“I’m more than ready to get away from this place—especially since we can’t get any work done,” Chris responded. “They didn’t say when we might be able to get back to work did they?”
“Not specifically,” Neal said, “but I got the impression that it would only be a couple of days at most. The deputy said they’d finish up as quickly as they could and then release the site.”
“Meanwhile, maybe we can explore this area and get more settled in,” Lin offered. “Might as well take advantage of enforced time off. Do either of you know what brought Mark here so early this morning?” She still hadn’t satisfied her curiosity about the crime.
“Photographing the remains in place, I’d imagine,” Chris replied. “He mentioned planning to do that earlier this week—wanted to know when we’d be ready for them to be removed. It can get pretty hot out here by midday. We all like to get an early start when we can.”
Lin nodded her understanding as the three of them walked toward the parking lot.
“I guess we should try to get some groceries and other necessary things to take back to our casita,” Neal said, “After that maybe we could meet you for lunch somewhere, maybe find something fun to do this afternoon to take our minds off this situation.”
Chris nodded. “I’m going to stop by the office before I leave. See what’s happening there and maybe speak to Dave again. After that I’ll go back to my casita. Let me know when you get back from your shopping. We can make some plans then.”
“Will do,” Neal replied, opening the car door for Lin as they prepared to leave the site. Even though the traffic was substantially heavier than it had been when Lin first ventured out, they were soon back in the neighborhood. They stopped at a Starbucks to get a second cup of coffee before hitting a supermarket to get some groceries. Neal was beginning to feel the full import of the morning’s events and Lin realized that he needed some down time. She refrained from asking any questions as they sipped their dark roast and focused instead on making a list of items they needed to purchase. After a few minutes she began to sense that Neal was becoming more relaxed as they chatted about more or less inconsequential things.
She ventured a return to discussion of what had happened. “Dave Jennings seemed really upset about the prospect of a delay in your excavation work,” she observed.
“Yeah, I caught that myself,” Neal said. “I think he’s under a lot of pressure. He’s seemed really stressed and has been working long hours. Chris told me that last week he had a major confrontation with a representative of the Superior Group. They have an option on a site just a few miles north of the Lancer project. Apparently, they also plan to open a major outlet mall, but as I understand it, they don’t yet have a date set for closing their land deal. The general opinion is that this area isn’t large enough to support two such projects so close together and whoever gets started first is likely to win the day. The second place project would never get started. The catch is that apparently Superior’s land has no evidence of any significant archeological areas, so they won’t have any excavation and repatriation like we’re involved in. Any further delays in starting construction will just add to the costs Lancer’s already faced. With what happened this morning, the project could lose valuable time.”
“I see how that could be bad,” Lin replied, “but there’s really not much one can do about it at this point. Hopefully, the sheriff’s men will finish their work quickly and you can continue with your excavation in a timely manner.”
“Hopefully,” Neal said, “meanwhile, I guess you and I will have some time together until I can go back to work, and that is not at all an unpleasant prospect.” He smiled at her suggestively and reached for her hand. “I am so happy you agreed to come back here with me—especially now that I really won’t be working for a few days. What do you say we go back home for a while before we meet Chris for lunch? We have plenty of time…”
“Indeed we do,” Lin squeezed his hand knowingly, “plenty of time to also get a few groceries and there’s a supermarket right here.”
“Then let’s get going,” Neal said. “The sooner we shop, the quicker we get back home.”
***
The ringing of Neal’s cellphone broke into Lin’s consciousness as she dozed in the darkened bedroom. It had been so hot by the time they returned from shopping that they’d decided to pull all the shades and crank up the AC. Now, as she shed the sleepiness that followed their lovemaking, Lin realized that she was actually chilly. As Neal reached for the phone she scrambled out of bed and grabbed a robe. She glanced at the clock and saw that they were well past the hour they’d planned to meet Chris for lunch and he undoubtedly knew the reason why. He was giving Neal a hard time.
Ending the conversation, Neal turned to her a bit embarrassed but with a broad smile on his face, “Caught,” he said. “Apparently, midday breaks for lovemaking are frowned upon.” He rose from the bed and crossed the room, wrapping her in his arms and slipping his hands beneath her robe gently caressing her. “Hey, you’re actually cold,” he was surprised.
“Nothing a nice warm shower won’t cure,” Lin replied.
“I have a much better idea.” Neal slipped the robe from her shoulders and dropped it to the floor. He guided her gently back toward the bed, this time covering her body with his own in a warming embrace.
“What about Chris?” Lin tried to remain focused on their lunch plans but without much success.
“Hush, I told him we’d meet him in an hour,” he replied. That was enough.
It was almost two when they picked Chris up from his casita. After a bit of good-natured ribbing about “afternoon delight” they headed out for lunch. Chris directed them to drive east toward Oracle Rd. where they decided to try El Charro, a well-known local Mexican restaurant.
“This is a fairly new location for these guys,” Chris explained. “The original restaurant is downtown and dates to the 1920’s. Carne seca is their specialty. They dry their own meat for all the locations on the roof of the original downtown restaurant. Actually, the place we’re staying is about halfway between this area and our work site and I’m more familiar with this part of town from earlier stays. I’m sure there are great spots near the work site also, but for now, I just wanted to go someplace where I knew the food would be good.”
