Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery

by Sharon Canipe

  Later that day, just before closing time for the gallery, Lee Chou heard the phone ring in his office. There were no customers about so he ducked through the door to answer. He was alone, his assistant having left early for a dental appointment.

  “Mr. Chou,” the voice on the line said, “this is Darren Steele, remember me?”

  Chou did a double take. He had not expected to hear from Steele again. He had already written the entire episode off as a deal gone bad. John Sessions had called him to report the failure to find the pottery and Steele’s subsequent disappearance. Of course, Sessions was unaware that Chou already knew about Darren’s failure because of their “under the table” deal. In spite of Sessions insistence that he had other options and would continue to try to locate the valuable pieces, Chou doubted anything would come of it. He figured neither man would come through with the stuff. Now here was this man Steele calling after all these months had gone by.

  “Mr. Steele,” he ventured cautiously, “I did not expect to hear from you after you disappeared on us last year. I hope you have good news for me regarding our earlier business venture. Perhaps you are ready to complete the transaction?”

  “Well,” Darren responded cautiously, not wanted to reveal so quickly that he did not already have the pottery, “I want to talk to you about that. Can we meet somewhere?”

  Chou was not at all sure he could trust this situation after Steele’s strange behavior but he was, after all, a businessman and he was sure that this Navajo could not actually outsmart him. He was the inexperienced one. If the early information regarding this pottery was accurate, this was too big a deal to simply turn one’s back on. He decided to hear this man out

  “Where are you staying,” Chou asked, “ I will be closing up shop soon. Perhaps we could talk this evening.” Chou wanted to ask directly about the merchandise but maybe he should wait—after all, he had waited this long.

  “ I’m staying at the Motel 6 just off I-25, but I’ve forgotten the exit number,” Darren was nervous but he hoped his voice was firmer than he felt.

  “Never mind, I think I know the place, there is an old-fashioned diner next door?”

  “Yes,” Darren responded, “I was planning to eat there tonight. Perhaps you can join me and we can…. discuss business.” He hoped he sounded confident.

  “Good,” Chou said. “How about 7 o’clock?”

  Darren readily agreed and hung up the phone, relieved to have taken this first step. Now he had to decide how to approach his plan. He would have to eventually tell Chou that he did not have the pottery with him now, but he had to convince him that he knew where it was and could readily produce it. He needed to convince him that he needed a little money to travel to the park and maybe get some tools to dig at the hiding place. That was it he thought! He would tell him he had found the items earlier but was forced to hide them again in a different place because there was too much talk on the Rez about Cullen’s disappearance and he feared people would be searching the park hoping to find him. Now Darren felt it was safe for him to return. The search for Cullen had been abandoned. He lay down on the bed in his room and tried to relax and rest. He wanted to be calm and confident at this meeting.

  Bolstered by the knowledge that Chou was ready to do business with him, Darren entered the diner confidently about five till seven and seated himself in a booth with a good view of the entrance. Seven o ‘ clock came and Chou had not yet arrived. By five past the hour, Darren was beginning to waiver a bit—maybe Chou was pulling his leg and had no intention of coming. A few more minutes went by and Darren was thinking of leaving. The waitress had already asked for his order and he had stalled, saying he was expecting someone. Now she came by again.

  “How about a coffee while you wait,” she offered.

  “Yes, that would be good.” Darren was glad to respond hoping that coffee might help him to stay collected.

  About 7:15 he looked up to see Lee Chou enter the diner. With relief he stood to greet him. Chou waved him back down in his seat and slid into the seat opposite.

  “ Sorry I’m late, something came up at the gallery I had to take care of and then the traffic was horrible, a wreck somewhere on the highway I think.”

  “I understand,” Darren responded, “it’s hard for me to get used to all this city traffic anyway.”

  The waitress returned and took their orders. She brought Chou a coffee and refilled Darren’s then left them alone to wait for their food. Darren tried to stay calm, waiting for the right moment to tell his story. Chou appeared eager.

  “So you are ready to do business, Mr. Steele, I assume you have the items here with you so that I can examine them first hand.”

  “Well,” Steele responded, “ I do not have them just yet but…” Carefully, he related the story as he had planned it out. A short while later he concluded, “ so you see, I do have the pottery but I need a bit of time and some tools to properly remove it from the hiding place. About $250 should be sufficient. Sort of a finder’s fee, I guess.” He tried to smile.

  Chou sat back, the disappointment and distrust evident on his face. “ And Mr. Steele, what assurance do I have that you will not leave with my money and I have nothing still?”

  Darren improvised, “I’ll tell you what. I ‘ll draw you a map of the location. It’s not difficult to find. I’ll trust you with that information as a sign of my good faith. If something should happen to me, you can get someone else to do the work. You will know the hiding place.”

  Chou looked reflective as he thought this over. He was not happy with this development but he did want to get his hands on that pottery somehow. He produced a pen and flipped his paper placemat over to the blank side. He shoved it across the table.

