Jimmy and Nia grew bored after a while, so they got out of bed, washed up, changed into T-shirts, and went out to buy breakfast, coffee, and milk.

With everything ready, Jimmy took Nia out of the hotel. They bought some food at a nearby supermarket to put in the car and then started their travel plans.

As a "devout" believer, Jimmy certainly took Nia first to see the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church with its rich Old Mexico desert style.

This is a church in Old Town Albuquerque that is over 300 years old, founded in 1706, but Jimmy's investigation revealed it wasn't always open for visitors.

They weren't in luck that day as it wasn't open, so they could only look from the outside without being able to enter. This church's style is completely different from those they had seen in New York. It has a dim yellow hue which many with a sense for the aesthetic might find appealing, but clearly, Jimmy wasn't one of those with an artistic touch.

However, a white Holy Mother statue did catch Nia's attention, and she took several photos of it. The statue stood in a corner surrounded by a semicircle of cacti, creating a striking contrast with the surrounding earthy yellow buildings that was quite eye-catching.

After leaving the church, Nia still couldn't get enough of the desert, so Jimmy scrapped several planned museum visits and drove out of Albuquerque directly into the southeast desert.

From the initial Gobi-like terrain to the edge of the desert, the vegetation gradually thinned. Fortunate that Jimmy had driven through this desert a few days ago, he was familiar with the terrain. They rented an SUV this time; otherwise, it would have been difficult to navigate these roadless areas.

Nia also asked Jimmy to stop the car several times in the discontinuous desert landscape. The Gobi and desert environments were desolate, plants were sparse, yet they displayed incredible hardiness. Even when they appeared dried and yellow, upon closer inspection, one could still see tiny green leaves and branches, which were precisely Nia's photographic subjects.

The cacti, moreover, were spectacular in the wild—vastly different from typical office decorations. Even growing together, they had different species and shapes.

Cacti stood tall in the desert, their spikes upright and untouchable. Some looked like giant spheres, others like spiders stretching out many arms, displaying various colors from green to yellow—true photo killers.

After circling a nearby low hill, Jimmy found a shaded spot, cleaned it up, spread a ground cloth, took out a picnic basket and some beers, and sat with Nia to appreciate the nearly boundless desert plains in front of them.

Nia leaned against Jimmy. Since being with Jimmy, they hadn't really gone out much; they mostly stayed within New York City. An environment where they could fully relax was incredibly rare.

She recalled that time they planned to go to Las Vegas, but the plane got diverted midway, and they spent the whole vacation being investigated—a truly miserable experience. Nia laughed as she reminisced.

Jimmy, "My dear, what are you thinking about? You seem so happy."

Nia, "Las Vegas, remember?"

Jimmy thought for a moment, "Oh! I remember now, that hijacking case. Speaking of which, this should be our first time camping out, right?"

Nia, "Yeah, so where do you plan to camp?"

Jimmy snapped his fingers, "Of course, it's all planned. We'll tour around the desert today, and then head to the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque. We'll look around and then go to the canyon campsite, which is the most popular camping spot around."

Nia turned to look at Jimmy with anticipation, "Will it be dangerous there? Like, any lakeside killers or something?"

Jimmy hesitated with an "Eh," clearly thrown off by this girl's unusual train of thought. You're a police officer, NYPD, and a detective at that—why would you believe in such plots made up for movies?

Jimmy, "There shouldn't be any danger. Sandia Mountains is a favorite camping spot for residents of Albuquerque and the surrounding area, as well as a famous scenic spot. If anything like that happened, it would be national news already."

Nia leaned disappointedly against Jimmy's chest, "That's too bad, I've always watched those horror films, but I've never encountered it firsthand."

Jimmy quickly said, "You'd better not encounter it, and don't wish for it either."

Nia, "Why? Oh right, do you have cases like that in your files?"

Jimmy got stuck again, contemplating whether to divulge some cases, as well as those deemed inadmissible for the record.

Jimmy, "Of course, there are. In this country, there's no shortage of crazies, but usually, they occur in very remote areas."

Nia looked at Jimmy expectantly, "Tell me some. We don't have those kinds of cases in the NYPD files."

Jimmy sighed, "Alright, I'll tell you about two cases. The first one happened in Pennsylvania in the 1980s. Four students went rogue during a summer camp organized by their school, setting up their own tents by a forest lake with the gear they brought. You could see the two tents they set up and the remains of the campfire they had made."

That night, a mysterious killer appeared at their campsite and brutally murdered all four students. Their bodies were found scattered in different parts of the forest—one was slashed and bled to death, one was decapitated, and the most gruesome had been dismembered.

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