Free Tularosa: A Kevin Kerney Novel (Kevin Kerney Novels) by Michael McGarrity

check the Toyota out for his friend. I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut he's a wrench jockey at the missile range."
    "What makes you think so?" Dewey held out both hands, palms down. His nails were dull and dingy.
    "Grease," he explained.
    "I do all the minor work on my inventory. Saves a few dollars. You never get that gunk completely cleaned off. His hands looked worse than mine. Stuffs like dye almost."
    "Anything else?"
    "He had a base vehicle sticker on the Mustang."
    "Do you remember what kind?"
    "Enlisted personnel. I see a lot of those on trade ins "Did Sammy talk to you about anything besides the Toyota?"
    "Not that I recall," Dewey answered. He changed his mind quickly. "As a matter of fact, he did. I thought he wanted to use an old Chevy for part of his down payment. We'd talked about it the first time he came in. Wasn't worth much, but I could wholesale it and make a few bucks. When I asked, he said the black guy was gonna buy it."
    "Thanks for your time." Dewey smiled and glanced at Kerney's truck.
    "No problem. If you want to sell that truck, bring it by for an appraisal. If it runs good, I can sell it in a week. Lot of people can't afford the new ones. I could move a dozen late-model trucks a month if I had them. They go like hotcakes."
    "I'll keep that in mind," Kerney said. *** The dust storm intensified near the mountains that separated the missile range from the rest of the world. An updraft blew sand against the rear window with a faint hissing sound. Kerney topped out at the San Andres Pass. The Tularosa Basin was hidden from view by a grimy sky. He turned off the highway onto the access road to the missile range and checked the time. His twenty-four hours had expired. Captain Sara Brannon wouldn't be any too pleased at his checking in late, but maybe new information just might cut him some slack.

Chapter 4.
    Sara found an MP buttoned up in his patrol vehicle in front of her house. The dust storm whipped sand at her face that felt like so many hot pinpricks. She took a packet from him, hurried into the house, and went immediately to the bedroom, trailing sand along the way. She dropped the envelope on the bed, stripped off her uniform, and stood under a hot shower, letting the water soak away the dryness. If she stayed in the desert much longer, she thought, she would shrivel up and blow away. If not that, she'd have skin like shoe leather. Naked in front of the bathroom mirror, she worked body lotion into her skin, rubbed on some face cream, and brushed her hair dry.
    Dressed in a tank top, cutoff jeans, and a pair of flats, she took the envelope into the living room and checked for messages on the answering machine. Fred Utiey had called to invite her to a movie at the post theater. He continued to show romantic interest in her, and she wished he would just chill out. In a way, it was her own damn fault for sleeping with him once when she couldn't think of a good reason not to. She'd call him back and decline.
    A second message, from one of the investigators assigned to follow Kerney, got her full attention. Kerney was back on base asking to speak to her after spending hours at the sheriff's department in Las Cruces, and then interviewing a salesman at a used car dealership. The investigator's partner was talking to the salesman and would report as soon as he returned. She reached for the phone, hesitated, and took her hand off the receiver. Fred could wait, and Kerney could cool his heels for a while.
    Curling up on the couch, she opened the envelope. It contained an FBI report on Kerney and a memorandum to her from the post historian. Setting the memorandum aside, she read the FBI report. Kerney had been born at home on the 7-Bar-K Ranch east of Tularosa, New Mexico, on land now part of the missile range. A year younger than his high school classmates, he had graduated as valedictorian and won the state high school rodeo championship in his senior year. Taking a heavy load in college, he had earned