fatigues directed him to the conference room where the FBI task force had set up shop. He entered the room to find Lieutenant Molina at a conference table large enough to seat the Joint Chiefs, the National Security Council, and the whole White House cabinet. With Molina were every on-duty detective, an eight-man FBI crew, and Special Agent Applewhite, who assisted a man at the head of the table as he quickly scanned through a document folder.
The two men who'd accompanied Ambassador Terrell to Santa Fe were not present.
The surprised look on Sal Molina's face as he considered the sight of Kerney in uniform almost made Kerney smile. Molina's reaction alone made wearing the blues worth the effort.
The man with Applewhite looked up, nodded at Kerney, rose, and came around the table to greet him.
'Chief Kerney,' Charlie Perry said.
'It's good to see you again.'
'Hello, Charlie.' Kerney shook Perry's hand, thinking back to his summer as a seasonal ranger in the Gila Wilderness, where he'd met Perry, who'd been undercover at the time, investigating a militia group in Catron County. He'd butted heads with Perry, who had treated him as a washed-up ex-cop, hamstrung his attempts to link the militia to a lucrative game-poaching operation, and forced him off the job-all out of pure ego. But with the help of a state game and fish officer named Jim Stiles, Kerney had still managed to punch a big hole in the militia's leadership and make some rock-solid arrests.
'Seems you've resurrected your career since last we met,' Perry said.
The sarcastic bite came from Perry's choice of words, not his tone.
Kerney studied the younger man's face. Trim and lean, Perry matched Kerney's six-one height. Perry had missed one long neck hair when shaving. It curled below his Adam's apple just above his shirt collar.
Another jutted out on the side of a nostril. Judging by his past experience with the man, Kerney assumed Perry was too vain to realize he needed glasses.
Perry stared back at Kerney cockily, his brown eyes showing a touch of disdain.
'Looks like you've moved up in the food chain yourself, Charlie,' Kerney said.
'Let's get to work.'
'We're ready when you are,' Perry replied, gesturing at the table.
After introductions Applewhite passed out folders and Perry guided the group through the documents, which laid out very little about Phyllis Terrell's personal history or her extramarital affairs, and gave a brief resume on Hamilton Lowell Terrell, who after his retirement from the army had served as ambassador in both Panama and Ecuador, and who now carried the rank of ambassador without portfolio. Included in the paperwork were the names of three men who allegedly had been Mrs.
Terrell's lovers during the past two years, and some supplementary information on the considerable net worth of the surviving members of the Straley family, including the victim's father and sister.
'This is all you're going to give us?' Molina asked when Perry closed the file and put it to one side.
'You have the names of two local men who may have been sexually involved with the victim,' Perry replied.
'That should be enough to keep you and your people busy.'
'And the third guy down in Ramah?' Molina asked, consulting his notes.
'Scott Gatlin.'
'I have an agent on the way there now,' Perry replied.
'We'll handle it.'
'What about the papers and items that were removed from Mrs. Terrell's residence last night?' Molina asked.
'Nothing of value to the investigation was taken,' Perry said.
'I'm supposed to trust you on that?' Molina snapped back.
Perry fiddled with his pen before replying.
'The ambassador's personal property was secured at his request and consisted of nothing more than photographs, books, and memorabilia.'
'Then why wasn't I allowed to inventory the contents last night before the boxes were removed by your two agents?'
'Because, as I just said, it had no bearing on the case,' Perry replied.
'I want to do a full-scale search of the residence,' Molina said.
Perry reached for another folder.
'Agent Applewhite asked the ambassador to sign a permission-to-search form late last night. He was more than willing to do so.'
Perry passed it down the table, watched Molina read it, and then turned his attention to Kerney.
'I'd like Agent Applewhite and another agent to assist in the search, if that's all right with you, Chief.'
'No problem,' Kerney said.
Perry smiled thinly.
'Good. Then there's only a few more issues to cover. Susan Straley has arrived from Virginia and Proctor Stra ley is on his way to Santa Fe now. My people will conduct the necessary interviews. Also, I've called a press briefing at noon to release the name of the victim, announce the formation of the task force, and read a prepared statement from the ambassador.'
Perry's smile widened.
'Unless you'd rather handle it, Chief Kerney.'
'Go for it, Charlie,' Kerney said, looking at the tidy, neat rows of agents flanking Perry at the far end of the table.
'But tell me, what will the rest of the task force be doing while we're searching the house and interviewing Mrs. Terrell's boyfriends?'
Perry stood up.
'I'm unable to discuss that, but I'll keep you informed to the extent that I can. Let's get to it.'
Outside, Kerney waited for Sal Molina to appear. Sunlight and an unseasonably warm day had melted the remaining snow on all but the foothills and mountains, and the intense blue sky seemed limitless. On the Interstate a steady stream of vehicles moved in both directions.
Molina came out the door in a hurry, cell phone in hand.
'That unattended death at the college was a homicide, Chief. A priest had his throat cut.'
'Do you have any more specifics?'
'That's all I know. I can only spare one detective.'
'I'll back him up,' Kerney said.
'Great.'
'Contact the Armed Forces Record Center in St. Louis. See if they'll release a copy of Ambassador Terrell's service jacket.'
'You don't buy the killed-by-a-lover theory?'
'Right now I don't buy any theory. Since the feds have locked us out of the trade-mission slant, let's take a look at Terrell through the back door. Put someone on a computer, have him surf newspaper archives, and find out what Terrell did between the time he retired from active duty and his appointment as an ambassador. I want it as specific and complete as possible.'
'You got it.'
'And I want Proctor and Susan Straley interviewed by our people after the feds are finished with them.'
'That will raise the feds' eyebrows.' Molina watched as Kerney rubbed his chin and looked at him thoughtfully.
'Anything else?'
Kerney hesitated before responding. He had to start trusting his senior officers, otherwise he would never find out who he could count on.
'Find out who told Applewhite that we'd picked up Santiago Terjo for questioning. The information had to come from within the department.'
'You want Internal Affairs to handle it?'
'No, you do it. Concentrate on the detectives, officers, and technicians who were at the crime scene.'
Molina inclined his head toward the door.
