This brought up another piece of the puzzle. The red clay was also a clear connection. Jim heard a low rumble and looked to the sky. Just above the eastern ridgeline, a small red light blinked. As it blinked, it grew larger until he saw that it was a low flying airplane. In the desert silence the thing sounded like a massive passenger carrier. But as he studied the light and the dark shape against the wash of stars beyond it, he noticed it was just a single engine crop duster. He refocused his attention back on the pickup and the red clay. This was also a major link between the crime scene and the cattle gate break in at Sam's place. There had been dried red clay on the front floor mats of Alex's pickup, as Jim remembered. He even had it written down somewhere back at his hotel room. After looking over the vehicle with the sheriff, he had made some mental notes and jotted them down later. And obviously there was red clay at the cattle gate. From the look of the aftermath, this truck had almost gotten stuck there on that early morning when Sam witnessed what had happened.

There was a sudden tension in the air. Jim was even more unsure than he had been about continuing on. He had a bad, almost sick feeling about the whole thing. If only he had left his house in California earlier that day, he wouldn't have seen the pulled over pickup and camper. If only he had stopped for breakfast, maybe the sheriff would have cleaned up the pickup and camper by the time he passed. But, he figured, he could use the "if only" thing from now until the cows came home and he would still have two dead bodies. His focus now should be to not make it three or even four bodies. He had to keep going for Iris and her jailed husband.