“Then, it is highly unlikely that Michael and Teddy could have been at the scene of the crime on Sunday—unless it were very late in the day,” Cameron said.
“That’s right,” Lin responded. “Michael says that he and Teddy took the truck, and the belt buckle, on Monday—presumably to come to Flagstaff and shop for a belt. He hasn’t said why they made a side trip to the park—which they obviously did—and lost that buckle at that time. The medical report places the deaths during the weekend—most likely Saturday—which says to me that, even if deaths on Sunday were a slim possibility, they would have to have occurred early in the day and we saw that buckle at the Honeyestewa house at midday.”
“That is very helpful information,” Cameron responded with a smile, “in a criminal case the essence of any defense is to be able to raise doubt about the prosecution’s case and there does seem to be doubt here.”
“I would be happy to testify as to what I observed during my visit,” Lin offered, “if you need me.”
“Thank you, but my first goal would be to avoid any charges being brought at all or to have them dismissed before trial. Now my task is to get Michael to talk to me, Teddy too. They have the answers as to what they were doing and they need to understand that I can’t help them if I don’t know,” David was quite serious.
“I realize that,” Lin responded. She told Cameron about her visit to the jail with Sophie and their conversation with Michael. “I think he’s trying to hide something from his family. He doesn’t want them to know what he and Teddy were doing in the park— why they were actually there. I tried to explain confidentiality to him and also to make him see how important it is that you know everything, if you are going to help him. I can’t be sure, but he did tell his mother he would talk to you.”
“Good,” Cameron offered, “I’ll try to see him again as soon as possible. Is there anything else you can share with me?”
Lin had seen that Cameron had a copy of the police report on his desk. She wondered if he knew anything more about the victims than was revealed there.
“ I’m sure you know this, but Henry Piestewa was a Hopi clan leader who was authorized to collect eaglets and eagle feathers at Wupatki. He shared this responsibility with Michael’s uncle—the man whose body was found earlier. I have been seeking some connections here—the Honeyestewa family has had a hard time accepting his death as an accident. Frankly, I’m having trouble with that also—especially now that these new killings have occurred. I am still seeking answers for them, but haven’t found anything concrete.”
“ Henry Piestewa is a mystery to me also,” Cameron offered, “I’ve been doing some investigating of my own—trying to get some answers. You know what they say about seeking the cause of a crime in the lives of the victims—but Henry was a law abiding citizen, very responsible, a totally clean record—I can’t figure what he was doing there with the other guy.”
Lin nodded in agreement. “ The police report has identified the other man as Darren Steele, a Navaho, but it doesn’t say anything much more about him—apparently they have not found any information much, at least not thus far.” Lin decided to share what she did know about this man even if it were hearsay. She told Cameron about Jimmy Chee and his identification of Darren Steele as the man he heard talking about searching for old pottery near the park. “He wasn’t sure about this report because apparently Steele was drunk at the time,” Lin explained, “but I did ask him to tell Deputy Taylor what he heard.”
“I see. That is not mentioned in the report, but then Chee might not have talked to Taylor—at least not yet. That may not be considered reliable information but hey, who knows, anything might help at this point,” Cameron smiled.
“I have learned a bit more about this other victim—about Darren Steele,” Cameron offered. “Apparently, he used to work here in town at one of the galleries—worked for a man named John Sessions. I talked to Sessions but he didn’t know anything—said Steele wasn’t dependable, took off about a year ago and nothing had been heard from him since then. That seems to be a dead end.”
Wheels began to click in Lin’s brain; one of the victims had worked for John Sessions at the gallery! Here was another connection—even if coincidental. Cullen Honeyestewa had possessed John Sessions’ business card—and that card dated back to before his own death—about a year ago.
***
Lin couldn’t wait to share what had transpired this morning with Sue. Glancing at her watch as she left David Cameron’s office, she saw that it was already past three so she drove downtown toward Heritage Square. This time she found no parking spaces open on the nearby streets so she had to enter the parking deck.
By the time Lin arrived at the plaza, Sue was already there. She had a hot dog and soda in front of her and was already nibbling on some crisp French fries.
“Care to join me,” Sue offered to share the fries, “I didn’t have lunch today and I just could not wait until dinner.”
“No, thanks,” Lin responded, “Sophie fed me, as well as Michael—I had a great lunch.”
Lin did go to a nearby food cart and got a large coffee to enjoy while Sue ate.
While she waited for Sue to finish her lunch, Lin brought her up to date on what had transpired when she visited the jail and met with David Cameron—ending with the news that Darren Steele once worked for John Sessions.
Sue’s wide-eyed stare reflected her surprise at this bit of information. “There simply has to be a link in all of this—from last year until this. There are too many connections to simply be coincidental!”
Sue downed the last of her soda, “ Somehow, I also think the black market for stolen art and artifacts has to be linked in some way.” Sue went on to relate to Lin her meeting with John Sessions and what she had learned about the stolen art market from the Internet.
