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"By
the way, Jo, Lena doesn't seem to have any relatives around here. Is there
anyone you know we can contact to make the funeral arrangements?" Cal
asked.

"I'll
take care of it. She might have relatives somewhere, but I don't know where
they'd be."

"Well,
the county coroner will be ready to release the body later this
afternoon."

"Have
them call Sanderson's. I'll let them know to expect her."

Cal
got up slowly until his full six-three frame was erect and handed his cup to
Cate. "Appreciate it, ma'am. You be careful, Jo. And let me know if you
think of anything I should know."

Rising
from my chair, I shook his hand.

After
Cal left, I located a phone book and looked up the number for Sanderson's
Funeral Home, trying to imagine what kind of funeral Lena would like. It took
about twenty minutes for me to discuss it with the funeral director. Since there
wouldn't be many people attending, I opted for a simple graveside service. But
at the last minute I asked the director if he could round up a mariachi group
for the service. She would have liked that. That and a few beers. When I
finally hung up the phone, Cate was nowhere in sight. I found her in the
kitchen washing the cups.

"Everything
arranged?" she asked.

"Yeah,
day after tomorrow about two. Lena hated getting up early in the
mornings." I smiled.

Cate
placed the cups in the drainer and dried her hands. "Well, what do you
want to tackle next?" she asked.

"You've
done enough. I have to run into town in a little while to pay for the funeral.
It'll be getting dark by then, so you should start gathering your stuff up and
head on back to Austin."

"Why
don't I go with you to the funeral home? We could grab something to eat in
town."

I
shrugged. "But then you go back to Austin. I don't want you out here after
dark."

"I
doubt whoever did this would be stupid enough to come back the next day. The
police could still be crawling all over the place."

"Or
they could be hanging around out there in the trees right this minute and know
there's no one here but us."

She
looked out the kitchen window, and I thought I saw her shiver slightly.
"You're probably right, but I could just stay in Kerrville and come back
out tomorrow morning. I know you won't stay in town."

"No
one's going to run me out of my home," I frowned. "You should go back
home though."

"You
think it's not safe in Kerrville either?"

"Look,
Cate, I don't know shit, okay. But I don't want to take a chance that someone
else will get hurt. You might not believe this, but I don't want to have to
worry about your safety."

She
looked at me, and a slow smile crossed her lips. "I didn't think you still
cared, Jo."

There
was that old uncomfortable feeling again. Damn, how did she do that? I cleared
my throat and left the kitchen. I had a sudden need for fresh air. I picked up
my rifle on the way out the door and walked toward the barn, even though there
wasn't anything there anymore. The county animal control people had picked up
Jack late the night before. It had broken my heart to see such a beautiful
animal slaughtered for no purpose. When I returned to the house, Cate was
sitting on the couch looking through a manila folder.

"You
about ready to go?" I asked.

"In
a minute. What's this?" she asked, pointing at the folder.

I
looked over her shoulder. "Just some notes about what Lena found about the
meatpacking plant."

"What
meatpacking plant?"

"The
one over at Mountain View. Sarita told me Kyle's story about illegals was
actually about the meatpacking plant hiring illegals to process their
meat."

"When
did you talk to Sarita?"

"She
came out here a couple of days after I left San Antonio. It seems Kyle got the
idea for the story from her to begin with. She asked me to continue helping him
from the shadows. At first I turned her down, but Lena jumped in my shit about
it. That was how she got involved. The locals over there weren't going to talk
to some gringa like me, so she got herself a job in Mountain View and talked to
anyone she could about the plant. These are mostly just scribbles about what
she told me from those conversations. Most of it doesn't make sense, but I
haven't had a chance to sit down and go over it."

"Maybe
I can help you sort it out."

"Like
old times?"

"But
they were good times," she said, leaning back on the couch and smiling.
"What do you think of Sarita?"

"Seems
like a nice enough girl. Straightforward, educated. And she loves Kyle. No
doubt about that. If he keeps doing what he's doing, she could be in for more
than a little heartache."

Cate
laughed. "Now, that sounds more like old times."

"Maybe
you should warn her before she makes the same mistake."

"She
wouldn't believe it. I didn't. But it wasn't all bad."

"Bad
enough. Ready?"

