“No, I didn’t know his name but I have seen him around Tuba City—he is Navajo.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure it makes sense,” Sophie responded. “He said ‘Michael got himself arrested—him and Teddy—he still owes Raymond and now he can’t pay. If you don’t want to see him and others of your family hurt then you will pay.’ ” Sophie was serious, “ Then he just started hitting me…I thought he would kill me but he just stopped and left me there—on the ground. I might have fainted—I know I was stunned. Then I came to and got up and went into the store. The manager called the sheriff and an ambulance. Then I went to the hospital and you already know the rest of my story.”
“Do you know what he meant, you would have to pay?” Sue asked.
“ Michael owed money to Raymond Tso. He’s a pawn broker in Tuba City and he lends money to people who need it but it is hard to ever pay him back.”
“ A loan shark,” Lin offered. “They can be ruthless.”
“ Michael had worked for him almost one whole year when Cullen disappeared. He had counted on Cullen—he was supposed to be helping him pay his debts.”
Lin remembered some of their earlier discussion when they visited the Honeyestewa home. Michael had counted on Cullen and he was angry and felt let down—at the same time he missed his uncle…
“ Michael and Teddy both continued to work for Tso but they never seemed to get the debt paid off—he would just keep their pay and tell them they still owed him…never showed them anything. Michael was very depressed. He thought he would be stuck forever working for that man but recently he seemed to have more hope. He said that he and Teddy had a new assignment for Mr. Tso and after that was done he would be free of that job…now I do not know.” Sophie could no longer repress the tears. She began to cry quietly.
Lin reflected upon what Sophie had shared. This added a new wrinkle to the situation. Obviously, Michael’s connection to this Tso fellow was problematic. Lin was quite certain that labor laws were being violated if nothing else—but what else might there be? It seemed even more important that Michael be willing to share all that was going on—all that he knew. It was the only way he could help himself—and his family.
Sophie went back to the bedroom to rest some more and Lin helped Sue to clear away the remains of their dinner. Then she readied herself to drive back to Wupatki.
“I will come back to Flagstaff tomorrow afternoon, after I get off. I intend to visit Sessions again at his gallery and maybe I can talk to David Cameron—he will have had time to talk to Michael. Anyway, I’ll try to talk to him. I’ll be in touch—thanks for taking care of Sophie.”
“I’m glad to do it,” Sue said, “I’ll take her to the doctor and to the sheriff’s office tomorrow. She has to tell them about Michael’s connection to Raymond Tso—maybe it will help his situation. I plan to keep her here for a few days until her wounds are better. Then we can talk about taking her home.”
“Maybe, if things work out, Michael can go home with her,” Lin said hopefully.
***
The next day, it was hard for Lin to keep her mind on her work. There were several visitors in the center and she gave one talk on the patio to a small group of travelers but she couldn’t take her mind away from Michael and Sophie and the events of yesterday.
Finally, she found time to talk to Danielle. She stopped at her office door, having noticed it stood open.
“I really need to talk to you,” Lin begged from the doorway.
“Come on in and close the door,” Danielle offered, “I think I know what you are going to say—Billy told me.”
Once again Lin noticed the familiar language and her face probably gave it away.
“Okay,” Danielle confessed, “I have been seeing Deputy Taylor—Billy—off and on since he investigated our first discovery—recently more on than off. I really like him. He’s not so cut and dried as he first appeared,” Danielle defended her friend, “In fact, he told me last night that he now thinks Cullen’s death was probably not an accident. These recent murders have led him to rethink things—he sees some of the same connections we do…. I think he would reopen that investigation if he could get a bit more evidence of these connections.”
“Well, if he told you what happened yesterday—I think you might agree that he has his connections now.” Lin sat in the chair opposite Danielle.
“ I think he believes so, he just has to tie down this connection to Raymond Tso—that pawn broker in Tuba City. If he’s responsible for what happened to Sophie…..” Danielle let the rest speak for itself.
