Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery

by Sharon Canipe

  Neal seemed relaxed as they chatted about their work and the beautiful afternoon. He certainly did not display the nervousness she had observed during their lunch earlier in the week. Lin thought that he seemed to have gotten over the shock of Monday’s discovery. He was very much the attractive, congenial fellow she had first met upon his arrival that day—even a bit flirtatious, as he had been then.

  Lin thought about her last visit to the Canyon—that had been with her kids and with Ben. She struggled just a bit to keep from thinking about how much she sometimes missed all the fun they had shared together. Refocusing her thoughts on her present companion, she asked Neal to tell her more about himself and his work.

  “Well, I have been at NAU in Flagstaff about fifteen years now, before that I was at Arizona State but that was not a tenured position so I was happy to find such here. I’ll probably finish out my career here. I could take an early retirement now, but I’ll probably work for five or six more years. Then I will retire and maybe travel and do some writing,” Neal seemed to enjoy the prospect.

  Lin had already told him about her family—Ben and his military career, her grown kids and grandkids. “What about your family?” She ventured cautiously.

  “No kids, or grandkids,” Smith responded. “I miss that. I was married once, but that ended a long time ago—we just sort of grew apart. Our careers and interests were different. It was a mutual decision to go our own ways. We had married when we were very young, both in undergraduate school. It just happens sometimes. We’re still in touch from time to time—still friends. Since then, I’ve been on my own—guess I’m used to the bachelor life style, but I do enjoy the company of attractive and interesting ladies.” He turned to Lin with a warm smile.

  “I’m flattered, and I’m happy you dropped by today. I had no real plans and it’s nice to be out enjoying such a nice day.” Lin turned her attention to the road that was ascending the plateau that led to the east entrance to the Canyon. The foliage was changing from pinion and juniper to ponderosa pine as they approached the top. In the distance, the colorful vermillion cliffs rose majestically—it was quite a sight.

  Soon they were entering the national park. They stopped at Desert View for that wonderful, initial sight of the canyon and they headed into the village area where they parked, leaving the car to enjoy the area on foot.

  The afternoon passed quickly. They enjoyed walking on the rim trail—taking in the spectacular views, browsing the village shops, even stopping for a delicious cone of canyon crunch ice cream. Lin found herself really enjoying the company of this interesting and intelligent man. She certainly forgot about her reservations regarding his hesitancy to discuss the earlier events of the week. The subject never came up anyway.

  As the late afternoon shadows began to cast interesting shapes in the canyon below, Lin realized that this afternoon had been one of the most pleasant she had experienced in a long time. She admitted to herself that she liked Neal Smith very much. She would not mind getting to know him better at all. Could there be a “summer romance” for a retired school marm with two grandkids? Who knew, she thought. I’m certainly not seeking a serious relationship but I do enjoy this man’s company and I definitely hope we can see more of each other.

  “How about an early supper?” Neal asked, “ We could try the restaurant at the Bright Angel Lodge—even the El Tovar if you would like?”

  “Oh, let’s not do anything too fancy,” Lin responded, “If I remember correctly the chili at the cafeterias is absolutely marvelous.”

  They decided on the Maswik Lodge with its expansive dining room and free flow cafeteria. Lin got her bowl of vegetarian chili while Neal opted for a hot dog loaded with all the extras! It was a perfect meal to round out a perfect afternoon.

  As they wandered back to the car, they paused to look at the changing colors of the canyon in the sunset. Neal put his arm lightly around her shoulder, “Sometime soon we’ll have to come up and go out on the rim for sunset. I know a spot on the east rim where you can be completely alone and have a spectacular view away from the crowds—they all go to the west rim. Then maybe we can have that fancy dinner at the El Tovar,” he gave her a gentle squeeze.

  Lin turned to smile at him, “I’ll look forward to that.”

  As they drove back into the parking lot at Wupatki, an hour and a half later, Lin noticed that there were still lights on in the office area of the visitor center. Danielle must still be working. She remembered her offer to find some material on archeology in the park.

  “Just drop me off in front of the center,” Lin told Neal, “ Danielle is catching up on some work tonight and I need to get some articles I want to read.”

  “Sure,” Neal seemed maybe a little disappointed that she had not invited him to stay for a bit. He pulled up to the curb next to the entrance. “I enjoyed today and I hope we can see each other again soon.”

  “I’d like that,” Lin said sincerely as she exited the car. “I’m not sure what this coming week will bring—it promises to be busy—but you can always call me at the visitor center. If I’m not there, someone will take a message—besides, I’ll see you when you come with the students.”

  “Indeed, you will—but I’m looking forward to our having more fun together. I’d like to get to know you better,” he smiled.

  “Same, here,” she returned his smile. As she watched him drive out of the parking lot her thoughts were a bit confused. She definitely enjoyed Neal’s company but she also wanted to keep business as business and not mix it up with her social life. She would have to be careful when working with Neal and his students. She would have to tell him that he would be strictly Dr. Smith at those times. Still it was nice to think that they could enjoy more good times through the summer

  The lights were still on, evidence that Danielle was still working in her office. Lin walked to the side of the building where there was a door to the office area. Trying the knob she found it locked. She knocked on the door. Shortly, Danielle appeared and let her in.

