by Don Bullis
―Then he said, ‗You still got some more money around here! Now go get it! I know that old man and that old woman have got some more.‘ I told him that was all there was and if he didn't believe me, he'd just have to kill me. He poked me with that gun and shoved me into the kitchen and he said, ‗look for some more money!‘ Then he saw my purse and told me to open it. I did and I came out with a dollar bill. He reached over and grabbed it.
―About then the telephone rang and he acted real worried and he let it ring. He pulled out a chair and he said, ‗Sit here and be quiet.‘ Then he said, ‗Stand up and put your hands behind you. I'm going to tape your wrists.‘ I stood up and he pulled a roll of tape out of his hip pocket. He stuck that gun in the waistband of his pants and his shirt gapped open. Some buttons was missing. I guess Bud did that. Pulled them buttons off. I saw a dark mark on his stomach. It looked like a tattoo, like a bird, maybe. He taped my wrists and sat me back down in the chair. Then he went into the store and he got Miss Brown under the armpits and drug her back into the kitchen and dropped her by the door to the living room. He went back and started to drag Bud by the feet and I told him ‗Don't do that!‘ so he left Bud where he was.
―He came back in the kitchen and told me to go in the living room and lay on the floor. I did and he came in behind me and wound tape around my head and face and then around my ankles. Then he said, ‗I'm going to leave, lady, and don't you make a sound.‘ He left the living room and went back toward the store through the kitchen but I didn't hear him leave. It was quiet for maybe a minute or two and then he came back to the living room and stood over Miss Brown. Then he came over to me. He pointed that gun at me and said, real mean-like, ‗You listen and you listen good. Don't make a sound or call anyone for fifteen minutes. If anything goes wrong, I'll come back and kill you just like I killed her!‘ He pointed that gun right in my face.
―He left again and I heard the screen door slam and then the outside door. I knew he was out of the store so I kicked on the floor to get Nettie to come out of the bathroom and untie me. She pulled the tape off of my mouth and I told her to go lock the front door so he couldn't get back in the store. When she came back, she cut the tape off my wrists and I called up Debbie Smith in Gallup.‖
―Thank you, Miz Rice. That‘ll be a big help to us,‖ Doc said. ―Reckon you could tell me how much money he took? Altogether?‖
―There was probably seventy dollars in the cash tray and maybe thirty-five in rolled coins and old coins. There might of been a hundred and fifty, or so, in the cigar box. All in small bills. Nothing bigger than a twenty. No more than three hundred altogether.‖
―He steal anything else that you know of?‖
―I‘d have to do an inventory, but I don‘t think he did.‖
Doc remembered Rice's roll of cash. ―Did Mr. Rice carry much money on him?‖
―Oh, yes. Sometimes seven or eight hundred dollars. Much as a thousand. I don't know if he got Bud's money or not.‖
―I can tell you that he didn't. Mr. Rice had six hundred and thirty six dollars in his pocket. Once I get it processed as evidence, I'll get it back to you. Now then, Miz Rice, what'd the gun look like. Can you describe it for us? Was it big or little?‖
―It didn't look very big but the barrel was real long and skinny and it looked like it had a ring around it, on the end of it. There seemed to be a ring above the handle, too. The handle was long and narrow. The gun was black. I never saw one like it before, either.‖ ―Do you know a semi-automatic pistol from a revolver, Miz Rice?‖ ―I think so. Bud's got a gun in the store. I think he said it was a revolver. The gun this man had didn't look anything like it. Didn't look like any gun I ever saw before.‖
―Do you remember which hand he held it in?‖
―His right hand, mostly.‖
―Did the guy have any accent? You know, Mexican? Indian?‖
―No. Not that I noticed. He was Anglo. I'm pretty sure.‖
―Can you describe his clothing and appearance for the record?‖
―His clothes was black. Short black jacket. Black pants and shoes. The shoes were what I noticed the most. They were small and had sharp pointed toes and the heel was a little higher than ordinary. They was well polished, the kind I‘ve heard called pachuco type. He had a young face and kind of a shiny complexion with a few pimples and pockmarks on the cheeks. Light beard. Clean cut. His hair was long but not shaggy. Just like that other officer's picture. His hands was clean, too.‖
―Did you smell any liquor on his breath?‖
―No. I don't remember.‖
―Can you think of anything else you might want to add? Any unusual characteristics?‖
―No. Well. He did seem to walk with a little bit of a limp. It seemed more like he favored one foot, like maybe one of his feet hurt him some. It didn't keep him from moving around ok.‖
―Ok, good, Miz Rice. Anything else?‖
―No.‖
―We'll get this typed up and you can read it over and sign it later on. You can make any changes or add anything you want to then. That be ok with you?‖
She nodded. ―Do you really think you can catch him?‖
Spurlock looked at his captain. ―We'll get him. Don't you worry none about that, Miz Rice. We'll get him.‖
A half hour later, Spurlock interviewed Nettie Buckley. Criminal Agent Virgil Vee—Virgil Vicente Valverde—sat in.
