Free Hermit's Peak by Michael McGarrity Page B

head, fired at close range. There are no wants or warrants on the victim and no record of any arrests. Boaz held a doctorate in philosophy from a California university. Seems he dropped out of academia and went into organic gardening, specializing in the commercial cultivation of marijuana.”
    Kerney raised an eyebrow. “How much?”
    â€œWhen the tally is done, I’m guessing it will exceed two thousand plants. It could be a seven-figure cash crop.”
    â€œIs there any tie-in between Boaz and the skeleton on the mesa?”
    â€œJust the dog so far, Chief. There’s a snapshot in the cabin of Boaz, his ex-girlfriend, her son, and the dog you found on the mesa. Want to know the dog’s name?”
    â€œTell me.”
    â€œBuster.”
    Kerney laughed. “Are you making this up?”
    â€œNo way.”
    â€œI guess every kid should have a dog named Buster, no matter who he lives with. Tell me about Boaz’s ex-girlfriend.”
    â€œHer name is Wanda Knox. She moved back to California about a month ago, and started writing Boaz letters telling him he was a self-absorbed asshole. She also wanted him to ship Buster and her son’s bicycle out to the coast. Boaz kept a journal, Chief. He sold drugs at Southern California colleges before he decided to go into the production end of the business. I’ve got a list of his dealers and his contacts.”
    â€œDEA will like that.”
    Gabe nodded in agreement. “Boaz also noted in his journal that somebody by the name of Rudy owed him four hundred dollars. No last name. I think Rudy may be a local; the entry was made six weeks ago. There’s an earlier entry from last September showing that Rudy paid Boaz the same amount.”
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œUnknown, but I have my suspicions. I found the route the poacher took to haul the wood out. It comes right through the meadow. I think Boaz gave the poacher access to the clear-cut area and got paid for it.”
    â€œBoaz didn’t cut the wood himself?”
    â€œHis truck tire tracks don’t match up with any of the impressions we found on the route. Also, there is no evidence that he hauled wood out to cut and split here—no chips, no sawdust, no bark. At least not in quantity.”
    â€œSo we need to find Rudy.”
    â€œDo you want me to start canvassing?”
    â€œNot yet. Give me Wanda’s current address before I leave. I’ll ask the California authorities to locate and question her. Maybe she knows who Rudy is, and how to find him.”
    â€œCan I give you some questions for Wanda to pass along to the California police?”
    â€œSure thing.”
    â€œI’d like some help, Chief, if you can spare the manpower.”
    â€œTwo agents will be up from Santa Fe in the morning, and I’ve already cleared it with your captain to assign the district narcotics officer to work with you. They’re yours as long as you need them.”
    â€œThanks. Do you want the tour?”
    â€œI do.”
    â€œThere’s something I want to show you in the greenhouse. Boaz had a little cactus garden, separate from his marijuana crop. Just a single, small variety of twenty plants. I’ve never seen it before. Neither has the narcotics agent. We think it might be used to produce some exotic type of hallucinogenic.”
    â€œLead on,” Kerney said.
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    By noon Sara was completely burned out on the frilly, fringed, beaded, cutesy, embroidered western fashions she’d seen in virtually all of the downtown boutiques near the plaza. The streets were filled with late-season skiers, clumping around in their boots and parkas with half-day ski passes dangling from jacket zippers, busily shopping Santa Fe.
    Several blocks away on a side street in a lovely oldbrick Victorian house, she found a clothing store that had what she wanted: simple, elegant silk tops in earth-tone colors, a wonderful