Lin told Danielle about her visit to the jail with Sophie and of talking to Michael’s lawyer also. Of course, Danielle knew about Sophie being beaten up, but Lin shared with her the information Sophie had given her the previous evening.
“Sophie will be going to the sheriff’s office today to tell them all of this. They didn’t question her much at the hospital.” Lin offered.
“I’m glad she is being looked after,” Danielle responded. “I think Billy will be happy to talk to her and who knows—maybe it will open up this case—and Cullen’s”
Lin agreed but she still felt there were many unanswered questions. She didn’t share with Danielle all that Sue had learned about the trade in stolen art and her suspicions about John Sessions in that area. She wanted to gather more information herself before going to the authorities and she didn’t want to risk Danielle tipping her hand early in a conversation with Billy—he would probably not approve of her activities—and certainly not Sue’s. She would talk to him herself when she had more information to share.
Having explained to Danielle that she might be needed to help with Sophie’s situation—perhaps take her to the jail for another visit with Michael and, certainly, helping her to get back home when she was ready, Lin approached the subject of taking some time off over the next few days.
“Take the time you need,” Danielle said, “Sophie certainly needs a friend right now—Michael also. We can manage here. I’m going to take your name off the schedule for the rest of this week. We don’t have any major events coming up. You can drop in for a few hours here and there, if you have time, but otherwise don’t worry. I’ll tell Toby you have some personal business to attend to in town—that is, if he asks.”
“Thanks,” Lin gave Danielle a brief hug, “I appreciate your generosity. I ‘ll stay in touch though and let you know what is happening.”
Feeling much more relaxed and comfortable, now that she had Danielle’s blessing to help Sophie (Lin mentally added—to look into this mess further!) Lin finished her morning shift. She decided to tell Toby herself that she was taking a few days off. That might keep him from asking too many questions. She told him that she had some personal family business she needed to take care of and she might have to spend a fair amount of time in town this week. After all, that was the truth—the business was personal and it did affect a family—just not her own!
Before leaving the visitor center, Lin decided to call Sue. She knew that limited service might mean she couldn’t reach her from her cell phone but she decided to try anyway. Fortunately, she was successful! As she thought, Sue was in town with Sophie.
“I’m waiting now at the sheriff’s office,” Sue reported. “Sophie got a good report from the doctor, but he does want her to take it easy for the next few days and he wants to see her again on Friday so she has decided to stay with me, at least until then. Her Father brought her some clothes earlier this morning and he’s taking the truck back to Moenkopi—I told him again that we would get her home when she’s ready.”
“That’s good. Maybe she can visit Michael again while she is still there,” Lin offered.
“She can,” Sue responded, “and I have another idea. Why don’t you plan to stay at my place for a couple of days? You could continue to look into things here without having to make a forty-five minute drive one way every time you want to visit Flagstaff. I c
an borrow a cot for you and put it in Sophie’s room—otherwise, we have plenty of space—that is if you are still planning to take some time off.”
“Danielle and I talked this morning and she has given me the rest of the week,” Lin was happy to report, “she’s definitely on board now. She also believes there is more to this case to be learned and that it is connected to Cullen’s death.” Lin continued and told Sue about the information Danielle had shared about Deputy Taylor and his own seeming change of heart.
“I’ll take you up on your offer, if you are sure it won’t be too much trouble,” Lin said, “ Maybe I can help provide transportation for Sophie as she needs it—when you have to work.”
“Great,” Sue responded. “I actually am only working half days the rest of this week—I have been putting in extra hours also—but it will help to have another person who can drive around. Who knows, maybe the two of us, with Sophie’s help, can fill in some of these information gaps.”
After ending the call, Lin went to her apartment and packed a small case with what she might need for a few days. She also gathered up her folder that contained the copies she had of police reports as well as her ongoing notes about this case. She had planned to meet Sophie and Sue at the food court at Flagstaff Mall because Sue wasn’t sure when they would be finished at the sheriff’s office. Lin would get some lunch while she waited for them to come.
