“Sue is off today,” the young man who answered responded. “Try her cell though, I saw her car when I walked over a few minutes ago so I think she is still home.”
Lin reached Sue a few moments later and briefly told her that she was heading into Flagstaff to check in with the gallery owner regarding the card given to her by Cullen’s mother.
“I should be through there by lunch time, care to meet me somewhere?”
“I’d love to,” Sue responded. “I have errands to run myself but I should be done by lunch also.”
The friends agreed to meet at Heritage Square in the center of downtown. There were a couple of restaurants and some food vendors usually there and they could enjoy eating outside.
“I have a lot to catch you up on,” Lin responded, “I don’t know if you have heard yet, but we found more bodies in the park yesterday!”
“I just briefly overheard one of the staff members reporting on a phone call he had received relative to having to close that area of the park again. He mentioned more deaths but I couldn’t hear all he was saying. No one gave us any more information,” Sue reported.
“Well, I guess I am just lucky! I always seem to be landing in the thick of these things.” Lin said, “I can fill you in from my perspective. I guess park officials are waiting for the sheriff’s office to issue formal statements before they say anything but I was on the scene and I can tell you this raises even more questions. I’m not sure what is going on here but something is. I’ll fill you in when I see you.”
“I can’t wait,” Sue responded as she broke the connection.
Lin proceeded into town. As it was still a bit too early to expect the gallery to be open, she decided to run some other errands first. She stopped at the supermarket on the east side of town. Fortunately, she didn’t have any perishable items to purchase so timing was not an issue. She purchased some canned and packaged food items and grabbed another bottle of wine. Adding a box of tissue and a roll of paper towels to her basket, she moved to check out. It was still half an hour before she could be sure of the gallery being open but she decided to head downtown.
Arriving in the downtown business district, Lin located a parking spot near the square where she was meeting Sue. She walked over to San Francisco Street where the gallery was located. The lights were not on and the shop was obviously not open so she proceeded down the street to Late for the Train, a popular coffee shop she’d been told about. It was a tiny little place with only limited seating but she went in and purchased a cup of coffee. One table on the sidewalk had emptied so she picked up a copy of the local newspaper from a basket beside the door and sat down to peruse the front page while she drank her coffee.
Surprisingly, there was only a small story in the right-hand corner of the front page reporting the discovery of the bodies yesterday. It was probably late when the reports first surfaced. The only official statement was a quote from a “representative of the sheriff’s department” that acknowledged the discovery and the “ongoing” investigation and promised more information once the medical reports and other evidence had been evaluated. The reporter had, however, mentioned the remains that had been discovered earlier and the fact that the sheriff’s representative had refused to speculate when asked about possible connections, mentioning that the earlier death had been ruled an accident.
There has to be some connection, Lin thought. I do not think these deaths are linked only by coincidence! Something more is going on here and the story will come out eventually. I, for one, am going to get some answers—at least for the Honeyestewa family. Lin glanced at her watch—the gallery would be open now. Replacing the paper in the basket, she tossed the empty coffee cup in the trash and proceeded to walk back down San Francisco St.
Arriving at the gallery, she was happy to see that John Sessions was behind the counter and it appeared that there were no customers in the shop. He was talking with his assistant who was standing nearby. He handed a stack of paper slips to the young man as Sue entered the store.
“ These are all new orders,” Sessions spoke to his employee, “You’ll need to locate and package all of these items for shipping this morning. We need to get them out this afternoon.”
“Yes sir, I’ll get right on it,” the young man replied as he moved toward the back of the store.
“May, I help you?” Sessions turned toward Lin, “Oh, I’ve seen you here before, you’re Neal Smith’s friend—sorry, I seem to have forgotten your name.”
“Lin, Lin Hanna, I was in your beautiful gallery once recently and Neal took me to lunch following. I bought some earrings,” Lin replied, “I’m enjoying them.” She wanted to begin her conversation on a positive note.
“Glad you are, what can I help you with today?” Sessions smiled.
“Well, I would like to look at some more jewelry, if you have some priced as reasonably as those earrings—they were quite a good deal. I was thinking of making some purchases for use as gifts later. I’ve found it pays to take advantage of good prices when you see them!”
By this time, Sessions was happily removing several trays of earrings, bracelets, and rings from the cases and placing them on the counter for Lin to see. He was very relaxed and happy with his customer.
Lin bent to look at the items displayed. She was not entirely kidding about making purchases. While she was using shopping as an intro to talking with Sessions, she did think that he had some exceptional bargains and she did have a number of friends and relatives whose birthdays and other special events would be coming up later in the year. She would be purchasing something for these ladies anyway so she might as well use this as a reason for being in the gallery.
About half an hour later, Lin had selected a few items for purchase. “Could you box those for me? I’ll gift wrap them later on.”
“Certainly,” Sessions responded. As he placed several small boxes on the counter and began to wrap the items in cotton layers and place them inside the boxes, Lin reached for her wallet and extracted her credit card and the small business card she’d received from Myrna.
