Hermit's Peak

by Michael McGarrity

  Kerney froze in his tracks. “Did you stop off to say good-bye again?”

  “Where’s your dog, Kerney? What happen to Shoe?”

  “I sent him to an eight-year-old boy in California who desperately wanted him back.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I had to. I wasn’t about to lie to the kid and keep his dog.”

  “But Shoe was abandoned, abused.”

  “Lost is more like it. The boy called me at work after Shoe arrived to thank me. Shoe is safe and his owner is happy.”

  “Then you did the right thing.”

  “It wasn’t easy.”

  “You really liked that dog.”

  “You can’t always have what you want. What do you want to tell me, Sara?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “About?”

  “Things. Can we talk inside?”

  “Okay.”

  Sara stood aside as Kerney approached the front door. The expression on her face looked dead serious. He ducked past her, sat on the couch, and waited for her to join him.

  She sat on the floor across from him, a good six feet away, and tucked one leg under the other.

  “I didn’t come here to say good-bye, Kerney. If I wanted to kiss you off, there are much easier ways to do it.”

  “What do you want?”

  “First, I want to apologize for the way I left. But I had to get my head straight. I was feeling shy, frightened, wary, and confused.”

  “About what?” Kerney asked.

  “You.”

  “I thought we were getting along well.” His body felt stiff. He tired to relax, but couldn’t.

  “We were. Look, I came here thinking it would be great to see you and that it would just be a lot of fun. Then I wound up realizing that I couldn’t treat this lightly.”

  “This?”

  “You and me. My feelings about you aren’t casual.” Sara’s gaze drilled into Kerney. “What do you want, Kerney?”

  Kerney opened his mouth, closed it, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  A faint smile crossed Sara’s lips. “My friend Susie says I should hit you with my best shot.”

  “Which is?”

  “A straightforward question: How do you feel about marriage?”

  Kerney’s felt the muscles in his shoulders loosen up. “The woman would have to be very special.”

  “Don’t be glib.”

  “I take it back.”

  “I’m not going to give up my career.”

  Kerney nodded glumly. “I know that. And I can’t see myself following you around from post to post for the next ten or twenty years.”

  “I wouldn’t ask you to.” She threw up her hands in frustration. “See? It’s too damn impossible. Only a complete fool would jump into a part-time, long-distance marriage.”

  “I’ve been called a lot worse.”

  “I’m not talking about you.” Sara studied Kerney’s face. “Why are you grinning at me?”

  Kerney’s got off the couch and sat next to Sara. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m feeling foolish.”

  Sara pulled away when Kerney tried to touch her, and got to her feet. “Don’t do that.” She looked down at him.

  Kerney froze and the tension in his shoulders returned. The frosty look in Sara’s eyes kept him from speaking.

  “Tell me how you really feel,” Sara said.

  Kerney stood, his stomach churning. “As confused as you. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “That’s it?”

  “No. I’m scared I might lose you, and right this minute that’s all that matters. What are you feeling?”

  Sara sighed. “That it’s so right to be with you.”

  “Then let’s be together, as much as we can.”

  Sara’s eyes searched Kerney’s face. “Does that mean you want a relationship with me? Something more than time together every year or two, when we can fit it in?”

  “I want as much of you as I can get.”

  “Seriously?” Sara asked quickly.

  Kerney swallowed hard. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you in my life.”

  Sara’s hard look faded, replaced by a soft smile. She moved to him, put her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his chest. “That sounds like a plan. Take me to bed, Kerney. We can work out the details later.”

  Kerney grasped Sara’s waist and pulled her close. He could feel a smile spread across his face. “Is that the relationship you have in mind?”

  “Partially.”

  • • •

  In the bedroom, Sara snuggled against Kerney’s shoulder.

  “That was lovely,” she said.

  “Exceptionally lovely.”

  “Maybe we should just stay lovers,” Sara said. “We could see each other as time allows, write, vacation together.”

