Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (30 page)

“I’m waiting now at the sheriff’s office,”
Sue reported.
 
“Sophie got a good
report from the doctor, but he does want her to take it easy for the next few
days and he wants to see her again on Friday so she has decided to stay with me,
at least until then.
 
Her Father
brought her some clothes earlier this morning and he’s taking the truck back to
Moenkopi—I told him again that we would get her home when she’s ready.”

“That’s good.
 
Maybe she can visit Michael again while
she is still there,” Lin offered.

“She can,” Sue responded, “and I have
another idea. Why don’t you plan to stay at my place for a couple of days?
 
You could continue to look into things
here without having to make a forty-five minute drive one way every time you
want to visit Flagstaff.
 
I can
borrow a cot for you and put it in Sophie’s room—otherwise, we have
plenty of space—that is if you are still planning to take some time off.”

“Danielle and I talked this morning and
she has given me the rest of the week,” Lin was happy to report, “she’s
definitely on board now.
 
She also
believes there is more to this case to be learned and that it is connected to
Cullen’s death.”
 
Lin continued and
told Sue about the information Danielle had shared about Deputy Taylor and his
own seeming change of heart.

“I’ll take you up on your offer, if you
are sure it won’t be too much trouble,” Lin said, “ Maybe I can help provide
transportation for Sophie as she needs it—when you have to work.”

“Great,” Sue responded. “I actually am
only working half days the rest of this week—I have been putting in extra
hours also—but it will help to have another person who can drive
around.
 
Who knows, maybe the two of
us, with Sophie’s help, can fill in some of these information gaps.”

After ending the call, Lin went to her
apartment and packed a small case with what she might need for a few days.
 
She also gathered up her folder that
contained the copies she had of police reports as well as her ongoing notes
about this case.
 
She had planned to
meet Sophie and Sue at the food court at Flagstaff Mall because Sue wasn’t sure
when they would be finished at the sheriff’s office.
 
Lin would get some lunch while she
waited for them to come.

When all was in order and her case was in
the car, Lin went back to the visitor center.
 
She quietly told Danielle that she would
be staying at Sue’s for a few days.
 
She didn’t want her to worry when she noticed she wasn’t at her
apartment.

“I’ll call you in a couple of days,” Lin
offered, “and do let me know if Billy shares any more information with you—provided
you think it is ok.”
 
Lin did not
want to presume too much.

“I will, and you take care,” Danielle
smiled. “Good luck!”

Feeling very much at ease in her new
relationship with her boss, Lin left the park, heading for Flagstaff.
 
She was determined that the next few
days would bring good results—and resolution for the Honeyestewa family—at
least that was her hope.

Lee Chou sat back at his desk located in
his office at the back of his Santa Fe gallery.
 
He was in a thoughtful mood.
 
Chou was becoming impatient about the
latest effort to find the pottery he felt sure was hidden somewhere in or near
Wupatki.
 
He had expected to hear
from Raymond Tso by this time.
 
Tso
had assured him that his workers could locate the pottery and that he would let
him know when the goods were in hand—but that was more than a week ago.

Meanwhile, his own man had returned to
Santa Fe from Arizona.
 
He reported
that he had “broken off” his following of Darren Steele after one last trip had
“convinced” him that Steele had no idea where the merchandise was.
  
He had started to tell Chou about
his last encounter with Steele but the shrewd Chinaman had cut him off.

“I do not need to know what Mr. Steele is
doing now,” Chou had said, “in fact, the less I know about your last contact
with him the better—you know how it is.
 
I do not want to know too much.”

“I understand,” Chou’s man had responded.
“It is sufficient for me to tell you that you do not need to worry about Mr.
Steele any more.
 
He is, as they
say, ‘out of the picture’ now.”

Following that meeting Chou had felt
confident that he would soon hear from Raymond Tso that the pottery was in hand
for his client.
 
The client, a
wealthy businessman from Hong Kong, was not going to be happy if this deal fell
through.
 
He had waited more than a
year for these treasures and now…. Chou picked up the phone to call Tuba
City.
 
Chou could ill afford to lose
this good customer nor to have him spread bad news about his business to other
collectors.

Raymond Tso answered on the second ring.

“What is happening, Mr. Tso,” Chou spoke
in serious measured tones, “I expected to hear from you long before now.”

Tso was quiet for a moment—then he
said, “ There have been some setbacks.
 
The young men I had working on this job have gotten themselves arrested—nothing
to do with art,” he hastened to add. “It seems that they killed two men about a
week ago—not sure what happened, but I now need to find someone else to
do this work.
 
Do not worry, I will
find someone,” Tso’s voice revealed his nervousness.

“See that you do, Mr. Tso, I will give
you until the end of this week to make positive progress toward delivering
these goods.
 