Somewhat overweight, the housekeeper appeared weak and unhealthy, her broad face pale and sweaty. Nettie‘s graying hair needed the attention of comb or brush and she twisted and untwisted a red bandanna in her hands.
―My name is Doc Spurlock and this here is Virgil Valverde. We're State Police criminal agents and we're investigatin‘ the murders of Bud Rice and Blanche Brown. We'd like to talk to you about it.‖
Nettie Buckley shifted her weight around in the chair nodded her head slightly.
―Would you give us your name, age and address. Talk right into that microphone there in a normal voice.‖
―My name is Nettie Buckley and I‘m fifty-four ... years of age I live in Budville.‖ Nettie didn‘t stutter, had no speech impediment, but she seemed incapable of speaking a complete sentence. She didn‘t make eye contact with anyone as she watched her hands struggle with the bandanna.
―Good, Nettie. That's good. I know you're gonna to be a big help in this. Now. Just tell us what happened here last evenin‘.‖
Nettie straightened up in her chair, wringing imaginary water out of the bandanna. ―I came to the store about five ... I was sitting in the chair ... by the magazine rack and talking to Missy Brown.‖
―That‘s right by the front window,‖ Doc said, ―so you had a clear view of the driveway.‖
―Yes ... Missy Brown was behind the counter ... sometime after seven I saw a car ... drive up from the east ... it pulled up to the gas pumps and I told Missy Brown ... ‗There's a gas customer‘ ... and she started to put her coat on to go and see ... what he wanted when I saw Bud walking up and I told her ... ‗Here comes Bud and he'll take care of him‘ ... and she took her coat back off.
―The man got out of the car ... and talked to Bud ... and when he started inside the store I got up ... and went and stood at the end of the counter by the kitchen door ... then the man came into the store ... and asked for a pack of ... Camel cigarettes and gave Missy Brown some paper money a one dollar bill ... I think ... and Missy Brown gave him some ... change but it wasn't right and the man told her about it ... and Missy Brown said she was ... sorry and gave him the right change ... then Missy Brown asked him where he came from ... she said he didn't look ... like he was from around here ... but he didn't answer her ... and I spoke to him and said ‗hello‘ but that was all but he didn‘t answer me neither.‖ She paused.
―You‘re doin‘ just fine, Nettie,‖ Doc said. ―Then what?‖
―Bud walked in and the man said ... ‗Is my car all right?‘ Bud said ... ‗There's nothing wrong with it‘ ... and the man said ‗So
, there's nothing wrong with it‘ ... then I saw him pull … out a gun from his pants ... he said ‗I'm going to shoot you‘ ... and Bud said ‗go ahead and shoot‘ ... and Bud reached and grabbed the man by the shoulder ... I heard the gun go off and it scared me ... I ran in the kitchen ... but I heard Missy Brown say ... ‗Don't do that ... don't do that‘ ... I met Flossie in the kitchen and ... I told her ... ‗Flossie, Bud's shot‘ ... and I ran in the bathroom.‖
―Good, Nettie, mighty good,‖ Spurlock said. ―How many shots did you hear? Altogether? Do you remember?‖
―I think I heard ... it was three when I ran out of the store.‖
―After that?‖
―I don‘t know I ... was real scared.‖
―I understand," Doc said. ―Just take your time. Could you see anything at all from the bathroom?‖
―I heard him ... walking around and ... he asked something ... about some money so I opened the door a … little crack … and I saw him drag Missy Brown ... into the living room.‖
―Would you recognize this man if you saw him again.‖
Nettie nodded in the affirmative.
―Have you ever seen him before?‖
No, she nodded.
―Could you tell us anything about how he was dressed?‖
Nettie fidgeted in her chair and began wrapping the bandanna around her hands and then weaving it through her fingers, opening her hand and then closing it into a fist. ―Missy Brown was ... my friend ... you know?‖ Tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down her pale cheeks. She dabbed at them with the bandanna. Her shoulders shook as she silently wept.