  “Sort of a nonnuptial agreement?”

  “You don’t like my idea.”

  “It doesn’t feel right.”

  “So marry me,” Sara said.

  “Seriously?”

  “If you’re game.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Say yes before I back out, Kerney.”

  “Yes.”

  “I want to get married at my parents’ ranch,” Sara said. “We’ve got three weeks to pull it off.”

  “Have you ever been to Ireland?” Kerney asked.

  “You want a honeymoon trip, too?”

  “Why not?”

  “This is scary, Kerney.”

  “Let’s do it anyway.”

  “I bought you a present.”

  “What is it?” Kerney asked.

  Sara turned on the bedside lamp, got up, and walked to the dresser. Kerney forgot about the gift as Sara moved across the room. She was incredibly sexy.

  She came back and handed him a package.

  “What is it?” he asked again.

  “Open it.”

  Kerney pulled himself into a sitting position, unwrapped the package, saw the drawing of Hermit’s Peak, and knew it was Erma’s work. “My God, it’s beautiful. She did it from the mesa.”

  “You think so?”

  “Absolutely. I love it.”

  “Isn’t it exquisite? That reminds me. You owe me a camping trip to the mesa.”

  “This weekend?”

  “That’s fine by me.”

  He put the drawing to one side and reached for Sara.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Come here.”

  “Don’t distract me, Kerney. I have to call my mother.”

  “That can wait.”

  “No it can’t. Once I tell my mother we’re getting married, there’s no backing out.”

  “Call her right now.”

  “I’m going to keep my maiden name.” Sara leaned over and kissed him. “I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  • • •

  The answering machine message light blinked at Gabe when he got home. He hit the play button and listened to three calls from Orlando’s boss at the burger joint, each more agitated than the last. Orlando had not shown up to work his shift.

  It wasn’t like Orlando to treat his job lightly. Unless he was sick, Gabe couldn’t remember a time when Orlando had missed work. Even though Orlando’s car wasn’t in the driveway, Gabe went to the bottom of the stairs, called out, and got no response. To be doubly sure, he checked Orlando’s room and found it empty.

  The messages had come in during the first hour Orlando had been scheduled to work. Maybe something had come up at school to make him run late. Gabe called the burger joint and asked for Orlando. The night shift manager, still sounding pissed, told him Orlando had been a no-show.

  Gabe’s thoughts turned to Captain Garduno’s briefing on the special surveillance operation Chief Kerney had ordered on Bernardo.

  He got out the copy of Kerney’s report Garduno had given him, read through it, and stared out the kitchen window hoping Orlando had
n’t kissed off work to hang out with Bernardo.

  He dialed Ben Morfin’s cell phone number.

  “This is Morfin.”

  “Ben, are you and Thorpe on station?”

  “You bet,” Ben said.

  “Is my son with the subject?”

  “Negative. The subject is home. He arrived alone and there have been no visitors.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You got a problem, Lieutenant?”

  “It’s probably nothing.”

  “You want me to keep an eye out for your son?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt,” Gabe replied.

  “What does your son drive?” Ben asked.

  Gabe rattled off the information, including the license plate number.

  “Got it,” Ben said. “He’s probably out cruising. If I see him on the streets, I’ll chase him home and give you a call.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Anytime, LT. Way to go on the promotion.”

  “Thanks, Ben.” Gabe hung up and tried to remember when Orlando was planning to visit his mother in Albuquerque. He thought it was next week, but he couldn’t be sure. He punched in Theresa’s numbers, and her boyfriend answered.

  “Is Orlando there?”

  “No. You want to talk to Theresa?”

  “Just ask her when Orlando is due to visit.”

  There was a muffled exchange and Theresa came on the line. “Is something wrong?” she asked, sounding terse.

  “Not really. Orlando isn’t home and I couldn’t remember when he was going down to Albuquerque to see you.”

