depend on.' Dominguez stopped at the corner.
'Will you come back?'
'Perhaps.'
'I will look for you.'
'I welcome your protection,' Eddie said. *** Tom Curry sat at the conference table with Sara and an FBI agent named Johnson, a dour man with thin lips and a long, serious face, matched by a lanky frame. He wore a brown suit, white shirt, and regimental striped tie.
'Who found the body?' Johnson asked, tapping the tip of his pen on the desktop, prepared to take notes.
'An MP on patrol,' Sara answered.
'He found tire tracks in a restricted area and followed them. Specialist Yazzi's body was in a cave, wrapped in a tarp. The back of his head was crushed. Possibly by a rock or some other blunt object. From the appearance of the body, Yazzi has been dead for some time. We have the area cordoned off.' Johnson wrote a note and looked at his wristwatch.
'My people should be landing there right about now,' he said.
'Was anything found with the body?'
'A sketchbook, his dog tags, and his wallet,' Sara replied.
'Nothing else.'
'I'll need those,' Johnson said. Sara slid a manila envelope across the table. Agent Johnson picked it up and set it next to his elbow.
'Was there any indication that Yazzi was killed elsewhere and his body moved to the cave?' Johnson inquired.
'None that we could find,' Sara answered.
'Weapon?' Johnson asked.
'We didn't find one.'
'Suspects?' he inquired dryly.
'One possible,' Sara noted.
'There was a vehicle accident in Rhodes Canyon yesterday. A state Game and Fish officer, Eppi Gutierrez, was killed by a rock slide He had been staying at an old ranch that's used by wildlife and conservation officers when they're on the range. It's approximately ten miles from where Yazzi's body was found.' Johnson smirked.
'A dead suspect isn't much good. What do you know about Gutierrez?'
'The usual background information,' Sara answered.
'He was a wildlife manager. Single. Never married. No military experience. No police record. No traffic tickets in the last five years. He held a degree in biology from New Mexico Highlands University. Started working for Game and Fish right after college. Had slightly over ten years on the job with steady promotions. I've ordered a deeper background check on him.'
'Was anything found in the vehicle?' Johnson asked, writing in his notebook.
'We don't know that yet,' Sara replied.
'His pickup is buried in rock from the slide. The site is under guard with instructions to leave everything as is until further orders. I'd like you and your people to look at it, if that's possible.' Johnson nodded and closed his notebook.
'Be glad to.'
'Excellent,' Major Curry responded, rubbing a hand over his bald head. 'Do you have any more questions. Agent Johnson?' Curry's eyebrows were almost an invisible white against his pale complexion, which made his eyes seem huge behind the reading glasses. There was no humor in his gaze. Johnson shook his head.
'Not right now.' Curry stood up.
'Keep Captain Brannon informed.'
'I'll be in touch,' Johnson said, rising and reaching across the table to shake hands with the officers. As the door closed behind him, the smile dropped off Tom Curry's face.
'What in the hell are you doing. Captain?' Curry demanded, yanking off his glasses and leaning across the table.
'Sir?'
'Don't 'sir' me, Sara.' He waved his glasses at her.
'I read the dispatcher reports every day, just like you do. Gutierrez's radio had the same locator chip that every MP unit on the base carries.
I know exactly where you were when you called and left that message for Sheriff Baca.' She felt his rebuke like a slap across her face.
'Sir,' she said weakly.
'You found that goddamn body. Do you know how serious it is for an officer to falsify official reports and order subordinates to lie for them?'
'Yes, sir, I do.' She was numbed by Curry's criticism. He had every right to slam her.
'Will your people stick to the line of bullshit you fed to Johnson?'
'Yes, sir, they will.' Tom got up from the conference table, walked to his desk, lowered himself into his chair, and stared at Sara across the room.
'I want to know why you did this.'
She told him about the burglary, her conversation with PFC Tony, the phone call to Sergeant Steiner, and her suspicions about Meehan's involvement. Curry's look didn't soften.
'You would jeopardize your career because of some stupid rivalry with Jim Meehan, who doesn't have to operate by the rules? There'd better be more to this fuckup than that. Tell me exactly what happened at Big Mesa and Rhodes Canyon.' Sara collected her thoughts.
'I can tell you how we found the body. Or I could start with Gutierrez's attempt to kill us.' She paused. 'But perhaps the major would like to hear about the two thousand gold and silver coins and the letters from President Grant we found.'
Incredulity spread across Tom Curry's face. 'Jesus Christ,' he muttered, stuffing the glasses into his shirt pocket.
'Start at the beginning. And just who in the hell is we?' *** 'He had every right to jump down my throat,' Sara concluded. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of it and twisted her class ring. Kerney sat at the far end of Sara's couch, legs extended, feet crossed. His cowboy hat rested on the cushion, still dusty and slightly mangled- looking. He wore a collarless maroon pullover shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and a pair of blue jeans. Sara wondered if he owned anything but jeans. The shirt accentuated Kerney's well-formed upper body.
'I'm glad to see you're not feeling sorry for yourself.' Gutierrez's inventory was in his shirt pocket, yet to be revealed.
'Don't be snide.' Kerney blinked in surprise at Sara's reaction.
'I meant it as a compliment. What did Curry say?'
'I think my report dampened his enthusiasm to have me cashiered. I got off with an unofficial reprimand.'
'Are you off the case?' In the act of taking a sip of her wine, Sara pulled the glass away from her lips.
'Um, no. Officially, the FBI has the ball. A special agent by the name of Johnson is heading up the investigation. Did you find anything in Santa Fe?'
Kerney grinned, took out the inventory, and waved it at her.
'Gutierrez mailed an interesting letter to himself. Care to guess what was in it?'
'Don't give me a hard time.' She wiggled her fingers at him. 'Come on, fork it over.' Minutes passed after Kerney gave her the inventory before she peered at him over the edge of the paper.
'This is incredible.'
'Three to four million dollars' worth of incredible,' he replied. 'I had an expert give me a rough estimate. There's more. I stopped at the historical museum in Truth or Consequences. They have archival material on the history of Fort McRae, a post that operated on the north end of the Jomada during the Indian Wars. According to the records, in the spring of 1873 a detachment left the fort with military supplies bound for Fort Stanton. The convoy was attacked as it entered the Tularosa Valley. Eight soldiers were killed, along with three scouts, and all the mules and horses were stolen.'
