Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (29 page)

“ Henry Piestewa is a mystery to me also,”
Cameron offered, “I’ve been doing some investigating of my own—trying to
get some answers.
 
You know what
they say about seeking the cause of a crime in the lives of the victims—but
Henry was a law abiding citizen, very responsible, a totally clean record—I
can’t figure what he was doing there with the other guy.”

Lin nodded in agreement. “ The police
report has identified the other man as Darren Steele, a Navaho, but it doesn’t
say anything much more about him—apparently they have not found any
information much, at least not thus far.”
 
Lin decided to share what she did know about this man even if it were
hearsay.
 
She told Cameron about
Jimmy Chee and his identification of Darren Steele as the man he heard talking
about searching for old pottery near the park. “He wasn’t sure about this
report because apparently Steele was drunk at the time,” Lin explained, “but I
did ask him to tell Deputy Taylor what he heard.”

“I see.
 
That is not mentioned in the report, but
then Chee might not have talked to Taylor—at least not yet.
 
That may not be considered reliable
information but hey, who knows, anything might help at this point,” Cameron
smiled.

“I have learned a bit more about this
other victim—about Darren Steele,” Cameron offered.
 
“Apparently, he used to work here in
town at one of the galleries—worked for a man named John Sessions. I
talked to Sessions but he didn’t know anything—said Steele wasn’t
dependable, took off about a year ago and nothing had been heard from him since
then.
  
That seems to be a dead
end.”

Wheels began to click in Lin’s brain; one
of the victims had worked for John Sessions at the gallery!
 
Here was another connection—even
if coincidental.
 
Cullen Honeyestewa
had possessed John Sessions’ business card—and that card dated back to
before his own death—about a year ago.

***

Lin couldn’t wait to share what had
transpired this morning with Sue.
 
Glancing at her watch as she left David Cameron’s office, she saw that
it was already past three so she drove downtown toward Heritage Square.
  
This time she found no parking
spaces open on the nearby streets so she had to enter the parking deck.

By the time Lin arrived at the plaza, Sue
was already there.
 
She had a hot
dog and soda in front of her and was already nibbling on some crisp French
fries.

“Care to join me,” Sue offered to share
the fries, “I didn’t have lunch today and I just could not wait until dinner.”

“No, thanks,” Lin responded, “Sophie fed
me, as well as Michael—I had a great lunch.”

Lin did go to a nearby food cart and got
a large coffee to enjoy while Sue ate.
 

While she waited for Sue to finish her
lunch, Lin brought her up to date on what had transpired when she visited the
jail and met with David Cameron—ending with the news that Darren Steele
once worked for John Sessions.

Sue’s wide-eyed stare reflected her
surprise at this bit of information. “There simply has to be a link in all of
this—from last year until this.
 
There are too many connections to simply be coincidental!”
 

Sue downed the last of her soda, “ Somehow,
I also think the black market for stolen art and artifacts has to be linked in
some way.”
 
Sue went on to relate to
Lin her meeting with John Sessions and what she had learned about the stolen
art market from the Internet.

“I am reasonably certain that Sessions is
dealing in stolen art on the side,” Sue said, “He was only too happy to say he
would ‘search’ for the type of pottery I’m interested in—that Susanna
Grayson is interested in, rather.
 
He was quick to set up another meeting in two weeks.”

“I think you’re probably right,” Lin
suggested, “but we just don’t have the missing pieces of this puzzle.
 
We can’t go to the sheriff with just
suspicious connections.”

“Well, we will just have to keep digging,”
Sue insisted, “sooner or later we have to make a break through—hopefully
sooner—I don’t think that Susanna Grayson would stand up if Sessions
decided to do a thorough background check.”

“Well, he might not do that since all of
this is under the table—at least we can hope,” Lin offered. “Meanwhile,
we have to find this elusive connection.”

“I agree,” Lin added, “that we must
proceed cautiously—both of us!
 
You may be treading on very dangerous ground—trying to purchase
stolen art—don’t put yourself in danger.”

Lin was about to add that maybe Michael
Honeyestewa knew something—she was certain he knew more than he was
telling anyone—when her cell phone rang.

“Hello,” she began but a look of dismay
quickly took over, “what did you say!
 