―We know, Nettie, and we'll be done here in just a few minutes. How was he dressed, Nettie. It's important that we know.‖
She took a deep, uneven, breath. ―He had on ... a short black jacket ... and tight black pants that looked like Levi's ... with black shoes ... with pointed toes and high tops.‖
―How about the man himself, Nettie? What did he look like?‖
―Light brown ... hair combed back on the sides.‖
―What else?‖
―That's all ... I can remember but ... he looked like the picture ... the other man showed me.‖
―You talking about officer Budwister?‖
―I guess so.‖
―Did you smell any liquor on his breath?‖
―I wasn't ... that close to him.‖
―Can you think of anything else that you might tell us about him or how he looked?‖
No, Nettie nodded.
―How about his car?‖
―It looked like a light colored car ... I don't know what kind.‖
―How about the size of the car?‖
―Like that ... one.‖ Nettie pointed out the window to a 1963 Ford two-door hardtop that belonged to the State of New Mexico and was assigned to criminal agent Virgil Vee.
―Can you think of anything else, Nettie? Anything at all?‖
She nodded negatively.
―If you think of anything else, you let me or Virgil here know about it. That be ok?‖
―Yes,‖ she said.
―We'll get this typed up and you can sign it later on. Ok?‖
Nettie nodded and slipped quietly away. She returned to a chair in the living room. Nettie tied her hands together with the bandanna.
―Well, Vee, old buddy,‖ Spurlock said, trying to rub the sleepiness from his eyes, ―what do you think?‖
Valverde, every bit as tired as Spurlock, said, ―I think if we ever find the son-of-a-bitch, that lady can put him into the gas chamber. She‘s as creditable as anyone‘s mother. There‘s not an ounce of deception in her.‖
―Flossie‘ll make a hell of a witness, too,‖ Doc said. ―She seems to have a real good eye for detail. All we need to do is find the guy.‖
―With all the cops Scarberry's got out here, I don't know how we can miss.‖ Valverde took a drink of coffee. ―You'd think old Bud was some kind of important person or something, instead of the thieving bastard he was.‖
―Just how big a bastard was he, Vee? I never met the man. I always worked Gallup and Grants west. Never over here.‖
―I worked over here for a year or so, right out of recruit school,‖
Vee said. ―You ever hear the famous fan belt story?‖
―No. I don't think so, anyway.‖
―Some tourist busts a fan belt somewhere over between San Fidel
and Grants. This is long before there was any Interstate highway. The guy hitches a ride back to Budville and tells old Bud his problem. Bud fires up his little wrecker and takes the guy back to his car. He hooks up the car to the wrecker and tows it back here. The tourist, so the story goes, asks about what it was going to cost him and Bud tells him not to worry nothing about it. Anyway. Bud goes out there in his salvage yard and finds a car similar to the tourist's car and he takes off a used old cracked and dried-out fan belt and he puts it on the tourist's car. Then he says to the tourist, ‗That'll be twenty-five bucks.‘ ‗Ain't that a lot for a used fan belt?‘ the tourist says. Bud goes into his pants pocket and pulls out his jackknife and opens it up. He reaches under the guy's hood and cuts the belt off the pulley. He turns around to the tourist and he says, ‗Go buy the goddamn thing somewheres else.‘ He goes inside the store and locks the door behind him. It's twenty-five miles or more in any direction to the closest fan belt. That's the way old Bud did business.‖
―What happened to the tourist?‖
―Beats hell out of me but there‘s a bunch of stories about Bud stranding people at the trading post, forcing them to leave their car and take a bus to Grants or Albuquerque to raise money enough to bail it out of his salvage yard. Sometimes he charged more for storage than the car was worth. That's how he got all them cars out back there. There must be a hundred or more. Another thing he used to do is pray for snow. Tourist gets stranded way out here in a snowstorm and he'd sell ‗em tire chains; a ten dollar set for fifty bucks. Take it or leave it.‖
Vee took another drink of coffee. ―I was in here one time, Doc, in JP Court, and this tourist pulled up to the pumps. I seen this with my own eyes. Ohio plates on the car. Bud was charging, I think, sixty-one cents a gallon for gas. It was probably thirty cents a gallon in Grants at the time, and a quarter in Albuquerque and everyone thought that was too damn much. The tourist saw how much the gas cost and he asked Bud how far it was to Albuquerque, and Bud told him. So the tourist says, ‗Just let me have three gallons then.‘ Bud says to him, ‗I sell gas by the tank full, not by the gallon.‘ So the tourist says, ‗I only got five dollars.‘ Bud says, ‗how in the hell was you gonna get to Ohio on five bucks?‘ ‗I was gonna wire for some cash in Albuquerque,‘ the tourist says. ‗Ok,‘ Bud says, ‗I'll sell you five dollars worth then.‘ And he did. Bud took the poor bastard's last dollar.‖
―Prince of a guy, huh?‖ Doc said.
