BOOK OF THE WEEK
James C. Wilson鈥檚 latest Fernando Lopez novel follows a dying assassin鈥檚 quest
James C. Wilson鈥檚 novel 鈥淒ancing with Dennis Hopper鈥檚 Ghost鈥� opens with a midnight shooting death outside the entrance to La Fonda in Santa Fe.
The death is a minor event in the thread of the story. What鈥檚 relevant about the incident is the identification of the shooter 鈥� Jack Lacy. You could say he gets away with murder.
Lacy, the novel鈥檚 main focus, is a retired Marine sniper and professional assassin. Suffering from brain cancer, he fears he doesn鈥檛 have long to live.
Lacy鈥檚 deathbed wish is to be buried near where his late friend, actor-director Dennis Hopper, is interred in the Jesus Nazareno Cemetery in Ranchos de Taos.
Lacy enlists the help of his old Marine buddy Antonio Blake to help arrange for the purchase.
In turn, Blake asks his friend, Fernando Lopez, a former fellow Santa Fe cop, to aid them. Lopez reluctantly agrees.
The story follows the trio鈥檚 escapades, presented in some flowing, some meandering, episodes.
They鈥檙e staying in the Gate House Cottage of the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos. Fernando remembers drinking and smoking marijuana in the main house in his 鈥渉eady counterculture days,鈥� though he had never met Hopper.
Antonio tells his companions that the house has a history of ghosts.
鈥淕hosts of Mabel and Tony (her husband) and lots of others have been recorded throughout the house, but especially in Mabel鈥檚 bedroom. People walking and talking in the room when no one was there, doors opening and closing, chairs moving, stuff like that,鈥� Antonio recalls.
While Lacy is napping, Antonio and Fernando drop peyote. Antonio speculates, 鈥淲e might even talk to Dennis Hopper.鈥�
A now-awake Lacy walks into Mabel鈥檚 bedroom and tells Antonio and Fernando, 鈥淚 need to talk to Dennis now. I鈥檒l call you when I鈥檓 done.鈥�
There鈥檚 more talk about ghosts. Peyote-affected Fernando closes his eyes, sees bright colors that fade to black and white, leaving an image of a photo of Hopper he鈥檇 seen years before behind the bar at the Taos Inn.
Fernando now sees Hopper with a cigarette in his mouth as the ghostly figure speaks: 鈥淐ome on across, man 鈥� free yourself 鈥� there鈥檚 no stress here 鈥� no worries 鈥︹��
In another episode, Antonio arranges for a local curandera, who calls herself Luz, to guide Lacy when he鈥檚 ready to cross over to the spirit world so he can be with Hopper.
Luz wants to meet with Lacy before she sets up his cross-over session.
The book describes Luz as a woman wearing a long purple dress under a lacy purple shawl with a cross and a large pendant necklace with stars, animals, zodiac signs on a silver chain.
A few chapters later, there鈥檚 another scene of overheard mysterious conversation.
Fernando, after downing some beers with Antonio, retires, but whispers wake him from his sleep on a sofa in the Gate Cottage House. He stumbles out to a patio where Lacy is talking quietly with 鈥渁 black object, a shadow among the shadows.鈥�
When Lacy does show up to meet Luz, she鈥檚 accompanied by her closed-mouth, cryptic brother Daniel.
Luz鈥檚 planned crossover session with Lacy is private, Antonio and Fernando can鈥檛 be present. They fail to ask 鈥� and Luz fails to say 鈥� why Daniel remains if it鈥檚 a private meetup.
While waiting to retrieve Lacy, Antonio and Fernando visit with the cemetery鈥檚 caretaker.
They notice Hopper鈥檚 grave has a wooden cross with headbands and scarves wrapped around it, presumably left by fans of the actor-director who had lived in Taos. There鈥檚 also an empty whiskey bottle, two full cans of beer, a used bong and several joints on the side of the grave.
The caretaker says people tell of seeing Hopper鈥檚 ghost in the cemetery smoking marijuana left for him, weeping with Jesus at the cemetery鈥檚 entrance or walking on the mesa talking to himself.
The book suggests Hopper is remembered by Taose帽os for his misbehavior.
A wider audience no doubt remembers him for his film career, notably his role as actor/director of the 1969 road movie 鈥淓asy Rider.鈥� Part of it was filmed in Taos.
Antonio and Fernando return to pick up Lacy. But Luz informs them that Lacy has died and crossed over, but she doesn鈥檛 know where his body is.
The men track the would-be body snatchers 鈥� Daniel and a cohort, a man with a long criminal record, according to Luz. They want to collect a fat ransom in exchange for Lacy鈥檚 body.
More high-altitude action follows before the story concludes with Lacy鈥檚 graveside service and burial.
Ghosts, author Wilson said in a phone interview, have roles in about one-third of his 15-volume Fernando Lopez Santa Fe Mystery Series.
鈥淚 think the imagined world is just as real and as beautiful as what we call the real world. 鈥� I don鈥檛 believe in ghosts and I don鈥檛 disbelieve. The older I get I give people some credibility when they tell me they鈥檝e seen a ghost,鈥� the 77-year-old Albuquerque author said.
The book could have used closer editing to eliminate annoyingly redundant dialogue.
