South Pass City felt sleepy and somber with the sun setting on another summer. Long shadows grew out from its buildings like ghosts emerging, while the wind stirred whispers from the few tufts of brown dried grasses.

By ones and by twos we gathered in that place, footsteps crunching on gravel. A sound that felt uncomfortably loud. Most of us were dressed wisely for the occasion. But a few, including this reporter, had flimsy summer attire still.

South Pass City, known for its brutal winters, didn’t approve. It handed out cold, drizzling rain to make its point. Alongside the wind, it raised goosebumps everywhere.

It was cold, but strangely OK. It set just the right mood for the occasion — a murder mystery investigation.

Our journey started in South Pass City’s 1870s jail. South Pass Cit

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