As the man approached the ridge just above the canyon entrance, he heard another vehicle pull into the parking lot. Just to be safe he ducked behind a large boulder and peered around the side toward the parking lot. Could this vehicle be Darren just arriving? He might have missed him, if he stopped somewhere along the highway.
He quickly saw that this was not Darren’s vehicle. This was a much newer truck—a pretty new truck but awfully dirty. Must have been driving in the backcountry. He didn’t wait to see who was in this new truck but turned instead back to the canyon trail. He felt sure now that the man he had seen on foot earlier must be Steele.
Chapter 12
Lin could hardly wait to share what she had learned with Sue. When she turned into the parking lot she was glad to see that Sue was already at the restaurant. Salsa Brava was a new spot for Lin. She loved Mexican food and had heard about the excellent menu and the salsa bar featured here.
Sue waved at Lin as she entered the restaurant from a booth near the front windows.
“I took the liberty of ordering margaritas for us both but we can change that if you wish,” Sue said.
“No, no, that is fine. We need to celebrate anyway—I have some additional information.” Lin responded eagerly.
Their drinks came and they went to the salsa bar where they found several different types to enjoy with their warm, fresh tortilla chips.
As they enjoyed their appetizer, Lin reported to Sue about her phone call and the discovery that the number on the back of the card belonged to Neal Smith.
“That makes me even more certain that he knew Cullen Honeyestewa; that might explain why he is reluctant to talk about the situation.” Lin was excited about her new information, “ The fact that Cullen had Neal’s number suggests some sort of contact, yet he has never indicated that he knew the man at all. There has to be a reason he wants to hide the connection.”
“It certainly looks that way,” Sue offered, “but again, we mustn’t jump to any quick conclusions. There are a lot of reasons someone might have a phone number. Smith might have hidden a casual, innocent connection because he didn’t want to get involved in any possible investigation. People do that, you know.”
“I know, but I am still somewhat suspicious,” Lin admitted, “ It’s just a feeling I have. Besides, the more we learn about Cullen Honeyestewa as a person, the more certain I am that he wouldn’t have been drinking. His fall must have been due to some other cause.”
“I agree with you on that point,” Sue offered, “changing the subject a bit—what do you plan to do about the gallery itself and the possible connection there?”
“I’m not sure,” Lin spoke thoughtfully, “I already knew that the gallery owner and Neal Smith were acquainted and this card seems to indicate that Cullen had some connection with both of them.”
“You know,” Sue sounded like a reporter now, “the family let you take the card and you implied that you were seeking answers to questions and told them you would let them know if you learned anything more. That implies that you have their permission to look into things…”
“And I could talk to the gallery owner and tell him I was trying to learn more for the family…” Lin finished Sue’s thought.
“Yes, you can,” Sue smiled, “and you could even use that excuse with Dr. Smith; but, that would be a little trickier since you have already tried to get him to talk and he hasn’t acknowledged knowing Cullen at all.”
“Well, first things first,” Lin replied eagerly, “I’m going to talk to John Sessions the first chance I get.”
Sizzling fajitas and creamy enchiladas made their appearance at the table. Sue and Lin were both hungry as they had skipped lunch in favor of snacks on their way home. They enjoyed their meal and passed the rest of their time discussing things that were happening at their respective parks and how much they were enjoying being volunteers. Lin even had the opportunity to put in a good word for Toby—telling Sue that he was applying for a permanent job at Walnut Canyon and he was a very good, dependable employee.
“Of course, I’m just a volunteer,” Sue responded, “but I will tell the head ranger, who will be involved in the hiring process, what you have said. Toby does seem to be a nice young man.”
The women parted company in the parking lot, promising to stay in touch and to do something social together soon.
“I’ll let you know what I learn if I talk to that gallery owner,” Lin commented.
“See that you do,” Sue replied as she got into her car and headed for home.
As Lin took the somewhat longer ride back to Wupatki, she reflected on what she had learned that day and on the best way to proceed from this point on. She did intend to talk to John Sessions at the first possible opportunity. Meanwhile, she was to see Neal Smith and his students on Tuesday. Lin was not certain what she would say to Smith but she didn’t want him to have the chance to contact Sessions before she talked to him; she decided it was probably best to say nothing at all to Smith when he came to the park. She would talk to Sessions first and then see where that led.
She also had no plans to share anything she had learned today with anyone else at the park. She had told no one that she and Sue were going to contact the Honeyestewa family—somehow she didn’t think that Danielle would approve of her getting involved in this matter which was now officially closed. As far as anyone knew, Sue and Lin had simply spent the day sightseeing and exploring on the reservation and, for now, it would have to stay that way.
Lin was tired when she arrived home so she decided to skip her usual Sunday night call to her kids. She would drive up to Doney tomorrow evening and check on them. They knew she was busy and was enjoying herself; they would not necessarily expect to hear from her every weekend. Best not to be too habitual anyway, she thought.
