Not a stupid question at all!  :-)<br/><br/>As a federal agent from out of town, by default you'll be starting at the train station in Northside.  The closest place for you to get clues from there is in Independence Square, which you can reach with a movement of 3.  The area is cursed though, which might be dangerous.<br/><br/>Most other places you can get clues are pretty far away, and will require you to fight through the monsters in the city.  (the main area which doesn't involve fighting monsters or stepping on another investigators toes is the Black Cave, 5 moves away.  and Hibb's Roadhouse 4 moves away.  (Hibb's might actually be a pretty good idea, since it's the least dangerous of the areas you can reach.)