Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (3 page)

 
Smith had realized that Cullen was not
entirely happy about this deal.
 
He
was too much of a traditionalist not to feel guilty about not notifying the
tribal and park authorities of the find.
 
Perhaps that was why he had not shown up—he got cold feet. Well,
he had better keep his mouth shut about this whole business.
  
Smith sat back and tried to
consider how to salvage this entire deal.
 
He had some ideas but it might take some time.

Smith realized that he would simply have
to wait until morning to learn more about the status of this deal.
 
No amount of worry on his part would
change the fact that Cullen had not met Sessions’ associate.
 
Now everything was on hold, so to
speak.
 
He reconciled himself to the
fact that he would learn nothing more until his morning meeting with
Sessions.
 
Reluctantly, he turned
off the light and left his office.

***

Sessions eased into the booth opposite
Neal Smith.
 
There were few others
in the restaurant.
 
Smith managed a
tight smile and did not ask about the search directly.

“You’re alone,” Smith commented, “ is
your associate meeting us here?”

“Darren did not show up this morning,”
Smith replied grimly. “ I am afraid he is not playing straight with us.
 
I think he might be trying to cheat us
both.”

“Maybe he is just late; he may be working
on “Rez time. “
  
It was not
unusual for Navajo to be late for meetings.
 
Time concepts on the reservation did not
always match the expectations of Anglos.

Sessions shook his head, “Darren has
always been punctual.
 
He knows that
is part of his job.
 
I’m afraid he
is up to something, but he will not be successful.
 
I do not think he has the contacts off
the reservation to do business of this sort.
 
If he shows up, I will take care of
him.
 
He no longer has a job with
me.”

“ I see.
 
Well what’s next?” Smith shifted
uneasily in his seat. “I’ve been thinking about this whole thing.
 
These are likely very valuable pieces if
my initial information is correct.
 
This deal could mean a lot to me…. and to your business, of course.”

Sessions nodded as he stirred a second
spoonful of sugar into his coffee. “We need to be prepared for whatever
happens.
 
Possibly your Indian
friend changed his mind and took the stuff to the tribe after all; he might be
playing both ends.”

“He was uneasy about the whole thing,”
Smith admitted, “but I know he really needed the money.
 
Do you think he might have taken all the
pottery and tried to cut us out?”

“I doubt it,” Sessions stirred the coffee
again,
 
“he couldn’t unload it on
the market without having contacts in the trade.
 
If the tribe has the stuff we will know
soon enough.
 
Meanwhile, maybe he
will think about the situation and get in touch with you.
 
You said his family needed the money
really badly”

“Yes that’s true but what if he doesn’t?”
Smith sounded worried.

“No big deal.
 
Just another business proposition that
didn’t work out,” Sessions tried to sound casual, “happens all the time.
  
Maybe next time will be different.”

“There isn’t likely to be a next time for
pottery like this,” Smith snapped back, “this stuff was the real McCoy.
 
A rare find, especially these days.”

Sessions shrugged, “Not much we can do at
this point but wait and see if you hear from your friend.
 
If the stuff does not turn up with the
tribe, maybe there is another way to find it.”

“How,” Smith asked.
 
He had his own ideas, but he listened
carefully as Sessions outlined Plan B.
 
Nodding his agreement, he said, “It might work—let’s talk later.”

***

Tuba City, AZ

Raymond Tso silently closed the door to
his shop and went into his small office at the back.
 
He slumped into his old desk chair and
leaned back.
 
His thoughts were
troubled. It had been a week and still he had no money from Michael
Honeyestewa.
 
He had not heard
anything from Michael’s uncle, Cullen, in spite of promises that he would be
paid in full before now.
 
Cullen had
implied that he had found something very valuable which would bring a lot of
money.
 
Then there was Darren, Tso’s
cousin, telling him almost the same story.

 
Raymond had put two and two together and realized that Darren was talking
about the same stuff.
 
He worked for
that art dealer in Flagstaff and was planning to pick up the pottery.
 