When all was in order and her case was in the car, Lin went back to the visitor center. She quietly told Danielle that she would be staying at Sue’s for a few days. She didn’t want her to worry when she noticed she wasn’t at her apartment.
“I’ll call you in a couple of days,” Lin offered, “and do let me know if Billy shares any more information with you—provided you think it is ok.” Lin did not want to presume too much.
“I will, and you take care,” Danielle smiled. “Good luck!”
Feeling very much at ease in her new relationship with her boss, Lin left the park, heading for Flagstaff. She was determined that the next few days would bring good results—and resolution for the Honeyestewa family—at least that was her hope.
Chapter 23
Lee Chou sat back at his desk located in his office at the back of his Santa Fe gallery. He was in a thoughtful mood. Chou was becoming impatient about the latest effort to find the pottery he felt sure was hidden somewhere in or near Wupatki. He had expected to hear from Raymond Tso by this time. Tso had assured him that his workers could locate the pottery and that he would let him know when the goods were in hand—but that was more than a week ago.
Meanwhile, his own man had returned to Santa Fe from Arizona. He reported that he had “broken off” his following of Darren Steele after one last trip had “convinced” him that Steele had no idea where the merchandise was. He had started to tell Chou about his last encounter with Steele but the shrewd Chinaman had cut him off.
“I do not need to know what Mr. Steele is doing now,” Chou had said, “in fact, the less I know about your last contact with him the better—you know how it is. I do not want to know too much.”
“I understand,” Chou’s man had responded. “It is sufficient for me to tell you that you do not need to worry about Mr. Steele any more. He is, as they say, ‘out of the picture’ now.”
Following that meeting Chou had felt confident that he would soon hear from Raymond Tso that the pottery was in hand for his client. The client, a wealthy businessman from Hong Kong, was not going to be happy if this deal fell through. He had waited more than a year for these treasures and now…. Chou picked up the phone to call Tuba City. Chou could ill afford to lose this good customer nor to have him spread bad news about his business to other collectors.
Raymond Tso answered on the second ring.
“What is happening, Mr. Tso,” Chou spoke in serious measured tones, “I expected to hear from you long before now.”
Tso was quiet for a moment—then he said, “ There have been some setbacks. The young men I had working on this job have gotten themselves arrested—nothing to do with art,” he hastened to add. “It seems that they killed two men about a week ago—not sure what happened, but I now need to find someone else to do this work. Do not worry, I will find someone,” Tso’s voice revealed his nervousness.
“See that you do, Mr. Tso, I will give you until the end of this week to make positive progress toward delivering these goods. Then, if you can’t deliver them, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands—may I remind you that I am not a patient man,” Chou hung up the phone abruptly. He wasn’t sure how he should proceed at this point. Should he send someone back to Arizona to look for these items or should he wait and give Tso a chance? Maybe he should forget about this deal and look elsewhere to satisfy his customer. It was not a situation he was happy with and when he was not happy… . Chou reflected on his options. One he had not thought of earlier—maybe he could approach John Sessions again. Sessions was the one who originally mentioned this find of unusual old pottery. He had earlier determined that Sessions could not be counted on when the deal first fell through but maybe…it was worth thinking about anyway. He determined to call Sessions later this evening, after he had closed his gallery. Perhaps it would be possible to reinstate their business relationship. He would wait and see.
***
Raymond Tso found himself breaking into a sweat as he hung up his phone. This Chou character was not to be ignored—Raymond had finally met someone who seemed as tough as he fancied himself to be. He hadn’t known where to turn when he learned that Michael and Teddy had been arrested and that two men were dead—one of them Henry Piestewa from Moenkopi, the other his erstwhile cousin Darren. Tso was surprised that Michael and Teddy were suspects in the murders; it was obvious that they had been out looking for the pottery. Tso remembered the map and the likely areas that were marked for searching by Darren. Michael had seemed to know something about these places—something to do with his clan and his uncle—the one who disappeared. Tso knew that Henry was also involved in his clan’s eaglet gathering work—maybe he and Darren were working together and got into it with Michael and Teddy.
