Mexican hat (18 page)

Using the same finger, Amador scratched under his lower lip and used his chin to point in the direction of his crew. The four men were at the back of the maintenance building, restocking construction materials and cleaning tools.

"We all saw the tracks," Amador replied. "It wasn't a big deal or anything like that. A lot of people use off-road vehicles to get into the mountains. I didn't even think about it until after the murder up on the meadows. Then, when I remembered it, I thought it might be important."

Kerney restated: "Did you tell anybody about your suspicions, before or after you talked to Jim?"

"No. I was off yesterday. I just stayed at home working around the house. Didn't see anybody to talk to, except the family. Why are you asking me these questions? Shouldn't you be out looking for a job?"

"Do my questions bother you?" Kerney countered.

"It's no skin off my nose, but you're wasting your time. You got

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no job, no authority. So why push it? It ain't gonna make you any friends, not that you have any I know of."

Kerney shrugged. "You're Henry Lujan's uncle. Tell me about him. Is he having any kind of problems at college? Money worries, perhaps?"

Amador got red in the face. ''Madre de Dios, are you out in left field. If you think Henry's got anything to do with this, you're crazy."

"Everything's okay with Henry? Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm not saying anything," Amador corrected. He pointed at a small man with a receding hairline who was restacking plywood. "That's Steve Lujan. Henry's father. Maybe he'll talk to you, maybe he won't. But don't do it on my time, while he's working."

"What's the problem, Amador?"

"I don't have a problem, you do," he snorted, looking up at the gringo. "Poking around in other people's business isn't healthy. You get my meaning?"

"It's been fun working with you, Amador. Thanks for all the help."

"Screw you," Amador replied.

Kerney walked out into the sunlight, thinking that it must have taken Steve Lujan a good long time to grow the Zapata mustache that drooped majestically over his upper lip. It also occurred to him that Amador was right: he hadn't made very many friends in Catron County.

CAROL MADE a final check mark on the inventory control sheet and raised her head. She pushed the box filled with Kerney's uniforms, equipment, weapon, and shield to one side of her desk. "That does it,"

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she said, as Kerney dropped the keys to the ranger vehicle in her hand. "I'll get you a ride back to Reserve."

"Thanks," Kerney replied.

"Anything happening you'd like to tell me about?"

Kerney tilted his head toward the open office door.

Carol got up and closed it. "What is it?"

"What do you know about Henry and Steve Lujan?" Kerney asked. "I need some background information, and Amador wasn't inclined to cooperate."

"That doesn't surprise me," Carol said, returning to her chair behind the desk, "He keeps family matters to himself. Both Henry and Steve are temporary employees who work every summer for me. Henry's a college student, and his father sells firewood, flagstone, and landscape rock to the folks in Silver City during the off-season."

"What do you know about Henry?"

"Not much. Amador recommended him to me. He's been reliable. Uses the money he makes for his college living expenses. He went to school up in Albuquerque his first year. Didn't like being so far away from home, so he transferred to Western New Mexico University in Silver City. Is he a suspect?"

"No, but he's one of two people who were in the area when Padilla was murdered."

"That's stretching it," Carol replied. "He was on duty at the lookout tower. I checked the radio log. He couldn't possibly get to and from Elderman Meadows in an hour. Impossible. Who's the other person?"

"Amador," Kerney replied. "He camped out at the construction site the night before we found Jose Padilla and his grandson's body."

"I didn't know that," Carol said, wrinkling her nose. "Although he's done it before. It's not out of character."

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"That's good to know. And Steve Lujan?"

"He got laid off at the copper mine down by Silver City. Three years ago, I think it was. Worked there for ten or fifteen years. Commuted home on the weekends. It must have hit him hard, financially. He's got three kids in college. Henry's the youngest."

"Are all the kids still in school?"

"The oldest, Leonard, is working on a master's degree in El Paso. Henry and his sister are still going to Western as far as I know."

"What about Henry's mother?"

"Yolanda works down at the Glenwood District Office as a secretary. Charlie Perry hired her right after he came to the district. About two years ago. I'm sure you've met her."