Sessions rang up the sale and placed the boxes in a plastic bag. Turning to Lin he smiled, “ Thanks for your business—is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“As a matter of fact, there is.” Lin placed her package in her shopping tote and turned toward Smith. “I’m sure you remember that a couple of weeks ago the remains of a Hopi man were found out at Wupatki. Neal probably told you about it,” Lin spoke freely, trying to sound casual. “ You may also be aware that two more dead men were found near the same area yesterday. There’s a small item in this morning’s paper but the investigation is just getting started.”
“ Yes,” Sessions spoke calmly but cautiously, “ I remember Neal mentioning the first incident—it seems his class made the discovery—he was a bit rattled by it, I think.”
“ We all were, at the time, but the official investigation concluded that the man died accidentally. Of course, we do not know about the two found yesterday,” Lin added.
Sessions pulled back from the counter, “ and just what did you want to ask me about, I really don’t know anything about that first incident, and I just read about the other in today’s Daily Sun—no one knows anything much about that yet.” Sessions moved a bit further back, away from Lin, and turned toward his desk that was piled high with papers. “ I’m really pretty busy here, lots of orders to get out today.”
“I won’t take much of your time. I know you are busy,” Lin smiled at Sessions who now was beginning to appear impatient. “ I had occasion to visit recently with the Honeyestewa family in Moenkopi. Cullen, the victim found by Neal’s student, was their son and brother. As you can imagine, the family is quite upset—they have been since Cullen went missing last year. They asked me if I would try to find out what he might have been doing at the park at the time of his death. They know it has been ruled an accident but they have questions they would like to have answered. They gave me some of the
papers found in Cullen’s truck—receipts and such—and I’m trying to see if I can find some answers for them. I found this business card among those items and thought perhaps you might recall if Cullen ever came in your shop or if he did any business with you?” Lin let the question fall as she placed the card on the counter in front of John Sessions.
Sessions picked up the card and flipped it over—noticing the number on the back.
“ I’m sorry, but this really doesn’t help me recall anything.” Sessions placed the card carefully back on the counter. I’ve never met anyone by the name Cullen Honeyestewa and I must have hundreds of customers who pick up these cards during the tourist season alone.” He indicated a small rack of the cards nearby at the cash register, “Almost every customer takes a card. I wish I could tell you something about this man. I know the family may be upset—but I can assure you I never met him and I certainly do not know what he might have been doing in the park a year ago!” Sessions snapped, “Now, I really must get to work. I’m sorry I can’t help you.” He began to turn back to his desk.
“Just one more thing,” Lin pressed on. “This number on the back of the card. It belongs to Neal Smith. Perhaps you might recall if he introduced you to this man?”
“ Neal is a friend and he comes in fairly often,” Sessions spoke evenly but there was tension in his voice, “but I don’t recall his introducing me to this Cullen person—perhaps he knew him and maybe he brought him to the shop. That would explain the card and Neal’s number—but I don’t know anything about him. Why don’t you ask Neal?” Sessions was losing patience, “I really must get back to work—thanks for your business.” Sessions picked up a stack of orders and headed for the back of the shop—leaving Lin standing at the counter.
“He knows something,” Lin thought as she picked up the card and exited the gallery, “otherwise, why would he have been so upset by the inquiry? ”
Session’s reaction had convinced Lin that, even if he hadn’t actually met Cullen, he must know something—maybe something Neal Smith also knew…she had to keep pursuing the answers. She had no proof of anything but she was convinced that both Neal and John Sessions had had some sort of earlier contact with Cullen Honeyestewa—something that they did not want to talk about.
Lin was still a bit early for her lunch date with Sue so she walked to her car and locked her purchases in her trunk. She then entered the building next to Heritage Square that housed the Old Towne shops. She spent the next twenty minutes browsing through some unique and unusual boutique shops—one on the lower level even housed a barbeque restaurant. Emerging onto the plaza area of the square she saw Sue seated at a table under a colorful umbrella.
“I’m hungry,” Lin announced as she approached Sue. “What’s good around here?”
“How about a burger,” Sue responded. “Diablo Burger has some great sandwiches.” She indicated an open-air food counter nearby.
The ladies placed their orders and soon returned to their table loaded with burgers, fries and soft drinks. Lin savored the first succulent bite, “ This is fantastic! One of the best I’ve had!”
“I’m afraid they are too good,” Sue replied as she bit into a crispy fried potato, “ I wish Walnut Canyon were not so close to town. There is too much temptation here!”
A few moments later, initial hunger satisfied, Sue spoke again, “ I saw the paper this morning and you mentioned that something else happened yesterday—tell me about this latest incident.”
Lin proceeded to fill Sue in on the previous day’s discovery. After telling her the entire story, she sat back, “ You can see what questions this newest incident raises. I think even Deputy Taylor may be wondering if these deaths are connected to the earlier one. At least he seemed to me to be questioning this situation.”
“ Well, he should,” Sue responded, “I think the accidental death ruling was a rush to judgment.”
