Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (32 page)

Her wine glass refilled and her order
taken, Lin sat back to enjoy Neal’s company.
 
He seemed thoughtful since she had told
him what had happened thus far, as if he were considering what to say about all
these events.
 
He took a drink from
his frosty mug of ale and sat back, looking at her across the dimly lit
table.
 
The sun was beginning to set
and it was growing gradually darker outside but the dining room basked in a
lovely golden glow.

Neal looked deeply into her eyes, “You
are a very special woman Lin Hanna.
 
You are smart and most attractive,” his look was one of caring and
affection, “but, most importantly, you care for others—truly care—and
you act accordingly.
 
You don’t just
offer sympathy or empathy; you try to help try to make things right.
 
Not many people will go the extra mile
for others.
 
It takes a special
person to do so.” He paused thoughtfully as if considering what to say next.

“Thank you,” Lin responded. “I doubt if I
truly live up to such high standards but I do try to help when I think that I
can do some good—especially when I see those who do not seem to have the
power that others do.”

Neal reached across the table and took
her hand in his, “And I have been very unfair to you.
 
I know that now.
 
I’ve had time to think about my own
behavior over the past few weeks—not just where you are concerned—but
about a lot of things.
 
I’m not
particularly proud of what I’ve discovered about myself but I intend to make
things right with you.
 
I’ll try to
help you find out what happened to Cullen, if I can.
 
In fact, I want to know for myself also.”

“Then you did know him?” Lin asked
cautiously.

“I did,” Neal said, “and I’ll tell you
about that.”

Just as Lin started to speak, their meals
arrived. All talk ceased for a few moments as the waiter placed perfectly
prepared filet mignon in front of Lin along with steamed asparagus and garlic
seasoned potatoes.
 
It looked
wonderful, as did Neal’s grilled salmon and wild rice.
 

When the waiter had completed serving and
they were once again alone, Neal leaned forward.
 
“I want to tell you what was going on
with Cullen, but I must ask that you keep it under your hat so to speak.
 
I could be in serious trouble with my
superiors at the university if some of this information became known to them.”

Lin smiled at Neal reassuringly, “My only
interest is in finding out what happened to Cullen for the sake of his family.
 
You already know that his death has been
ruled an accident.
 
I have shared
information that I think is important for the current case with Michael’s
lawyer and with Deputy Taylor—but they are no longer investigating
anything that pertains to Cullen.”
 
Lin wanted to know what Neal had to say but, in all fairness, she had to
add to what she had just told him.

“ I have to tell you though that,
depending upon what happens in this case, Cullen’s death could be open to
further investigation and, if that happens, I would feel that I had to share
what I knew so…if you do not wish to tell me, I will understand.”
 
Lin held her breath as Neal considered
what she had just said.

Once again, Neal reached out to touch her
hand, “I do understand what you are saying and, if the case of Cullen’s death
is reopened, I ‘d understand your need to speak up.
 
I will say that I don’t know how Cullen
died—whether it was an accident or not.
 
I wasn’t present at that time and I had
nothing to do with what happened to him in the park.
 
I hope you believe me when I say
that.
 
If they reopen that case well—I’ll
cross that bridge when I come to it—but I would not expect you to keep
silent.”

Lin squeezed Neal’s hand, “I do
understand and I do believe you.”
 
Some innate inner sense told her that Neal was being truthful.
 
She smiled and released his hand, “ Now
I ‘m going to enjoy this steak before it gets cold and you should not let that
salmon be wasted either.
 
We can
finish our talk over coffee later.”

For the next moments they both enjoyed
the wonderful meal.
 
The only
conversation was small talk about each other’s interests and things Lin hoped
to see and do before she left Arizona at the end of the upcoming summer.

“And I sincerely hope that I can share
some of those adventures with you,” Neal smiled as he finished his meal and
pushed his plate away, “if only you will let me be part of your life,” he added
softly.

“I think I’d like to share those things
with you as well,” Lin smiled.

They were both too full for dessert so
they asked only for coffee.
 
When
the waiter had placed steaming mugs of rich dark brew in front of them, Neal
sat back, “Now for the rest of my story.”

“Cullen Honeyestewa was a fine man and a
true leader in his tribe,” Neal began his tale.
 
“He was a good friend.
 
Sometimes he worked with me on digs near
the park and reservation.
 
Other
times he came to my classes to speak to my students about Hopi culture and
history.” He stared out the window as he spoke.
 

Turning back to Lin, he continued,
 
“ About a year ago, I made perhaps the
most serious mistake of my career.
 
Cullen came to me with pictures of some pottery he had found while
exploring some of the backcountry areas near Lomaki.
 
I never saw the actual pots but from the
photos I could tell that they were very old, in excellent condition, and
probably very valuable.
 
Cullen’s
nephew was in some trouble on the reservation.
 
He owed money to a loan shark—I
expect it was this fellow Tso who has caused so much trouble recently—and
Cullen wanted to help him get back on track.
 
He wanted to sell those pots.
 
He knew it was wrong but he felt driven
to help his family.
 
He asked me to
help him.”
 
Neal slowly stirred some
sugar into his coffee as he talked.
 
His eyes found Lin’s, searching to learn her reaction to all this.
 

Lin said nothing but tried to remain calm
and reassuring.
 