I was just with her less than two hours ago—yes, I will come over
right away.” Lin ended the call and turned to face Sue—tears beginning to
run down her cheeks.

Lin struggled to maintain her composure, “That
was the ER at Flagstaff Medical Center—Sophie Honeyestewa is there and
she has been beaten up.
 
They aren’t
going to admit her—there are no broken bones or serious internal injuries—but
they think she has a mild concussion and they will not let her drive
herself.
 
I was the only person she
could think of to call.
 
I have to
go pick her up.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sue offered, “I’ll
take my own car though.
 
Do you know
the way?”
 

Lin had a rough idea of where to go but
had never visited the medical center before so she decided to follow Sue.
 
Fortunately, both of them were parked in
the garage.

When they arrived at the emergency room
they saw no sign of Sophie.
 
Lin
inquired at the desk and the clerk directed them to a cubicle down the
hall.
 
They found Sophie sitting on
the edge of a hospital bed, crying.
 
She had two black eyes, a cut lip and what appeared to be a broken nose.

“ Sophie, what happened?” Lin put her arm
around the native woman’s shoulders.

Sophie cringed a bit—as if bruised—“I
was heading out of town and stopped to get gas at the Maverick store on Highway
89.
 
There was a man—I didn’t
know him but I think I have seen him around Tuba City—he grabbed me and
shoved me to the side of the building—he punched me—over and over,”
she choked back sobs.
 
“I think I
might have passed out for a few seconds…”

“You don’t need to talk any more now,”
Lin comforted the sobbing woman, “You’re going to be ok.
 
We can talk later.”
 
She looked up to see a young doctor
entering the cubicle.

“You must be Ms. Honeyestewa’s friend,”
he offered his hand. “I am Dr. Bryant, I am the ER doctor this afternoon.
 
Your friend took quite a few hard licks,
but I think she will be ok.
 
She
should rest tonight though and come back by the clinic tomorrow morning to get
checked out.
 
She shouldn’t drive—at
least not tonight.” He indicated a sheet of paper on his clipboard, “I have
already given a copy of my report on her injuries to the deputy who brought her
in.
 
He will probably want to talk
to her tomorrow also.
 
He left his
card.”
 
He handed the card to Lin. “Are
you going to take her home?
 
I
understand she is from Moenkopi and I am not sure she will be able to come back
tomorrow if….”

“ She can come home with me,” Sue Gray,
silent until now, spoke up. “I live at Walnut Canyon so I am close.
 
I’m off all day tomorrow anyway so I can
bring her back and maybe help her make arrangements to get home and to take
care of her truck.”

Sophie finally spoke, “ That is too much
trouble…I will get a room somewhere, take a taxi.
 
Maybe my Father can find a ride and come
get the truck…”

“Nonsense,” Sue spoke, “you need rest and
I have plenty of room—I’m in a two bedroom apartment.
 
We can call your father from the visitor
center and see what he wants to do about the truck.
 
I can bring you to your appointment here
and to the sheriff’s department—or maybe he can send someone out to take
your statement about what happened.”

Sophie nodded in agreement but said
nothing else.
  
Meanwhile Lin
signed some paperwork assuming responsibility for Sophie’s discharge.

They returned to the parking lot and Sue
helped Sophie into her car.
 
She
turned to Lin.
 
“On the way down,
Sophie told me her truck was still at the Maverick store.
 
We’re going by there to get the
keys.
 
I think the owner has parked
it and it can stay there until someone can pick it up tomorrow.
 
I’ll check to be sure.
 
Then I’m taking Sophie to my place.
 
We’ll call her family.
 
Can you come by my apartment?
 
If she feels like talking I think we
should try to find out what happened, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Lin said, “I have a feeling this
attack is also connected to this entire mess somehow.
 
I’m getting scared—scared for the
whole family.
 
I’m supposed to be on
duty tomorrow though.
 
I’ll have to
go back to Wupatki tonight.”

“We’ll make it an early evening.
 
The Maverick store has good take out
food.
 
I’ll pick up something for
all of us to eat while we are there.”

Lin glanced at her watch.
 
It was after five, but just after, “ I’m
going to take a chance and stop by David Cameron’s office, if he is there.
 