“I am reasonably certain that Sessions is dealing in stolen art on the side,” Sue said, “He was only too happy to say he would ‘search’ for the type of pottery I’m interested in—that Susanna Grayson is interested in, rather. He was quick to set up another meeting in two weeks.”
“I think you’re probably right,” Lin suggested, “but we just don’t have the missing pieces of this puzzle. We can’t go to the sheriff with just suspicious connections.”
“Well, we will just have to keep digging,” Sue insisted, “sooner or later we have to make a break through—hopefully sooner—I don’t think that Susanna Grayson would stand up if Sessions decided to do a thorough background check.”
“Well, he might not do that since all of this is under the table—at least we can hope,” Lin offered. “Meanwhile, we have to find this elusive connection.”
“I agree,” Lin added, “that we must proceed cautiously—both of us! You may be treading on very dangerous ground—trying to purchase stolen art—don’t put yourself in danger.”
Lin was about to add that maybe Michael Honeyestewa knew something—she was certain he knew more than he was telling anyone—when her cell phone rang.
“Hello,” she began but a look of dismay quickly took over, “what did you say! I was just with her less than two hours ago—yes, I will come over right away.” Lin ended the call and turned to face Sue—tears beginning to run down her cheeks.
Lin struggled to maintain her composure, “That was the ER at Flagstaff Medical Center—Sophie Honeyestewa is there and she has been beaten up. They aren’t going to admit her—there are no broken bones or serious internal injuries—but they think she has a mild concussion and they will not let her drive herself. I was the only person she could think of to call. I have to go pick her up.”
“I’ll go with you,” Sue offered, “I’ll take my own car though. Do you know the way?”
Lin had a rough idea of where to go but had never visited the medical center before so she decided to follow Sue. Fortunately, both of them were parked in the garage.
When they arrived at the emergency room they saw no sign of Sophie. Lin inquired at th
e desk and the clerk directed them to a cubicle down the hall. They found Sophie sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, crying. She had two black eyes, a cut lip and what appeared to be a broken nose.
“ Sophie, what happened?” Lin put her arm around the native woman’s shoulders.
Sophie cringed a bit—as if bruised—“I was heading out of town and stopped to get gas at the Maverick store on Highway 89. There was a man—I didn’t know him but I think I have seen him around Tuba City—he grabbed me and shoved me to the side of the building—he punched me—over and over,” she choked back sobs. “I think I might have passed out for a few seconds…”
“You don’t need to talk any more now,” Lin comforted the sobbing woman, “You’re going to be ok. We can talk later.” She looked up to see a young doctor entering the cubicle.
“You must be Ms. Honeyestewa’s friend,” he offered his hand. “I am Dr. Bryant, I am the ER doctor this afternoon. Your friend took quite a few hard licks, but I think she will be ok. She should rest tonight though and come back by the clinic tomorrow morning to get checked out. She shouldn’t drive—at least not tonight.” He indicated a sheet of paper on his clipboard, “I have already given a copy of my report on her injuries to the deputy who brought her in. He will probably want to talk to her tomorrow also. He left his card.” He handed the card to Lin. “Are you going to take her home? I understand she is from Moenkopi and I am not sure she will be able to come back tomorrow if….”
“ She can come home with me,” Sue Gray, silent until now, spoke up. “I live at Walnut Canyon so I am close. I’m off all day tomorrow anyway so I can bring her back and maybe help her make arrangements to get home and to take care of her truck.”
Sophie finally spoke, “ That is too much trouble…I will get a room somewhere, take a taxi. Maybe my Father can find a ride and come get the truck…”
“Nonsense,” Sue spoke, “you need rest and I have plenty of room—I’m in a two bedroom apartment. We can call your father from the visitor center and see what he wants to do about the truck. I can bring you to your appointment here and to the sheriff’s department—or maybe he can send someone out to take your statement about what happened.”
Sophie nodded in agreement but said nothing else. Meanwhile Lin signed some paperwork assuming responsibility for Sophie’s discharge.
They returned to the parking lot and Sue helped Sophie into her car. She turned to Lin. “On the way down, Sophie told me her truck was still at the Maverick store. We’re going by there to get the keys. I think the owner has parked it and it can stay there until someone can pick it up tomorrow. I’ll check to be sure. Then I’m taking Sophie to my place. We’ll call her family. Can you come by my apartment? If she feels like talking I think we should try to find out what happened, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Lin said, “I have a feeling this attack is also connected to this entire mess somehow. I’m getting scared—scared for the whole family. I’m supposed to be on duty tomorrow though. I’ll have to go back to Wupatki tonight.”
“We’ll make it an early evening. The Maverick store has good take out food. I’ll pick up something for all of us to eat while we are there.”
Lin glanced at her watch. It was after five, but just after, “ I’m going to take a chance and stop by David Cameron’s office, if he is there. I think he should know about this attack on Michael’s mother. I’ll see you later.”
Lin was glad to see a light on in David’s office when she pulled into the front parking lot. She found the office locked but knocked anyway. Soon Cameron himself opened the door.
“Ms. Hanna,” he smiled, “ Why the return visit?”
