Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (23 page)

“Well, with all that has been happening
around here lately, I guess we should be paying attention—even to rumors,”
Danielle offered. “ I think you should talk to Deputy Taylor, Jimmy.
 
Tell him what you heard.
 
It might help.”

“I’ll do that,” Jimmy responded, “it
might not be much but anything might help. Guess, I’d better collect Sarah and
get going.
 
Thanks for having us
out.
 
I enjoyed the party and I sold
quite a few pieces.”

“I’m glad,” Danielle responded. “Thanks
for coming.”

As Jimmy was leaving the office and
calling for Sarah to join him, Danielle’s phone rang.
 
Lin could tell that it was Deputy Taylor
on the line—she waited near the door, hoping Danielle would have
information to share.

The call was brief.
 
“That was the deputy,” Danielle offered
as she ended the call, “they have located a truck belonging to Darren Steele
off a forest service road near Lomaki. Not sure what he might have been doing
there.
 
It appears he walked away
from the vehicle.
 
They found lots
of tire tracks on the road—too many to help really.
 
That road is used pretty often by forest
workers and also some of the ranchers.”

 
“What about the other victim?”
 
Lin asked.

“Oh, Henry’s vehicle was located in the
Lomaki parking lot earlier when all the others had left,” Danielle continued, “not
sure why he was there but this new information means that the two victims did
not travel to the area together.
 
Not sure what they were doing there, at least not yet.”

“Deputy Taylor said he was on the way to
Moenkopi to speak to the Honeyestewa family this evening.
 
That eagle-head belt buckle is like the
one found with Cullen’s remains and it was returned to the family.
 
Billy says he thinks that it is unique
so he wants to know how it got back here near the bodies,” Danielle added.

“What about other evidence or medical
reports?”
 
Lin asked, “Do they have
a time of death or any other information.”

“Not yet,” Danielle said, “that may come
tomorrow though.
 
It looks like this
case may be solved pretty quickly if things keep falling into place.”

Lin hesitated.
 
She had not yet told Danielle about her
visit to the reservation and she knew she had to do this sooner or later.
 
Right now she was going to simply wait
and try to find out anything she could about what happened to Cullen—whether
or not his death was connected to these most recent victims.

“Yes, it seems so,” Lin nodded to
Danielle, “Hopefully, we’ll be able to open the area sooner rather than later.”
 
She left the office and headed back into
the main part of the visitor center where Neal Smith was waiting for her.

Lin had noticed that Neal had said
nothing at all while they were in Danielle’s office looking at the pictures—but
then, neither had she.
 
The only
time she had seen these men were when they were already dead and scarcely
recognizable at all. Neal had not appeared to know them at the scene so maybe
they were strangers to him.
 
That
was not the case with Cullen Honeyestewa, she felt sure, and she fully intended
to explore that connection this evening.
 
Lin also realized that Neal had left the office while Danielle was on
the phone—not staying to hear any further news about the recent
crimes.
 
Perhaps he was trying not
to appear curious—to further disassociate from these events.
 
Was he concerned about these deaths
being linked with the earlier one?
 
Lin tried to shake off her own questions.

Turning to Neal as they left the visitor
center Lin spoke.
 
“I feel the need
to change out of this dusty uniform before we go to dinner.
 
Would you like to come to my
apartment?
 
I could offer you a
glass of wine while you wait.”

“Fine, that would be nice,” Neal seemed
to be in a more pensive mood than he had been earlier in the afternoon.

Lin dressed quickly, choosing a pair of
beige cotton and linen slacks and a short sleeved knit top with a bright red
and gold design.
 
She grabbed a
matching red cotton cardigan, just in case the desert air turned cooler
later.
 
Slipping her feet into soft
brown leather flats she pronounced herself ready to go.
 
Her appearance brought a smile to Neal’s
face as she entered her small living room where he sat sipping a glass of red
wine.
 
He rose to greet her,
grasping her hands in his.

“You look lovely,” his eyes focused on
her face, “so lovely….”
 
He pulled
her to him and gently kissed her before she could react.
 
It had been a long time since she had
felt a man’s warm lips on hers and she found herself responding eagerly.
 
Neal tried to grasp her in his arms but
Lin gently pulled away.
 

“We had better get going don’t you think?
It’s a bit of a drive up to Cameron.”

“Of course,” Neal responded—with a
warm smile on his face, “ but you look so lovely, I couldn’t resist.”

Lin smiled as they exited the apartment
heading for Neal’s car.
 
Soon they
were driving along the park road toward the north entrance and highway 89.

For several minutes neither of them
spoke, then Neal reached over and took Lin’s hand.

“Lin,” he said, still keeping his eyes
firmly on the road ahead. “I don’t want to rush you into anything you don’t
want or don’t feel ready for but I do want you to know that I find you most
attractive and I would like to spend more time with you—get to know you
better.”

Lin thought for a few moments before
responding.
 
Her feelings toward
Neal were complicated.
 
He was most
attractive and she did find herself drawn to him.
 
It had been 8 years since she lost Ben.
 
During that time she had gone out with
other men—and enjoyed herself.
 
However, she hadn’t been serious about any of them, had never felt the
attraction she felt for Neal.
 
That
had kept her life and her relationships pretty simple.
 
She had lots of friends and she enjoyed
their company—no complications.
 
Now she wasn’t sure how she felt.
 
Her attraction to Neal was quite evident—he was both handsome and
interesting.
 
