Free Mexican hat by Michael McGarrity Page A

out?"
    "Not really." Stiles tugged at his ear. "How did these guys find the road up the mountain? It hasn't been used in decades. You can barely see the ruts. In fact, you can't see a damn thing at all from the highway."
    "The Forest Service map in the truck was folded open to Man-gas Mountain."
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    "I missed that," Stiles admitted. "That could mean these guys wanted to come here. Why?"
    "Beats me," Kerney replied.
    "Let me ask you a question. Are you ready for the shit to hit the fan?"
    "What does that mean?"
    "Last unnatural death we had in the county was this Texan who bought a ranch over by Spur Lake. The guy goes out rabbit hunting last summer and kills himself with a shotgun. Almost the whole damn county turned out for that one."
    "Were you there?" Kerney asked.
    Stiles laughed. "Damn right. Wouldn't have missed it for the world," He looked up at the sky. "Give it a while and this meadow is going to look like an annual convention for the Forest Service, the local cops, every EMT, and every search-and-rescue volunteer in Catron County."
    "What do you suggest we do with our guests?"
    "I'll tell you what I'd like to do. Let the sons of bitches figure it out for themselves. None of them are worth spit as investigators."
    "Not even Charlie Perry?"
    Stiles groaned. "That prissy, uptight asshole? If he gets his hands on this case, we can kiss it goodbye. It will disappear into the woodwork. By the time the party's over, you'll wish we had just kept our mouths shut and done the investigation on our own," Stiles predicted.
    AN HOUR AFTER the arrival of an assorted cast of characters that included the county sheriff, three of his five deputies, a rookie state police officer who had never seen a dead body before, two Game and
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    Fish officers who were general nuisances, and the officious Charlie Perry, who arrived with Carol Cassidy and several others, Kerney admitted that Jim's prophecy had come true. Finally, when the search-and-rescue team arrived like a posse on horseback, hoping maybe somebody else might be lost and in need of their services, Kerney gave up, found Stiles, and broke him loose from his Game and Fish buddies. There were tight pockets of people scattered across the meadow holding earnest conversations about who was going to do what.
    "This is a disaster," he bitched, pointing to the three helicopter pilots standing next to their aircraft, scanning the meadow with binoculars.
    "I told you so," Stiles reminded him. "Think about it. What else is there to do in Catron County for recreation? Drink? Watch videos? Go to church? Poach game? That gets boring after a while. It can't be sex. The birth rate keeps steadily dropping. This is much more fun. In fact, it doesn't happen often enough to suit most people."
    "How can you stand it?" Kerney asked. He watched the state cop line up the search-and-rescue team and send them across the meadow in a field sweep, looking for evidence.
    "These are my friends and neighbors," Stiles said solemnly. "Good people, one and all. Look. Fred Langford just walked right over the poacher's nest without blinking an eye,"
    "Thank God we took pictures," Kerney said, grimacing. "Who's the medical examiner?"
    Stiles answered with a straight face. "Petra Gonzales. She was a dental assistant in the Navy. She's almost finished with her train-ing."
    Kerney stifled a snicker.
    "This is just round one," Stiles commented. "Wait until they
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    start fighting over who gets to be in charge. I bet they divvy it up. The state poHce will give it to an investigator out of Socorro, the sheriff will make local inquiries which will lead absolutely nowhere, Charlie Perry will assign it to himself, and we'll get to write a report on the poaching incident that everybody will want for their files. End of story."
    "And who's interviewing Dr. Padilla at the hospital in Silver City?" Kerney asked.
    "Nobody, yet," Jim answered. "They'll get