“Well that should go smoothly, Neal has been coming regularly for the past year now. He knows the rules and his kids do too. You shouldn’t have any problems and you will enjoy it, I’m sure.”
Danielle heard the phone ring through the open window and quickly went back into the visitor center to answer it mumbling something about the lack of cell service here. Actually, Lin was rather happy to learn that cell service was only dependable near the top of the tallest hills in the park. She had already driven up there a couple of times to call the kids, but it was sort of nice to have an excuse not to be in constant touch with everyone. Smiling at these thoughts about her new park VIP lifestyle, she downed the rest of her coffee and went inside to open the desk for the first visitors to arrive
Just over an hour later, a blue and gold university bus rolled into the parking lot. A jumble of college kids poured out chatting eagerly as they lowered backpacks to the bench near the sidewalk and made for the restrooms and water fountain.
“Make sure you use the facilities before we go and have plenty of water with you,” instructed the handsome, gray haired man who followed them out. “It will be early afternoon before we are back here.” Lin watched the man approach the visitor center doorway. She presumed this was Dr. Smith and came from behind the desk to greet him.
“Dr. Smith, I’m Lin Hanna, the new park VIP,” she introduced herself. “I will be accompanying your class this morning; is there anything you need in the way of equipment?”
“No, thanks. We have what we need—can’t do much except look and take photos anyway,” Smith replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Danielle told me you had arrived but she failed to mention how attractive you are.” He smiled as he entered the visitor center and held the door for her.
Lin wasn’t sure how to react to his remark. She decided to ignore it and instead indicated the visitor register on the counter next to the cash register. “You can register for your group—just indicate the number in your party and the time of arrival. I ‘ll get my radio and join you at the bus shortly.” Better to keep business as business, she decided.
Smith caught her reaction and moved to register the group. He turned to the few students who had made it into the visitor center, “ We ‘ll be ready to go in five minutes, please tell everyone to finish up here and get on the bus.”
Observing this, Lin relaxed a bit. Dr. Smith didn’t seem to be too “pushy.” This was going to be a good morning. She was excited to be going along. Her responsibility was only to make sure that all park rules were obeyed. The students could search for signs of artifacts or ruins but could not remove anything that they might actually locate. They could only photograph any finds and take notes to report to park headquarters. This type of fieldwork was strictly for their learning. Actual excavations required a lengthy permitting process and had to be supervised by park service archaeologists. Nevertheless, this morning represented a first opportunity for Lin to be introduced to the world of archeology that had always fascinated her. She grabbed her water, hat, and radio that enabled contact with the visitor center, if needed, and moved to join the group at the bus.
The students settled in for the ride out to Lomaki. This was the last ruin accessible from the park road and was near the north entrance to the road that looped from Hwy. 89 through both Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments. The bus pulled out of the visitor center lot and began the slow climb through the hills that marked one of the higher points in the park. There was a trail that climbed there; Lin intended to try it on one of her evening hikes soon. There were so many places to explore, part of the attraction of the park volunteer program. She was only assigned to work about 30 hours per week and she had use of the small apartment. That had been one of the major reasons she applied here as a volunteer. Some parks could only provide a camp site and Lin did not have a trailer or RV. Living in a tent for several months was not high on her list so she had looked for parks that offered housing.
Wupatki was especially appealing because of her interests. Besides, it was in northern Arizona near Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. There was a lot to do in her off hours both in the park and nearby. She and Ben had visited this area with the kids, but that was a long time ago. The drive from her home in North Carolina was a long one but she had taken her time and enjoyed visiting some sites along the way. Now she was looking forward to spring and summer and all the adventures they might hold.
Lost in thought, Lin was slightly startled when Dr. Smith sat down in the seat beside her. Smiling shyly he said, “I hope I did not offend you earlier. I’m looking forward to having you along for this trip and will be happy to answer any questions you have. I understand you are an educator and that you have a strong interest in the history of this area.”
Lin felt a bit bad about her earlier reaction. Apparently he had noticed it too. “Not at all,” she replied, “I am interested and I want to learn as much as I can. Thank you for letting me share with your class.”
“Well, we are looking for evidence of artifacts which might still be undiscovered. Many items have been removed from the park in years past. In fact, the collection at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff has a lot of them. It is a great collection; you should make a point of visiting there while you are here,” he hesitated as if he wanted to say he would take her there, but he did not.
“ Nowadays finds are certainly more difficult but there are still unexplored areas, especially since the park here is over thirty-five thousand acres, and there are always places that may have been missed before. When ruins are found, the park archeologists generally excavate the site but then cover it after they have documented the find. It seems the best way to preserve the past is to leave it where it is,” Smith explained. “Not everyone agrees with that but the parks have very strict rules about such things.”
“I understand,” Lin replied, “it‘s look, photograph, but leave things as they are.”
“Yes,” Smith responded, “but it does give the students the opportunity to explore and to learn what signs to look for. Sometimes we have actually found some good evidence of ruins and artifacts.”