Then, if you can’t
deliver them, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands—may I
remind you that I am not a patient man,” Chou hung up the phone abruptly.
 
He wasn’t sure how he should proceed at
this point.
 
Should he send someone
back to Arizona to look for these items or should he wait and give Tso a
chance? Maybe he should forget about this deal and look elsewhere to satisfy
his customer.
 
It was not a
situation he was happy with and when he was not happy… . Chou reflected on his
options.
 
One he had not thought of
earlier—maybe he could approach John Sessions again.
 
Sessions was the one who originally
mentioned this find of unusual old pottery.
 
He had earlier determined that Sessions
could not be counted on when the deal first fell through but maybe…it was worth
thinking about anyway.
 
He
determined to call Sessions later this evening, after he had closed his
gallery.
 
Perhaps it would be
possible to reinstate their business relationship.
 
He would wait and see.

***

Raymond Tso found himself breaking into a
sweat as he hung up his phone.
 
This
Chou character was not to be ignored—Raymond had finally met someone who
seemed as tough as he fancied himself to be.
 
He hadn’t known where to turn when he
learned that Michael and Teddy had been arrested and that two men were dead—one
of them Henry Piestewa from Moenkopi, the other his erstwhile cousin
Darren.
 
Tso was surprised that
Michael and Teddy were suspects in the murders; it was obvious that they had
been out looking for the pottery.
 
Tso remembered the map and the likely areas that were marked for
searching by Darren.
 
Michael had
seemed to know something about these places—something to do with his clan
and his uncle—the one who disappeared.
 
Tso knew that Henry was also involved in
his clan’s eaglet gathering work—maybe he and Darren were working
together and got into it with Michael and Teddy.

 
Earlier Tso had talked with his associate who had been following
Darren.
  
In fact, his man had
told him that Darren was dead—that he had followed him to the park but
when he got there he had seen a dead body, presumably Darren.
 
The associate had been afraid to go
closer but he was sure that the body he saw was dead and he knew Darren had
gone into the area—he had seen him.
 
He had also told Raymond about meeting the man from New Mexico.
 
The two of them had both been following
Darren.
 
They had agreed to leave
the area.
  
Both men claimed to
be innocent of any killing—all they needed to know was that Darren Steele
was no longer a concern to either of their bosses.
 

Raymond knew that his associate was a bit
nervous, afraid he might somehow be linked to Darren’s death, but that had not
happened.
 
Instead the boys had been
arrested.
 
Tso wondered if maybe
Chou’s man—he was certain that the man from New Mexico worked for Chou—was
responsible for Darren’s death but, again if the boys were the guilty ones….

Raymond had sought to reassure his
associate—he seemed more at ease after the boys were arrested
anyway.
 
There was still one
lingering question in Tso’s mind about the killings though.
 
His associate insisted he had only seen
one body, presumably Darren’s, and yet two were found later.
 
The boys were arrested for two
deaths.
 
Something was wrong here
and Raymond didn’t know what.
 
Maybe
he should bring more pressure to bear on the Honeyestewa family—maybe
they knew more about all this.
 
Sophie had been warned that he expected her to repay Michael’s debt.
 
Maybe she knew more that she was saying—maybe
the old couple knew where Michael and Teddy were going.
 
Maybe he could still save the deal with
Chou—if he could get information about the pottery from this family.

Lin got to the mall in Flagstaff but saw
that Sue and Sophie had not yet arrived.
 
She had planned to get something for lunch but decided she would browse
around a bit first.
 
She hadn’t been
to the mall before.
 
It was small,
but attractive with a large fireplace in the central area.
 
Lin found some of the old standard mall
shops but there were also a few places of local interest.
 
She made one complete circuit,
window-shopping as she went along, before stopping at the large sunny food
court.
 
She noticed a locally owned
deli, the Coyote Café, where she stopped to order soup and a salad for lunch. Lin
had just settled at one of the tables in the court to enjoy her food when Sue
and Sophie arrived.
 
Sophie seemed a
bit more chipper today—although her bruises looked, if anything, a bit
worse; they were becoming more colorful.

“They look worse than they feel,” Sophie
insisted, “I’m hungry now; it’s been a long morning.”

Sophie and Sue shopped the food court and
soon returned with sandwiches and sodas to join Lin for lunch.
 
When they had finished eating, Lin
broached the subject that was uppermost in her mind.

“I know that you got a good report from
the doctor; what happened when you talked to the authorities?” she asked

“I think that I raised some questions in
their mind, maybe—about Michael’s involvement in all this.
 
I told them about his working off his
debts for Raymond Tso and about the threats from the man who beat me.
 
Deputy Taylor is going to call the
Navajo tribal police.
 