  “Late next week. Why are you looking for him ?”

  “To tell him something.”

  “It must be important or you wouldn’t have called me. Should I know?”

  Gabe hesitated.

  “Should I?”

  “I wanted to tell Orlando that my promotion came through.” Silence greeted his announcement.

  Finally, Theresa responded. “I hope it makes you happy. Personally, I could care less.”

  Gabe hung up without saying another word.

  He spent the next several hours at the kitchen table taking the sergeant stripes off his uniform shirts and sewing cloth lieutenant bars on the collars. He’d purchased the new insignias several months ago in a moment of optimism.

  Gabe had half a mind to go looking for Orlando, but held back. Orlando didn’t need an overprotective cop father looking for him in the middle of the night. He was over twenty-one, technically an adult, and a hell of a good kid to boot. If he needed a night out to blow off some steam, so be it.

  Gabe stripped down to his underwear, dumped his clothes on top of the dresser, and climbed into bed. He wanted to get an early start in the morning. There was still a bunch of work to do on the Alarid–Santistevan bust, and he planned to get settled into his new office before the shift began.

  • • •

  Gabe checked Orlando’s room early in the morning. His bed hadn’t been slept in. He decided to think positively about Orlando’s overnight absence. The kid didn’t talk about his love life, and Gabe didn’t pry. Sometimes Orlando would stay out all night, come home looking pleased with himself, and shrug off any mention of where he’d been. Within a couple of days, Orlando would start getting lots of phone calls. When that happened, Gabe didn’t see much of his son until Orlando’s interest in the girl cooled off.

  He got to work before the day shift arrived and found a hand-carved name plaque with his new rank and name on the desk in his new office. A card rested against the plaque. The gift was from Captain Garduno.

  Gabe unpacked some personal gear he’d brought from home. He put a framed enlargement of Orlando’s senior high school yearbook picture on the desk and hung a few of his department commendations on the wall. Then he cleared out his paperwork from the watch commanders’ cubicle and dumped it on the floor next to his office desk. He put the Alarid–Santistevan case file on top of the stack and checked with dispatch to get an update on the Barela surveillance. Bernardo had stayed home all night with no visitors.

  That made Gabe feel better about things. Orlando had probably spent the night with some girl. What normal kid wouldn’t trade a night of flipping burgers for a hot date with a babe? If there was a new girl in Orlando’s life, maybe that was part of the reason he was restless to move. Maybe the girl was graduating, going to Albuquerque, and Orlando wanted to be with her. If so, then it all made even more sense.

  He left a message on the answering machine at home for Orlando to call him at the office, and hung up as the day shift trickled in. He spent some time accepting congratulations, along with the usual kidding, teasing, and small gifts that went with them, before the troops started work.

  He put the Alarid–Santistevan files for his meeting with the ADA in his briefcase and looked up to find Art Garcia standing in the doorway. New sergeant chevrons decorated his uniform shirt.

  “Those stripes look good on you, Art,” Gabe said. “You want to go in on a promotion party with me?”

  Garcia forced a smile. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “A rancher just called in the license plate of an abandoned vehicle south of town, on the Gallinas River. Dispatch ran it through Motor Vehicles. It’s your son’s car.”

  “Orlando didn’t come home last night.”

  “It may mean nothing, Gabe. The rancher said kids use that spot along the river all the time to party. Maybe Orlando just left his car and went off with some friends.”

  “Who’s the rancher?”

  “Arlin Fullerton.”

  “Did he give you directions?”

  Art held out a slip of paper.

  “Call Fullerton back and have him meet me there. Tell dispatch to cancel my meeting with the DA’s office. I’ll reschedule later.”

  “You want somebody to go with you?”

  Gabe shook his head as he hurried out the door.

  Garcia found Captain Garduno making coffee in the break room and filled him in.

  Garduno put the pot down. “Is that all you have?”

  “So far.”

