At the clinic, David notified the county sheriff‘s office and New Mexico state police. It was past three in the morning but the officer assured him a bulletin would be issued immediately. David relayed the license plate number of the car and a description of Ruby Ryan, missing and possibly kidnapped. He promised to drop off her photograph at state police headquarters in Santa Fe.
“Anything wrong?” Elaine startled him.
“I didn’t know you were here.”
“I spend every moment here,” she said wearily.
“I’m trying to fix a nightmare over at the Ryan place,” David said.
A smile flitted through Elaine’s eyes. She knew Kate Ryan was trouble.
“Anything I can do?” Unlike David Tanner she relished emergencies.
“The drifter up there has been shot. Ruby Ryan is missing.”
Elaine clapped her hand over her mouth. “I’ll get dressed,” she said.
David collapsed at his desk enveloped by the stillness of night. It was dark and still. The moon had dipped over the horizon. He poured himself a shot of Jack and stuck the bottle in his satchel. Hector and Kate could probably use a drink. He gathered painkillers and a hypodermic of morphine, then drove back to Kate’s, hoping a miracle had brought Ruby home.
After Troy had been sedated, David suggested they make a litter with a board and transport him into the house.
“Can’t we go?” Kate asked.
“The sheriff’s coming. He’ll be here in an hour or less. The state police has wired the license plate to all points.” He rested his hand on Kate’s shoulder. “There’s nothing to do right now. We don’t know if she was kidnapped. We don’t know which direction they went. She could have wandered off with a friend. Doesn’t she sometimes sleep in the truck?”
“This is different,” Kate broke down. “In a few hours, she could be across the border. She could be anywhere.”
“In a few minutes, the license number and her photo will be at every police station and outpost in the country. They’ll find her,” David declared grimly.
By dawn, the village had been invaded by a fleet of law enforcement. Hector Trujillo assumed his place as spokesman. Other villagers stood respectfully by the road fifty yards from the house, staring at the facade. In awe, they listened as Hector explained how drug thugs came to Kate’s house, shot Troy, and kidnapped Ruby. He added it was he who captured the license number.
During the interview with police, Kate fell apart over the simplest of questions. It made her ache to think how beautiful her Ruby was.
“What was Ruby wearing when you last saw her?”
“Last?” The question caused her to fall into David’s arms.
When Troy awoke, it was eight o’clock. His knee throbbed. He was dizzy. He wondered who the men in and out of uniform were. Better not to know, he concluded, diving back into opiated semiconsciousness.
“I think we can rouse him,” David said.
Troy recognized the Jew doctor’s voice.
A deputy touched Troy’s arm. “Awake?”
Troy blinked in confusion. “What happened?”
“That’s what we’d like to know,” the state police inspector said. “What can you tell us?”
On the one hand, there was the question of bad checks. On the other, Charlene.
“Everything,” he grunted.
“How about bringing the man some coffee?” The inspector waved to a subordinate. “Troy Mason, is it?”
“This really hurts,” he said, touching his leg, grateful the pain gave his brain an edge.
“The doctor will give you another shot as soon as we get your story down. We need your mind as clear as possible.”
Troy sank into the pillow and sipped the lukewarm coffee.
“Where you boys want me to begin?”
“Last night,” the inspector said.
Troy spoke in thoughtful measured sentences. “I got here late,” he said.
“I drove up from Santa Fe, thinking Kate would be home. She and I, we used to have a little thing,” he added sheepishly. “I wanted to see her because she helped me when I was down. She gave me a place to stay. She lent me money. She did other nice things for me,” he blushed.
He sounded sincere. If anything, the inspector thought too sincere.
“When I got hold of my own money, first thing crossed my mind was repaying Kate. I rented a car and drove straight here. Ruby was home. She told me her mom went off with the doctor,” Troy frowned. “Of course, that ain’t my business. It might have been my business once,” he paused regretfully. “A day or two ago.”
“We weren’t together like that,” Kate protested. “We weren’t a couple.”
The inspector interrupted, “What happened after you arrived last night?”
“Ruby was never friendly to me. She treated me poorly, the way she treats everything. I didn’t take it personally since she’s going through a rough time.”
“What do you mean rough?”
“Like disturbed.”
The inspector turned to Kate. “Is that true?”
“She’s a teenager,” Kate said. “She has ups and downs.”
“Ruby told me I could wait. She told me her mom would be home around eleven. Eleven came and went. I figured Kate and the doctor took a liking to each other.”
“That’s not true,” David Tanner objected.
“I laid my debt on the bureau over there with extra for interest.” Troy faced the corner with a puzzled look. “There was a pile of money there last night but they probably got it.”
“They?” the inspector prodded.
“Two hippie types come in here, demanding to see Ruby. I guess they were friends of hers.”
“Can you describe them?”
“They had on masks but they were white boys. I could see their hands. They had long blond hair.” Troy searched for the right words. “Their clothing was filthy like animals.”
“Were they armed?”
Troy assessed things were going well. “One had a sawed-off shotgun. The other pulled a pistol when I tried to stop them from taking the girl.”
“What did they want?”
“Either dope or their cut. I butted in like I shouldn’t. I told them Ruby wasn’t dealing. She might have problems at school. Problems with her mom but you can understand why. She’s the only,” he groped for the exact expression, “the only half-colored person around here. If anything like dealing was going on, I’d have known it when I was living here. So would Kate. Right, baby?”
“Ruby is not a drug dealer,” Kate said indignantly.
The sheriff and inspector were confounded. They’d already heard from the doctor and Hector Trujillo that Troy swore the girl shot him. They asked David to step outside. They called Hector over and let them repeat their version of events.
“He said Ruby shot him. But it don’t make sense.” Hector’s dark eyes bugged. “He spoke ungodly things about her. Things I would never say to nobody.”
Inside the house, the sheriff went to Troy’s side. He patted him on the head. It was a paternal gesture from a large powerful man. “Did you tell Dr. Tanner and Mr. Trujillo that Ruby Ryan shot you?” he asked.
“Did I?” Troy sighed. His eyes swept the room, rolling from face to face, searching and beseeching. “I must have really been out of my mind.”