  “Where were you all afternoon? I went by your place before I came over here but you were gone,” Danielle asked.

  Lin told her about Neal’s surprise arrival and the wonderful afternoon and early evening they had passed at the Canyon.

  “I see,” Danielle gave her a teasing glance, “maybe a new boyfriend here?”

  “A new friend,” Lin corrected, “Neal is very charming and a lot of fun but it will be strictly business working with him here at the park.”

  “Oh, I’m not concerned about that,” Danielle was sincere, “I’m just glad you seem to have found someone to have some fun with while you are here. Now let’s see if we can find some of those articles I told you about.”

  Within a few minutes they were busy going through files of published papers and articles regarding anthropology and archeology in the park. Lin found these things fascinating, this was one of the main reasons she had volunteered here. She took stacks of the materials to a table and sorted through them, selecting items that seemed most relevant to the work that Neal would be doing with his students—looking for sites that might contain pottery and other artifacts as yet uncovered by earlier work. She placed the papers she had selected, along with a detailed topographical map of the area, in a file folder and asked Danielle if she might take the materials to her apartment for further reading.

  “Sure,” Danielle responded, “just leave me a list of the materials you have. That will be fine.”

  Lin prepared the list then told Danielle she was going home. Danielle indicated that she was almost finished and, if Lin could wait just two minutes, they could walk back together. Lin agreed and started to read the first paper while she waited. Soon, Danielle was ready to lock up the office and the two of them headed back to the housing area, enjoying the cool evening breezes as they walked, watching the stars that dotted the clear desert skies.

  Fascinated by the bit of the first paper she had read while waiting for Danielle, Lin was eager to
get back into it upon returning to her apartment. Soon she was as engrossed in this story as she had been in the mystery she was reading earlier in the day. It seemed that there was every reason to believe that good finds of pottery could still be made in this area. Certainly, much had been found and taken or even destroyed in the years before the area was made a park. There were even tales of cowboys from ranches nearby using pots they had found for target practice. Much of the pottery and other artifacts that had been uncovered by earlier archeologists now resided in the collections at the Museum of Northern Arizona and other museums in the southwest. Still, it seems, Wupatki had been known to be a trading center. Materials found there earlier could be identified as coming from several different geographic areas and trading paths stretched out from the area. There were probably places where traders had camped and maybe even stored their wares. Some of these might still be found yet.

  As she read, Lin could understand why Neal was so interested in working in the area with his students. True, his project was focused on training students for future archeological work, no digging was to be done and no artifacts could be collected; however, Lin could easily see where evidence of possible promising areas might be uncovered. These discoveries could lead to future requests to conduct excavations and further studies. The park service maintained its own staff of archeologists but digs were expensive and funds were scarce. Most of their work focused on preservation and reconstruction of ruins. She felt sure that Neal would probably want to look for grants to fund full-scale digs, if he or his students found evidence that such would yield good results. She was certain that his interests went beyond simply teaching students what to look for but, of course, that was not her business. Nevertheless, this added to her curiosity about the man and his interest in the park area.

  Her curiosity more aroused that ever, Lin closed the file on the paper she had just finished and got ready for bed. She would certainly read more tomorrow. She was just beginning to learn about this interesting place.

  Chapter 5

  Darren Steele awoke slowly in the cramped bedroom of the small trailer where he had been living for most of the past year. He had a headache—must have had too many beers last night. The scattered cans on the counter in the tiny kitchen confirmed that fact. Darren sat up and looked around. He hated this place. Not only was the trailer too small and too uncomfortably warm during these spring days on the reservation but also it was too isolated—at the end of a small canyon deep in the Chuska Mountains. Darren’s maternal cousin, Marvin, owned the trailer but he had moved into Chinle when he got a job at the supermarket there and had left the place. He had let Darren move in and promised he would tell no one where he was. Even he did not know what Darren had been involved in.

  Darren had told no one other than Raymond Tso, who was also a cousin but on the other side of Darren’s family, about the plan to steal the pottery. He had told Raymond about his idea to get the pottery while leaving Sessions and Smith out of the deal altogether. That had probably been a mistake. He had been afraid not to let Raymond in on the deal; he was not to be trusted otherwise, as Darren knew from past experience. Darren was planning to share his cut from the sale with Tso. The bulk of the money to be had would remain with the man Darren considered his new boss, Lee Chou the Santa Fe art dealer. Chou only agreed to work with Tso included if Darren shared his own cut.

  Actually Darren was also somewhat afraid of Chou. He knew him to be a ruthless, hard-nosed businessman. He had been fearful of what Chou might do when he failed to deliver on the pottery deal the first time but so far nothing had happened so he felt more relaxed than he had earlier.

  When he failed to find the pottery, he thought he would lie low for a while and then return to find it later. His fears having caught up with him, he became afraid of returning to the park. Darren had realized that John Sessions didn’t seem to believe him when he reported that the Hopi contact had not shown up and that he had not found the pottery. He could hear the doubt in his voice. That had led to his decision not to show up for work the next day.

