Laine regards your report with less than his usual disinterest. "So someone went to a town in the middle of nowhere," he says. "Not as bad a lead as some of the ones you've come up with. Well, kid, I was going to send you to an informant of mine named Lou who might know something about these parts. Do you think this is a better lead or not? I might look into your fishy lead if you look into mine."
Take Laine's advice and go find Lou. Go back to where you found the trail of footprints, then follow them to the south.