Earlier Tso had talked with his associate who had been following Darren. In fact, his man had told him that Darren was dead—that he had followed him to the park but when he got there he had seen a dead body, presumably Darren. The associate had been afraid to go closer but he was sure that the body he saw was dead and he knew Darren had gone into the area—he had seen him. He had also told Raymond about meeting the man from New Mexico. The two of them had both been following Darren. They had agreed to leave the area. Both men claimed to be innocent of any killing—all they needed to know was that Darren Steele was no longer a concern to either of their bosses.
Raymond knew that his associate was a bit nervous, afraid he might somehow be linked to Darren’s death, but that had not happened. Instead the boys had been arrested. Tso wondered if maybe Chou’s man—he was certain that the man from New Mexico worked for Chou—was responsible for Darren’s death but, again if the boys were the guilty ones….
Raymond had sought to reassure his associate—he seemed more at ease after the boys were arrested anyway. There was still one lingering question in Tso’s mind about the killings though. His associate insisted he had only seen one body, presumably Darren’s, and yet two were found later. The boys were arrested for two deaths. Something was wrong here and Raymond didn’t know what. Maybe he should bring more pressure to bear on the Honeyestewa family—maybe they knew more about all this. Sophie had been warned that he expected her to repay Michael’s debt. Maybe she knew more that she was saying—maybe the old couple knew where Michael and Teddy were going. Maybe he could still save the deal with Chou—if he could get information about the pottery from this family.
Chapter 24
Lin got to the mall in Flagstaff but saw that Sue and Sophie had not yet arrived. She had planned to get something for lunch but decided she would browse around a bit first. She hadn’
t been to the mall before. It was small, but attractive with a large fireplace in the central area. Lin found some of the old standard mall shops but there were also a few places of local interest. She made one complete circuit, window-shopping as she went along, before stopping at the large sunny food court. She noticed a locally owned deli, the Coyote Café, where she stopped to order soup and a salad for lunch. Lin had just settled at one of the tables in the court to enjoy her food when Sue and Sophie arrived. Sophie seemed a bit more chipper today—although her bruises looked, if anything, a bit worse; they were becoming more colorful.
“They look worse than they feel,” Sophie insisted, “I’m hungry now; it’s been a long morning.”
Sophie and Sue shopped the food court and soon returned with sandwiches and sodas to join Lin for lunch. When they had finished eating, Lin broached the subject that was uppermost in her mind.
“I know that you got a good report from the doctor; what happened when you talked to the authorities?” she asked
“I think that I raised some questions in their mind, maybe—about Michael’s involvement in all this. I told them about his working off his debts for Raymond Tso and about the threats from the man who beat me. Deputy Taylor is going to call the Navajo tribal police. He is going to ask them to try to learn the name of the man who beat me—maybe they can arrest him—maybe even arrest Mr. Tso—after all, the threat delivered was from him,” Sophie seemed encouraged. “Maybe Mr. Tso is responsible for the deaths of those men and not Michael and Teddy. I think Deputy Taylor is beginning to ask some questions about the situation anyway. Of course, he did point out that the boys also worked for Mr. Tso; I’m not sure what he thinks. He is still holding the boys,” Sophie obviously wanted to feel encouraged but she was still uncertain as to what would happen.
“Let’s hope that Michael talked to his attorney this morning and gave him more information about what he and Teddy were doing in the park. I think David Cameron wants to help the boys and he can help—provided they help themselves and trust him with the information. I’m planning to talk to him this afternoon and maybe I can find out more.” Lin gave Sophie’s arm an encouraging pat, “you need to rest some, though. Your injuries are still pretty bad.”
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 24