  “ Very well, Mr. Steele, draw your map. I will take it as an insurance policy.”

  Chou watched carefully as Darren sketched a neatly drawn map of the Lomaki area of the park. He drew the Box canyon and the slot at the end. He marked the map to indicate where the pottery was hidden-- actually, in the place where it was to have been originally but then Chou did not know anything about that so he did not know where Darren had searched unsuccessfully before. Besides, he would have had no way to know where Darren had supposedly “rehidden” the pottery. Darren was not concerned, Chou would not be able to locate the pottery on his own, he was fairly certain.

  Chou took the completed drawing folding it carefully and placing it in his coat pocket. He then took his wallet and counted out the “finder’s fee” Darren had requested, placing the bills in front of him on the table. Darren quickly pocketed the money just before the waitress arrived with their food.

  They ate quickly. Darren was certainly eager to be done with this and Lee Chou seemed thoughtful and a bit withdrawn. Their conversation was limited. As they finished eating, Chou looked seriously toward Darren.

  “ I trust you fully understand the seriousness of your commitment to me,” Chou fixed Darren with a cold gaze, “I am a businessman and if you and your relative Mr. Tso expect to work with me, there can be no mistake that I mean business.”

  “Indeed,” Darren hoped his voice reflected confidence he did not really feel, “I will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning and you will hear from me in a few days, when I have your merchandise in hand.”

  Darren took the check, “This is my ticket.” He could be generous with his new funds in hand. Chou nodded and together they walked out to the parking lot.

  “ Goodnight, Mr. Steele, I will look forward to hearing from you soon,” Chou said, heading across the parking lot toward his car.

  Chou watched from his car as Darren entered the motel next door. He certainly did not trust this man. He had disappeared for nearly a year and now he turns up saying he had found the pottery and hidden it somewhere! Why wait so long to come forward? He was not sure that he believed in Darren or his map. He wanted more insurance than this. He flipped open his cell phone and called an associate. After briefly describing Darren and where he wa
s staying he said, “I am planning to do business with this man but I want him followed. I want to know where he goes and what he does. He is leaving tomorrow morning. Be ready to leave when he does and let me know everything you observe.”

  “Okay boss, I’m on it,” the associate replied, “I’ll stake out this motel tonight and follow him when he leaves.”

  “Good enough,” Chou answered, “I’ll have further instructions when you report back to me.”

  Chou ended the call, started his car, and headed back toward the city. He felt better now that he knew he had Steele and his movements covered. This time he would not disappear on him. He would have these pots or there would be consequences.

  ****

  The next day Lee Chou sat in his office at the gallery and looked at the map Darren Steele had drawn on the placemat. So this was where the pottery was hidden, at least he hoped that Steele was not trying to put something over on him. He was not at all sure he could be trusted but then, that was no longer a worry. He knew that his own employee could be trusted to follow Darren and account for his whereabouts and activities. If Steele tried any funny business he would know it soon enough. He did not relish doing business with Steele involved but he was Navajo and he did have the contacts on the reservation. Chou realized that these contacts were critical if he wanted to expand his business in that area. It was not easy for an outsider to work on the Rez. It was remote and many areas were difficult to access. Yet, it offered the prospect of good finds yet to be discovered. Yes, Steele was probably a handicap but right now he was needed. Later? Who knows, perhaps he would not be needed at all.

  The pottery was Chou’s primary focus at this point. If the information he had been given originally was even close to accurate, this was an unusual and valuable find and it would be well worth his while to pursue finding it. He relaxed at his desk carefully considering his options. Once he heard from his associate concerning Steele’s activities he would be ready to act and move forward. He smiled at the thought of how pleased his client in Hong Kong would be to learn that the pottery he had so wanted last year might still be his after all.

  Chapter 6

  The next morning Lin arrived at the visitor center shortly before its scheduled opening time. Danielle was already in her office on the phone and Toby was busy checking the bathrooms and restocking paper towels and bathroom tissue as needed. The shared maintenance man rarely had time for such routines.

  Lin greeted Toby and gave a nod to Danielle from the hallway. Picking up the keys to the cash registers—one for park admissions, the other for the shop sales—she began to prepare for the opening of the visitor center. The schedule that morning looked full. There were two school groups coming in and a note had been entered about a bus coming with a group of French tourists. Lin was scheduled to talk to the school groups down at Wupatki ruin, while Toby handled the desk. They would swap after that. Fortunately, the French tourists came with their own translator as neither Toby nor Lin had much skill with that language. The park had information available in several languages; however, so they could provide the visitors with written descriptions of what they were seeing. Lin was continually surprised by the fact that the ruins attracted so many visitors from so many parts of the world. Of course, they were a stopping point on the way to or from the Grand Canyon for many folks but still most of the visitors seemed genuinely interested in learning about the early Puebloan people who had built these communities and their connection to modern native peoples of the southwest.

  Lin was hoping for more time to read the materials she had collected the evening before but with this schedule it was not likely to happen this morning. She looked up to see a school activity bus entering the parking lot and hurried to don her hat, grab some guidebooks, and go out to meet the new arrivals.