Before she went to bed, Lin looked at her calendar where she had noted her work schedule for the week. The early part of the week was busy. It would probably be Wednesday afternoon before she could get into Flagstaff to talk to John Sessions. That gave her a couple of days to think how she would approach him and what she would say.
***
Lin was working six hours on Monday—from late morning until the visitor center closed at five. When she arrived, the center was already pretty much filled with visitors. Danielle sent her out to relieve Toby on the ruin trail and she spent the rest of the morning there talking to visitors and answering their questions. It was a nice day and she enjoyed being outside. The time passed quickly until her lunch break at one.
After lunch another group of French tourists arrived. She had learned that Wupatki was a regular stop for one particular tour company that was popular with these European visitors. She soon discovered that there were not enough flyers that described the ruin and its history in French, so she hastily made some copies to round out the supply. Thank goodness for the French-speaking guide who was very familiar with the park and could handle most of the questions.
By three-thirty most of the visitors had gone. There was a slow but steady stream of individuals who dropped in during the late afternoon but it wasn’t crowded so it was easily managed. Lin even had some time to spend in the staff office with her archeology readings. She was still preparing for her work with the grad students. While she was reading, her mind began to drift back to her visit with the Honeyestewa family yesterday. She was determined to find out more about what might have happened to their son and brother. They did not deserve to have such a negative image of him left in their memories. They needed more substantial answers. She only hoped that she could find more information to share with them.
When she left the visitor center that afternoon, she decided to drive directly to Doney Peak to call her kids. She wanted to share with them all that had happened and what she had learned. She knew before she called that they would both caution her to be careful and to remain uninvolved. She also knew that while she could promise to be cautious, she would not promise to stop asking questions.
&n
bsp; Later that evening as she prepared for bed, she thought about the next day when she would be spending the afternoon with Neal Smith, Mark, and Ginger. She was a little nervous about this. She didn’t know quite what to expect from Neal, who had seemed somewhat standoffish last week. She noted that he hadn’t called her or tried to see her since that last visit to the park. Maybe he didn’t wish to pursue their friendship, or maybe it had more to do with her trying to talk about Cullen and her questions about the case. She wasn’t sure. Now that she knew there was some sort of connection between Smith and Cullen, she wasn’t sure she could manage to remain detached and not speak too soon. It would take a lot of concentration on her part but she would certainly try.
Chapter 13
The next day dawned bright and crisp with a promise of a much warmer afternoon ahead. Once again, Lin wasn’t due into the center until late morning so she took advantage of the cooler morning air to take a long walk over to Wukoki ruin—a distance of about 2 miles. She was a bit winded when she arrived at the ruin that was built atop a large rock outcropping. She was really going to have to get more exercise—she was getting out of shape.
Wukoki was her favorite ruin. From the plaza area atop the outcropping there was a spectacular view across the park toward the San Francisco Peaks that still were topped with snow. The park literature emphasized the excellent defensive position of this ruin, noting that those who lived there could have seen visitors—friendly or unfriendly—coming for miles. That was certainly true, but Lin also thought about the women who would have spent most of their days working in the plaza area doing their daily chores and tending their children. They must have enjoyed the view. Perhaps that also had figured into the choice of location for these buildings.
After resting for a while on the plaza and enjoying her surroundings. Lin began the walk back to her apartment. She arrived tired and dusty but feeling some satisfaction for having taken a long walk and getting some much needed exercise.
She hurried to shower and dress so she wouldn’t be late for work.
Lin tried not to think about her upcoming afternoon with Neal Smith and the students. She wanted so much to reveal that she knew he had some sort of connection to Cullen, but at the same time, she realized that to reveal this too soon would simply hinder her chances of getting more answers. She would stick to her resolve not to mention this to him until after she had visited the gallery in Flagstaff tomorrow.
As it turned out, the students arrived without Dr. Smith. They walked into the center with Danielle when she returned from a meeting at park headquarters.
“ Dr. Smith had a meeting on campus,” Ginger reported, “but he is coming later. He’s going to meet us at the site in about an hour. Luckily, Danielle was coming into town this morning so she brought us out. We’ll ride back with Dr. Smith later so everything worked out.”
Lin turned to Danielle, “ May we take one of the park vehicles out to Lomaki for the afternoon? If they are all tied up I could drive my own car.”
“Not a problem,” Danielle tossed her the keys, “take that SUV I was driving. I don’t have plans to go anywhere this afternoon and there’s always the pick up available if I do need to go somewhere.”
Lin gathered the keys and her topographical maps of the area. Neal had given her a copy of the map on which he had marked the sites he wished to examine. As they drove toward the northern part of the park, Lin enjoyed the relaxed chatter between the students. It’s probably just as well that Neal isn’t coming until later, she thought. It may make it easier for me to stay away from dangerous territory!
“Dr. Smith wants us to go all the way to the end of the box canyon this afternoon,” Mark explained, “He says that there is a small slot canyon there that leads back out into the adjacent open backcountry. He thinks that there might have been some field houses and storage areas out there at one time. Apparently there are several high areas as well where eagles have been known to nest.”
“Should be interesting,” Lin remarked, “ I haven’t been that far before.”