She could see herself
quite easily being drawn into something more serious than casual friendship—but
a lingering question remained, could she trust him?
 
Was Neal as he seemed?
 
She now felt reasonably sure he had lied
when he said he didn’t know anything about Cullen Honeyestewa and, if that were
so, what else might be hidden from her? She knew she had to move cautiously and
not let her feelings get in the way.
 
She had to know more about this man.
 
Finally, she turned to respond.

“Thank you, Neal.
 
I find you attractive also and I do hope
that we can see more of each other and get to know each other better.
 
I hope you’ll understand when I say that
I’d like to move slowly as we learn about each other.
 
It’s been a long time since my husband Ben
was killed.
 
It took me a long time
to get to the point I even wanted to go out with anyone and I’m not sure if I’m
ready for a more serious relationship yet—but, if you can be patient with
me…”
  
Neal did not let her
finish her thought.
  
Pulling
the car off the road where it widened at the park’s north entrance, he turned
and took her hand.

“Take all the time you want and need,
Lin,” the look he gave her was sincere. “Let’s give our relationship some time,
get to know each other, hopefully have some fun—we can see where it leads
us.”
 
He leaned over and gave her a
gentle kiss on her forehead.

Lin smiled at him and said, “I certainly
hope it leads us somewhere we both want to be.”

The rest of their drive was relaxed and
pleasant.
 
Lin told him more about
her kids and her grandchildren.
 
Neal shared more of his own story and talked of his plans to retire someday
and devote his time to fieldwork, perhaps in Mexico or Central America.
 
“That is, if I can amass the necessary
funds,” he added.

“Aren’t there grants and stuff to help?”
 
Lin asked.

“Some, but budgets being what they are
these days, I’m afraid many researchers have to be self-supporting.
 
I have hopes though—I’m working on
it.”

“I wish you well,” Lin responded, “that
sounds like a fascinating plan.”

Soon they were pulling into the parking
lot at the Cameron Trading Post.
 
There were few customers on a Thursday night and Lin enjoyed browsing
the shop for a few moments before they were seated in the dining room.
 

“Order the half-size taco, if that is
what you want,” Neal told her,
 
“it
will be quite enough!”

That certainly proved to be true and Lin
felt stuffed when they finally left to drive back to Wupatki.
 
She hadn’t mentioned the business card
for Sessions gallery or the phone number written on it during dinner.
 
Now she decided she had to bring the
subject up as they drove back—for more than one reason.
 
She genuinely wanted to gather
information to help the Honeyestewa family find closure for the death of their
loved one—and she had to know whether Neal Smith was trustworthy.
 
Part of her wanted to let it go, to
allow herself to simply enjoy this attractive man who seemed so drawn to
her.
 
She had to admit her feelings
for him were growing too but she had to know.

They drove quietly through the rolling
countryside heading south toward the volcanic peaks north of Flagstaff and the
entrance to the park.
 
Finally, Lin
approached the subject she had been avoiding earlier.

“I’m still troubled about these deaths
that have been discovered in the park recently,” Lin spoke calmly and evenly, “
I can’t seem to stop thinking about them and wondering what could have happened
to these men.
  
I can’t help
but feel that the first remains we found are somehow connected to the most
recent—near the same area—all native men—it is puzzling.”

Neal shifted in his seat and seemed to be
thinking before he spoke. “It’s certainly upsetting to be part of such
discoveries.
 
I think we all
suffered a bit of shock—I know my students certainly did—but I don’t
really see how the incidents might be related—other than the coincidence
of locations—I think it’s pretty clear that the deaths discovered on
Tuesday were the result of a crime, but that Honeyestewa fellow died about a
year ago and that was clearly an accident—at least according to the
authorities.”
 
He reached for Lin’s
hand and tried to be reassuring, “I’m sure they will get to the bottom of this
most recent incident—and soon.
 
You shouldn’t worry.”

Lin was not going to yield on the subject
so easily. “I’m not really worried about the current investigation but I’m
still not sure that Cullen Honeyestewa’s death was just an accident.”
 
She pressed on, “ I’ve met his family
and they have a lot of questions.
 
They say he was a very responsible person and he did not drink at all.”

Neal was quiet for a moment but his demeanor
suggested impatience. “I’m not sure why you are not leaving this alone.
 
It seems to come up every time we are
together.
 
How did you meet his
family anyway?
 
What business of
yours is any of this?”

“ I went to visit them,” Lin confessed. “I
felt that any family who lost a loved one like that, under mysterious
circumstances, deserved to have closure, to have their questions answered and
the authorities were certainly not providing them with that.” She stretched the
truth a little, “They asked me to find out what I could about why he was in the
park—what the circumstances might have been—and I’m trying to do
just that.”

Neal seemed to become upset—more
than just impatient. “Well, it’s none of your business and you had best leave
this situation alone.
 
It could mean
trouble for you if you pursue this.”
 
He turned to her imploringly, “I just want you to be safe—you don’t
know what that Indian was up to and, if it was trouble, it could mean trouble
for you too.
 
I just do not
understand why you would want to get involved.
 
He was a stranger to you—to all of
us.”

“Maybe not such a stranger,” Lin
responded. “Cullen’s mother gave me some papers found in his truck—so I
could perhaps see where he had been and what he had been doing.
 
There was nothing much—mostly gas
receipts and such—but there was a business card from John Sessions
gallery in Flagstaff with a phone number on the back—it was your number
Neal.
 
Did you know this man? If so,
you never mentioned it when the authorities were present.”