  Lin’s morning was spent down in the ruin with first one group and then the next. In each case she had gathered the students in the ruin’s community room following the tour for questions and discussion. The students seemed interested in the fact that the people who lived at Wupatki would have also gathered in this place for meetings and talk. They were most interested in the ball court, imagining the ball game that was played between these people and visiting groups of traders from other places. This was a very aggressive game. It was known that similar games played further south in Mexico often ended in death for the losers but there was no evidence to indicate that the Wupatki games were quite that aggressive! Still, the ball was hard and the players had no protection so the risk of injury was always present.

  After finishing the groups, Lin returned to the visitor center hot and thirsty. She grabbed a bottle of water from the office refrigerator and walked out to the desk.

  “I’m back Toby, I can take over for you now,” she offered.

  “Take a break, the group’s guide called and they were delayed leaving the canyon this morning so they pushed back their visit until afternoon. I can finish out this shift and you can take over for me after your lunch break, ” Toby replied, lowering his voice he added, “ Deputy Taylor is in the back with Danielle.”

  Lin simply nodded, “ Thanks Toby. I think I’ll go read some of the material on the park archeology but call me if you get really busy here.”

  She went to the back office that housed several desks for the use of the park volunteers and staff, passing Danielle’s closed office door on her way. She could see Deputy Taylor through the glass of the door. He was flipping through pages from a file and talking but she could not hear what he was saying. Not wanting to seem too interested, she moved past quickly. She grabbed her file of articles from her box and sat down at the desk she had been using near the back office wall.

  Lin began to read the material regarding park archeology but she was having a hard time concentrating on it. Sure, it was interesting and she had been fascinated by what she had read last night but now her thoughts kept traveling back to Deputy Taylor and his report. What had the official investigation revealed? Had all the questions, which she considered important, been addressed and answered? She simply could not accept the fact that an adult who was familiar with this area and worked in it regularly would be so careless as to be out hiking alone with no water. She also wondered why there would be no evidence of alcohol consumption, if the person were drinking. One might be too drunk and careless to remember water but where was the evidence of beer bottles or liquor? Where had the person come from? Where was his vehicle? There were so many questions unanswered.

  Lin heard Danielle’s office door open and the sound of voices emerged into the hallway.

  “Thank you for sharing your report, Billy—er—Deputy Taylor,” Danielle said, “I appreciate having a copy for our files.”

  “ Thanks to you and your staff for your cooperation,” Taylor replied, “I’m glad we were able to resolve this quickly without major disruptions to your activities here in the park. Please let us know should you have further need of us.” They moved toward the entrance to the center and Lin was unable to clearly hear the last words they were speaking but the matter seemed closed to her. She hoped that Danielle would share the report with Toby and her but she knew that was not required. Sometimes she wished she were not so curious about everything.

  She heard Danielle come back down the hallway to her office so she got up and walked out herself. The office door was open so she paused and looked in, she had to know something!

  “Well, can you share what the report concluded?” she decided to be brave and simply ask.

  “Basically what I said earlier,” Danielle replied stacking the papers back in the report file and laying it on the corner of her desk. “The death was ruled accidental due to a fall. The victim struck his head on a rock when he fell. He was obviously careless, traveling the back country on foot with no water—most likely because he had been drinking and his judgment was impaired,” she added.

  “ What about his vehicle? Where was that?”

  “It seems that he drove a pickup truck an
d had parked it on some ranch land adjacent to that part of the park. Most likely he did not want to be seen, if he was coming into the park drunk, so he walked in from the back way.”

  “Was this the person you and Toby thought?” Lin pressed for more information.

  “Yes, Deputy Taylor visited the family, when he learned that a truck had been found abandoned last year that was registered to this man. It was Cullen Honeyestewa and his folks live in Moenkopi. They had been contacted last year about the truck being found and they came to pick it up but they had no knowledge of where he might have gone. All they knew was he came to the park to collect eaglets and feathers for ceremonies from time to time.”

  “ How did they determine it was him? That body was certainly some distance away from where the truck had been found,” Lin still had questions.

  “It was the belt buckle really,” Danielle said. “You will remember that it was what Toby and I recalled also—really a unique piece—and the family said it was definitely his.”

  “I see,” Lin realized that Danielle seemed ready to move on. She probably had something else on her schedule, “Well, thanks for sharing.”

  Lin watched as Danielle went back to her office. She went out to the desk and told Toby she was going to take her lunch break and would be back soon to relieve him at the desk. “By the way, the death was ruled accidental. It was that Honeyestewa fellow you and Danielle thought it might be.”

  “Yeah, I heard,” Toby responded. “You know, I’m a little surprised that he would have gone out there like that—drinking and all. He seemed like a pretty responsible person to me—but then I really only saw him a few times and at long intervals. I guess we don’t really always know what folks are really like when we see them only in one role. Too bad for his family though.”