“Are you looking for anything in particular today?” Lin asked.
“As a matter of fact, I read somewhere that there are some earth cracks and slot areas in the box canyon near this ruin which might contain some pottery fragments. No one has actually documented this but it is a promising area for us to explore,” he had a spark of excitement in his eyes as he spoke.
The bus soon arrived at the entrance to Lomaki ruin. Pulling in they observed only a couple of visitor’s cars at the far end of the parking lot. The visitors would probably be walking the trail to the beautiful pueblo ruin. The box canyon area was nearer the entrance. The bus pulled up and soon they were disembarking; the students chatting excitedly as they pulled out charts they had been given that mapped the area. Several had cameras and most had camera phones. All were eager to get going.
Lin observed as Smith instructed the students carefully indicating on the maps they had where the areas were they could explore. He divided them into teams of three or four and assigned each group a different area. Lin was surprised when he turned to her to explain the dos and don’ts according to the park rules, but she was happy to do so and used the opportunity to welcome the students and offer to answer any questions that she could. Soon the teams were off to explore their respective areas.
Lin followed behind the group heading into the box canyon. She had driven out here earlier and briefly visited the ruin, but this was her first opportunity to really explore the small canyon with its hidden bends. She knew that there were some earth cracks and narrow slot canyon areas near the end and was eager to see what they were like.
Soon the teams of students were busy exploring various areas. Lin was happy to observe that they were being very careful not to disturb the sites more than necessary. They were photographing the areas that seemed interesting but not moving any rocks or digging around them.
One team had arrived at the edge of a large earth crack. The monument was full of such geologic formations related to earthquakes and volcanism in the area; some of them were large enough for a person to actually enter. Others were merely narrow slits in the ground. Lin had been told that some of the larger ones had been entered and explored—one group of scientists had even studied bats that roosted inside some of the cracks. Lomaki ruin itself was located along the edge of one of the larger cracks and there were others in the area.
One of the students, a tall slender boy, approached Lin, “Is it ok to enter this earth crack?” he asked, “ It doesn’t look too deep, I think I can see the bottom and it widens out from this point so I don’t think I would find it hard to move around; I have a climbing rope.” He seemed eager and it was not against park rules for him to do this, so long as Dr. Smith agreed to supervise. The permit for the class included exploring all canyon areas so Lin agreed provided he had Dr. Smith’s permission.
“Thanks,” he responded eagerly. He was off to speak to Dr. Smith immediately.
A few minutes later, Lin joined the team of students to watch the boy’s descent. Dr. Smith and another team member had secured the climbing rope around the base of a fairly large pinion pine tree nearby and looped it around an adjacent boulder so it seemed pretty secure. The student eagerly began his descent. The crack was not large but it did afford enough room for the student to move freely, and Lin had also observed that it widened nearer the bottom. Soon the student was visible as he left the rope and moved toward a brushy area ahead. It was shadowy in the crack, despite the bright sun overhead, so he had to utilize his flashlight. As he moved slowly along he commented about some of the shelf-like areas he saw. Unfortunately there seemed to be no evidence of any artifacts there.
“There is a big pile of loose, brushy limbs down here,” he called up, “is it ok to move some of them to look further?”
“Sure,” Lin replied, “so long as they are loose. Just don’t cut anything that is attached or growing.”
“Gotcha,” the student responded. She could hear him shoving the limbs further into the crack ahead. Lin was thinking that it would be nice if the student did actually find at least some small shards of pottery. These earth cracks had often been used as middens, garbage dumps, in the past by the native occupants of the park areas and it was not too unusual to come across shards in such areas. They were generally small finds. It was exciting to find things, even if they could only be photographed, and Lin shared the enthusiasm of the students for the hunt.
The sounds of brush being moved aside stopped and all was quiet below.
“Do you see anything?” one of the team members yelled down.
At first the student said nothing. The team members gathered near the edge of the crack. Then the student called up. “ I am at the rope, come help pull me up. I found something alright—and it has clothes on!”
Chapter 2
It was close to noon and the day was growing warmer by the time the authorities arrived at the site to examine the remains found by the student. It was a good forty-five minute drive from Flagstaff just to the park visitor center. Lin had radioed Danielle at once to report the student’s discovery and had quickly instructed the students that no one else was to enter the earth crack.
The student had been helped to climb out, visibly shaken by what he had seen. The other teams had ceased to explore and all were now sitting around the area talking quietly and waiting to be told what to do. Lin had informed Dr. Smith regarding Danielle’s instructions—no further movement about the park but no one should leave until the authorities came and told them what to do.
Some of the students had returned to the parking lot area to wait while others chose to sit on nearby rocks. Lin was pretty shaken by this discovery but managed to remain at least visibly calm and chose to wait near the earth crack with Dr. Smith and some of the students. She made sure that no one further disturbed the site.
