The Associate

5

Desert Grove was baking and the ancient air conditioner barely stirred the air in the courtroom. The judge called the morning recess and most of the observers filed out to get a cool drink or wash their faces in the rest room, but Martin Alvarez did not move. Soon he was alone in the front row staring hard, first at Dobbs, then at Paul McCann. Ramon Quiroz saw what was going on. He leaned across the low railing that separated the gallery from the judge and attorneys and whispered something to Alvarez. When Quiroz was through talking, Martin stood and left the courtroom.

When court resumed, Dobbs testified that Paul McCann knew that Patty Alvarez loved to ride in the desert and that she rode in the morning before the heat of the day. According to Dobbs, McCann planned to ambush her out of sight of the hacienda. Alvarez would be tied up, blindfolded, and taken in the back of a van to the basement of an abandoned house in the next county. The plan called for Dobbs to baby-sit Alvarez while McCann negotiated the ransom. Nothing went the way it was supposed to.

"Mr. McCann picked me up in his van real early. We drove out to this spot in the desert where there's this big outcropping of rock that Mrs. Alvarez always passed and we parked the van behind the rocks so Mrs. Alvarez wouldn't see it."

"What happened next?"

"We waited until Mr. McCann said he saw her coming. He had binoculars, but even I could see the dust. So we put on our ski masks and took out our guns. . . ."

"Who supplied the guns?"

"Mr. McCann."

"Go on."

"The plan was that Mr. McCann would jump out and wave his hands to stop the horse. Then I'd grab Mrs. Alvarez and tie her up. Only, it didn't work that way. Mr. McCann was standing out there waving and she did slow down. Then something spooked her and she spurred the horse and tried to ride past us. Once she took off, that would be that. And that's when Mr. McCann done it."

"Did what, Mr. Dobbs?"

"Shot the horse. BAM! It was like in the movies. The horse was up on its hind legs, pawing at the air. It was almost like slow motion that horse rearing up, the blood pouring out. It paused up in the air for a moment, then took two steps back and toppled over, right onto the rocks and right on top of Mrs. Alvarez.

"I just stood there watching. I couldn't believe it. The shot was real loud, like a thunderclap. Then there was a dull thunk when Mrs. Alvarez's head hit the rocks and a thud when the horse came down on top of her. When I heard the thunk I knew we were in big trouble. Right away I was thinking that she was dead, and I was right."

"What did Mr. McCann do after he shot the horse?"

"He just stood there like he was paralyzed. I did, too, but I recovered after a moment. The first thing I did was ask him why he did it, but he was just staring. I don't think he planned shooting the horse. I think he just did it on the spur of the moment."

"What happened next?"

"I ran over to Mrs. Alvarez. She was a mess. Her head was mashed between the horse and the rock. Mr. McCann staggered over. He could barely keep his feet. He tried to ask me if she was dead, but he couldn't say the word."

"What word is that?"

" `Dead.' He just couldn't say it. So I said it for him. As soon as I did he just sat down in the dust and started talking to himself."

"What did he say?"

" `Oh, God, oh, God.' He said that a few times and `What are we gonna do now?' I told him we should get the fuck-uh, get outta there."

"Did he agree?"

"No. He put his hands over his ears and told me to shut up so he could think. I said, `Fine,' but I was plannin' to take the van if he didn't move soon. Then, just as I was getting ready to go, he did something that surprised me."

"And what was that?"

"He took out his cell phone and made a call."

"Mr. Dobbs, until this point how many people did you think were involved in the kidnapping?"

"Two. Me and him."

"Did you discover that there was a third person in on the plot?"

"Yes, sir, but I don't know who it was, because I only heard Mr. McCann's side of the conversation and he never mentioned a name."

"Please describe the phone conversation to the jury."

"It was short. First, he said everything had gotten . . ." Dobbs paused and looked up at the judge. "Uh, can I use the F-word, Your Honor?"

"Accuracy is very important, Mr. Dobbs," Judge Schrieber replied. "Please make sure that you use the exact words that you claim the defendant used."

"Okay," Dobbs said, turning back to the jurors. "He said everything had gotten fucked up and he explained about having to shoot the horse when Mrs. Alvarez tried to escape. Then he listened for a while. Mr. McCann had his mask off by then and I could see him turning red like he was being chewed out. After a minute I heard him ask what he should do. He nodded his head a few times, then hung up. I asked him who he was talking to, but he said it was none of my business. I said it damn well was because I was an accessory to this whole thing, including Mrs. Alvarez being dead. That's when he told me the plan."

"Which was?" Ramon prodded.

"To pretend she wasn't dead. To bury the body and demand the ransom anyway. He told me that was the only way any of us would get any money."

"What did you say to that?"

Dobbs shrugged. "I said, `Okay.' I was in it for the money and Martin Alvarez wouldn't know his wife was dead. What difference would it make?"