It"s Christmas in Posadas County. Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is settling down to a quiet evening with her family, until her doctor husband gets a call. Its from the retired chief- of-police Eduardo Martinez; hes at a nearby motel, having pains. Doctor Guzman responds, and then Estelle gets a call herself.Estelle and ex-Sheriff Bill Gastner, who was visiting the Guzman home at the time, arrive at the motel parking lot to find its turned into the scene of a crime. It appears that Eduardo had an exchange with two men and then collapsed, the men taking off in his car. An out-of-town couple, the woman on the verge of giving birth, were the only ones to witness the encounter, but something seems off in their story.Havill triumphs once again, demonstrating his incredible talent for bringing out the characters and setting of this New Mexico community. This is the fourteenth in Havill"s Posadas County mysteries.