“Can I come in for a few minutes?” Lin asked, “Something has happened which I think you should know about.”
In a few moments Lin was seated in Cameron’s office with a hot cup of fresh coffee in her hands. She told him what had happened to Sophie and shared her concern that this attack was also somehow related to Michael’s situation—to the entire situation.
“I’m inclined to agree with you and I certainly want to talk to Sophie after she speaks with the sheriff’s office—or as soon as she feels well enough. I’m going to see Michael tomorrow morning and I will tell him about this—I’ll make sure he knows his mother is alright and is being looked after—but maybe this will help him realize further the importance of talking to me and letting me help.”
“I certainly hope so,” Lin responded. “ If Sophie feels up to it, Sue and I are going to talk to her tonight. I’ll let you know if we learn anything valuable. We’ll make sure that she is safe. We will not leave her alone. Somehow we’ll get her back to her family as soon as possible.”
“Good,” David tried to be reassuring, “ We have a lot of loose ends here and lots of facts which don’t add up. I feel sure that we will soon learn things that help us fill in the gaps and get a clearer picture of this crime. Sooner or later…”
“… it has to happen.” Lin finished his thoughts , “ I’ll try to call you tomorrow.”
She left the lawyer’s office and returned to her car. She had to admit that she was glad it was still early and it was still light in the parking area—but then it was early afternoon when Sophie was attacked. She hurried to lock her car and headed out toward Walnut Canyon.
Chapter 22
Lin had never visited Sue at her apartment and the lovely pine forest in which the small cluster of employee apartments nestled impressed her, very different from the single tree at the Wupatki apartments. She continued to be amazed at the difference just a few miles could make in the terrain in this part of Arizona—a bit of altitude made a huge difference.
Sue had a substantially larger place than did Lin. She had explained earlier that she was lucky. Normally she would have been assigned to a one-bedroom apartment but a permanent employee had recently moved to a house in town and no more seasonal workers or volunteers were expected, so the larger apartment was available. Sue had already put Sophie in her spare bedroom, insisting that she lie down to rest for a short while.
“ The doctor said to wake her up periodically for the next few hours—she’s mildly concussed—but he said it was ok, after about eleven, to let her sleep through the night, if she seems ok. He really thought she could probably go home tomorrow but she does need to see the doctor, and probably someone at the sheriff’s office, so I’m not sure but what she should stay here for a couple of days. I called her Father and he agreed with me. He is planning to have a friend bring him to town tomorrow. He’ll bring Sophie some clothes and pick up the keys to the truck and drive it home.” Sue hesitated, “ I told him one of us could bring her home later this week—I hope that is ok. If you can’t do it, I probably can.”
“That’s fine,” Lin reassured Sue. “You know I’m ready to help in any way possible. In fact, I think I may talk to Danielle tomorrow about taking some more time off this week anyway. I ‘ve actually been working more hours than I ‘m required to over the past couple of weeks and I ‘d like to have some more time to spend working on this mystery we have here. I think that things could easily spin out of control if some facts are not cleared up soon.” Lin shared David Cameron’s view that the gaps would fill in sooner or later. “I’d like to see if I could fill some in sooner!”
Sue nodded her agreement. “ We need to find out more about the connection of some of these folks to the art gallery. I can’t go back to see John Sessions as Sue Gray but I can do some checking at the newspaper office—see what I can find in the archives about the events of a year ago.”
“Good idea,” Lin responded. “ After I arrange for more time off, I intend to visit Mr. Sessions myself. It’s time he was confronted with the fact that he has not been entirely truthful.”
“ Maybe, but you must be very cautious,” Sue said, “ I’m sure he can’t be trusted and he may be into this stolen art trade pretty deeply. It may not rank with murder, but thievery can lead to violent actions if the stakes are high enough. After
all, we now know that one of our most recent victims worked for Sessions.”
“I don’t intend to put myself in a risky situation,” Lin responded, “I’ll simply visit him at the gallery again and let him know what I now know. We’ll see how he responds.”
Sue had begun to arrange the dinner she had bought at the convenience store on her small dining room table. There was fried chicken, some rolls, some coleslaw, and a carton of baked beans. She had just finished setting places when Sophie appeared at the door.
“Good, you woke up on your own—that’s a good sign,” Sue smiled. “I’ll bet you have a headache though, I’ll get a couple of aspirin.”
Sophie nodded and managed a brief smile as she sat down. “ Thank you so much. You are so kind to me…”
“Not a problem,” Sue responded, “I feel sure that you and your family would help either of us if we were caught in similar circumstances in Moenkopi or Tuba.”
Sophie nodded her agreement as she downed the aspirin with a long drink of water. “The food smells good and, believe it or not, I feel a little hungry—guess it takes more than a rough jerk of a Navajo to take my appetite!” she managed a smile.
The three of them filled plates and then settled in the living room to eat, as there was not much room at the table. They ate quietly for a while but soon Sophie put her plate aside and turned toward them. She was obviously ready to talk.
“You did not know the man who attacked you?” Lin asked.
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 23