Sue picked up on Lin’s further reluctance to talk at that time. Glancing at the wall clock she began to stack up her papers and Lin also began to gather her files. It was getting late. She had hoped to further organize her information today, but she was also tired and troubled. Hopefully, she could sort out her thoughts and figure out what to do with the information she now had after she got some rest.
“We all need some sleep,” Sue said. “Sophie has to be at the hospital early—her Dad’s surgery is scheduled for eight—so we should have her there by seven-thirty to meet her Mom,” she looked directly at Lin, “after that maybe we can go somewhere for breakfast—and talk.” There was no mistaking her emphasis—she needed to know what information Lin had and what she was going to do with it!
Chapter 26
Sleep did not come easily for Lin. She couldn’t forget what she had learned about Neal Smith that evening. Her feelings for him were real—she could neither deny the attraction nor the fact that she was beginning to care about him—but she was also experiencing a real dilemma. Lin didn’t want to implicate Neal in any wrongdoing.
Lin knew that the situation couldn’t remain this way; she couldn’t be dishonest. She had a strong feeling that the further this current criminal investigation went, the more likely connections were to be made to Cullen’s death. Sooner or later that case would probably be reopened and then, Lin knew, she would feel compelled to share what she knew with the authorities. She had to face that possibility. She couldn’t allow her own feelings to enter in. Finally, in spite of her troubling thoughts, her fatigue from the long day and her emotional stress caught up with her and she fell asleep.
She was awakened by the noise Sophie was making as she moved about the room gathering and packing her things. She was getting ready to move to the Taylor house with her Mother. Lin got up and offered to help her.
“I’ve got it,” Sophie replied, “I’m sorry I woke you.”
“No matter, I have to get moving anyway, ”Lin responded as she headed down the hall to take her turn in the shower. Sue was already up. From the aroma drifting out of the kitchen it was evident she had made some fresh coffee. Lin detoured to grab a cup before she got ready.
Sue was already dressed and ready for the day—even though it was just six-thirty.“ I made some coffee—here,” she handed a steaming mug to Lin, “you look like you could use this.”
“I had a hard time getting to sleep,” Lin confessed, aware of Sue’s knowing glance, “and now I ‘ve overslept and I am going to make everyone late.” she turned to head toward the bathroom.
“Take your time,” Sue replied, “ Sophie is ready so we can go ahead. We might have time to drop her things at the Taylor house and pick up her Mother if she hasn’t already left for the hospital. You can meet me later and then we WILL talk. I want to hear the rest of the story,” she smiled.
“Meet me at Brandy’s say about eight. They have great omelets.” Sue knew all the good spots to eat in town, “ and it is close to the hospital.” She gave Lin directions to the popular restaurant and called to Sophie that she was ready to leave.
Grateful for the respite, Lin sat down in the small living room and drank her coffee. It was quiet in the apartment after Sue and Sophie left and she found herself reflecting more on her experience from the previous evening. She was still troubled about Neal—about what he was going to decide and about how that might affect her, as well as their relationship, but she managed to shove those thoughts to the back of her mind—at least for the moment. She also knew that the information about Lee Chou and his possible connection to Raymond Tso needed to be shared with Billy Taylor.
David Cameron had said that Michael was to talk to the deputy this morning and the information Sue had gathered might help back up his story. As she reflected further, Lin realized that bits and pieces of information were beginning to pile up and some of these built connections—at least in her mind. Now the task was to prove all of this and clear the boys of this crime. That was a task she hoped the authorities would soon accomplish. In her own mind, Lin felt certain that Raymond Tso was trying to find and sell old tribal art and artifacts and that, somehow, all that had led to the murders of Darren Steele and Henry Piestewa.
Feeling much better after a rather lengthy shower, Lin dressed in khaki pants and a bright blue tee top that she felt rather set off her blue eyes. It felt good to be out of uniform for a few days—the brown and tan park volunteer outfit was not especially flattering. That thought did remind her that she needed to call Danielle. It was early but she felt Danielle would be up so she dialed her personal cell phone number.
Danielle answered quickly and was happy to hear that Lin had made some progress in finding out what Cullen had been doing in the park when he died.
“So, I guess, those rumors about pottery being hidden somewhere in the park have some truth to them maybe,” Danielle responded.
“I think that may be true,” Lin replied, “ of course, that was more than a year ago now. Something could have happened to whatever Cullen found. The men who were killed recently may have been looking—but who knows what might have happened. The pottery may be long gone—or it may still be hidden in the area,” Lin had thought a lot about the possibilities since Neal had told her about Cullen’s find last night.
“Well, I have no time to hunt for pots anyway,” Danielle offered, “besides the sheriff’s department still has the area off limits. They have a guard at the Lomaki entrance and won’t let anyone in. They can’t cover the whole area but another deputy is patrolling from the road to discourage anyone entering through the backcountry.”
Lin hastily brought Danielle up to date on Sophie and on what had happened to her Dad. “I’ll give you a report later, after he is out of surgery. I have to leave now as I am supposed to meet Sue for breakfast.”