Raymond saw an opportunity for even more
than the Honeyestewa debt.
 
Why not
cut Cullen and the others out of the deal altogether and take it all? With
Darren’s contacts they could probably market it in New Mexico or back east
somewhere.
 
He would have what was
owed him plus more besides.
 
Sometimes Tso got artifacts brought into his pawnshop and was pretty
sure the clients obtained them through suspicious means.
 
He had learned that there was a lot of
money to be made in dealing stolen rare items to wealthy collectors who did not
care where they came from but to make the big bucks you had to have the right
contacts.
 
This might be an
opportunity to break into that business and make more money than he could as a
pawn broker/money lender on the Rez.
 
With Darren’s help maybe he could get into that business.
 
Working as an assistant in the gallery,
Darren had to have learned of some good contacts.
 
It was a promising prospect.

Tso had casually approached Darren about
this idea and thought he was receptive. He thought they had a deal.
  
Maybe Darren had changed his mind—gotten
cold feet about cheating his boss at the gallery.
  
Raymond leaned back in his
chair.
 
He did not take kindly to
folks backing out on him. He knew how to handle double-crossers.

It was clear now that something had gone
wrong.
 
He hadn’t heard from Darren
in a week.
 
He was nowhere to be
found on the reservation, no word from Cullen either.
 
Then, just this morning at the local
grill, he had heard that Cullen had disappeared also.
 
His family and not seen or heard from
him this week either.
  

Raymond sat, deep in thought about this
information.
 
What did this
mean?
 
Was Darren in deep with the
Hopi?
 
Was this a double cross?
 
Had they vanished together with the
stuff?
 
He was deeply angry.
 
No one was going to cheat him.
 
Besides, Michael still owed him.
 
It was time to “put the screws” to the
Honeyestewa family about his debt.
 
 

Slowly he pushed back from his desk and
turned out the light.
 
Tomorrow he
would take action; he had waited long enough.

April 2011, Wupatki National Monument,
Arizona.

Lin Hanna slowly rolled over and sat up
on the edge of the narrow bed.
 
The
early morning sun danced across the room, bathing it in a soft, rosy
light.
 
Spring was slowly coming to
the northern Arizona desert; however, there was still a decided chill in the
early morning air that drifted into her window.
 
She sat on the edge of the bed and
thought about the day ahead.
 
Her
first “fieldwork” at the park and she was excited.
 
Her volunteer stint had begun two weeks
ago, but her days had been filled with working at the visitor center and the
nearby ruins.
 
She spent her time
talking to the visitors, who came from all over, reading more about the history
of the ruins and the people who built them, learning all the rules and so
forth.
 
Now she was ready for a step
ahead.

Lin was eager to get started but first
things first.
 
Shedding her
nightshirt, she entered the small bathroom and stepped into the narrow shower first
checking for the scorpions she had been warned about. The water was always
chilly at first, but soon the trickle of warmth from the ancient water heater
that served her small apartment kicked in.
 
The water felt good and she felt refreshed and fully awake when she
stepped from the shower.
 
She
dressed quickly and grabbed a muffin from the kitchen as she passed
through.
 
She would find coffee at
the visitor center.
 

 
A half hour after climbing out of bed,
she was walking briskly toward the visitor center.
 
It did not open for another hour but
Danielle, the law enforcement ranger, was there and the smell of fresh coffee
drifted from the staff room in back.
  
Lin poured herself a generous cup and perused the work schedule for the
day.
 
She was to man the front desk
until 9:30 and then accompany Dr. Neal Smith and his archaeology class from the
university on a field trip to the box canyon near Lomaki ruin.
 
Dr. Smith had been conducting a series
of field trips in that area teaching his students the ins and outs of searching
for ancient sites in this environment.
 
Next week would mark the last field trip for this spring term.
 
Soon the students would be occupied with
end of term exams and the field work would be put aside until the fall, except
for more limited work with a couple of interns Smith paid with grant money to
help him during the summer. They would probably be taking a few backcountry
trips and Lin hoped for the opportunity to accompany them.