He is going
to ask them to try to learn the name of the man who beat me—maybe they
can arrest him—maybe even arrest Mr. Tso—after all, the threat
delivered was from him,” Sophie seemed encouraged. “Maybe Mr. Tso is
responsible for the deaths of those men and not Michael and Teddy. I think Deputy
Taylor is beginning to ask some questions about the situation anyway.
 
Of course, he did point out that the boys
also worked for Mr. Tso; I’m not sure what he thinks.
 
He is still holding the boys,” Sophie
obviously wanted to feel encouraged but she was still uncertain as to what
would happen.

“Let’s hope that Michael talked to his
attorney this morning and gave him more information about what he and Teddy
were doing in the park.
 
I think
David Cameron wants to help the boys and he can help—provided they help
themselves and trust him with the information.
 
I’m planning to talk to him this
afternoon and maybe I can find out more.” Lin gave Sophie’s arm an encouraging
pat, “you need to rest some, though.
 
Your injuries are still pretty bad.”

“Yes,” Sue interjected, “the doctor wants
Sophie to rest and stay as quiet as possible for the next few days.
 
He will see her again Friday morning—maybe
then he will release her to return to her home.”

Sue continued, turning to Lin, “I’m going
to take Sophie back to my place to rest after lunch.
 
Then I plan to visit the newspaper
office.”

“Let me take her,” Lin said. “I need to
drop my things off anyway and I need to call David Cameron and see if I can be
worked into his schedule. Then I plan to ‘drop in’ on our friend John Sessions.”

“OK,” Sue agreed. “I’ll be at the paper
for awhile and I’ll have my cell phone.
 
Call me when you know your schedule.
 
Maybe we can meet up somewhere
later.
 
The three of us can go somewhere
for dinner tonight and catch up—see where we are with gathering
information.”

Sue left; Lin and Sophie cleared their
table before leaving the mall.
 
Soon
they were back at Walnut Canyon and Sophie prepared to take a nap.
 
Lin called David Cameron’s office and
discovered, to her surprise that he was in.
 
The receptionist rang him directly.

“I’m surprised I caught you!” Lin said, “
I was hoping to get in to see you this afternoon—if you have a few
minutes.
 
I want to tell you more
about what happened to Michael’s mother yesterday and ask if Michael gave you
any more information.”

“He did, indeed,” David Cameron
responded, “ and I would love to learn more about the incident with
Sophie.
 
When I told Michael she’d
been hurt it really made an impression on him—he really opened up.
 
I think he is scared for his family,
though.
 
I hope Sophie is still
doing, ok.”

“She is.
 
She is staying here in town for a few
days and resting.
 
She’s going to be
fine.” Lin reassured the attorney, “Can I come in to see you?”

“Try to come about three this
afternoon.
 
I have to drop some
things off at the court and take care of some routine things there but I should
be back here by then,” Cameron said.

“See you then,” Lin hung up the phone.
 
It was only a few minutes past two at
present.
 
Time enough for another
visit to Mr. Sessions’ gallery.

***

Leaving Walnut Canyon, Lin headed for
downtown Flagstaff where she was lucky to find a parking space along Aspen
Ave.
 
She was only a few blocks from
each of her planned destinations so she wouldn’t have to move her car between
appointments.

She left her papers in the car, not
wanting to take them all into the gallery—she could retrieve them before
she visited David Cameron.

As she entered the gallery she noticed
that John Sessions was busy with a customer.
 
An attractive gray-haired couple
appeared to be making a fairly large purchase that included jewelry and larger
items.
 
The smile left Sessions face
as he looked up and noticed Lin.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Hanna,” he spoke
pleasantly but still wasn’t smiling, “As you can see, I am very busy; however,
my assistant is in the back and would be happy to help you—I’ll call him.”

“ Don’t,” Lin responded pleasantly, “I
really came in because I need to talk to you, but I’m not rushed, please take
your time—I’ll just look around while I wait.”
 
Lin turned toward an attractive display
of pottery and began looking at the items, avoiding Session’s gaze.

As she waited, she browsed around the
store admiring the many attractive items and wishing her own wallet were a bit
fatter.
 
There were some lovely
things on display.
 
She could hear
Sessions quietly talking to the customers behind her as he was apparently
wrapping up their purchases.
 
The
transaction took about fifteen minutes but then Lin heard Sessions thanking the
couple for their business.
 
The
doorbell gave a soft tinkling sound as they exited.
 
Lin turned toward Sessions but didn’t
say anything.

At first Sessions said nothing.
 
He busied himself putting away trays of
jewelry and returning some baskets to the proper shelves.
 
Finally, he approached Lin.

“Now, how can I help you today Ms. Hanna—perhaps
some more gifts for friends in far places?” Sessions smile reflected phony
warmth and his tone was a bit sarcastic.