Sue’s demeanor turned more serious, “ Of course, the presence of that eagle-head belt buckle makes the connection even more serious. You and I both saw that buckle at the Honeyestewa home last Sunday.”
“ I know,” Lin eyed her remaining French fries, realizing she had already eaten too much. She pushed her plate back, “ You and I both know where the buckle was, but so do the authorities—they returned it to the family. I didn’t mention our trip,” she confessed, “ I knew that they would make the connection themselves and I wanted to be free to pursue my own research as to what happened to Cullen. I didn’t want to get involved in this case. I’ll let the authorities deal with this one—it is obviously a crime. I just want to learn more about what happened to Cullen—perhaps help his family feel closure.”
Sue sat back in her chair, “ It may be too late not to get involved. Remember there are some seeming connections between the two incidents. Tell me what happened with the business card from the gallery.”
Lin told Sue about her meeting with Sessions and his denial of knowing anything about the card or the person who might have picked it up. “ I suppose that could all be true,” she said, “but I know he is a friend of Neal’s and that was Neal’s number on the back. He seemed rather nervous and impatient for me to leave; I think he knows more than he’s willing to admit. I can’t help but feel that there is some connection between Cullen, Sessions, and Neal Smith. I just wish I knew what it was and if it had anything to do with Cullen’s death last year.”
Sue seemed thoughtful. “ Well, unfortunately, hunches and feelings don’t prove anything. All of these seeming connections may mean nothing. Cullen could have picked up the card casually. He could have added Neal’s phone number later.”
“True,” Lin responded, “ but I think you’ll agree that, at least, Cullen had some reason to have Neal Smith’s number—whether it was connected to Sessions and his gallery or not. That much has to be true and I fully intend to find out more from Neal Smith the next time I see him. He may not want to discuss this but I’m not going to let it drop!” Lin was insistent.
“Just be careful and don’t push him too hard,” Sue advised, “ You’ve already said he seems to get put out with you when you bring up the subject. Tell you what, you pursue learning more from Smith and I’ll take to the Internet and see what I can learn about John Sessions. He is a businessman, an art dealer. I’ll bet he has a web site.”
“He does,” Lin said, “ I remember his assistant saying they did a lot of mail order business.”
“ Well, I was an investigative reporter for many years,” Sue offered, “ I’m pretty good at finding out information by digging through public files. It’s amazing how much information is out there—about everyone!”
“That would be great,” Lin thanked her. “ We can get together to share what we find out in a few days. In the meantime, I’ll also try to find out what the authorities do with this new case. In the back of my mind I feel that there may be a connection to Cullen’s death.”
“Perhaps,” Sue responded. “It would seem to be a strange coincidence if the incidents are not related—however, a connection could be hard to prove after all this time.”
“True, but I know Deputy Taylor realizes these recent deaths were the result of criminal activity so, at least, he’s open to finding out all the facts. It may lead to something related to Cullen’s death eventually.”
Sue got up to leave. “ I have to get back to work but I’ve really enjoyed our lunch and I certainly am interested in finding out more about all this. I’ll give you a call in a few days and we can catch up on what we might have learned.” She paused thoughtfully, “ Lin—do be careful as you pursue this thing. My experience as a reporter has taught me to always be cautious when nosing around possible criminal cases. If there are connections here, as you suspect, that means that a killer is on the loose somewhere around here.”
“I know, and I will be careful” Lin grasped Sue’s hand in friendship, “I appreciate your help with this. I know we ‘ll find some answers.”
The two women parted, hea
ding in opposite directions toward their cars. Lin was in a bit of a hurry as she had just enough time to return to the park and get ready for her afternoon shift at the visitor center. I wonder when we’ll hear about the results of this new investigation, she thought. She had a deep, uneasy feeling about the presence of that belt buckle at the crime scene. That was a strong piece of evidence and it pointed directly to the Honeyestewa family.
Chapter 15
Lin got up earlier than usual the next morning so that she could take a walk before reporting to the visitor center. She was determined to get back into a regular exercise routine. The previous afternoon had been pretty quiet in the park for this time of year. Lin wondered if word was spreading about the Lomaki area being closed because bodies had been found. She had thought that might bring out more curiosity seekers but maybe not. Danielle had requested that one of the Sunset Crater employees be placed on loan for a few days and had assigned him to patrol the Lomaki area. That would certainly help. Men from the sheriff’s department had also returned to the scene to search for any further evidence they might find.
Today promised to be busier. It was the park’s “birthday” and an open house was being held this afternoon. Admission was to be waived and local media had publicized the event. Several area artists had agreed to come and display their work. It promised to be a busy but fun day and Lin was excited about it. She had promised to pick up Sarah Chee later this morning and was looking forward to seeing the older woman again.
Lin arrived at the center shortly after opening and was soon busy helping to set up display tables for the various artists who were expected later. There wasn’t much room in the center itself so most of the tables were being placed on the patio and on the walkway that led out to Wupatki ruin.
“Don’t forget to save two tables for refreshments,” Danielle directed, “put those as close to the door as possible so it will be easy to carry things.”
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 17