I think he should know about this attack
on Michael’s mother.
 
I’ll see you
later.”

Lin was glad to see a light on in David’s
office when she pulled into the front parking lot.
 
She found the office locked but knocked
anyway.
 
Soon Cameron himself opened
the door.

“Ms. Hanna,” he smiled, “ Why the return
visit?”

“Can I come in for a few minutes?” Lin
asked, “Something has happened which I think you should know about.”

In a few moments Lin was seated in
Cameron’s office with a hot cup of fresh coffee in her hands.
 
She told him what had happened to Sophie
and shared her concern that this attack was also somehow related to Michael’s
situation—to the entire situation.

“I’m inclined to agree with you and I
certainly want to talk to Sophie after she speaks with the sheriff’s office—or
as soon as she feels well enough.
 
I’m
going to see Michael tomorrow morning and I will tell him about this—I’ll
make sure he knows his mother is alright and is being looked after—but
maybe this will help him realize further the importance of talking to me and
letting me help.”

“I certainly hope so,” Lin responded. “
If Sophie feels up to it, Sue and I are going to talk to her tonight.
 
I’ll let you know if we learn anything
valuable.
 
We’ll make sure that she
is safe.
 
We will not leave her
alone.
 
Somehow we’ll get her back
to her family as soon as possible.”

“Good,” David tried to be reassuring, “
We have a lot of loose ends here and lots of facts which don’t add up.
 
I feel sure that we will soon learn
things that help us fill in the gaps and get a clearer picture of this
crime.
 
Sooner or later…”

“… it has to happen.” Lin finished his
thoughts , “ I’ll try to call you tomorrow.”

She left the lawyer’s office and returned
to her car.
 
She had to admit that
she was glad it was still early and it was still light in the parking area—but
then it was early afternoon when Sophie was attacked. She hurried to lock her
car and headed out toward Walnut Canyon.

Lin had never visited Sue at her
apartment and the lovely pine forest in which the small cluster of employee
apartments nestled impressed her, very different from the single tree at the
Wupatki apartments.
 
She continued
to be amazed at the difference just a few miles could make in the terrain in
this part of Arizona—a bit of altitude made a huge difference.

Sue had a substantially larger place than
did Lin.
 
She had explained earlier
that she was lucky.
 
Normally she
would have been assigned to a one-bedroom apartment but a permanent employee
had recently moved to a house in town and no more seasonal workers or
volunteers were expected, so the larger apartment was available.
 
Sue had already put Sophie in her spare
bedroom, insisting that she lie down to rest for a short while.

“ The doctor said to wake her up
periodically for the next few hours—she’s mildly concussed—but he
said it was ok, after about eleven, to let her sleep through the night, if she
seems ok.
 
He really thought she
could probably go home tomorrow but she does need to see the doctor, and
probably someone at the sheriff’s office, so I’m not sure but what she should
stay here for a couple of days.
 
I
called her Father and he agreed with me.
 
He is planning to have a friend bring him to town tomorrow.
 
He’ll bring Sophie some clothes and pick
up the keys to the truck and drive it home.”
 
Sue hesitated, “ I told him one of us
could bring her home later this week—I hope that is ok.
 
If you can’t do it, I probably can.”

“That’s fine,” Lin reassured Sue. “You
know I’m ready to help in any way possible.
 
In fact, I think I may talk to Danielle
tomorrow about taking some more time off this week anyway.
 
I ‘ve actually been working more hours
than I ‘m required to over the past couple of weeks and I ‘d like to have some
more time to spend working on this mystery we have here.
 
I think that things could easily spin
out of control if some facts are not cleared up soon.”
 
Lin shared David Cameron’s view that the
gaps would fill in sooner or later. “I’d like to see if I could fill some in
sooner!”

Sue nodded her agreement. “ We need to
find out more about the connection of some of these folks to the art
gallery.
 
I can’t go back to see
John Sessions as Sue Gray but I can do some checking at the newspaper office—see
what I can find in the archives about the events of a year ago.”

“Good idea,” Lin responded. “ After I
arrange for more time off, I intend to visit Mr. Sessions myself.
 
It’s time he was confronted with the
fact that he has not been entirely truthful.”