Because of the odd hour, they found themselves practically dining alone. Deciding to make this her main meal of the day, Lin settled on a combination plate that included a seafood enchilada, shrimp taco, and green corn tamale. It was terrific. The charros and calabacitas were delicious also.
“This is great food,” Lin commented. “I’d almost forgotten how different Mexican cuisine can be here in Arizona where things go well beyond the usual tacos and refried beans. I love these pintos and the sautéed vegetables are super!”
“There are so many good Mexican eateries here that it’s hard to decide where to go, but I especially like this one,” Chris replied. They finished their meal and then decided to head for a nearby park to take a walk. It was still quite warm; however, clouds were gathering for a potential monsoon rain shower, and there was a breeze developing that helped ease the heat. Actually, Lin thought the air felt good after the cold air-conditioning of the restaurant.
“We won’t be out too long,” Chris said, “and if we start to feel uncomfortable we can always duck into the gallery and check out the art exhibit. As they drove back down Oracle toward Ina Rd. heading for To’hono Chul, Chris explained that this former private home and estate was now a beautiful desert garden dedicated to preserving native plants and others that thrived in the southwestern climate. The park also provided educational programs and had greenhouses where they sold plants for local gardeners.
For the next hour the three of them strolled along the paths starting with the Saguaro Discovery trail dedicated to the giant cacti that were the signature plant of the Sonoran Desert then moving to some of the shaded garden paths before ending up at the gallery.
&nb
sp; “What a beautiful place,” Neal said. “I’m ashamed to admit that, even though I’ve lived in Arizona for many years and visited Tucson many times, I‘ve never been here.”
“It is beautiful,” Lin said, “but I’m beginning to feel this heat again and the rain doesn’t seem any nearer.”
“We need to talk about what’s going on at the dig anyway,” Chris offered. “Why don’t we head for the tea room and get something cool to drink. The patio is quite shady and I feel sure we can be comfortable there.”
Seated beneath a mesquite tree that provided shade for their table, they were soon enjoying tall glasses of iced tea. Chris suggested they get dessert but both Lin and Neal were too full to eat anything more.
“When do you think we’re going to get back to work?” Neal asked, “I’m concerned about any delays. As you know, Lin and I have to return to North Carolina no later than a month from now,” he reached for Lin’s hand, “the wedding plans are all made and I don’t want to have to change anything.”
“I don’t want that to happen either,” Chris smiled, “after all, my wife and I already have our tickets to fly east for the big event. Unless something else happens though, I think we should be OK. We might have to work some weekends to catch up, but hopefully, we’ll be back on site in a couple of days. I spoke with one of the deputies and he told me they expected to release the site back to us the first of the week. Today is Friday and I asked him if that meant Monday. He said yes, but he thought they could be out of there by tomorrow afternoon. That means if we’re willing to work on Sunday we could go back in. The hitch is we have to have someone from the tribal office there to replace Mark and I’m not sure about that.”
He directed his next request to Neal, “I heard you say to Lin that maybe the two of you could have a couple of days to enjoy the area before you had to go back to work and I hate to ask this, but I think if we could set up a meeting with the tribal officials tomorrow, we might be able to get someone assigned, at least temporarily, by Sunday so we could begin again.” He turned his gaze toward Lin, apologetically.
“That’s not a problem,” Lin responded quickly. “ We all know that the best thing in the long run is to get on with this work. I was even thinking that maybe you two would be willing to let me help at the site, as a volunteer worker of course, and I wouldn’t mind visiting the reservation with the two of you just to look around while you’re meeting with the officials. I just don’t want to sit around and have nothing to do.”
“Then consider yourself hired,” Chris smiled. “Neal, your fiancé is a real winner. I’ll call out to the tribal offices when we get back and see if I can set something up for tomorrow.”
Neal smiled at Lin, “She’s certainly a winner in my book and I expect she could help a lot with the removal of the artifacts. The last thing I want is for her to get bored with nothing to do—that could spell real trouble,” he teased.
About that time the sky seemed to darken and the wind picked up. “I think we’d better head back to the car,” Chris said. “ Looks like our rain is about to arrive.”
They barely made it back to their vehicle when the shower began. It wasn’t a hard rain but it did suffice to wet the roads and cool the atmosphere a bit. “These monsoon showers generally appear from July through September—not every day, in fact sometimes it’s dry for weeks, but usually there are some rains. This one was pretty nice but they can be ferocious, flooding streets and causing the washes to flood,” Chris indicated a sign on the road that mentioned “Dips” as the street went up and down like a small roller coaster for a short distance. “Like this place. In a hard rain the wash comes across the road and can sweep a car downstream in a heartbeat. In fact, one should never drive into one of these areas when water is present—just play it safe and turn around.”
Lin had heard about dips and washes but they weren’t quite so numerous in northern Arizona where she’d spent some time as a volunteer. She noted the potential for flooding and determined that she would follow Chris’s advice should she ever encounter such a situation.