 
The backcountry camping trips were a lot of fun and all the park
employees and volunteers enjoyed those assignments.
 
Hopefully, her turn would come.
 
This was her first experience as a park
volunteer and she was something of an “eager beaver” she supposed.
 
After 30 plus years of teaching and
being a school administrator, it was a pleasure to be able to pursue her own
interests in history and archaeology as a national park volunteer.
 
A friend had told her about the Volunteers
in Parks (VIP) program.
 
It seemed
perfect for an early retiree, like herself, and provided wonderful
opportunities to continue to grow and learn while providing much needed service
in the parks, forests, and wildlife areas.

Lin had been amazed at the variety of
places advertising for volunteers on the website.
 
Being from North Carolina, she had been
attracted to the western locations that afforded the chance to spend time in a
different place and experience a different environment.

 
For so long her life had centered on her family, her work, and her
students.
 
She had worked steadily except
for a very short time when her kids were young.
 
Now, since retiring, she could focus
more on her own personal interests.
 
Besides, she was still healthy and not old enough to sit back and do
nothing!
 
She tried not to think
about her upcoming birthday—fifty-eight years.
  
Where did the time go?
 
Still, she was blessed with good health
and, while she probably would not climb sheer cliffs or run a marathon, she was
still an avid hiker who could cover rough terrain with ease and she generally
walked several miles every day.
 
Maybe it was good genes but she had been spared many of the aches and
pains experienced by her friends. She was lucky in that.
 
She had chosen to retire early from her
work as a school principal so that she could pursue other interests—do
things she had never felt she had enough time for in the past.

For one brief moment her thoughts grew
cloudy.
 
The only thing missing was
Ben’s smile and his easy laughter.
 
They had shared so much for so long—almost thirty years of a good
marriage.
 
Ben was in the military
and was often away when their kids were growing up, but he was always ready for
the next adventure.
 
It had been hard
to accept the fact that he would not come home from his last deployment in Iraq—what
was it, almost eight years ago now.
 
She took a deep breath and refilled her coffee mug.
  
Ben would be the last person to
let her stay down.
 
“Get on with it,
enjoy your life,” he would say.
 
He
shared her interest in history and they had often talked of doing this kind of
volunteer work when they retired.
 
Now she was on her own, but she was doing something she loved and was
interested in.
  
Her kids, Ben,
Jr. and Lucy, were all for it.
 
They
had their own lives and families now and had given her two beautiful grandkids.
 
Ben’s daughter Emma and Lucy’s young son
Sam would be coming to visit later after school was out.
 
She looked forward to sharing her
experiences with them.
 
What a
blessing it was to have such a great family.
 

Lin realized she had drifted out to the
back patio with her coffee lost in these thoughts.
 
Danielle came through the door and sat
on the stone wall at the edge of the patio, “Beautiful isn’t it,” she smiled. “The
early morning light really highlights the colors.”

“Yes,” Lin agreed, “I am really enjoying
it here.”

“You’re a quick study,” Danielle
responded, “Have your first field work today, right?”

“Yes, I’m going out with Dr. Smith and
his class.”

“Well that should go smoothly, Neal has
been coming regularly for the past year now.
 
He knows the rules and his kids do
too.
 
You shouldn’t have any
problems and you will enjoy it, I’m sure.”

Danielle heard the phone ring through the
open window and quickly went back into the visitor center to answer it mumbling
something about the lack of cell service here.
 
Actually, Lin was rather happy to learn
that cell service was only dependable near the top of the tallest hills in the
park.
 
She had already driven up
there a couple of times to call the kids, but it was sort of nice to have an
excuse not to be in constant touch with everyone.
 
Smiling at these thoughts about her
new
 
park VIP lifestyle, she downed
the rest of her coffee and went inside to open the desk for the first visitors to
arrive

Just over an hour later, a blue and gold
university bus rolled into the parking lot.
 
A jumble of college kids poured out
chatting eagerly as they lowered backpacks to the bench near the sidewalk and
made for the restrooms and water fountain.