"I have. Does anybody in the family have a criminal record?"

Carol raised an eyebrow. "That's a tall order. The Lujan. and Ortiz families are rather large. How deeply do you want to delve?"

"Just the principals we've been talking about."

"Amador served eighteen months for a residential burglary when he was younger. Twenty years or so ago. He got a governor's pardon right before he started working for the Forest Service."

"Do you know the reason for the pardon?" Kemey inquired.

"I think Edgar Cox arranged it for him. Edgar was chairman of the county commission at the time."

"So Henry and Steve have a clean slate?"

"As far as I know. Henry, certainly. With Steve I'd only be guessing, but Catron County is too small for me not to have heard something."

"Any womanizing?"

"Steve?" Carol asked incredulously. "Yolanda would hand him

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his huevos on a platter if he tried. And if she didn't do it, Amador would." She spread her hands out in a gesture of helplessness. "Sorry I can't give you more. As far as I know, Steve, Henry, and Amador are solid citizens. I don't see them as bad guys."

"That helps."

"Speaking of bad guys, Charlie Perry came back this morning. He wanted to know if you had filed a final report."

Kerney held out the papers.

"Thanks," Carol said. "I think I'll mail it to him. Another reply came in to your inquiry right after Charlie left. A BLM officer down in Deming would like you to call him. He just got back from a trip to Washington and read your fax message." Carol pushed a piece of paper across her desk.

Kerney picked it up. "You aren't going to give this to Charlie?"

Carol smiled sweetly. "Of course I am. I'll mail it to him with your report. He should receive it in three or four days."

"That should do nicely."

"I thought you'd appreciate it." Carol's leaned forward, her expression earnest. "You did one hell of a job saving Jim. I think you deserve recognition for it."

"You're not going to get all mushy on me, are you?" Kerney chided.

Carol giggled. "Absolutely not. But you do deserve something better than a pink slip for your efforts."

"I'll take that ride to Reserve," Kerney proposed.

LEANING AGAINST the corral fence, Edgar watched Cody practice roping his pony. A dark sorrel mare with a bald face, standing barely fourteen hands high, Babe was a gentle horse. Cody made another

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throw, the noose of the lariat fell short, and Babe loped to the far side of the corral, a good hundred feet away from the boy.

"I still can't do it, Grandpa," Cody moaned, slapping the rope against his leg.

"Yes you can," Edgar replied, as he stepped over to the boy. "Watch me one more time." Edgar uncoiled his lasso and started a slow spin with the noose. "You need to twirl a circle," he said. "Don't let your noose flatten out. Don't try to spin it too fast. Let your wrist do the work for you. Swing the loop up above your head. Listen to the sound it makes. Don't throw the rope at the horse. Let it float out to where you want it to go."

Edgar walked toward Babe with long, fluid strides, Cody at his heels. Swinging the noose slowly above his head, letting it gradually pick up speed, he flicked his wrist and the loop settled over Babe's neck. He walked to the mare and retrieved the lasso. Babe snorted at him and walked away.

"What kind of sound did you hear?" Edgar asked.

"Kind of a whisper. A hissing whisper," Cody answered.

"That's the sound."

"I'll never get it right," Cody complained in frustration.

Edgar rubbed Cody's head. "Yes, you will." He took Cody's lasso and shortened the loop. Babe had moved to the gate by the horse barn, where Carl Sloan, one of two hired hands, was cleaning out stalls. Edgar caught the mare by the halter and brought her back to the center of the corral.

"Let's try it with you sitting on my shoulders," Edgar said, as he lifted the boy up and moved ten feet back from the mare.

Babe gave them a snort and a curious look. Cody spun the lasso and Edgar waited until the sound it made cutting through the air was just about right. "Let it go."

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The noose fell neatly over Babe's neck.

"I did it!" Cody shouted.

"You sure did." He set Cody down, walked to the corral fence, and dropped his rope over a post. "Now try it again."

