Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery

by Sharon Canipe

  As Lin looked past the scene toward the rutted dirt track just beyond, her eye caught something gleaming in the sun beside a juniper. Taking care to swing wide of the area around the bodies, she walked out until she came to a point near the shiny object. Again, not wanting to disturb the scene, she remained several feet away and aimed the camera toward the object, using the zoom lens to bring it into closer view. When the object came into focus she was shocked. There, lying on the ground beneath the juniper, was a silver belt buckle with a carved eagle head!

  Lin couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This had to be the same belt buckle that had belonged to Cullen Honeyestewa and had helped to identify his remains. It was handmade and was certainly unique. It was highly unlikely that there were two of them!

  Lin recalled that Myrna, Cullen’s mother, had said that she planned to give the buckle to Michael, his nephew. Now its presence here would, once again, tie this family to a scene of death. Lin photographed the buckle but left it in place. She couldn’t remove it from the scene.

  She returned to the place where Mark and Ginger were waiting and sat down on a nearby boulder. Turning, she saw Danielle approaching from beyond the crime scene. She could see the pick up truck parked just off the road she had observed earlier a short distance beyond. She called out to Danielle indicating where the bodies were so that she could avoid walking through the scene. Then, as she looked up, she saw Neal Smith approaching from the slot canyon. She watched as Mark approached him with the news of what they had found, hoping to gauge his reaction. He looked down as Mark spoke, and then lifted his head toward the area where the bodies lay. Lin couldn’t see his expression. His broad-brimmed hat shadowed his face.

  By the time Dr. Smith and Mark had rejoined Lin and Ginger, Danielle had arrived on the scene. She grimaced as she viewed the bodies of the two men, “ This is getting to be a habit—finding remains in this part of the park. We have never experienced anything like this before.”

  “ Well, this certainly nixes our chances for doing any work here this afternoon,” Neal seemed more annoyed than shocked, “but I suppose we can’t leave until after the sheriff’s department checks things out.”

  “They should have someone here shortly,” Danielle responded. “I called from the visitor’s center and they are on their way.”

  “ Dr. Smith, wait here with the students,” Danielle instructed, “Lin, would you mind walking with me. I want to take a look at this scene.”

  Lin showed Danielle the path where they had already walked and the two of them approached the grisly scene cautiously. Knowing that they must not disturb the scene any further, Danielle also stopped short of actually approaching the bodies. She saw that Lin was still carrying Mark’s camera.

  “Did you take pictures?” Danielle asked.

  “Yes, I did,” Lin responded, “this camera has a nice zoom lens so I was able to get some pretty good shots of the scene. Would you like to see?” She offered the camera to Danielle.

  Danielle looked at the shots Lin had taken. As she viewed the shots of the bodies she looked a bit puzzled. “I can’t be certain, but one of these guys looks like another of the Hopi collectors. There is an older man named Henry something or other, who has come by the visitor center in the past, and the body on the right could be him—I can’t say for sure though. I don’t recognize the other man. These bodies have been out here a while it appears. It would be hard to be sure of any visual identification. They are also dressed similarly. Well, forensics will determine who is who I guess.”

  “There is something else,” Lin said, “keep going through the pictures. I saw that eagle-head belt buckle back on the path toward the track you drove in on. I think it is the same one found on the remains of Cullen Honeyestewa.”

  Danielle reviewed the remaining pictures. “I think you are right,” she said. “That was a unique piece and I doubt there are many, if any, others around—but how could it show up here again?”

  “ I don’t know,” Lin responded. She didn’t want to reveal that she had visited the Honeyestewa family and that she knew they had been in possession of the buckle. The sheriff’s department would know that it had been returned to them. She felt she shouldn’t get involved in that.

  Sounds drifted down from the slot canyon area. Someone else was coming. By the time Lin and Danielle returned to the place where the others were waiting, Deputy Taylor and a couple of other men were arriving.

  “This is getting to be a habit,” Deputy Taylor sounded annoyed. He looked around “I see the same people discovering bodies.” He eyed Lin, Danielle, and Dr. Smith.

  Danielle spoke, “ That is purely circumstantial, Billy. Dr. Smith and his students have been working in this area for some weeks now and Lin is serving as their park liaison. What I don’t understand is what these folks—she indicated the bodies—are doing in this area at this time.”

  “Well, I’m sure we will find out,” Deputy Taylor responded. The other men were already at the scene near the bodies, taking pictures, making measurements and searching the area. “Did any of you make an identification?”

  “ Not yet,” Danielle did not reveal that she might recognize one of the men, nor did she reveal that Lin had taken pictures, although Mark’s camera still hung from her neck. The investigators would have their own pictures anyway. “We tried to stay in areas that had already been disturbed so we didn’t go close to the bodies.” Lin nodded her agreement.

  “Well, we have called the ME and he should be here shortly, meanwhile we will collect whatever evidence we can find. It looks like this is no accident.” Deputy Taylor was grim. “You folks all wait here until we finish. We’ll need statements from you before you can leave.”

