Traffic was light going north on Kurtz Boulevard. The southbound lanes were busier. Chuy guessed these oncoming cars were stragglers from the day shift at Persicon. Maybe they went out for dinner in Rancho Grande, or did some shopping before going home. Chuy wondered at a life spent making computer chips all day, in that big blocky monstrosity of a plant that looked ready to tumble off the mesa and crush Los Huertos. He could not imagine it was a good life; the smells that came from that plant sometimes were all he needed to know. The cars kept coming and Chuy wondered when all these people would leave. He was certain they would not stay forever. This was another western boom, cast in silicon this time instead of gold or silver, and like all the others it would end.

Chuy sat at the traffic light at the end of the Boulevard and looked east to the Jitomate Mountains. They blushed the ripe red that gave them their name. He looked to the west and saw pink and orange clouds piled along the bottom of the sky. Up above was pale blue. It was calm and cool here on the edge of Los Huertos. He could feel the sweet pull of the Rio Huérfano, coursing through its channel a half mile to the east.

The light changed and Chuy crossed Bosquecillo Boulevard and entered Los Huertos. He turned left at Rico's and smiled at the full parking lot; his friend Rico Lupe would be busy tonight. He turned right at the mission church, onto Entrada Oeste, then made the first left onto the narrow dirt lane that led to his house.

He looked ahead down the lane and saw a cop car back out of a driveway. He couldn't be sure at this distance but it looked to be his house. His heart fluttered a little and his stomach felt hollow. The police cruiser and Chuy's pickup slowly approached each other, rumbling over the rutted dirt, dust clouds trailing behind them. There was no breeze just now and the dust hung in the air.

The car was in shadow at first, from a cluster of trees along the lane. When it came out into the sunlight, Chuy could see that there was only the driver in the car, an Anglo wearing sunglasses. That made him feel better; he guessed that bad news would come with two cops. As they drew near, the cop pulled off his sunglasses and Chuy thought he looked familiar. Then the car was slowing down, and Chuy slowed too. The cop waved out his open window, and they drew to a stop next to each other in another patch of shade from another cluster of trees.

"Good evening, Mr. Sandoval."

It was the young Anglo police detective that had brought Chuy home after his truck was stolen. But now he was in uniform and driving a marked car.

"Hey," Chuy said. "I didn't recognize you."

"I'm not surprised."

"Why the change?"

The cop frowned.

"Well you see—"

Chuy grinned at him.

"You got demoted?"

The cop blushed. Chuy felt bad and stopped grinning. The cop looked straight ahead for a moment, then turned back toward Chuy.

"I'm in training. The day we met was my first day out of uniform. Most the time they still make me wear blues."

Chuy nodded.

"Okay," he said. "No big deal."

The cop shrugged, then he grinned at Chuy.

"You gonna stop making fun of me so I can tell you why I'm here?"

Chuy laughed a little, then he was serious.

"I think I know why you're here."

"You do."

"The kid who stole my truck got killed."

The cop nodded.

"News travels fast," the cop said.

"I heard his gang killed him."

The cop hesitated, then nodded again.

"Yeah. They did."

Chuy shook his head, then he squinted at the cop.

"Why'd you come to tell me?"

The cop glanced up the lane, then looked back at Chuy.

"I thought you'd want to know."

Chuy nodded.

"You're right. Thanks."

The cop just shrugged.

"So was the kid cutting a deal?" Chuy said.

"Is that what you heard?"

Chuy nodded. The cop nodded back.

"He screwed up before and his gang wasn't happy when he screwed up again. He cost them both times. He got scared, he turned to us, and he told the wrong person."

The cop glanced away again, back up the lane.

"He was a stupid kid and it caught up with him," the cop said.

Chuy watched the cop for a moment, then looked down the lane toward his house. A roadrunner popped out of the brush and onto the dirt, flicked its wings and scampered away. Chuy turned back toward the cop. The cop was looking up at the sky.

"You think the monsoons are over?" the cop said.

"Might be."

"I hope not."

"Yeah. Me too."

The cop blinked up at the blue, then looked at Chuy.

"Tell me something," Chuy said. "What made you want to become a cop?"

The Anglo smiled with half his mouth.

"I wonder that myself. My old man was a cop, his old man was a cop. My mother's old man was a cop."

Chuy nodded.

"You got any brothers?"

The Anglo nodded back.

"Three."

"Any of them cops?"

The Anglo shook his head.

"One's a fireman, one's in the air force, and the black sheep sells insurance."

Chuy snorted when he laughed.

"Two sisters," the Anglo said. "One's a nurse and the other's a schoolteacher."

"Yeah, that one brother really doesn't fit."

The Anglo smiled and shook his head.

"What about you, Mr. Sandoval? Do you have any brothers?"

Chuy shook his head.

"Not anymore. My older brother died in Vietnam and my younger one was in a car wreck."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks. It was a long time ago."

Chuy stuck out his hand and used his thumb to point behind him and off to his left, across the hood of the police cruiser, across Los Huertos and across the Rio Huérfano.

"I have a sister down in the city."

He let his hand fall down against his truck door.

"My nephew told me about the kid who stole my truck. The kid's cousin lives near them."

The policeman nodded. Chuy nodded back. The conversation had come full circle. The policeman put his sunglasses back on.

"Well, Mr. Sandoval, it was good talking to you."

Chuy nodded once.

"You too," he said. "Thanks again for coming by."

The policeman dipped his chin once and started off up the lane. He gave a little wave and Chuy waved back. Chuy got his truck going again. He checked the cop's progress in his mirrors. When Chuy started into his drive, the police cruiser was turning left onto Entrada Oeste. Chuy expected the cop to turn right, back toward the city. For an instant he wondered what drew the policeman deeper into Los Huertos.