As Edgar watched Cody, his thoughts wandered. It was hard for him to pretend it was just another ordinary day. Margaret was in the kitchen with Elizabeth, working up meals for the freezer that would carry Edgar through her surgery and hospitalization. She acted as though she were preparing for nothing more than one of her periodic visits to her sister. On top of that worry, he was damn unhappy with himself for lying to Karen. While she hadn't said a word about it, he knew she didn't believe him. He could see it in her eyes.

Engrossed in his thoughts, Edgar didn't hear Kerney drop over the corral fence.

"Mr. Cox," Kerney said politely.

Surprised, Edgar turned his head. "Mr. Kerney." He looked back at Cody, who was moving in on Babe for another try. He didn't want to think about Eugene, Jose Padilla, or any of it. Not now.

Kerney remained silent.

Edgar got tired of waiting. "What can I do for you?" he asked, his blue eyes searching Kerney's face.

"I thought you'd like to know about Jose Padilla, Seems he is from around these parts."

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, his daughter did. Padilla died last night."

"I'm sorry to hear it."

"She also told me why Padilla came back. He thought his father was murdered."

"That's pretty unlikely."

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"Why do you say that?"

Edgar paused, rubbed his palm along the smooth corral railing, and tried to stay calm. Cody's throw snaked out and the noose snapped against Babe's neck. The horse whinnied and skipped back from the boy.

"Let the noose open up before you throw it," Edgar called. "Remember the circle. Don't let the noose flatten out."

Cody nodded glumly and walked toward the mare, coiling his lariat for another throw.

"Why do you say Don Luis wasn't murdered?" Kemey asked.

"Because he died in a fall with his horse."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Don Luis was an old man who went into the mountains alone once too often. He got caught in a blinding spring snowstorm and tried to find his way home. His horse plunged off a ridge. Dropped a good sixty, seventy feet. Took Don Luis with him."

"Where did this happen?"

"Near Elderman Meadows. They didn't find his body for two weeks."

"What was he doing up there?"

"His sheepherder quit on him to take a WPA job building roads for the county. He hired a replacement, but the man didn't show. When the storm blew in, he went to check on the herd. He needed those sheep. He planned to sell them at the end of the season to pay a bank note and taxes. He was trying to hold on and get through the Depression, just like everybody else."

"What happened to the sheep?"

"Stolen. Most folks figured the sheep had been rustled before Don Luis left the hacienda."

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"Was the crime ever solved?"

"No."

"Ever hear of a place called Mexican Hat?" Kerney asked.

"Can't say I have," Edgar answered. "I hear you've been released from your position."

"That's true."

"Will you be staying on in Catron County?"

"Probably not."

Edgar watched Cody. He was all tensed up again and twirling much too hard. "I didn't think so. Not many jobs hereabouts."

Cody let fly, and the lariat whipped out and snapped Babe in the eye. The horse bawled, pitched back on her hind legs, forelegs flailing, and headed straight for Cody, who stood frozen in position. Before Edgar could react, Kerney grabbed the lasso from the fence post and ran toward the mare, measuring the distance to the horse, spinning the lariat in a tight loop at his knee parallel to the ground. He let it go and the noose caught the mare by the forelegs. He yanked it tight and the horse went down hard on her side less than a foot in front of Cody.

Babe was on her back kicking in the air when Edgar scooped up Cody.

Kerney released the mare. She got up, shook herself off, snorted, and trotted away.

"Where did you learn that trick?" Edgar asked, holding Cody tightly in his arms.

"A fellow by the name of Bias Montoya taught it to me when I was a boy."

"Well, I thank both you and Mr. Montoya. That's some damn fine roping."

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"You're welcome."

He stroked Cody's head. "Are you all right, cowboy?"

Cody's eyes were wet, but he wasn't crying. "Yeah. That was scary."

"It scared me, too," Edgar said. "Is there anything else we need to talk about, Mr. Kemey?"

"I don't think so," Kerney replied.

Edgar stuck out his hand. "Well then, good luck to you, and thanks again."

Kerney shook his hand and left, wondering what it would take to shake out Edgar's secret. He was damn sure there was one. Maybe Edgar had all the family skeletons locked in a closet that required a special key.