It was the middle of September in 2003 and New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless was in the city of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, to film a documentary on the late Apache female warrior Lozen who had ridden with the famed Geronimo. It was part of a series called Warrior Women for the Discovery Channel, and Lucy had been hired as the presenter. The series had taken her to China, France, England, Ireland, and finally New Mexico. Truth or Consequences, known as T and C, was originally called Hot Springs and was a spa city in southwestern New Mexico. It was the county seat of Sierra County, New Mexico, and at the time that Lucy was there its population was about 4,300. It was a small city of less than 13 square miles.
Lucy had become famous as a result of her American tv show "Xena: Warrior Princess" which was filmed near her hometown of Auckland, New Zealand and ran from 1995 to 2001. It had only been just over two years since the last episode had aired. She had been working hard on this documentary for the Discovery Channel and enjoyed working and traveling. This evening the president of the official Xena fan club, Sharon Delaney, had just interviewed Lucy in her hotel in the city called the Sierra Grande Lodge. It was located at 501 McAdoo Street, within the Hot Springs Bathhouse and Commercial Historic District. The interview was for the official Xena fan club and was about Warrior Women. Lucy sat relaxed in a chair in the hotel as Sharon and the film crew from Creation Entertainment interviewed her. She wore a green Eurythmics shirt with a red star on it, a British pop rock band with one of Lucy's favorite singers, Annie Lennox, and beige khaki pants. As she was about five ten, her long legs were crossed and there was a close view of her brown hair and large blue eyes. At the end of the interview, she described that she was filming the segment on Lozen and that her hotel had an incredible chef. After the interview, she said goodbye to Sharon and the crew, who would return to Los Angeles, and went upstairs to return to her room.
Lucy opened the door to her rather luxurious room and removed her shoes and socks. She walked barefoot to her bed and sat down on it, relaxing. She then lay on it for some time, thinking, and then heard a few knocks on the door. She got off the bed and walked barefoot to the door and opened it. There was a tall handsome man in a cowboy hat who said, "Howdy, ma'am. We met the other day at the hotel's restaurant. I'm Derek."
Lucy recognized him and said in her attractive Kiwi accent, "Ohhh, Derek. How are you? Come on in." She invited him into her room, then shut the door. She locked it. "How have you been?" she asked him again.
"I've been pretty well," he responded. "How 'bout you Lucy?"
