"You'll have to tell us eventually, you know," you warn the thug. "This reprief is only temp—" You get cut off by the thug bursting his bonds on one of the investigator's weapons and running. As the investigators try to jump on him, he dodges, and in their efforts to not fall over each other like actors in a farcical comedy show, they block you from pursuing the thug. "Looks like we got ourselves a real 'whodunit' here, rookie," says Laine. "It looks like the locals aren't willing to talk, and the clues we got are damn near worthless, so we're going to have to initiate plan B...Be on the lookout for Two-Shoed Lou. He's an old confidential informant of mine who makes his home at the farm to the west. Head there and find out what he knows. If he gives you any guff, tell him that Horatio sent you."
Go find Lou and talk to him. Check for clues in the area. You can do better than this. Ask if anyone here knows someone who knows about this past that the "fiction" might be about. That might give a clue.