The Valencia County News-Bulletin in New Mexico published an excellent story about the history of Budville, the old Route 66 trading post between Albuquerque and Grants, N.M. Go read it.
The 1967 slaying of owner Bud Rice and a retired schoolteacher who helped him is a tragic tale. But, as the article ably describes, the murder remains unsolved largely because of overzealous cops who were too chummy with Rice to conduct a thorough investigation.
Complicating matters were Rice’s rather brusque and shady way of doing business — one could argue that he was an outright con man. So he no doubt made more than a few enemies along the way.
The article linked to above is Part 1 of the series. Part 2 will be published Aug. 2.