“ Maybe, but you must be very cautious,”
Sue said, “ I’m sure he can’t be trusted and he may be into this stolen art
trade pretty deeply.
 
It may not
rank with murder, but thievery can lead to violent actions if the stakes are
high enough. After all, we now know that one of our most recent victims worked
for Sessions.”

“I don’t intend to put myself in a risky
situation,” Lin responded, “I’ll simply visit him at the gallery again and let
him know what I now know.
 
We’ll see
how he responds.”

Sue had begun to arrange the dinner she
had bought at the convenience store on her small dining room table.
 
There was fried chicken, some rolls,
some coleslaw, and a carton of baked beans.
 
She had just finished setting places
when Sophie appeared at the door.

“Good, you woke up on your own—that’s
a good sign,” Sue smiled. “I’ll bet you have a headache though, I’ll get a
couple of aspirin.”

Sophie nodded and managed a brief smile
as she sat down. “ Thank you so much.
 
You are so kind to me…”

“Not a problem,” Sue responded, “I feel
sure that you and your family would help either of us if we were caught in
similar circumstances in Moenkopi or Tuba.”

Sophie nodded her agreement as she downed
the aspirin with a long drink of water. “The food smells good and, believe it
or not, I feel a little hungry—guess it takes more than a rough jerk of a
Navajo to take my appetite!” she managed a smile.

The three of them filled plates and then
settled in the living room to eat, as there was not much room at the
table.
 
They ate quietly for a while
but soon Sophie put her plate aside and turned toward them.
 
She was obviously ready to talk.

“You did not know the man who attacked
you?”
 
Lin asked.

“No, I didn’t know his name but I have
seen him around Tuba City—he is Navajo.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure it makes sense,”
Sophie responded. “He said ‘Michael got himself arrested—him and Teddy—he
still owes Raymond and now he can’t pay.
 
If you don’t want to see him and others of your family hurt then you
will pay.’ ”
 
Sophie was serious, “
Then he just started hitting me…I thought he would kill me but he just stopped
and left me there—on the ground. I might have fainted—I know I was
stunned.
 
Then I came to and got up
and went into the store.
 
The
manager called the sheriff and an ambulance.
 
Then I went to the hospital and you
already know the rest of my story.”

“Do you know what he meant, you would
have to pay?”
 
Sue asked.

“ Michael owed money to Raymond Tso.
 
He’s a pawn broker in Tuba City and he
lends money to people who need it but it is hard to ever pay him back.”

“ A loan shark,” Lin offered. “They can
be ruthless.”

“ Michael had worked for him almost one
whole year when Cullen disappeared.
 
He had counted on Cullen—he was supposed to be helping him pay his
debts.”

Lin remembered some of their earlier
discussion when they visited the Honeyestewa home.
 
Michael had counted on Cullen and he was
angry and felt let down—at the same time he missed his uncle…

“ Michael and Teddy both continued to
work for Tso but they never seemed to get the debt paid off—he would just
keep their pay and tell them they still owed him…never showed them
anything.
 
Michael was very
depressed.
 
He thought he would be
stuck forever working for that man but recently he seemed to have more hope.
 
He said that he and Teddy had a new
assignment for Mr. Tso and after that was done he would be free of that job…now
I do not know.”
 
Sophie could no
longer repress the tears.
 
She began
to cry quietly.

Lin reflected upon what Sophie had
shared.
 
This added a new wrinkle to
the situation.
 
Obviously, Michael’s
connection to this Tso fellow was problematic.
 
Lin was quite certain that labor laws
were being violated if nothing else—but what else might there be?
 
It seemed even more important that
Michael be willing to share all that was going on—all that he knew.
 
It was the only way he could help
himself—and his family.

Sophie went back to the bedroom to rest
some more and Lin helped Sue to clear away the remains of their dinner.
 
Then she readied herself to drive back
to Wupatki.

“I will come back to Flagstaff tomorrow
afternoon, after I get off.
 
I
intend to visit Sessions again at his gallery and maybe I can talk to David
Cameron—he will have had time to talk to Michael.
 
Anyway, I’ll try to talk to him.
 
I’ll be in touch—thanks for taking
care of Sophie.”