―A real prince. You know, Doc, I stood there, in uniform, drinking a Coke and I watched the whole deal. Afterwards I got the feeling that Bud used me to scare that Ohio guy. You know. Intimidate the tourist so he didn‘t argue too much about the price of gas. I wonder if Bud knowingly did that. Anyway, now he's dead and Scarberry wants to canonize him.‖
―It ain't for us to reason why, my friend. Know what I mean?‖
While Spurlock and Valverde interviewed Nettie that Sunday afternoon, Captain Mat Torrez drove a mile west on the Old Road to Villa de Cubero and rented a room in Wally Gunn‘s Motel. Torrez was a widower who lived with his twenty-year-old daughter, Juanita, —she preferred Nita—whom he'd called and asked to meet him with a change of clothing and his toilet kit. He kissed her on the cheek and sent her back to Albuquerque. Mat loved his daughter and was proud that she'd grown into a beautiful woman. She was headstrong, like her mother, but that deepened his devotion to her. Two things mattered in his life: Nita and the State Police.
He showered, shaved, swallowed three fingers of vodka and drove back to Rice‘s store in Budville. Doc and Vee stood drinking Coke
s and comparing notes when Torrez walked in.
―You boys look like hell,‖ the captain observed cheerfully. ―And that‘s nothin‘ compared to the way I feel, Cap,‖ Doc said. ―Tell you what,‖ Torrez said, ―the two of you have done a world
of work in past, what, fifteen, sixteen hours. Maybe too much. You get all that information in your mind and pretty soon it starts to get all mixed up and you can‘t remember who said what about anything. First thing you know, you screw it up. Go home. Both of you. Get some sleep. It‘s eighteen hundred hours now. Be back here at oh six hundred with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. 10-4?‖ ―10-4 Cap.‖ Two notebooks snapped closed in unison and the
agents were out the door and gone, with only a casual salute to the boss. Doc had an eighty mile drive to Gallup and Virgil had about the same to his home in the mountain village of San Antonito, east of Albuquerque. They were both home by nineteen thirty hours.
CHAPTER V
Nearing forty hours without sleep, rookie State Policeman Juan Posey manned a roadblock on Interstate 40 just east of Grants. District Attorney‘s investigator Jim Mitchell was there, too, along with narcotics officer Carlos Gallegos. Posey had parked Troy McGee's State Police car perpendicular to the road—red lights flashing—while Mitchell and Gallegos had positioned their cars across the road facing traffic. Posey‘s headlights illuminated the driver's side of vehicles stopped at the barricade.
Mitchell took a nap in his car and Gallegos stood on the shoulder of the road, a pump shotgun‘s stock resting on his hip, when a light blue 1961 Mercury Comet rolled to a stop at just after 9:00 o‘clock on Sunday night. Posey, after asking a few standard questions, ordered the driver, U. S. Navy petty officer Larry Bunting, out of the car. The official report submitted by Gallegos and Posey read:
Officers immediately noticed that the driver closely resembled the description of the suspect. He was dressed in a black jacket and black pants. Officers also observed passengers in the car to be one indian female and one indian male, wife and brother-in-law of the suspect, and two small indian children. The suspect was extremely nervous and moved in jerky motions while reaching for his wallet and identification. Suspect also talked hesitantly. Officers asked subject to alight from the vehicle, which he did. Subject's identification was taken by Agent C. Gallegos, which was an Armed Services I. D. card and Leave Papers. 10-33 assistance from other officers was requested by C. Gallegos. Subject was subsequently turned over to Lt. M. Candelaria, DA Inv. J. Mitchell and Agent F. Finch who advised the subject of his rights under the new Miranda law and that he was under arrest. Subject taken to Budville by Lt. M. Candelaria for identification purposes by Mrs. Flossie Rice, per orders of Lt. Col. C. Scarberry.
