Sonoran Sun

by Sharon Canipe

  The younger man stepped back, color rising from his neck to his face. He leaned forward, only inches from Jennings nose, “You’ll regret insulting me, Jennings, I can assure you of that. I may be young, but I’m smart enough to know that we can and we will delay this project—shut it down actually. Mark my words and watch your back.” He turned to face Mark Garcia, “Your tribal fellow here has his own issues to worry about. He may have official blessings, but the officials will have to listen to their people. I wouldn’t put my trust in him if I were you.” With that the younger man turned and strode angrily back to his truck.

  Jennings looked as if he didn’t know quite how to respond. Up until today there had been no problems, none at all. Nothing like this had happened. He turned to Mark Garcia. “What was that all about? Maybe we need to talk. Come back to the office with me.” He took Mark by the elbow and headed back toward the temporary site headquarters ignoring Pete Tedder and Chris Dawkins who stood together speechless.

  Chapter 1

  August 17, 2012

  Lin Hanna awoke to a stream of brilliant light bouncing off the wall just beyond the bed. A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was only a little past six. Neal had warned her that morning came early in the desert this time of year. She should have closed the blinds before retiring she thought, but she remembered that she’d been quite tired at the time. Sleep had been uppermost in her mind when she and Neal had finally arrived at the casita after their daylong trip from North Carolina. She started to get up and adjust the blind then realized that Neal was no longer beside her. Hopping up she headed to the front room, thinking he might be there, but found instead a fresh pot of coffee and a note indicating he’d gone to meet Chris, his colleague, and apologizing for leaving her so early.

  Sorry to abandon you but Chris wanted to get an early start. No food in the house, but I found some coffee the landlord left. Hopefully, we can be through for the day by early afternoon. I’ll call you—maybe we can shop later and get some groceries and other stuff. Love you, Neal.

  Placing the note on the kitchen counter, Lin poured herself a generous mug of coffee and headed for the shower. The casita that Neal had arranged to rent for the duration of the dig was basically a two-room affair. The main room was of generous dimensions, including a kitchen area along one wall and a dining nook within the living area. To the rear was a nice bedroom and bath that included a compact laundry area. There was covered parking, a real asset in the desert summer, and a patio out back. It was actually quite attractive and comfortable and certainly more than adequate for their stay. The casitas were largely owned by residents of the nearby community of townhomes and patio homes they had driven through when they arrived. They’d been told that most of the owners either rented the casitas, seasonally or full time, but some also used them as guesthouses.

  This was a relatively common practice apparently. In some neighborhoods of larger homes on big lots, casitas were often included as out buildings with the property. In this neighborhood they occupied two streets near the back of the development. Chris and some of the other folks working on the excavation or for the developer occupied other units on this street. The casitas were located in a residential area several miles from the work site but readily accessible via Ina Road and the freeway. These had been the closest short-term rentals available for the crew.

  Lin was quite hungry by the time she’d finished dressing. Fortunately, Neal had ridden to the site with Chris leaving her their rental car; she grabbed the keys and her bag and headed out. First order of business was to find something to eat; then she thought she might explore the area, maybe locate the nearest shopping spots, and become more familiar with her temporary home. She would like to find something to occupy her time but wasn’t sure what that might be as they would only be there about a month before returning east for their wedding. Maybe, there’d be something she could help with at the excavation site. Lin promised herself to discuss this possibility with Neal and Chris later. She certainly didn’t expect to sit around and do nothing for an entire month!

  After leaving the neighborhood, Lin found herself on a wide through street that, in turn, emptied onto Ina Rd. She recognized this from the local map they’d been given at the car rental counter. They’d also opted for a GPS that would be useful once they knew specific address locations. She passed a small shopping area that was home to a grocery, a pharmacy, and several smaller businesses. The golden arches of McDonalds appeared on the opposite corner. Although she normally avoided fast foods, Lin was hungry, and she didn’t see anything else nearby. At least they have good coffee, she thought, and actually, she was rather fond of the Egg McMuffin. She ordered a combo and picked up a local newspaper before settling herself in a booth toward the back of the restaurant.