Now, as the midday sun beat down, she was increasingly aware of how the temperatures could vary so much during the day. The cool, nippy spring morning had given way to a very warm midday, unless you were in a shaded area, and there was little shade to be had at this spot. She brushed damp hair back from her forehead, tucking it under her wide-brimmed hat, and took a long drink from her water bottle. The water was no longer cool but it was still wet and refreshing.
Soon a small procession appeared coming from the parking lot. Two officers from the Coconino County sheriff’s department were led into the canyon by some of the students. They approached the young man who had discovered the remains. He was visibly shaken but was able to describe what had happened.
“I did not touch anything down there except the brush I pushed aside,” he said, “nothing else was disturbed. “
“That’s good,” a stocky, blond deputy put his hand on the boy’s shoulder eliciting a small smile. “ Important not to disturb the remains. The medical examiner is on his way here. Should just be a few more minutes.” He introduced himself as Deputy Billy Taylor.
Deputy Taylor moved to the edge of the earth crack and peered over the side. It was not really possible to see the remains from there. The rope used by the student was still in place—the only way to enter the area.
By this time Danielle and another deputy had arrived. “You may need this,” Danielle offered a large coil of rope, “We can rig another climbing rope and maybe even make a sling.” She was obviously thinking ahead to the necessity of removing the remains.
A radio crackled, “ The medical examiner just arrived; he is on his way in.”
Looking back up the canyon, Lin saw Dr. Smith walking in with a man she assumed was the examiner. She noticed that Smith was somewhat nervously pulling on the brim of his cap. She could not hear what he was saying but he appeared shaken up to her. Well, they were all shaken up—who wouldn’t be. It was not every day that one found human remains while hunting for artifacts, at least not her every day!
With the help of the deputies and Danielle, the medical examiner soon had another climbing rope rigged and another arrangement that could be used as a sling to hoist the remains. He and one of the deputies descended carefully into the crack and then called for their camera and other equipment to be sent down.
Lin could only hear the low sound of their voices as they proceeded with their work, she could not really tell what they were saying. It seemed to take a long time but they had to be careful. She wondered whom the person could be, maybe a hiker who had fallen in? She hadn’t really heard anyone in the park talking about a missing person, though she knew people could certainly access the area without coming to the visitor center and signing in. In that case no one would know about the entry. Still, it seemed, if anyone in the area were missing, someone would have reported it. Her curiosity was certainly aroused.
After what seemed like a long time, Lin saw the medical examiner’s equipment being lifted up and heard someone call for the sling. She was both concerned and curious as the body bag containing the remains was slowly hoisted up and placed on the side of the opening. A smaller bag followed shortly and was handed to an officer for safekeeping. What had they found, Lin wondered.
The deputy and the medical examiner followed shortly. The deputy instructed the officer holding the bag to take it to the car but didn’t indicate what it contained.
Approaching the body bag, the examiner unzipped it and opened a flap on one side. Lin couldn’t really see much but recognized some clothing—jeans, a plaid shirt, boots, a wide belt. The rest was hidden somewhat from her view.
“Does anyone here recognize who this might be?” The deputy asked, looking around at those gathered nearby. “ These remains have been here for some time, it appears; someone might recognize the clothing—anything to help us ID this person.”
Neal Smith approached the remains cautiously, Lin noticed a quick, jerking movement, his hand briefly coming up to his face, as he viewed the remains. He shook his hea
d as if to indicate he did not recognize this person and then moved away. There was an unmistakable look of shock on his face. This had to be an awful sight.
Lin had no desire to look at the remains herself and drew back to the edge of the group. After all, she had only arrived in the area a couple of weeks earlier. It was not likely this would be anyone she had had the opportunity to meet.
Danielle was thoughtful as she approached the remains, studying what she saw. Finally, she spoke, “I can’t be certain, but it seems to me that I have seen that belt buckle on someone coming to the park before. It was not recently and I can’t recall who it was. It is distinctive though. I’ll speak to some of the other personnel about it. They may remember something and if we can help with an id I’ll give you a call.”
The deputy and the examiner nodded their thanks and closed the bag. They began the task of closing off the area with crime scene tape.
“Do they think a crime was committed?” Lin asked Danielle.
“Not really,” Danielle responded. “It looks like someone fell and hit their head on a large rock. They found a rock that might have dried blood on it. They’re taking it in to check. It looks more like an accident than anything else but they want to close the area off until they can examine further to be sure. Remind me that we’ll need to place some signs here also, maybe close off this entire area at the road until they’re finished. “
She shook her head, “ It’s a shame to have to close off the entire ruin area but we simply do not have the staff to stay out here and make sure no one goes into the canyon. Even closing it at the road entrance can’t really keep everyone out but we do the best we can.”
By now the authorities were in the process of leaving the area and Dr. Smith was loading his students on the bus to return to campus. Their day was certainly finished.
Smith approached Lin. “ Can you ride back to the visitor center with Danielle? It saves us a lot of time if we can leave by the north entrance rather than going back through the park. I’d like to get the students back as soon as possible. This has been quite a shock for them.”
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 3
