Season 3 of Dark Winds finds Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) investigating the disappearance of two young Navajo boys, with one of them later found murdered. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) investigates what she suspects is a human trafficking ring, with the two cases bound to merge at one point.

When Raoul Max Trujillo's new Mixtec migrant mother and daughter in Dark Winds season 3, considering his connection to Wade (Matthew van Wettering), the guy who had been driving the white van, but it was unclear how. By the end of the episode, while not all has been explained, de Baca is now an integral part of the overarching story.

Roberto C. De Baca Works For Tom Spenser In Dark Winds Season 3

He Appears To Be Spenser's Fixer

The pieces don't start coming together until later in the episode when Bernadette, now a Border Patrol agent, pulls over one of the oil trucks from Tom Spenser's ranch and sees a second man sitting in the enger seat next to the driver. A check of his driver's license reveals him to be Roberto C. de Baca, which may or may not be a fake name. While both men are shady, it is de Baca who exudes the greater air of menace.

Considering his willingness to kill, it appears he's some sort of fixer for Spenser. His full involvement will be revealed as the season unfolds, but right now, he's being positioned as the man willing to get his hands dirty for Spenser, doing the dark, bloody work so that his boss can remain a few steps removed from the actual hands-on work of human trafficking. It also means Spenser isn't the one committing the darker crimes, and those dark crimes may very well tie together Dark Winds season 3's parallel storylines.

Bernadette's case and Leaphorn and Chee's case are bound to converge at some point, and de Baca is being set up as the common denominator. Considering the fact that Ernesto Cata (Alonso Rappa) was discovered murdered in a brutal fashion at the end of Dark Winds season 3, episode 1, it wouldn't be a surprise to learn that it was de Baca who was behind the murder. It's possible that Cata and George Bowlegs (Bodhi Okuma Linton) saw something they shouldn't have out in the desert – like a human smuggling operation – and it got them killed.

Why Budge De Baca Kills The Guy In Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 2's Opening Scene

Wade Was A Loose End With Loose Lips

After all, de Baca has already shown he's willing to commit murder and hide a body in the very opening scene of episode 2. From the moment Wade is introduced, it's clear he's not long for the world or, at the very least, that he's being set up for a betrayal. As Wade happily chatters to de Baca, whom he calls "Budge," oblivious to the fact that de Baca is watching him like a predator observing its prey, it's revealed that he was the man in the white van who chased the migrant mother and daughter through the desert. Worse, he brags that he stole Bernadette Manuelito's gun, which seals his fate.

It's not a coincidence that the darkly funny song playing in the scene is Ernest Tubb's "Drivin' Nails in My Coffin" – each bragging confession just moves him one step closer to his inevitable death.

It's not a coincidence that the darkly funny song playing in the scene is Ernest Tubb's "Drivin' Nails in My Coffin" – each bragging confession just moves him one step closer to his inevitable death. De Baca first suffocates Wade and then buries him alive in the car in order to eliminate a weak link. The hired minion is clearly not too bright, and he has loose lips, a combination that brings down the sort of illegal operation that Tom Spenser is clearly running. If the thug ever used Bernadette's gun to commit a crime, the Border Patrol or another law enforcement agency could easily trace that gun back to him and thus, to the human trafficking ring.

Warning: This section contains spoilers for the Tony Hillerman book upon which Dark Winds season 3 is based.

Roberto C. De Baca Is Also Known As Robert Budge In The Books

His Role Is Slightly Different & Hints At A Twist

The character also exists in the books by Tony Hillerman, but he goes by the name Robert Budge. This is alluded to in the Dark Winds episode: when Wade, who is not dead, wakes up and discovers de Baca is burying him, he screams and cries out to him by the name of "Budge." The books reveal he also goes by the name Silvanios Roberto C de Baca, and while he has roots in Spain, he's wanted in Guatemala.

While he's equally as dangerous in the book, he primarily serves as the chauffeur and private pilot of businessman and Washington D.C. power broker Rawley Winsor, who has been turned into Tom Spenser in Dark Winds season 3. In another change, the ring Spenser is running is a human trafficking ring as opposed to Winsor's drug smuggling ring in the books. Interestingly, while Budge is an antagonist in the book, he isn't necessarily fully loyal to Winsor in the end. It will be interesting to see if de Baca follows the same arc in his role as Spenser's fixer in Dark Winds season 3.