  “Is Bernardo Barela still at home?”

  “No. He’s sitting in a truck outside a hardware store. You want him picked up?”

  “Negative. Call Chief Kerney and brief him. Then put search and rescue on standby, including bloodhounds. When did Gabe leave?”

  “Two minutes ago.”

  “I’m on my way,” Garduno said.

  • • •

  Orlando’s car was unlocked and his keys were in the ignition. A bank envelope sat on the dashboard. Gabe reached in through the open window, picked it up, and counted the bills—over seven hundred dollars. There were two withdrawal slips and a pay stub, all with yesterday’s date. Orlando had cashed his check and zeroed-out his accounts.

  He looked at Garduno and fanned the bills. “Orlando would never do this with his money. Never. Or leave his keys in an unlocked car.”

  “Take it easy, Gabe,” Garduno said. “You can’t always tell what kids will do. When Orlando shows up, I’m sure he can explain everything.”

  “Orlando didn’t party here last night. Nobody did. Look around. There’s no fresh litter or beer bottles anywhere.”

  “Maybe the party was over there.” Garduno raised his chin toward the crumbling walls of two old homesteads that flanked the dirt road. “Or maybe he’s camped nearby with some friends.”

  Gabe looked at the dense forest on the far side of the river. “Orlando doesn’t like to camp. Where the fuck is that rancher?”

  “Fullerton will be here,” Garduno said as he went to his unit and reached for the radio handset. “Check around those stone walls, Lieutenant.”

  Gabe didn’t move.

  Garduno took his thumb off the transmit button. “Stop thinking the worst and check the ruins, Gabe. Let’s go to work and find Orlando.”

  Garduno waited until Gabe moved off before clicking on the handset. “I want searc
h and rescue and every available unit at my location ASAP,” he said. “Contact Chief Kerney and ask him to get up here pronto.”

  He dropped the handset on the car seat and went to join Gabe.

  • • •

  The helicopter pilot cleared the ridgeline and dropped down to follow the river. Below, Kerney could see an assembly of police cars and search and rescue vehicles, some with horse trailers. A blue domestic coupe, cordoned off with crime scene tape, sat in the middle of a dirt road. On a small rise behind the car, several uniforms were searching the ruins of old settlers’ cabins.

  The pilot gained altitude to keep propeller wash from disturbing the activity on the ground and planted the bird on the road a hundred yards away from the blue coupe. Kerney jumped out. Garduno and Gonzales met him halfway.

  Gabe’s face had worry written all over it. Garduno’s impassive expression looked forced.

  “What have we got?” Kerney asked.

  Garduno took the lead. “Gabe’s son left home yesterday morning. He cut his classes at the university, didn’t show up for work last night, and never went home. One of Arlin Fullerton’s ranch hands noticed Orlando’s car here about noon yesterday. There was nobody around. The car wasn’t reported as abandoned until this morning when Fullerton and a few of his people came back to move some cattle to another part of the ranch.”

  Kerney looked at Gabe. “No sign of struggle?”

  “No,” Gabe said flatly.

  “You searched the car?”

  Gabe nodded. “Nothing’s missing. But I found over seven hundred dollars on the dashboard. Orlando cashed his paycheck and cleaned out his savings and checking accounts right after the bank opened yesterday morning. Withdrawal slips were in the envelope with the money.”

  “That gives us a time frame to work with,” Kerney said. “Was the vehicle locked?”

  “No, and the keys were in the ignition,” Gabe said. “Orlando would never do that. He worked too damn hard for the money to buy that car.”

  “Did the car break down?”

  “It runs just fine,” Gabe answered.

  “Do you have any ideas why Orlando needed so much cash?”

  “None,” Gabe said. “But it’s every dime he had.”

  Garduno broke in. “Arlin Fullerton said that people park here to hike and camp in the woods or party by the river. There are several trails on the other side of the river that lead to some remote, pretty canyons.”