‘Oh,’ Alyssa said. ‘We’re about three minutes away from there, so we’ll just save Joe a trip since Elizabeth wasn’t home anyway. Could you go ahead and text me the manager’s contact information?’

‘You got it. I’ll let Joe know.’

After Hal ended the call, Alyssa glanced first at Cord then in the rearview mirror at Sandra. ‘Looks like a slight change in plans. Let’s go see what we can find out.’

Exactly three minutes later, Alyssa parked her Tahoe beside a dark blue Mercedes sporting one of New Mexico’s ‘Green Chile Capital of the World’ license plates. Before she turned off the ignition, she used her Bluetooth to dial the restaurant. The manager answered on the second ring.

‘The Ranch Steakhouse, Christopher speaking.’

‘Christopher, this is Detective Wyatt with the Albuquerque Police Department. You spoke with—’

‘Officer Hal Callum. Yep, yep. You’re hoping to check the security footage from Thursday, October third, right?’ He didn’t wait for a response. ‘I just got off the phone with the owner, so give me two minutes, and I’ll come unlock the front door for you.’

It only took one before a heavyset man with a balding head and a bad comb-over pushed open the thick wooden door to the restaurant, the lingering scent of garlic and butter flowing out as he did. Nodding to each of them, he invited them in, where Alyssa made the introductions.

Christopher’s appreciative perusal of Sandra’s body caused two splotchy red circles to bloom on the young officer’s cheeks, but Alyssa couldn’t tell from her expression if it was from pleasure or disgust, though she could certainly guess. In any case, the man had to be at least two and a half times her age.

After relocking the door, he said, ‘Follow me,’ and then led them to the back of the restaurant where his office was located. Moving behind his desk, he muttered, ‘This’ll only take… a… few… seconds.’ His fingers flew over the keyboard, typing in some lengthy password that he had taped beneath a paperweight. ‘A-ha. There, I’m in.’ He thumped his fist on the desk and backed up. ‘There you go. If you don’t mind, I’m going to grab these receipts and head out to the dining room.’ He tossed both hands in the air as if they’d just informed him he was under arrest. ‘Unless you need me to stay for legal purposes?’

‘That’s okay. We’ll come get you if we have any questions.’

After another quick scan of Sandra’s body, Christopher backed out the door, leaving it ajar, and headed down the short hallway.