Mexican hat (34 page)

"More?"

"Maybe."

Inside was an offer from the county manager asking him to serve as the sheriff until a special election could be held. The contract would pay Kerney a nice chunk of money.

"Is this for real?" he asked.

"You bet it is," Karen replied. "And you get additional fringe benefits to go with it."

Kerney turned over the letter. It was blank.

"Such as?"

"For one, free housing. You can stay at Jim's place."

"Molly and Jim know about this?"

"As do my parents and Jim's. It was a group decision."

Kerney smiled broadly and stuck the letter into his shirt pocket. "I'll see the county manager in the morning. What else?"

Mexican Hal ■ 315

Karen smiled shyly. "Dating privileges. Can you two-step with that knee?"

"I can."

"Can you hold a decent, intelligent conversation with a woman in a bar over drinks?"

"It's been known to happen."

"And eat an occasional home-cooked gourmet meal?"

"I believe so."

"Need I say more?" She held out her hand.

"Are there any more benefits?" Kerney asked as he took her hand in his.

"It all depends on how you define the term," Karen answered, pulling him closer.

3 16 ■ Michael M c G a r r i t y

Wrapped around a mystery as timeless as the family secret that triggers its action and as up-to-date as the county militia whose campaign of violence makes Kerney's investigation a matter of life and death, Mexican Hat once again gives us Michael McGarrity's vivid feel for the Southwest; his breakneck action and gripping plot; his flesh-and-blood, three-dimensional characters; and most of all his compelling hero, Kevin Kerney, a man who knows his way around a ranch as well as a crime scene, a man strong enough to interact with a strong woman as an equal.

Michael McGarrity entered law enforcement in his forties as a deputy sheriff for Santa Fe County. After graduating with honors from the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, he established the first sex crimes unit in the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department and led it to award-winning status, personally breaking many of the unit's most difficult cases. He has also worked as a ranch hand, corporate consultant, college teacher, psychotherapist in private practice, instructor at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, investigator for the New Mexico Public Defender's OflPice, and in several key positions in the New Mexico Department of Health. With the publication of his first novel, Tularosa, McGarrity turned to writing full time. He lives in Santa Fe with his wife and son.

Jacket design by Marc Cohen

Jacket illustration: "Abandoned House and Ruin, Ojo de la

Vaca" by Peter de la Fuente

Printed in the United States of America