  Darren was already in trouble enough, having both Tso and Chou expecting him to come through with the pots. Disappearing for a while seemed the only answer. Anyway, he thought he had plenty of money. He had the Hopi’s share of the deal.

  At first he had been ok. He went to New Mexico and stayed in Farmington for a while. No one knew him there and it was far from Tuba City and Flagstaff. However, it was pretty expensive to rent a room there and he couldn’t try to find work without using his true identity. He had no other ID and employers were more careful these days. Finally, he had decided he had to disappear on the Rez where he could hide until he decided how to proceed. He still felt he could save the situation somehow. His cousin, Marvin, had offered to help him with this place to stay. He appreciated this but the isolation was driving him crazy. Darren kept thinking that he would move forward and try to find the pottery but kept putting it off, afraid of being caught if he came out of the shadows.

  Now he was becoming more desperate and his money was fast running out. He had to get out of this place. Desperation and the long period of isolation had caused him to rethink his situation. He had to do something.

  He was not really too worried about John Sessions. While he knew that he could never go back to that job, which was the best one he had ever had, he also knew that Sessions would not be looking for him. He would not want to be connected to him in any way at this point. Sessions’ main concern was his business and continuing to deal in stolen artifacts under cover. He wouldn’t want to risk that so he would forget about Darren and move on. Maybe he had already found the pottery. Darren couldn’t be sure because he had been away from any news for so long. Sessions would certainly have another plan to try to find it but…

  Darren was more afraid of Raymond Tso. He was a cousin of Darren’s; however, Raymond was no one to mess with. Darren hadn’t really wanted to get involved with him in the first place but he couldn’t really avoid it. He should never have bragged about the pottery in front of Raymond. That was stupid in the first place! He should have known Raymond would want in on that deal and could bring pressure on him. You did not want to be on Raymond’s bad side. Reluctantly Darren had agreed to include Tso. Darren had worked with Sessions long enough to know that he dealt with a man in Santa Fe. This guy, Lee Chou, was really the one who had the customer contacts. Chou could market anything and very profitably. The artifacts would leave the country heading for Hong Kong where they would disappear into the collections of wealthy folk all over the world and most would never be recovered.

  Darren had gone behind Sessions back and contacted Chou directly. Using Raymond’s idea to hunt for more such finds throughout the area, including the reservation, Darren had succeeded in getting Chou to agree to take the pottery even if Sessions were not directly involved. After all, even adding Tso to the deal, Chou stood to gain. Both Sessions and Smith would be out of it. Also, Tso might be a good contact for future deals. Chou had often found that good deals could be had dealing with the Navajo on the reservation. There was a lot of remote territory there and items could be hidden easily. Besides, most of the folks on the Rez were always in need of money and would take whatever he offered. He had done many deals in art objects and artifacts brought to him and he would really like to have a steady source on the reservation. Given all that, he had agreed to work directly with Darren, bypassing Sessions.

  Now, desperate for money and with limited options, Darren decided to take a chance and contact Chou. He would have to have a plan and a good story for why he had not produced the pottery on time but he knew that Chou was greedy and he hoped that meant he would agree to give him an advance so he could go back and search for the pots. For sure, Chou would have heard if they were already found.

  Darren felt encouraged by this new plan he was forming. He would take his remaining money and go to Santa Fe tomorrow. He barely had enough for gas and a cheap motel room where he could get cleaned up. H
is cell phone no longer worked; he had been forced to give that up earlier. He would have to call Lee Chou after he got there but, hopefully, he would leave with a new deal and some funds to tide him over until he could find the pottery.

  Darren had high hopes this time. He knew that Cullen Honeyestewa was a Hopi and Raymond had told him that he was one of those who collected eaglets in the park for ceremonial purposes. That meant that he might have hidden the pots somewhere other than the box canyon. Darren knew that there were only limited areas where eagles might nest and the pots could not have been too far from the canyon or that would not have been the meeting place. He had had a lot of time to think about this during the past year and he thought he knew some areas worth searching. He just needed to get back into the park and he needed some money for tools and to live on while he searched.

  His head now clear and his thoughts focused, Darren sat back and began to flesh out the details of his new plan. It was time to act; he could not afford to hide any longer. He was feeling more confident that there was still a future for him in the stolen art and artifact business.

  ***

  The next day dawned brightly. It was a beautiful spring day and Darren awoke in much better spirits. For one thing, he was not hung over this morning. The more he thought about his new plan the more encouraged he felt. After all, he was pretty sure he had narrowed the options for hunting for the pottery and he really doubted that Sessions had already found it. Any searching Sessions might have done would have had to be hidden behind other activities. Sessions could not afford to be an active presence in the park.

  It would be much easier for a native person to be seen in the backcountry—after all they were often there for legitimate reasons. That meant that Darren had a better chance to find the valuables. Once that was accomplished he could then face Raymond, this time with the goods and a buyer waiting in the wings. This would give him the upper hand. He would work with Raymond all right, but he would take the lead. With these positive thoughts in his head, he dressed, exited the trailer, started his truck, and set off for the interstate. Soon he was on his way. He should be in Santa Fe by afternoon.