“Please call me,” Danielle responded, “the Honeyestewa family has had so much to contend with recently—I hope that Sophie’s Dad is going to be ok and that Michael’s situation will resolve itself soon.”
“I think his talk with Billy this morning will at least help somewhat,” Lin replied. “I know that Billy has asked the tribal police to pick up Tso and is looking at Tso as a suspect in this case now. I’ll call you this afternoon or this evening for sure.” Lin ended the call and grabbed her purse and her car keys.
She almost forgot to lock the door to Sue’s apartment as she left but hurried back to do so before she reached the parking lot and her car. As she drove from the residential parking area, she spotted a rather dusty, dark blue SUV exiting the drive from the visitor center.
That’s amazing Lin thought to herself. It is only a little after seven-thirty and someone is already trying to visit this park. The visitor center hours were posted at the entrance on the road but sometimes people tried to access the steep steps that comprised the start of the Island in the Sky trail from the outside. Sue had mentioned to her the dangers in that. There were lots of warnings and the steps really couldn’t be reached without going through the center, but some people still tried and sometimes even complained that they couldn’t visit the ruins on that trail whenever it was convenient for them.
They’ll just have to try later, Lin thought as she pulled out onto the main road. The SUV pulled out behind her, apparently heading for town also. Soon Lin was pulling onto Interstate 40. Traffic was beginning to pick up heading into Flagstaff—morning rush hour she supposed. She left the highway shortly and followed Sue’s directions over to Cedar Street. Soon she was pulling into a parking space at the Safeway shopping center where Brandy’s was located.
Lin had never been in this shopping area before as she had done her own shopping on the east side of town. As she exited her car she couldn’t help noticing that the same SUV she had seen leaving Walnut Canyon was parked in front of a Walgreen’s drug store nearby. It had to be the same car—an older model jeep with Arizona plates—rather in need of a good car wash. Lin watched as a young man in western attir
e got out and headed for the pharmacy.
Lin locked her own car and headed for the restaurant. The dining room was small and seemed crowded with people. Sue waved to Lin from a booth near the front window. She had already ordered coffee for both of them. A basket of warm croissants beckoned from the center of the table. Sue was already buttering one.
“These will melt in your mouth.” Sue said, “I have got to stop eating out so much—I have found too many good restaurants in this town.”
“Next time you’ll have to volunteer at a more remote place—like Wupatki,” Lin offered. “We don’t get out so much and I have to admit I’m enjoying the local cuisine a lot now that I’m in town for a few days—you should try the place I went last night.”
“I’m ready to hear all about it,” Sue smiled, “—but let’s order first.”
While they waited for their omelets to arrive—Sue had convinced Lin to try the green chile version—Lin began the story of her evening with Neal. “Thank you for not revealing the name of my friend to Sophie last night, she will probably learn his name eventually—that is if Cullen’s case is reopened—but I felt I needed to protect his privacy for now. I told her what he knew about Cullen and what he was doing in the park.”
“But you didn’t tell her what Neal’s role was—beyond referring Cullen to John Sessions that is,” Sue responded.
The omelets had arrived so Lin remained quiet while the waitress placed their food on the table and replenished their coffees. When they were once again alone, she spoke, “That is correct. I’m afraid Neal was more deeply involved—at least in the black market piece. He told me that he was to get a cut of the money when the pottery was sold—evidently it was very valuable. He was not present when Cullen died, however; at least he says he wasn’t and I believe him.” Lin dug into her omelet, “ This is terrific,” she savored the spicy green chiles and melted cheddar, “ I didn’t realize how hungry I was—I’ve been up for almost two hours though.”
“Speak for yourself,” Sue replied, chasing her bite of chile and egg with another swallow of coffee, “I was up at five-thirty.”
Conversation was suspended for a few minutes as they satisfied their appetites. Having demolished about half of her breakfast, Lin finally sat back and signaled the waitress for more coffee. She continued her story, filling Sue in on Cullen’s plan to make money to help Michael and on how Neal was to get part of the earnings. She added that Neal had continued to look for the pottery while working with his students in the park.
Finally, Lin spoke about Neal’s recent change of heart and how he had severed his connections with John Sessions and wanted no further part in any such dealings—“At least I hope he doesn’t,” she had to voice her own concerns, “I do think he was sincere and I want to believe him, but he is struggling with what he needs to do—I think he’s afraid of what may happen if he comes forward with what he knows—at least he’s afraid of what the university might do.”
Lin sat back and took a long drink from her steaming mug. Voicing her concerns to Sue made them seem even more real. She mustn’t let her emotions overcome her common sense—it was so easy to get swept off your feet. Even for a grandmother like her. Neal Smith was a warm, attractive man—yes, she had to admit—a sexy man! He was intelligent and interesting too—her same age. Lin felt sure they shared many common interests and she knew he was attracted to her, as she was to him. She had to keep her feet on the ground and her head on her shoulders where their future relationship was concerned. Oh, how she wished she could feel sure he would do the right thing.
Lin realized, however, that the decision as to what to do had to come from Neal himself. She had to admit, it was hard to know where all this might lead for Neal and for her.