“I’m glad to do it,” Sue said, “I’ll take
her to the doctor and to the sheriff’s office tomorrow.
 
She has to tell them about Michael’s
connection to Raymond Tso—maybe it will help his situation.
 
I plan to keep her here for a few days
until her wounds are better.
 
Then
we can talk about taking her home.”

“Maybe, if things work out, Michael can
go home with her,” Lin said hopefully.

***

The next day, it was hard for Lin to keep
her mind on her work.
 
There were
several visitors in the center and she gave one talk on the patio to a small
group of travelers but she couldn’t take her mind away from Michael and Sophie
and the events of yesterday.

Finally, she found time to talk to
Danielle.
 
She stopped at her office
door, having noticed it stood open.

“I really need to talk to you,” Lin
begged from the doorway.

“Come on in and close the door,” Danielle
offered, “I think I know what you are going to say—Billy told me.”

Once again Lin noticed the familiar
language and her face probably gave it away.

“Okay,” Danielle confessed, “I have been
seeing Deputy Taylor—Billy—off and on since he investigated our
first discovery—recently more on than off.
 
I really like him.
 
He’s not so cut and dried as he first
appeared,” Danielle defended her friend, “In fact, he told me last night that
he now thinks Cullen’s death was probably not an accident.
 
These recent murders have led him to
rethink things—he sees some of the same connections we do…. I think he
would reopen that investigation if he could get a bit more evidence of these
connections.”

“Well, if he told you what happened
yesterday—I think you might agree that he has his connections now.” Lin
sat in the chair opposite Danielle.

“ I think he believes so, he just has to
tie down this connection to Raymond Tso—that pawn broker in Tuba
City.
 
If he’s responsible for what
happened to Sophie…..” Danielle let the rest speak for itself.

Lin told Danielle about her visit to the
jail with Sophie and of talking to Michael’s lawyer also.
 
Of course, Danielle knew about Sophie
being beaten up, but Lin shared with her the information Sophie had given her
the previous evening.

“Sophie will be going to the sheriff’s
office today to tell them all of this.
 
They didn’t question her much at the hospital.”
 
Lin offered.

“I’m glad she is being looked after,”
Danielle responded. “I think Billy will be happy to talk to her and who knows—maybe
it will open up this case—and Cullen’s”

Lin agreed but she still felt there were
many unanswered questions.
 
She didn’t
share with Danielle all that Sue had learned about the trade in stolen art and
her suspicions about John Sessions in that area.
 
She wanted to gather more information
herself before going to the authorities and she didn’t want to risk Danielle
tipping her hand early in a conversation with Billy—he would probably not
approve of her activities—and certainly not Sue’s.
 
She would talk to him herself when she
had more information to share.

Having explained to Danielle that she
might be needed to help with Sophie’s situation—perhaps take her to the
jail for another visit with Michael and, certainly, helping her to get back
home when she was ready, Lin approached the subject of taking some time off
over the next few days.

“Take the time you need,” Danielle said, “Sophie
certainly needs a friend right now—Michael also.
 
We can manage here.
 
I’m going to take your name off the
schedule for the rest of this week.
 
We don’t have any major events coming up.
 
You can drop in for a few hours here and
there, if you have time, but otherwise don’t worry.
 
I’ll tell Toby you have some personal
business to attend to in town—that is, if he asks.”

“Thanks,” Lin gave Danielle a brief hug, “I
appreciate your generosity.
 
I ‘ll
stay in touch though and let you know what is happening.”

Feeling much more relaxed and
comfortable, now that she had Danielle’s blessing to help Sophie (Lin mentally
added—to look into this mess further!) Lin finished her morning shift.
 
She decided to tell Toby herself that
she was taking a few days off.
 
That
might keep him from asking too many questions.
 
She told him that she had some personal
family business she needed to take care of and she might have to spend a fair
amount of time in town this week.
 
After all, that was the truth—the business was personal and it did
affect a family—just not her own!

Before leaving the visitor center, Lin
decided to call Sue.
 
She knew that
limited service might mean she couldn’t reach her from her cell phone but she
decided to try anyway.
 
Fortunately,
she was successful!
 
As she thought,
Sue was in town with Sophie.