retail stores sold UFO coffee mugs, hats, tee shirts, toys, and posters of aliens and spaceships.
Aside from the UFO hoopla, Roswell was an ordinary small city that touted its mild climate, small-town flavor, capable work force, and recreational opportunities as a way to draw new businesses and retirees.
Laid out in a checkerboard pattern, it was indistinguishable from many other Southwestern cities. The obligatory shopping mall was near the outskirts of town and strip malls peppered the major four-lane state roads bisecting the city. Main Street had lost its draw as businesses abandoned downtown, and new housing tracts stretched over the monotonous plains.
Two blocks east of Main Street on Pennsylvania Avenue, a tree-lined street with old Victorian houses, Kerney found Penelope Gibben at home.
He sat quietly in her living room and watched her cry. Although Gibben was in her mid-sixties, in appearance she had not surrendered to senior citizen status. An attractive woman no more than five feet tall and weighing less than a hundred pounds, Gibben was stylishly dressed in a chenille V-neck sweater that displayed a single strand of expensive pearls and she wore lightweight wool slacks. She used very little makeup, but her eye shadow had smeared a bit from crying.
The living room had mahogany double doors that opened on to the entry hall, a marble fireplace, and sash windows that gave a view of the porch and front lawn. It was furnished with two armchairs in a matching floral pattern, a velvet rose-colored sofa, Colonial-style end tables, and a stout coffee table with curved legs.
'I simply can't believe it,' Gibben finally said, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
'I need to ask you a few questions about Judge Langsford.'
Gibben's eyes blinked rapidly. 'Even though our friendship ended, I've always been comforted by the thought that Vernon was nearby and not really gone. Now he is.'
'I understand that you and the judge were more than friends.' Gibben's eyes widened. 'Excuse me?'
'He was once your lover,' Kerney said.
She folded her hands in her lap and looked at Kerney with serious eyes. 'You say that with such authority.'
'Do you deny it?'
'I suppose there's no need to, now. Yes, we were lovers, although I'd rather the information remained confidential.'
'Tell me about your relationship with him.'
'It was perfect for many years until Vernon became dissatisfied with his marriage.'
'That bothered you?'
'I'm a very independent person, Mr. Kerney. I enjoy living alone. I've never wanted to marry, but I do like the company of men as long as they don't intrude on my privacy. Vernon filled my need for a lover and a friend very nicely.'
There was something cold about Gibben's revelation, but Kerney didn't challenge it. 'How long were you lovers?'
'Far longer than many marriages last,' Penelope said. 'Almost twenty years. Eighteen to be exact.'
'How did you meet?'
'I met him at work, Mr. Kerney. Vernon's father started Ranchers' Exploration and Development and hired me as his secretary. I came to know Vernon through my association with the company. He owns a controlling interest in the business.'
'What is your current association with Ranchers'?'
'I'm the chief financial officer.'
'I understand Vernon ended his relationship with you because of the guilt he felt about Marsha's death.'
'Do you know that Vernon and I were together when Marsha was killed?'
'I do.'
'How could he not feel guilty? We both did. The decision to end the relationship was mutual. After what had happened, neither of us could handle it.'
'Why was he considering a divorce?'
'Marsha never recovered from Arthur's death. Her depression destroyed the marriage.'
'Arthur?'
'Vernon's oldest son.'
'Tell me about Arthur,' Kerney asked.
'It was an absolute tragedy,' Penelope replied. 'The children had all returned to Roswell for the holidays. Arthur was home from graduate studies in California. Linda was newly married, had her law degree, and was working for one of the large firms here in town. And Eric had just completed a drug rehabilitation program and seemed to be doing well.'
'What happened?'
'Of all the children, Arthur was the best athlete. In high school he excelled at track and field. As an undergraduate he gave up competitive sports to concentrate on his studies, and became a mountain bike enthusiast. When he was home from school, he would ride up into the mountains every chance he got. A hit-and- run driver killed him on the highway to Ruidoso five days before Christmas.'
'When was that?'
'Three years before Marsha died.'
'Was an arrest made in the incident?'
'The driver was never found. How did you come to learn about my relationship with Vernon? Surely, Linda didn't tell you. Was it Eric?'
'Why is that important to you?'
'I know what Vernon did to keep our secret safe from the public.'
'You mean the fifty thousand dollars he gave to Eric?'
Gibben smiled wanly. 'Over the years before Marsha's death, Eric cost him a great deal more than that. But I don't think Vernon ever begrudged him the money. He kept hoping Eric would straighten himself out.'
'I get the feeling that after the affair ended, your friendship with Judge Langsford remained intact.'
'For a time. Are you going to tell me who told you about my relationship with Vernon?'
'It was his personal assistant, Kay Murray.' 'I see,' Penelope said flatly. 'Does that surprise you?'
'Not really. Vernon was always drawn to women who could engage him intellectually and emotionally. Marsha gave him the security he wanted in a wife, but she was not very challenging in other ways.'
'You talk as if you know Ms. Murray.'
'I know Vernon.'
'Judge Langsford obviously looked for more than just an intellectual and emotional connection outside his marriage,' Kerney said.
'Are you asking me to speculate on the nature of Vernon's relationship with Kay Murray?'
'If you wish to.'
'The Vernon I knew was a vigorous man with healthy appetites who was generous with those he cared about.'
'What did Eric do with the money his father gave him?'
'He bought a new van, moved to San Francisco, and became a cocaine addict. When the money ran out, he came back and has been living in Cloudcroft ever since.'
'How do you know this?'
Gibben sighed. 'Eric refuses to have any further contact with his father, so Vernon appointed him a corporate board member with an annual stipend of twenty thousand dollars a year, to help him out. I send him the quarterly checks.'
'When did you issue the last one?'
'Two months ago. It was endorsed and cashed.'
'Is Linda also a board member?'
'No. She will have nothing to do with any of the family corporate holdings. As I understand it, she makes quite a comfortable living from her law practice.'
