“Depends what comes out once I get the story set in my head,” he said. “I was a double major at U. New Mexico. English and criminal justice, couldn’t figure out what I liked more, so I decided to get some police experience, maybe I’d have something to say in a book. Did a couple years with the state police, then Ojo Negro came up, they hadn’t had a sheriff in five years, got a two-year state grant to fund one. My sister and her kids aren’t too far and she’s divorced and her ex is out of the picture. I figured maybe I could be a good influence.” Shrug. “Seemed like a good opportunity.”

“I’ve talked to a couple of detectives at Santa Fe P.D. Steve Katz and Darrell Two Moons.”

“Know ’em by sight but never worked with ’em. Mostly I was in Albuquerque, doing gang suppression. That got me close to a couple of homicides, I watched the pros, learned it’s not my cup of tea. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to help you much on this one. That one sheet’s all I found.”

“Is there anyone I could speak to who was here nine years ago?”

“Just about everyone still living in Ojo Negro was here nine years ago. Most of my people are seniors who don’t want to or can’t afford to leave. The grocery store brews fresh soup when there’s enough demand and the big day is when the Social Security checks come in.”

“Anyone you’d recommend to start with?”

His legs uncrossed. “Lieutenant Sturgis really thinks this could be related to an L.A. case?”

“Hard to say. The main link is a stolen black car.”

“Mercedes and Bentley, yeah, he told me. The original GTA filing on the Lincoln is under Santa Barbara’s jurisdiction ’cause the car was taken there. I checked and it’s archived. All I could find is a basic theft-recovery report. By the time the tags were linked to that Clint Eastwood–type loiterer, the vehicle had been cleaned and rerented, had over a hundred new miles on it. No probable cause to examine it, so that was that. In terms of people who might remember, I asked around, and, sure, anyone with a working memory recalls the case. This was the first homicide in forty years. But no one has any details about the loiterer beyond tall white male, long coat, cowboy hat. And I can’t find anyone who actually saw him.”

“Mysterious stranger.”

“We don’t get too many visitors and I doubt nine years ago was any different ’cause that’s still after the highway reroute. There’s nothing really connecting this individual to the crime other than his hanging around and no one knowing him.”

“The coat and the hat could’ve been a disguise,” I said.

“I guess.”