Part 45 (1/2)

”A dozen canteens? You must have a lot of friends. Sounds like you're going to have yourself quite a time. You've covered almost everything-distance, midrange, up close.” The clerk joked, ”Why, the only thing you haven't included is a bow and arrows.”

”Good idea,” Decker said.

11.

The total came to just under seventeen hundred dollars. Decker was concerned that Renata had contacts who could provide her with information from the computers of credit-card companies, so he didn't dare use his Visa card and thus warn her he was in town buying weapons. Instead, he invented a story about having had a big win at the blackjack tables in Las Vegas and paid cash. He needn't have worried that the seventeen one-hundred-dollar bills would attract attention. This was New Mexico. When it came to weapons, how you paid for them and what you did with them was n.o.body else's business. The clerk hadn't even made a comment about the sc.r.a.pes on Decker's face. Guns and personal remarks didn't mix.

It took Decker several trips to take all the equipment to the Buick. He would have asked Esperanza to come in and help him, but Esperanza had said he was known in the gun shop. In case of trouble, Decker didn't want Esperanza to be linked with him and a large purchase of weapons.

”Jesus, Decker, it looks like you're going to start a war. What's this? A bow and arrows?”

”And if that doesn't work against Renata and her gang, I'll p.i.s.s on them.”

Esperanza started laughing.

”That's the stuff. Keep loose,” Decker said.

They closed the trunk and got in the car.

Beth waited in the backseat, her eyes still red from her conversation with Decker outside Esperanza's trailer. She made an obvious effort to rouse her spirits and be part of the group. ”What were you laughing about?”

”A bad joke.” Decker repeated it.

Beth shook her head and chuckled slightly. ”Sounds like a guy thing.”

”How come you bought so many canteens?” Esperanza asked. ”One for each of us. But what about the other nine?”

”Actually, we're going to fill all twelve with plant fertilizer and fuel oil.”

”What the h.e.l.l does that do?”

”Makes a d.a.m.ned good bomb.” Decker checked his watch and started the car. ”We'd better move it. It's almost four-thirty. We're running out of daylight.”

12.

An hour later, after several other purchases, Decker steered off Cerrillos Road onto Interstate 25, but this time, he took the northbound route, heading in. the opposite direction from Albuquerque.

”Why are we leaving town?” Agitated, Beth leaned forward. ”I told you, I won't let you put me in an out-of-the-way motel. I won't be left out.”

”That's not why we're leaving town. Have you ever heard the expression, There's no law west of the Pecos?”

Beth looked mystified by the relevance of the comment. ”I seem to ... In old Westerns, or maybe in a history about the Southwest.”

”Well, the Pecos the expression refers to is the Pecos River, and that's where we're headed.”

Twenty minutes later, he turned to the left onto state road 50 and shortly afterward reached the town of Pecos, whose architecture was dominated by traditional wood-sided peaked structures in sharp contrast to the flat-roofed stuccoed Hispanic-pueblo buildings in Santa Fe. He turned to the left again. Past Monastery Lake, where he had gone fis.h.i.+ng for trout his first summer in the area, past the monastery for which the lake was named, he drove up an increasingly steep, winding road that was bordered by tall pine trees. The sun had descended behind the looming western bluffs, casting the rugged scenery into shadow.

”We're going up into the Pecos Wilderness Area,” Decker said. ”That's the Pecos River on our right. In spots, it's only about twenty feet wide. You can't always see it because of the trees and rocks, but you can definitely hear it. What it lacks in size, it gains in speed.”

”This road is almost deserted,” Beth said. ”Why did we come up here?”

”This is a fis.h.i.+ng area. Back among the trees, you might have seen a few cabins. After Labor Day, they're mostly unoccupied.” Decker pointed ahead. ”And once in a while, someone decides to sell.”

On the right, past a curve, a sign attached to a post read, EDNA FREED REALTY, then, in smaller letters, Contact Stephen Decker, followed by a phone number.

Directly beyond the sign, Decker turned off the road, entered an opening among the fir trees, rumbled over a narrow wooden bridge above the river, and drove up a dirt lane to a clearing in front of a gray log cabin whose sloped roof was rusted metal. The small building, surrounded by dense trees and bushes, was perched on a shadowy ridge not far above the clearing; it faced the turnoff from the country road; log steps were cut into the slope, leading up to the weathered front door.

”Just your basic home away from home,” Beth said.

”I've been trying to sell this place for the past six months,” Decker said. ”The key's in a lockbox attached to the front door.”

Beth got out of the car, braced herself on her crutches, and s.h.i.+vered. ”I was warm in town, but it certainly gets chilly up here once the sun is low.”

”And damp from the river,” Decker said. ”That's why I bought thermal underwear for each of us. Before we get started, we'd better put them on.”

”Thermal underwear? But we won't be outside that long, will we?”

”Maybe all night.”

Beth looked surprised.

”There's a lot to do.” Decker opened the Buick's trunk. ”Put on these cotton gloves and help us load these weapons. Make sure you don't leave fingerprints on anything, including the ammunition. Do you know how to use a shotgun?”

”I do.”

”Someday you'll have to tell me how you learned. Your injured shoulder won't stand the shock of the recoil, of course. It would also make you awkward if you had to work a lever or a pump action to chamber a new round. That's why I bought double-barreled shotguns. The side-by-sides are wide and flat enough, they won't roll around if you set them on a log. You can lie down behind the log and shoot without raising the guns to aim them. You'll be able to get two shots per weapon. Opening the breach to reload isn't hard.”

”And what log did you have in mind?” Beth gamely asked, surprising him.

”I'm not sure. Esperanza and I are going to walk around and get a feel for the layout. Ask yourself what Renata and her friends will do when they get here tonight. How they'll approach. What cover they'll find most inviting. Then try to think of a position that gives you an advantage over them. It'll be dark in an hour. After that, after we've got our equipment a.s.sembled, we'll start rehearsing.”

13.

And then, too frustratingly soon, it was time to go. Just before nine o'clock, in thickening darkness, Decker told Esperanza, ”The last flights of the evening will soon be arriving at the Albuquerque airport. We can't wait any longer. Do you think you can finish the rest of the preparations on your own?”

The cool night air chilled Esperanza's breath, so that vapor could be seen coming from his mouth. ”How long will you be?”

”Expect us around midnight.”