Red Deuce, New Mexico

In his mystery novel People of Darkness (1980), Tony Hillerman refers to the Red Deuce Mine as the location of a fatal explosion that killed many local workers. There is no indication that such a place existed. Hillerman may have invented the name to avoid direct reference to specific uranium production companies that had been operating in the area since the 1950s. Red Deuce might be the fictional version of the Red Bluff mine, a real location near Grants, New Mexico.