  The five of them waited while the sheriff’s men did their work. Ginger seemed to have somewhat recovered from the initial shock of seeing the bodies. Mark was quiet. He was studying the maps and seemed to be trying to visually locate the sites they had been planning to examine. Neal Smith had not had much to say since he arrived but he seemed calm and composed. Lin and Danielle sat on a nearby rock and tried to see as much as possible of what the men were doing at the crime scene.

  Lin eyed the silver buckle that still glinted on the path. She wondered when the techs would spot it. Should she point it out to them? She got her answer when one of them turned and obviously caught site of the shiny object. The man walked down the path, photographed the item in place, and carefully picked up the buckle with a gloved hand.

  “Hey, look at this,” he called to the others, “this looks like the same buckle we found on that other guy.” He carefully placed the buckle in an evidence bag and retraced his steps back to the bodies.

  Lin noticed that one of the crime scene techs had continued examining the area beyond the bodies—toward the track Danielle had used when she came. He approached the narrow track and knelt to examine the soil surrounding it on both sides.

  “Looks like there are two sets of tire tracks here,” he called to the others. He approached the park service pick up Lin had parked beside the track. “One set seems to belong to this truck, but there are some that look different on the other side of the track. Could be someone else parked here—but it wasn’t our victims—not unless they were with someone else who escaped.”

  By this time, Deputy Taylor had reached the spot and he carefully placed some markers to protect the area. “We’ll make a cast of these,” he said. “The tracks and the belt buckle may be our best clues as to who did this.”

  The afternoon grew warmer as Lin and the others waited for the sheriff’s men to finish their work. Neal Smith was very withdrawn. Lin noticed that he seemed to be studying his notes and maps, avoiding conversation with anyone—even his students. It seemed a bit odd to her since he obviously knew everyone there and was usually friendly and talkative. She felt a bit of disappointment that he continued to be cool toward her but she had to admit this situation simply added to his difficulties in pursuing his work here. Was she reading too m
uch into his behavior? She couldn’t forget that he had hidden any knowledge he had about Cullen Honeyestewa. She still had a gut feeling that something was going on here that had not yet been revealed. Perhaps it was just as well his interest in her socially seemed to be on the wane.

  The medical examiner had arrived and the bodies were bagged before Deputy Taylor once again approached them.

  “We would like for each of you to take a look at the bodies, in case you can identify them. Jack here will take your statements and I will walk you down to the scene one at a time for the identification. After you have done that and given your statements you are free to go. Be sure that Jack has your contact information in case we have further questions.” Deputy Taylor said.

  Lin wondered about the “one at a time” viewing. That precluded her being able to see if Neal Smith reacted to seeing either of these victims. She wondered if this was because Deputy Taylor realized that this was indeed a crime scene. Perhaps he had viewed the death of Cullen Honeyestewa as an accident from the start. She watched as Neal walked down with the deputy. He looked at each body as the tech opened the bag for viewing but Lin could not observe any particular reaction on his part.

  When it was her turn, Lin braced herself for the close up look. It was not pleasant but was quickly over. She didn’t recognize either of these individuals as anyone she had seen before. Mark and Ginger had the same response. Danielle was the last of them to look at the victims and she told Deputy Taylor that one of the men might be this “Henry” person who was also a collector of eaglets and feathers for the Hopi tribe. She could not recall his last name but felt she had seen him before. Again, she said that she could check with headquarters and probably get a name for the authorities.

  Deputy Taylor thanked her. He looked thoughtful as he considered what she had said.

  “So it seems likely that one of these victims had some association with that other fellow whose remains we found a couple of weeks ago?” he asked.

  “Possibly,” replied Danielle, “ If I am correct, they probably knew each other quite well. They would’ve often worked together.”

  “ I guess that raises some questions for us.” Deputy Taylor was thoughtful. Lin wondered if he was reconsidering whether or not the earlier case was an accident.

  “Well, those remains were about a year old,” Taylor reflected. “ The relationship between the two incidents could be purely circumstantial. We’ll have to see where this investigation leads. At least here we have more evidence.”

  Shortly, Deputy Taylor dismissed the five of them to leave the area. The ME and the crime scene techs would take care of removing the bodies back through the slot and the box canyon to the parking lot where vehicles awaited them. Danielle was, once again, instructed to close off this entire area to the extent possible. Once news got out that a crime had occurred curiosity-seekers could become a problem.

  When they arrived at the parking lot, Taylor addressed his men as they loaded the remains for the medical examiner, “Before you leave, make a list of all the cars in this lot,” he waved toward the visitor’s parking area, “make, model, and license plate. Wait for the owners to return to their vehicles and get their contact information also. Ask if they have seen anyone or anything unusual. It appears that these deaths occurred a day or so ago but those men had to get here someway. They may have left vehicles here. The folks here today probably saw nothing but, at least, we can match them to their vehicles and see if there are others left.” He designated two of the men to stay and do this and the others left, following the medical examiner’s vehicles out of the park.

  Dr. Smith and the students had lagged behind the sheriff’s men, putting themselves well away from the bodies being transported. They planned to go directly back to Flagstaff and not return to the visitor’s center. Once again they would use the north entrance to the park. Lin followed them back through the slot canyon. The park SUV was still in the Lomaki parking lot. Danielle had already started toward the pick up truck she had driven, telling Lin she would see her back at the center.