“Make sure you use the facilities before
we go and have plenty of water with you,” instructed the handsome, gray haired
man who followed them out. “It will be early afternoon before we are back here.”
  
Lin watched the man approach the
visitor center doorway.
 
She
presumed this was Dr. Smith and came from behind the desk to greet him.
 

“Dr. Smith, I’m Lin Hanna, the new park
VIP,” she introduced herself.
 
“I
will be accompanying your class this morning; is there anything you need in the
way of equipment?”

“No, thanks.
 
We have what we need—can’t do much
except look and take photos anyway,” Smith replied.
 
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.
 
Danielle told me you had arrived but she
failed to mention how attractive you are.”
 
He smiled as he entered the visitor center and held the door for her.

Lin wasn’t sure how to react to his
remark.
  
She decided to ignore
it and instead indicated the visitor register on the counter next to the cash
register.
 
“You can register for
your group—just indicate the number in your party and the time of
arrival.
  
I ‘ll get my radio
and join you at the bus shortly.”
 
Better to keep business as business, she decided.

Smith caught her reaction and moved to
register the group.
 
He turned to
the few students who had made it into the visitor center, “ We ‘ll be ready to
go in five minutes, please tell everyone to finish up here and get on the bus.”

Observing this, Lin relaxed a bit.
 
Dr. Smith didn’t seem to be too “pushy.”
 
This was going to be a good
morning.
 
She was excited to be
going along.
 
Her responsibility was
only to make sure that all park rules were obeyed.
 
The students could search for signs of
artifacts or ruins but could not remove anything that they might actually
locate.
 
They could only photograph
any finds and take notes to report to park headquarters.
 
This type of fieldwork was strictly for
their learning.
 
Actual excavations
required a lengthy permitting process and had to be supervised by park service
archaeologists.
 
Nevertheless, this
morning represented a first opportunity for Lin to be introduced to the world
of archeology that had always fascinated her.
 
She grabbed her water, hat, and radio
that enabled contact with the visitor center, if needed, and moved to join the
group at the bus.

The students settled in for the ride out
to Lomaki.
 
This was the last ruin
accessible from the park road and was near the north entrance to the road that
looped from Hwy. 89 through both Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments.
  
The bus pulled out of the visitor
center lot and began the slow climb through the hills that marked one of the
higher points in the park.
 
There
was a trail that climbed there; Lin intended to try it on one of her evening
hikes soon.
 
There were so many
places to explore, part of the attraction of the park volunteer program.
 
She was only assigned to work about 30
hours per week and she had use of the small apartment.
 
That had been one of the major reasons
she applied here as a volunteer.
 
Some parks could only provide a camp site and Lin did not have a trailer
or RV.
 
Living in a tent for several
months was not high on her list so she had looked for parks that offered
housing.

 
Wupatki was especially appealing because
of her interests.
 
Besides, it was
in northern Arizona near Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
 
There was a lot to do in her off hours
both in the park and nearby.
 
She
and Ben had visited this area with the kids, but that was a long time ago.
 
The drive from her home in North
Carolina was a long one but she had taken her time and enjoyed visiting some
sites along the way.
 
Now she was
looking forward to spring and summer and all the adventures they might hold.

Lost in thought, Lin was slightly
startled when Dr. Smith sat down in the seat beside her.
  
Smiling shyly he said, “I hope I
did not offend you earlier.
 
I’m
looking forward to having you along for this trip and will be happy to answer
any questions you have.
 
I
understand you are an educator and that you have a strong interest in the
history of this area.”

Lin felt a bit bad about her earlier
reaction.
 
Apparently he had noticed
it too. “Not at all,” she replied, “I am interested and I want to learn as much
as I can.
 
Thank you for letting me
share with your class.”

“Well, we are looking for evidence of
artifacts which might still be undiscovered.
 
Many items have been removed from the
park in years past.
 
In fact, the
collection at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff has a lot of them.
 
It is a great collection; you should
make a point of visiting there while you are here,” he hesitated as if he
wanted to say he would take her there, but he did not.