Arriving at the Lomaki parking lot, they left their vehicle on the side away from the main parking area for visitors. Making sure they had water, maps, and cameras they headed for the box canyon. Just as they got to the canyon entrance, Lin stopped.
“I forgot my two-way radio,” she said, “and that is a must. Our cell phones wouldn’t work at all out here if we needed anything. I’ll go back to get it and catch up with you. Wait for me before you enter the slot area. I’m not familiar with that and would feel better if we went in together.” The students agreed and then began their walk up the canyon while Lin hurried back to the car to get the radio.
About 15 minutes later, after walking up the canyon alone, Lin spotted the students waiting for her beside what looked like a crack in the canyon’s end wall. They were sitting on a large boulder studying their map.
Mark pointed to a red line marking the path through the slot that ended at an “x” in the area beyond. This is where Dr. Smith wants us to look for signs of a field house. He said it was only a five-minute walk from this point.” He pointed to another “x” which appeared to be on a higher point, just beyond the first one, “He also thinks this is another promising site to explore if we have time.”
The three of them entered the slot area single file. Lin had heard about these small canyons cut by water through sandstone formations. Some really spectacular, colorful ones could be found further north near Page, she’d been told. This one was less spectacular but still pretty and interesting. It was just wide enough for one person at a time to walk through and it opened out onto a rugged area of juniper and brush dotted with large boulders. Several higher ridges with rocky slopes flanked the open area. Some “informal” trails up these slopes and across this area were obvious signs of previous visitors. Lin knew that such trails posed a problem for the park—breaking down the thin crusty soil and causing more erosion; it was simply not possible to prevent such things, especially in the more secluded areas of the park. Signs were posted near the visited ruins and in the parking lots that helped at least a bit, though. Of course, Neal and his students had permission to explore in this particular area.
“I think the spot marked on the map is over there just beyond those rocks,” Mark pointed a short distance away. He began to hurry across the rugged terrain—leaving the ladies a bit behind. As he arrived at the rocks he stopped suddenly, throwing back his arm as if to halt their approach.
“ You might want to stay back. Something is very wrong here. You don’t want to see it.” Mark cautioned.
Ginger hesitated but Lin pushed on. After all, whatever it was, she was the park representative and she was the one who had the radio! Bracing herself she approached the rocks where Mark stood. Ginger took a deep breath and slowly followed her.
Coming up beside Mark, Lin gave a small cry. Sprawled on the ground beside the rocks were two figures—both appeared to be male—and both were quite obviously dead!
Not taking her eyes away from the scene, Lin fingered her radio and tried to call the visitor center. She didn’t get through. Looking around she realized that they were more or less surrounded by the end wall of the canyon and some rather tall boulders.
“I’m going to climb up there,” she indicated an apparent path which led up to a higher area, “and see if I can get through from there. You guys stay here and don’t touch anything!”
A few moments later Lin succeeded in reaching Danielle at the center. She told her about the grisly scene they had come upon.
“I’ll call the sheriff and then I’ll be right out in the truck. Tell me again where you are?”
Lin described the area and Danielle told her that she would be coming cross-country rather than through the box canyon. “There is a track which runs from the park road back through the ranch property just beyond where you are, I think. The boundary between parkland and ranch land runs right along that area and up behind Lomaki. Sounds like your bodies may be on ran
ch land. If I’m right, I can reach you faster from there. Anyway, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Knowing that they would have at least a half hour to wait for Danielle to arrive and probably longer for the authorities, Lin went back down to the area where the bodies were. Mark and Ginger had moved back toward the slot entrance and were sitting on some rocks. Ginger seemed to be in a state of shock. She was pale and shaky. Mark seemed to be ok. Lin went over and made Ginger drink some water. She then gave her a granola bar she had in her own pack. Ginger perked up a bit after that.
Lin turned to Mark, “Mind if I borrow your camera?” she felt the need to explain further. “There is something about this which reminds me a bit of the remains we found a couple of weeks ago. Maybe Dr. Smith told you….”
Mark nodded as he handed her the camera. “Go ahead. I have a new memory card in here and I seriously doubt we will do any work today anyway. I’ll keep Ginger company.” Lin could see that he had no taste for poking around dead bodies.
Lin returned to the scene they had just discovered, taking care to stay in the same path they had already used and making sure not to disturb the area close to the bodies. Using Mark’s zoom lens, she took several shots from different angles. From all appearances both bodies were male, dressed in typical western wear—both wore boots, plaid western shirts, and jeans— and, judging from their odor and appearance, they had been dead for a while—possibly a couple of days. They did not look familiar to Lin but it would have been hard to identify them anyway in their current state. The bodies appeared almost identical. Lin was no expert but she felt sure this crime had occurred sometime over the weekend just past.
After snapping some pictures of the bodies from several feet away, Lin turned to examine the surrounding countryside. Again, she didn’t move around much and she tried to observe where she was stepping so as not to disturb any footprints. She tried to stick to areas where the three of them had already walked when they approached.
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 15