  She’d just finished her breakfast and was contemplating a second cup of coffee when her cell phone rang. It was Neal.

  “Where are you?”he asked. “Did I wake you?”

  Lin assured him that she’d been awake for a while, thanking him for the coffee but reminding him that there was no food in the casita. “I’m at McDonalds finishing up breakfast. Then I thought I might scout around the area and see what’s nearby. What’s happening at the site?”

  “That’s why I called,” Neal sounded serious, “we’ve had a major tragedy here and everything is pretty much on hold. Mark Garcia, our tribal liaison officer for the excavation, was found dead when we got here this morning. Actually, Chris found him. Now the cops are here, all over the place, and no one can leave. They’re still examining the scene and they want statements from everyone. I have no idea when I’ll get away from here. This will probably cause a major delay in our work. On top of everything, Chris and I had decided to check by here first and then send one of the workers to pick up food later. We haven’t had anything for breakfast, not even a cup of coffee.”

  “I can fix that,” Lin responded. She was actually dying to get out there and see what was going on but didn’t want to sound too eager. “How many folks need breakfast?”

  “I doubt you’ll be allowed at the site,” Neal said, “The cops have it blocked off at the road.”

  “I doubt they expect you to starve,” she responded. “At least, let me try. I’ll call you when I get there and you can identify me to the officers.”

  Neal was definitely hungry so he gave in at this point. “I think the staff members working today all ate earlier so just bring something for me and Chris—make the coffees large.” He proceeded to give Lin directions to the site.

  Lin ordered breakfast sandwiches, including a couple of extras just in case, and two large coffees. Then, before leaving the shopping area, she decided to hit the bakery at the supermarket where she purchased a dozen glazed doughnuts—she figured they might ease her way with the officers at the site. Thus armed with food, she made her way out to the excavation.

  As she drove, Lin realized that she hadn’t even asked how the tribal liaison had died. Neal had mentioned the police presence but that was all. Officers were often summoned to unattended deaths in such locations, but their presence didn’t always mean a crime had occurred. Perhaps there’d been an accident of some sort, or maybe the cause of death was, as yet, undetermined, and they were just covering all their bases. Whatever had happened, Lin was curious to learn more and secretly glad that Chris and Neal were the ones to make the discovery—not her, as had been the case on other occasions in the past. This time no one could question why SHE always seemed to be stumbling into such situations.

  Pulling into the dirt road that led down to the excavation site, Lin saw that two cars from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department were parked at the entrance. Deputies had placed tall orange cones blocking access to the tented excavation area beyond. Lin pulled over and got out of the car. It was still relatively cool, but a slight breeze was stirring, lifting small clouds of loose dust that danced around the cholla that grew in abundance nearby. Several tall sentinel Saguaros lifted their massive, thorned
arms skyward. A Gila woodpecker tapped steadily against the cactus beside the place Lin had parked. She took a moment to locate the bird, noting the characteristic red on his head and the black and white bars across his back. The bird paused, looking at her with a solitary black eye and then resumed his pecking.

  She noticed one of the officers approaching and walked to meet him.

  “Hello,” she smiled, “I’m Lin Hanna. My fiancé and his colleague are the archeologists on site here. They called and requested that I bring them some breakfast. They haven’t eaten and expect to be here for some time.”

  “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I’ve been instructed not to let anyone come in,” the young man spoke in a polite but firm tone.

  “Could I please call my fiancé?” Lin countered with equal politeness. “Perhaps he could speak with the officer in charge and ask if they could have the food?” She decided to not specifically ask if she could take it to them—she’d save that for the person in charge if she had the opportunity to speak with him. Perhaps the young man might be more amenable to the idea of someone simply picking up the food for the men.