“Not this time Mr. Sessions,” Lin hoped
her voice reflected a confidence she didn’t really feel, “ I came to ask you
about Darren Steele—your former employee who disappeared last year and
who was, apparently, found murdered just last week.
 
I believe you said you had no knowledge
of Steele’s activities, but that can’t be true! I am still exploring
connections between what happened last week and the death of Cullen Honeyestewa
last year.
 
What connections did
Darren Steele have with Cullen, Mr. Sessions?”
 
Lin hoped to catch Sessions a bit off
guard with her assumption that some connection did exist—even if she
couldn’t prove such.

Sessions demeanor was clouded.
 
He looked as if he could explode with
anger but, when he spoke, it was in measured even tones.

“ I believe I made myself clear when I
told you earlier that Cullen Honeyestewa was not known to me.
 
I didn’t know, at the time we talked,
that Darren Steele was one of the victims in this most recent case but in any
event I have had no contact with the man since he voluntarily left the area and
my employment last year.
 
I recently
learned of his death—and I am sorry for that—but Darren had many
problems.
  
He often drank too
much and was certainly not a dependable employee.
 
I don’t know what sort of monkey
business he might have gotten himself into since he left me.
 
I am sorry he got himself killed, but
not really surprised.
 
That is all I
have to say on the subject—I’m a busy man and I must ask you to leave
now.
 
In fact, I must ask you to
stay away from my gallery in the future with your troublesome inquiries.
 
I think I have made it clear that I don’t
know anything about this business!”
 
Sessions tone was emphatic and his anger barely controlled.

Lin turned as if to go then, as she
approached the door, she turned back.
 
She didn’t know why but she felt the urge to say one thing more,“
Perhaps Darren got himself into trouble trying to steal native artifacts for
the art black market—Mr. Sessions—would you know anything about
that?”
 
Lin paused only briefly as
Sessions glared at her.
 
Then she
turned and left the gallery quickly.

She walked up San Francisco Street and
stopped at the Late for the Train Coffee shop.
 
She was trembling from her own anger and
frustration.
 
Why had she thrown
that last remark at Sessions?
 
She
didn’t really know why—she just knew somehow, in that moment, that this
might be where the connections lay.
 
The expression on his face as she left the gallery told her that she had
hit a raw nerve with John Sessions!

Maybe Sue was right; Sessions was somehow
involved in procuring and selling native
 
art and artifacts on the black market and
maybe, as his former employee, Darren Steele was connected somehow as
well.
 
She still had no proof but
something was definitely amiss here.
 
Glancing at her watch she noted that she still had at least half and
hour before she could meet David Cameron so she went inside and got a tall cup
of coffee.
 
Maybe she could relax
for just a few minutes.
 
She sat
down at a small table on the sidewalk outside the coffee shop.

As Lin sipped her savory cup, she looked
up and saw a young native man approaching her warily.

“Miss, you were just in the gallery down
the street?” the young man spoke with downcast eyes.

“Yes,” Lin answered, “can I help you?”

“I am Isaac Tsosie,” the young man spoke
softly. “I work for Mr. Sessions—in back, I am his assistant—I am
on my break and must return to the shop soon but I followed you hoping I could
speak with you.”

“Please sit down,” Lin gestured toward
the empty chair opposite.
 
“Would
you like something to drink?”
 

“No,” Isaac said, “and I really don’t
have time to sit down—Mr. Sessions will expect me back in a few minutes.”
The young man glanced warily over his shoulder as if he feared being followed.

“I just needed to tell you that you are
right about the stolen art.
 
I do
all the packing and shipping and I know what I’m talking about.
 
I have to go now and please do not try
to call me.
 
I’m afraid of what
might happen if Mr. Sessions found out I talked to you.
 
I worry and worry.
 
I don’t like being part of such things
but I need this job and can’t take any chances.
 
My family needs me to work.”
 
With that Isaac turned and was gone as
quickly as he had arrived.
 

Lin was stunned.
 
She still had no proof and she felt sure
that Isaac’s word might not mean much to law enforcement authorities.
 
After all, he was, at the very least, an
accessory to whatever was going on with the gallery.
 
Still Lin felt some sense of reassurance
that her instincts—and Sue Gray’s as well—were on target.
 
Now she simply had to keep pushing.
 
She had to know how all of this linked
together.

It was exactly three o’clock when Lin
entered David Cameron’s office.
 
She
had stopped by her car to pick up her files containing information gathered so
far and was still juggling her half-finished cup of coffee.

The young receptionist came around her
desk, “ Here let me hold these papers for you.
 
Mr. Cameron just called.
 
He is running a few minutes late but
said for you to go ahead and relax in his conference room.
 
Can I warm that coffee for you?”