Sue smiled at her friend, “I sense that your interest in Neal is more than just casual—otherwise why would you care so much about what he decides to do in this situation.”
“I do care, ”Lin admitted, “every time I’m with him, I feel drawn to him. I want very much for this relationship to develop into something meaningful for both of us but…” she could not voice her concerns again.
Sue rescued her, “I do understand your conflict—and your attraction to Neal. Just be sure to give him time to work through this mess he seems to have been involved in---and be sure to take care of yourself—and your heart,” she gave Lin’s hand a squeeze, “Now we need to stop by the hospital and see if we can learn anything about Sophie’s Dad. After that what do you plan to do?”
“I would like to go somewhere quiet—with you. Someplace where we can sit down and put together all the information we currently have—maybe we can see where all of these bits and pieces are heading,” Lin responded. “Then I think I would like to talk to Billy Taylor again—if he is available.”
“Well, there is no place quieter than the public library. They have some small conference rooms available for public use—maybe we could get one of those. I would like to talk to Deputy Taylor as well—about what I’ve learned regarding the black market in art.” Sue responded, “but I’m afraid I have to be back at Walnut Canyon by one this afternoon. I have to work the afternoon shift on the trail.”
“We best get going then,” Lin said. “We should both drive then, when we are done, you can get back to work on time.”
As the two women exited the restaurant, Lin noticed that the blue SUV was still parked in front of the Walgreen’s. She couldn’t see clearly, but it appeared that someone was in the driver’s seat. That’s weird, she thought. Why would anyone still be here after all this time?
When they arrived at the hospital, Lin forgot to mention the strange car’s appearance to Sue. They were swept up in talk with Sophie and her mother, Myrna.
“My Dad is out of surgery already,” Sophie reported. “It didn’t take long to pin his broken hip and there is not much to do for his ribs—they just need time to heal. He is still in recovery though—we haven’t seen him yet.”
Lin asked Sophie to call Danielle at Wupatki later to report on her Dad’s condition. She agreed and also agreed to call Lin and Sue. Sue asked Sophie if she and her Mother would like to join the two of them for dinner that evening but Sophie begged off. “I think Mom wants to spend as much time as possible at the hospital and I want to be with her—she might wear herself out. We can eat at the Taylor House—they have a nice dining room. Maybe we can see the two of you tomorrow sometime.” Sophie added, “ I want to talk to Michael again—maybe tomorrow. Mr. Cameron said he would call me after they talk to the deputy this morning.”
Lin grasped her friend’s hand. “I do hope everything goes well for Michael when he talks to Deputy Taylor. Do let me know what happens. I’ll be glad to take you over to see him tomorrow.” Lin wanted to add—“if he is still there”—but she did not want to raise Sophie’s expectations.
***
An hour later Lin looked up from the stack of notes and papers she had placed in somewhat of an orderly fashion on the table in the library conference room. Sue had done the same with her notes and both women had been making lists of pertinent facts that they now felt that they knew about the current case and any possible connections to the earlier death of Cullen Honeyestewa.
“OK,” Sue sounded like the reporter she used to be as she flipped to a clean sheet of her legal pad, “time to put together what we know—I’ll be the scribe. We need to list all the pertinent facts we have learned so far.”
Soon they had a basic list developed:
· Darren Steele once worked for John Sessions
· Henry Piestewa worked with Cullen Honeyestewa at the sacred tribal sites in and near Wupatki—his presence there with Darren Steele had not been explained as yet—
· Darren and Henry had both been killed in the same location and at about the same time but they had not traveled there together
· Darren had been heard to say he was looking for valuable pottery in the park but he had been drinking when he said this
· The investi
gators had track evidence that Darren had been followed on a backcountry road near the site of the murder—he had left his truck and walked to the site
· Henry’s truck was parked in the Lomaki parking lot.
· Michael and his friend Teddy both worked for Raymond Tso—the boys owed him money borrowed to pay gambling debts
· Michael acknowledged having obtained some small artifacts for Tso illegally as part of his work
· Michael and Teddy went to Wupatki on Monday to hunt for some pots that Tso said were very valuable—valuable enough to fully repay their debts.
· The boys had a hand drawn map which Tso gave them to use—later thrown away.
· Michael had seen a Chinese man talking with Tso at his shop a few weeks ago. Tso and that man had gone to lunch and Tso had returned with the map he later gave to the boys
· When Michael and Teddy got to the park they saw the dead bodies and became frightened. As they were running away, the eagle head belt buckle belonging to his uncle had fallen from Michael’s pocket.
· Michael was afraid of Tso and ashamed for his family to learn what he was doing so he initially refused to talk to the authorities
· A man who indicated he was bringing a message from Raymond Tso attacked Sophie Honeyestewa and threatened her.
· Someone, most likely also representing Tso, attacked Sophie’s father at his home.
· Investigative reports place the deaths of Darren and Henry sometime over the weekend—most likely Saturday but perhaps as late as early Sunday.
· The incriminating belt buckle was evident in the possession of Michael’s grandmother at mid-day on Sunday. The family reported that Michael and Teddy took the truck to Flagstaff on Monday.
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 28