  With a somewhat sympathetic expression on his face, the young man nodded his approval and Lin placed a call to Neal before he could change his mind.

  “Neal, could you speak to the person in charge and ask them to talk to the guards here?” she asked. “Maybe they would agree to let me bring the food, or let you come get it.” She hoped it wouldn’t be the latter.

  “I’ll see,” Neal replied. “Give me a moment.”

  Shortly he returned to the line. “I have Chief Deputy Ramirez here,” he sounded positive. “He says if I can vouch for you and if you remain here with Chris and me in the tent, you can bring the food in. One of the men there should accompany you however.”

  Lin handed her phone to the young man who was waiting with her so that he could speak with his supervisor. When he had talked to the Chief Deputy, he returned the cell and asked her to please follow him.

  Returning to her car, Lin carefully pulled out behind the young officer and together they proceeded slowly down the dirt road toward a parking area near the tents. He showed her where to park and pointed her in the right direction before returning to his post. Lin glanced up and saw Neal approaching as she pulled into a parking spot.

  As Lin exited the car, Neal stepped up and put his arms around her drawing her close and wrapping her in a tight hug. “This is going to be bad,” he had a worried expression on his face. “I heard one of the deputies say it looked as if Mark Garcia had been shot. They’re in the process of roping off the entire area and the medical examiner is on his way. So far Chris and I are the only professionals here. A couple of workmen are over in the offices, I believe, and I feel sure someone from Lancer will be here soon. I’m afraid this can really delay our work and the Lancer folks aren’t going to be happy about that.” He released his hold on her and reached for the bags of food in the car.

  “Well, it’s not your fault if there’s a delay. The police have to do their work. How long do you expect to be here?” Lin asked as they headed for the tent immediately adjacent to the crime scene.

  “Actually, Chris is talking to someone right now. I should be next and then they will probably let us go for today. I don’t think we’ll be able to get any work done, but we might not be here as long as I originally thought.”

  Lin spotted a half empty table and put the food and coffee out. Neal grabbed a chair and dug in. One of the deputies standing near the crime scene was eyeing the doughnuts. Lin grabbed the bag and walked toward him.

  “You must be hungry, here have a doughnut,” she smiled as she offered the bag.

  “Thanks, they smell great,” the young man reached in a grabbed one of the sticky pastries. “Breakfast seems a long time ago.”

  “It’s still early,” Lin commented, “what do you suppose brought Mark Garcia out here so early in the day?” Lin’s curiosity was always aroused in situations like this.

  “I wouldn’t know ma’am,” the deputy took a large bite of doughnut, “I’m just guarding the crime scene. I’m not an investigator.”

  “Oh, so it’s a crime scene. I guess his death wasn’t an accident then,” Lin responded.

  The young deputy seemed to realize that this conversation was going down a slippery slope. “ I really can’t comment ma’am. I shouldn’t talk to anyone about this. The sheriff will handle any release of information.”

  “But regardless, it seems a little strange that he was out here so early?” Lin persisted. “My fiancé and his colleague came early themselves, but Mark was already dead when they found him, so he came even earlier. There really aren’t any workers here yet,” Lin offered the young man another doughnut.

  “That’s true,” he responded. “One of the guys found a camera nearby, maybe he was here to take photos. I don’t know.” About that time another deputy walked up and gave the young man a stern look.

  “I’d better get back,” Lin said proffering the bag of doughnuts. “Share these with your colleagues if you’d like.” Before the other deputy could say anything, she beat a hasty retreat back toward the tent where Neal was waiting to be interviewed.

  So Mark was out here early to take photos, she thought. Probably prior to the ancient remains being removed. He most likely wanted to finish before the others got here. That seemed innocent enough she thought; why would anyone kill him over that? Perhaps something else was going on here.

