Ten minutes later dispatch called back. The warrant was valid. Grayson was wanted on two counts of residential burglary. Kerney got a physical description of the man and went looking for him. He spotted him sitting in the cab of a truck, reading a magazine.
Kerney passed by without stopping. When he was out of Grayson’s sight, he called the Hidalgo County sheriff, Leo Valencia, and gave him a heads-up.
Kerney knew and liked Valencia from meetings of the New Mexico Sheriffs and Police Association. He had a no-nonsense approach to policing, little tolerance for incompetence, and a quick wit.
“Are you sure about this guy Grayson?” Valencia asked.
“As much as I can be without confronting the man,” Kerney replied.
“I’ll have to confirm the outstanding arrest warrant myself and get a copy.”
“Of course.”
“Give me your exact location.”
“The ranch headquarters of the Granite Pass Cattle Company off the Antelope Wells highway.”
“Joe Jordan’s place, where they’re making that movie?”
“That’s right,” Kerney said.
“What in the hell are you doing down there?” Valencia asked.
“Trying to break into motion pictures, Leo. I’ve got to find something to do after I take my pension.”
Valencia chuckled. “Isn’t there some retired Chicago cop who’s a big star now? The guy who plays an NYPD detective on a TV crime show.”
“Yeah,” Kerney replied. “He’s my role model.”
Leo laughed in disbelief. “Okay, Mr. Budding Movie Star, what are you really doing down there?”
“I’m the law-enforcement technical advisor for the film.”
“Sounds like easy duty. Okay, hang tight. We’ll come for Grayson if it checks out. But if it doesn’t, I may pay you a visit anyway. I’ve always wanted to see how movies get made.”
“I’ll arrange a screen test for you,” Kerney said. Valencia declined the offer and disconnected.
While Kerney waited for Leo’s arrival, he watched Usher fine tune the exterior shots of the ranch. The cameras were equipped with a video feed, and Usher stood behind a table loaded with monitors and quietly asked for minor adjustments. He and the crew seemed to be well in sync, and he soon told an assistant director to start filming. Everyone fell silent and the cameras rolled: one on tracks that moved straight in on the ranch house, while a second camera panned from the ranch house to the barn.
What had taken an hour to set up was over in a matter of minutes, and the crew got busy readying the next shot, which called for the ingenue playing the rancher’s daughter to rush out of the house and speed away in a pickup truck.
If Kerney remembered correctly, it was the scene that had been added to the shooting script to show the daughter hurrying to find her rodeo cowboy brother and tell him about their father’s trouble with the feds.
The ingenue, a striking redhead with a thousand-watt smile, did several run-throughs before Usher was satisfied. Kerney couldn’t see the necessity for it and wondered what he was missing. They all seemed pretty much the same to him.
Just as filming started, two Hidalgo sheriff’s units with lights flashing came into view on the ranch road and wheeled to a stop at the cattle guard.
“Cut!” Usher hollered, looking totally pissed.
The ingenue froze on the porch step, and all eyes turned toward the police cruisers. Kerney, who’d stayed within striking distance of Hoover Grayson, stopped him with an armlock as he scrambled out of the truck, and put him facedown on the ground.
“Shit,” Grayson said.
Kerney put his knee down hard on Grayson’s back to pin him. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
“Good work, amigo,” Valencia said as he reached Kerney with his chief deputy at his side. “You’re not over the hill yet.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Kerney pulled Grayson upright. Leo cuffed him, fished out Grayson’s wallet, made the ID, and read him his rights.
“Mind if I stick around and watch for a time?” he asked as his chief deputy led Grayson to his unit.
A red-faced Usher arrived before Kerney could respond. “What’s this about?” he demanded. “What did he do?”
“Residential burglary,” Leo answered. “Two counts.”
“Are you planning to arrest anyone else?” Usher asked sharply.
Over Usher’s shoulder Leo scanned the faces of the cast and crew. “I don’t know. Does somebody else need arresting?” he asked innocently.
Usher stared at Valencia for a long moment. Leo had a round face and a walrus mustache that made him look like Pancho Villa-an asset with both Anglo and Hispanic voters, he’d found. He gave Usher a toothy, election-day smile.
Usher glanced at Kerney, who was trying hard to keep a straight face. “No,” he said as his irritation vanished. “That’s enough reality for one day.”
“Sorry for the inconvenience,” Leo said.
Usher returned to the shoot and the two men stood at the fence by the cattle guard and watched Hollywood magic being made.
“Aside from trying to intercept drug shipments and chase coyotes smuggling migrants across the border, are the feds up to anything else in the Bootheel?” Kerney asked.
“There’s been a big upswing in cigarette smuggling,” Leo replied. “Counterfeit brands out of Asia. They cost two bucks a carton wholesale and get sold for ten times that. The feds had an investigation going for a time in El Paso, but it petered out.”
“Who ran the investigation?”
“Hell if I know,” Leo said. “Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, I’d guess.”
“That’s all you know?”
Valencia gave Kerney a sideways glance. “That’s it. Are you onto something?”
Kerney hitched his boot on a fence railing. “Just trying to stay well informed.”
“That’s a good thing to do.” Leo eyed the production crew as they set up equipment for the next shot. When they finished, Usher reminded everyone how the scene had been blocked out, and then watched it on the monitors as the young actress did a run-through. Just as they were about to start filming, the drone of an airplane overhead interrupted the take. Everybody relaxed and stood around, waiting for the plane to pass by.
“So this is how it’s done,” Leo said.
“It’s not very glamorous, is it?” Kerney replied.
“Maybe if they blew something up, it would be more interesting.”
“I’ll pass along your suggestion.”
Leo laughed, thanked Kerney for his help, and left. After filming ended for the day and everyone returned to Playas, the arrest of Hoover Grayson had people buzzing. For a time Kerney’s popularity soared as he answered questions about the bust. When he finally broke away and went to get Patrick, he found his son playing cheerfully with his new companions. They had dinner with the cast and crew, and much to Kerney’s relief, Patrick’s good mood held throughout the evening. Long after Patrick had gone to bed, Agent Ray Bratton knocked on the door.
“How’s it going?” Kerney asked as the young man stepped nervously inside.
“The only criminal activity I’ve seen so far is a few of the crew members smoking pot.”
“You’re just getting started,” Kerney said, motioning at the couch. Stiffly, Bratton sat on the edge of a cushion. “Is this your first undercover assignment?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
Kerney settled into the easy chair that faced the couch and smiled warmly at Bratton. “Just a guess. How long have you been with the agency?”
“I’m three months out of the academy. They sent me here from Laredo, Texas, on special assignment. I go back when it’s finished.”
“Did you know the murdered agent?”
“No.”
“Have you learned anything more about Mendoza, the Motor Transportation officer, and his van?”
“Mendoza checks out clean. But Agent Fidel still thinks he might be our guy. Mendoza had a cousin staying with him for a week, when you were down here last. The guy’s name is Paul Rangal. He lives in San Diego and works as an apprentice machinist at the naval shipyards. We took a close look at him. Nada.”