It was nearing five when they arrived back at the casita. Neal and Lin declined Chris’s invitation to dine somewhere. They were still stuffed from their late lunch.
“I think we’ll just make a sandwich or something later,” Neal said, “we bought some groceries today. If you can reach your contact at the tribe and set something up for tomorrow just give us a call.”
“OK, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone for the evening,” Chris grinned, “I will call about the appointment though. I have a cell number where I can reach the guy in charge of repatriation so I should be able to set something up.”
Lin and Neal said goodbye and headed inside. Even though the shower had extended into this area, the walks and patio were already dry with no remaining signs of the earlier moisture. Lin observed that the patio, even though it faced west toward the Tucson Mountains, was shady. At least half of the area was covered to ward off the deep heat of the afternoon sun. Between the shade and the cooling effect of the earlier shower, the patio seemed quite comfortable. They decided to open a bottle of viognier that had been chilling since their return from shopping and head out to enjoy the view and relax.
“Chris didn’t mention any threat of protesters this weekend,” Neal said, “but I know that earlier he was worried that Doug Davison’s group might appear. I know that Mark had tried to head that off but now that he’s…” he let Lin fill in the rest.
Protest was always a possibility and that could cause a delay in plans for the excavation. Lin actually felt a bit sympathetic toward the views of those who wished to preserve more of the tribal history, although she realized that this particular project and plans for the excavation had been agreed to by the tribe earlier and there was no indication that Lancer had failed to live up to their part of the deal. She just hoped that everyone involved would keep a cool head and the work could proceed without further delays. In the back of her mind however, there were serious questions about the death of Mark Garcia—who would’ve wanted him dead and why? What sort of evidence had the sheriff’s men uncovered? When she expressed these questions to Neal he smiled and shook his head.
“Never underestimate the power of a mystery where my fiancé is concerned,” he smiled but shook his head, “I’m sure you’ll want some answers to these questions. Just, please, leave finding them to the authorities. I’m sure we’ll be briefed when they know something.”
Lin laughed. She knew Neal too well and understood what he was talking about. After all, the entire history of their relationship had been intertwined with mysterious events that had involved them both. “I promise to let the sheriff do his work,” she smiled, “but that doesn’t stop me from wanting some answers.”
They lingered outside as the western sky began to take on majestic hues of orange, pink, and purple. The clouds that remained from the earlier rains afforded a palate of color that rivaled any painting. “Tucson is famous for its sunsets,” Neal acknowledged as they watched the show unfold.
“Absolutely spectacular,” Lin agreed. They sat quietly enjoying the evening until the sun had disappeared and the sky began to take on that special shade of blue that foretold nightfall and a few stars began to pop out. Then Neal volunteered to go make some sandwiches while Lin replenished their wine glasses. An eventful day gave way to a relaxing evening as they remained on the patio until their own sleepiness drove them inside.
Chapter 2
Lin awoke early the next morning to the sound of Neal singing in the shower. She’d had a really good night’s sleep and felt very refreshed. Chris had called shortly before they went to bed, having reached his contact in the Tohono O’odham tribal office and arranged for a meeting this morning. They were to meet him for breakfast in about an hour. Lin hopped out of bed and went to the kitchen where, as she’d hoped, Neal had already made a pot of coffee. She grabbed a mug and headed back to the bedroom to get ready for the day. Neal was just getting out of the show
er.
“I hope you left some hot water for me, “ she teased.
“Not a problem,” Neal said. “In fact, it’s probably warmed enough in the pipes for a bath anyway. Water pipes that are close to the surface can warm up quite a bit in this heat. Cold water can be more of a concern than hot.”
Lin grabbed a quick shower and then proceeded to get ready for the day, choosing capris pants and sandals with a tee top and a cap to shade her face from the sun. That should do it she thought as she grabbed her bag and followed Neal out to the car. They’d agreed to pick Chris up. Soon the three of them were sitting down to breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club. Located in a former pizza restaurant, this local eatery was an offshoot of the original restaurant located in Bisbee and boasted biscuits large enough to fill a dessert plate. They looked tempting, but Lin, mindful of the need to fit into the wedding outfit she’d recently ordered, chose a portion of scrambled eggs with toast instead.
“Did your contact at the tribe think they could have someone available to work at the site soon? Even tomorrow?” Neal queried.
“He thought he could have someone by the first of the week, at least a temporary person,” Chris responded, “and, thankfully, he agreed to come out there himself tomorrow, at least for a few hours, provided we are able to access the excavation by then. Apparently, all they really need is to have some official presence to ensure that all the rules are being followed.”
“That’s good,” Neal said. “I hope he doesn’t mind early, it’s going to be a real scorcher tomorrow according to the late night weather forecast yesterday.”
Both Neal and Chris were still eating when Lin had finished her smaller meal so she went to the front of the restaurant and purchased a local paper. Returning to the table she asked the waitress for a refill on her coffee and turned to peruse the front page.
“Oh my!” she was surprised to see the lead article’s headline. “ RIVAL CHARGED IN SHOPPING MALL MURDER,” she read aloud; then she passed the paper to Chris, “Apparently, they’ve made a quick arrest.”
Sonoran Sun Page 3