  When they reached their vehicles, Lin approached Neal Smith. “I am certainly sorry that today resulted in no productive work for you folks but obviously that couldn’t be helped. I don’t know how long the area will be closed at this point.”

  Neal seemed a bit more relaxed, now that they were away from the crime scene. “We have certainly encountered some unusual circumstances,” he almost smiled.

  “I’m about to give up on any productive research, at least for the present. In fact, we won’t plan to come out again until all of this has been settled and the area is fully opened.”

  “ We will certainly let you know when that happens,” Lin wanted to leave a door open for seeing Smith again, however. “Meanwhile, I’ve been doing some reading about archeology and history in this area and I’d welcome the opportunity to talk to you more about this. It is truly a fascinating place—apart from recent events.” She tried to inject a lighter note to her remarks.

  Neal gave her a broad smile, “I would enjoy that also. Perhaps we could have that dinner we talked about earlier sometime soon. I’ll give you a call—if that is ok.”

  “Certainly,” Lin responded. “Cell phone service is not good here, as you know. So it would be best to call the visitor’s center during business hours. I’m usually there but you can certainly leave a message if I’m off.”

  “I’ll call soon,” Smith nodded as he got into his vehicle and drove off with Mark and Ginger. Lin relaxed a bit—maybe he was still interested in seeing her after all. She couldn’t quell her lingering questions, however.

  As Lin got into the park SUV, she noticed the sheriff’s men taking down information and talking to the visitors who were beginning to leave the area. Maybe they were seeking to learn how the victims had arrived. Lin had seen no vehicles near the crime scene so these men must have parked somewhere else.

  As she returned to the visitor’s center, Lin thought about what had happened. In her mind it seemed clear that there was some connection between these deaths. The belt buckle seemed to ensure that—but what was it—one victim appeared to have had an accident, and that long ago. The bodies found today clearly represented a crime but one victim may have had some connection to the person who died earlier. This was becoming a more complicated puzzle indeed!

  Lin wasn’t sure how she wanted to proceed but she definitely didn’t want to stop looking into the circumstances of Cullen Honeyestewa’s death last year. In fact now, more than ever, she wanted some answers to her questions. She couldn’t know at this point whether or not Neal Smith had any knowledge of the two current victims, but she was still sure he had known Cullen in some way.

  It was past closing time when she arrived back at the visitor center but Toby was still there waiting for them. She and Danielle drove into the parking lot at about the same time. Together they headed in to the offices to return the keys and finish the end of the day’s routine. They were both hot and tired. They were happy to learn that Toby had already finished with the cash reports and the other routine closing procedures. Apparently things had been relatively quiet in this part of the park. All that remained was for the three of them to lock the building and set the alarm.

  Lin was grateful to finally get back to her small apartment and into the shower. She needed to wash away the dust and relax. This day had left her physically and emotionally tired and she had no desire to do anything other than relax and rest. After bathing and donning some comfortable clothes she made a sandwich and sat down on her sofa to eat it. She was hungrier than she originally thought so she also grabbed some fruit to add to her meal.

  After eating, Lin stretched out with one of her mystery books to read. Maybe a fictional mystery would help her forget the very real mystery that was building in her mind. Exhaustion soon caught up with her and she found herself nodding off.

  Finally, she gave up and went to bed early—not forgetting tomorrow was still her day off and she had plan
s in Flagstaff.

  Chapter 14

  Lin awoke early. She realized that the gallery in Flagstaff wouldn’t open until later so she took advantage of the cool early morning air to take a long walk. She climbed Woodhouse mesa that rose behind the park apartments. The trail here was well used and not too difficult but she was a bit winded by the time she reached the top. She found a flat-topped boulder to sit on and enjoyed the vista that spread before her. She could see beyond the junipers and pinions that covered most of the parkland to the flatter areas that marked the beginnings of the Painted Desert. In the far distance rock formations were visible, tinted with shades of pink and purple. She vowed to herself that one day soon she would drive east to the Petrified Forest National Park to see these beautiful spots up close. Maybe Sue would like to accompany her. That had been her original plan for her days off during her volunteer stint—see as much of the surrounding area as she could; right now she had other things to do. She had to continue seeking answers as to what happened to Cullen Honeyestewa. The events of yesterday made all this seem even more urgent to her.

  Returning to her apartment, she showered and dressed in comfortable slacks and a T-top. She picked up the small shopping list she had made also. Trips to town meant taking care of as many needs as possible. Glancing at the clock as she left, she realized it would be lunchtime before she finished talking to the gallery owner plus running her errands. Maybe Sue Gray could meet her for lunch if her schedule allowed time.

  Lin didn’t stop by the visitor center before leaving. She was due to work at two anyway and didn’t wish to be delayed right now. She drove out of the employee area and turned toward Sunset Crater. When she reached the first high point at Painted Desert Vista, she pulled off the road into the picnic area. Cell phone service was pretty good here so she tried a call to Sue at the Walnut Canyon visitor center.