She reached across
the table and took Neal’s hand briefly in her own.

“I decided to help him.
 
I put him in touch with a friend of mine
whom I knew could and would market these things for him—and share the
money with me—that was my mistake and I still regret it,” Neal’s eyes
revealed his true anguish.

“Was that friend John Sessions?”
 
Lin was almost afraid to ask but felt
she had to.

Neal nodded.
 
He continued his story. “The
arrangements were all made.
 
John
was sending someone to meet with Cullen—neither he nor I were to be
directly involved in the exchange.
 
I believe Darren Steele, one of the victims in this most recent case,
was the man John was sending.
  
Well, the exchange never happened.
 
Darren reported that Cullen never showed up and then he ran off
somewhere.
 
That was a year ago.”

The waiter came by to refill their
coffees.
 
Then Neal resumed his
tale. “ For a while I thought, perhaps, my students and I could find these pots—in
fact that was part of what I was doing with them in the park—although
they were learning good field techniques too.
  
Then Cullen’s body was found and
then the other men died.
 
I realized
what a huge mistake I’d made to even think of getting involved in the stolen
art trade.
 
I must have been crazy—crazy
for money I guess!
 
Anyway, I’ve
sworn never to even think of getting into something like that again.
 
I’ve told John to count me out of
anything else and I will not try to find that pottery anymore!
 
I’m done.
 
But I could still get into a lot of
trouble—just for what I’ve already done—and I know that.
 
I wish I could make it right somehow but…how
can I?
 
It could cost me my career.”

Neal seemed truly distressed and Lin was
not sure how to respond.
 
She wanted
to be able to tell Neal that everything would work out but she knew that might
not happen.
 
She did believe him.
 
She didn’t think he was responsible for
Cullen’s death—whatever caused that—and he hadn’t actually stolen
or sold any art—at least he said he had never done anything like this
before and she believed he was sincerely regretful and did not wish to be
involved in the black market in the future.
  
That said, Lin could not predict
how the authorities would react if they learned of his involvement.
 
However, she did know that the
information Neal had shared with her was further evidence that John Sessions
was engaged in this illegal art market and, if Neal came forward, he might help
put a stop to this.
 
Perhaps the
authorities would not bring charges against him if he assisted in putting a
stop to other illegal activities, but Sessions was not even under investigation
at this time.
 
Also, even if Neal
avoided legal consequences, he might still be in trouble with the
university.
 

“I’m afraid only you can decide what, if
anything, you’re going to do with the information you have given me.”
 
Lin spoke sincerely. “I can assure you
that I’ll not reveal what you have told me to the authorities unless they open
a new investigation into Cullen’s death and ask.
 
I will tell his sister what he was
doing.
 
That will answer the family’s
questions and give them at least some sort of closure but I will not reveal to
them where I got the information.
 
That is all that I can promise you, Neal.
 
What else you do with the information is
up to you.”

“I know,” Neal tried to smile. “I have to
decide what to do and how to do it.
 
I’m a little afraid of what John Sessions might do if I talk to the
authorities, but that’s just how things are.
 
I have a lot to think about.
 
Believe me, I do want to make things
right—I’m just not sure what to do right now.
 
It helps that you believe me.
 
At least I have shared all this with
someone,” he looked deeply into her eyes, “someone who I hope cares—about
me—because I care about her.”

“She does,” Lin responded, “and she knows
you will do the right thing in the right way.”

Leaving the restaurant, they walked
briefly around the beautiful grounds that were softly lit against the dark
night.
 
They were silent during the
ride back to campus.
 
There was
nothing more to say at this point.
 
When they arrived back in the parking lot, Neal pulled in beside Lin’s
car.

“Thanks for calling me Lin.
 
I’ve been agonizing over this entire
situation—especially since I confronted John and told him I was out of
any deals.
 
I didn’t know how to
approach you.
 
I wanted to
call.
 
I wanted to talk to you, in
fact I knew I needed to talk to you, but I was afraid you would reject any
overtures.
 
I think you felt you couldn’t
trust me,” Neal spoke in almost a whisper.

“You were right,” Lin responded. “I knew
that I was attracted to you—that I cared for you and wanted to get to
know you better—but there was that nagging question—I felt you were
trying to hide something and I knew I couldn’t let myself move forward in any
relationship with someone I couldn’t be sure would always be truthful with
me.
 
Trust is what you called it—and
I have to agree.”
 
Lin turned to
Neal and looked straight into his deep blue eyes. “ Please know that I do
believe you have been honest with me tonight and I do trust that, whatever
happens, you’ll find a way to make this right.”
 
Lin opened her door and got out of the
car.
 
Neal got out also—even
though her car was right beside his.

Walking to her side, Neal took her in his
arms.
 
He was warm and the night was
beginning to be quite cool.
 
“Thank
you Lin.
 
Thank you for being you
and for being here for me tonight.”
 
Neal leaned down and kissed her—deeply but gently and she returned
his kiss, once more feeling the stirring of a passion she hadn’t felt in a long
time.
 
She knew that she cared about
Neal—she could only hope that everything would work out for him somehow.

Breaking the embrace, Lin smiled. “I’d
best be getting back to Sue’s.
 
She
and I have a lot to catch up on and…” she paused and smiled at Neal, “I have to
talk to Sophie.”