Chapter
Fifteen

I
FOLLOWED CATE into town, checking the rearview mirror more often than usual.
She waited outside while I took care of my business with Sanderson's, and then
we drove to a small family restaurant in town. We were seated in a booth where
I could see anyone who entered. It wasn't the kind of place where illegals and
thugs would hang out, and I was sure I would notice anyone who seemed out of
place. I was prepared to follow Cate all the way to Austin if I had to. The
sooner she was out of the picture, the better I was going to feel. We placed
our order and snacked on breadsticks while we waited.

"Did
you bring the folder with you?" she asked.

"Yeah.
It's in the car."

"Why
don't we look it over while we wait?"

After
I brought the folder back inside, she took a couple of papers and glanced at
them while I scanned the sheet left on top. Opening her purse, she took her
glasses and a pen out to circle a few things, jotting notes to herself in the
margins. I could see her mind working as she read.

"What's
this?" she asked, pointing at the page.

"I
don't know. I can't read upside down."

Rather
than hand the paper to me, she got out of the booth and slid in next to me.
Placing the paper in front of me, she pointed to three capital letters on the
page: ABP.

"That's
the name of the processing plant. American Beef and Pork."

"How
are they involved, other than the fact that they hired illegals?"

"Everyone
hires illegals, but Lena thought the number they hired was suspicious. It's one
thing to get three or four, but they apparently had a few more than
normal."

"How
many more?"

"A
couple hundred or so."

"Hmm.
That does seem like a lot of people slipping through the cracks."

"Lena
told me some of her relatives had worked for ABP, but they were laid off and
replaced by illegals. She was still pissed at the company, which was why she
was willing to do some investigating."

"But
like you said, hiring illegals isn't a big deal in Texas. The company can
always claim ignorance, and they don't face much, if any, monetary loss for
hiring them."

"According
to Sarita, the number of Hispanics in Mountain View has grown about four
hundred percent in the last few years."

"How
does she know that?"

"Said
she used to teach in Mountain View before moving to San Antonio. She suspected
most of them were illegals, but they all had papers."

"Wouldn't
take a genius to fake papers."

"I
talked to a worker from the plant who was laid off recently. He claimed there
were a lot of false documents among the workers, but the INS doesn't have the
manpower to check them all out. Plus they always seemed to know when the INS
was planning a raid and called in sick."

"What's
this?" she asked, pointing to the paper in front of her.

The
letter C was written three or four times on that page and the next one.

"Some
big shot with ABP. His name is in here somewhere," I said looking through
the rest of the papers. "Like I said, I haven't had time to organize all
this yet."

I
finally found the page where I had jotted down a name.

"Here
it is," I said. "Camarena. I'm pretty sure he's C. Everyone Lena
talked to mentioned him, but I don't know what he does exactly. Lena thought he
was some kind of attorney."

"Do
you have his first name?"

"Felix."

Cate
leaned back in the booth and closed her eyes.

"Tired?"
I asked.

"A
little." She opened her eyes and looked at me. She took a deep breath and
exhaled slowly. She was sitting close to me, and I could feel the warmth of her
body through my shirt sleeve.

"Well,
our food will be here soon. Then you can go back home and get rested up."

"I
guess so. Actually, I told Susan I was taking a couple of days off to check on
Kyle."

"Susan
seems like a nice woman."

"She's
an excellent tax attorney."

"Can't
beat a woman who's good at her work, obviously wealthy, and not too bad
looking. Spiffy dresser, too. Maybe you should hook up with her."

She
smiled. "She's asked me to live with her."

I
wasn't really surprised but wasn't sure what to say.
"Congratulations."

"I
haven't said yes. Things have been a little hectic lately."

"It'll
settle down."

"How
would you feel about that, Jo?"

The
question surprised me. "Well, it's not really any of my business, now is
it."

A
waitress approached carrying a large tray. Cate returned to her side of the
booth, and we waited while the waitress finished setting food on the table.
When she was satisfied that we had everything we needed, she picked up the tray
and left.

"Have
you told Kyle about you and Susan?"

"He
knows I'm fond of Susan, and they get along pretty well. But then, it's none of
his business either."

People
were fond of their dog, their comfortable old shirts, and their favorite maiden
aunt; but it seemed like a strange choice of words about a woman who apparently
hoped to be sharing your bed on a permanent basis, I thought with some
satisfaction. I wouldn't allow myself to wonder about the extent of Cate's
current relationship with Susan Bradley.