  She arrived back at the tent just as Chris returned. “They’re ready for you Neal,” he said. “Hello Lin, thanks for the breakfast. I was getting hungry.” He smiled as he took the breakfast sandwich from the bag and took a big bite.

  “I shouldn’t be long,” Neal said, moving in the direction of the officers. “I wasn’t first on the scene but I can confirm what Chris saw.”

  Lin pulled one of the folding chairs up to the table that was being used as a workstation and sat down. Chris joined her as he finished his breakfast.

  “I can’t believe this has happened,” he said, shaking his head. “Poor Mark. He was a very nice guy—easy to work with. Represented his tribe well and made sure all the necessary regulations were followed, but he also understood that we needed to complete the excavation in a timely manner so work could proceed. Sometimes tribal liaisons throw a lot of roadblocks up, but so far this project has run smoothly. Now, I don’t know what will happen.”

  A large white pick up truck with a Lancer, Ltd. logo on the door came into the parking area about that time, spinning gravel as it came to a stop. A tall, heavy-set man who appeared to be somewhat agitated jumped out and headed toward the tent.

  “Dr. Dawkins, what the hell’s going on here?” the man stammered. “Dr. Smith called and said there was someone dead!”

  Chris rose and approached the visitor. “Lin, let me introduce you to Dave Jennings of Lancer, Ltd. Dave this is Lin Hanna, Dr. Smith’s fiancé. She was kind enough to bring Neal and me some breakfast. The cops are talking to Neal now.”

  Dave Jennings seemed to slow down a bit as he greeted Lin but he was still clearly disturbed. He didn’t sit down but his voice calmed a bit. “OK. Dr. Dawkins. Can you fill me in on what’s happening?”

  Chris proceeded to tell him about their arriving early to get work done before it got too hot and discovering that Mark Garcia’s vehicle was already there. “We didn’t see any sign of Mark but figured he’d come early to get work done also. Then I noticed that the tarp over the burials was pulled back, so I went to check on it and found him. He was sprawled out across some of the remains and he was obviously dead. That’s when we called the authorities and then called you.”

  Dave removed his broad brimmed hat and ran his fingers through his red curly hair. His face was still flushed and he was still agitated. He heaved a sigh as he plopped his rather heavy frame into one of the folding chairs almost tipping it over.

  “I can’t believe this has happened,” he lamented. “Having the cops doing an inv
estigation is not what we need just now. It will hold us up I feel sure and every day we lose is money gone. In fact, the entire project will be jeopardized if we don’t break ground before the Superior Group can get their work underway.”

  Lin was put off by Dave’s attitude. He’d not expressed any concern over Mark Garcia’s untimely death or for the family he most likely left behind. She could see Chris felt the same way. He shook his head and said nothing for a moment.

  Finally he took a deep breath and spoke calmly, “I feel sure the sheriff’s men will expedite their investigation and release the site back to us as soon as they can. The deputy I spoke with told me that they were trying to reach Mark’s family and that the medical examiner was on his way. In fact, I think that must be him now.” Chris rose and indicated an emergency vehicle that had just arrived in the parking area.

  Dave Jennings immediately jumped up and headed in that direction. Chris turned to Lin and shook his head. “Welcome to the world of big developers. He can’t focus on anything but the project.”

  “I’m sure he must be under a lot of pressure,” Lin replied, “Did you learn anything from the police interview?” She was still curious.

  “They did tell me that it appeared Mark was shot. Neal and I had thought that—there was a lot of blood,” Chris sat down again.

  The two of them watched as the medical examiner approached the roped off area of the crime scene with Dave Jennings close on his heels. The ME finally turned and asked him to please wait in the tented area with Lin and Chris. Instead, Jennings stalked off toward the mobile office on the opposite side.

  “Good,” Chris said. “I didn’t want to have to listen to him anyway.”

  About that time, Neal appeared, having completed his interview. “We can leave now. I gave our contact information to the deputy and they’ll call if they need more information.”