plans are complete.'
'Si, patron.'
De Leon disconnected and dialed a different number.
Several hours passed before he put the telephone in the cradle. The time had been well spent; Tortuga's remaining cash assets had been transferred out of the United States through a series of complex banking transactions.
The phone rang almost immediately. He punched the speaker button.
'What is it?'
'It is Antonio, Enrique. The man responsible for the police investigation in Santa Fe is Kevin Kerney, the deputy state police chief. Several related arrests have been made by his investigators; a nephew of the governor and a prominent attorney have been charged with money laundering.'
'Continue.'
'One of his detectives was killed in a shoot-out at a Santa Fe residence. I do not think Kerney can be bought.'
'Do you have a dossier on Kerney and his investigations?'
'A slim one, yes.'
'Please send it by courier to the hadenda.'
'I will do so immediately,' Antonio replied.
'Thank you, Antonio.'
