Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (37 page)

Sensing the uneasiness in Neal’s response
Lin turned to him, “ and I ‘ve not shared any of this with the authorities, as
yet—nor do I plan to, at least not now.
 
Not unless, or until, Cullen’s death is
investigated further.
 
I will keep
my word to you but I hope you realize how important a link you are in all of
this.
 
Some of the information you
could share might help determine if there are any links between whatever
happened to Cullen and the present case.
 
I don’t have access to all of the information that the authorities may
have uncovered, but I think this information might help to build connections in
the case.”

 
Taking a deep breath, Lin pressed on.
 
“People have been hurt here, Neal; Sophie
was attacked and last night her father was beaten.
 
Others could be hurt still.
 
Your information could be important.”
Lin looked directly into Neal’s eyes as she continued, “ I know you are in a quandary
about what to do, but I hope you realize that you have to do something.”

Neal seemed to withdraw somewhat.
 
He was obviously considering what she
had said.
 
When he spoke though, it
was in a cooler, more distant voice.

“I’m not sure I entirely agree with you
here, Lin,” Neal reflected. “ The information I have doesn’t really relate to
the current case, in my opinion.
 
It’s
true that I don’t want to have anything more to do with John Sessions, or with
any black market art business, but this case is about murder and I have no
evidence that the business I was trying to help Cullen with has any connection
to this business now.”

“There is no evidence, that I can see,
that links John to the current case.
 
The fact that one of the victims worked for him a year ago isn’t enough
to establish such a link.
 
The
evidence seems to point to this Raymond Tso. Frankly, I don’t see how my
information would actually help all that much—and it could do me great
personal harm,” Neal added.

“ But, you do see where there might be
connections if your information were added to what the authorities already
have, don’t you?” Lin continued to push her point. “I understand your dilemma,”
Lin reached for his hand, “I believed you last night and I believe you
now.
 
I also believe that you want
to do the right thing—for yourself and for everyone,” Lin added.
 
“Why don’t you talk to an attorney for
good legal advice?
 
I believe David
Cameron could recommend someone to you.”

Neal stood up to leave. “If I decide I
need a lawyer, I already know someone,” he responded.
 
Lin stood up to face him.
 
His face was troubled and he seemed
withdrawn.
 
Lin couldn’t entirely
read his feelings.
  

Ignoring the fact that there were other
people around, Neal put his arms around her and drew her close to him in a hard
embrace.
   
He tilted her
chin toward him and gazed deeply into her eyes.

“I hear what you are saying Lin, and I
want to do the right thing but I want it to be the right thing for everyone
involved—including me—and I’m not sure that I am ready to put
everything I’ve worked for all my career on the line.
 
I’m not sure that this case is not
already nearly solved without my information, anyway.
 
Perhaps I really don’t need to say
anything.”
 
He released his grip on
her and stepped back.

“Lin, I truly care for you and I hope you
care for me.
 
I know what you are
asking of me and…” his anguish seemed quite real, “All I can say, right now, is
give me some time, some time to work things out….”

Lin reached out and took Neal’s hand. “Please,
believe me when I say that I know how hard this is for you and what a difficult
spot you’re in; somehow, I believe you will find a way to make this right.
 
I just hope it’s sooner, rather than
later.” Lin wanted to believe what she was saying but she had to admit she wasn’t
certain of herself.

“I have to go now,” Neal said.
 
“I’ll call you—soon.
 
And, I promise I’m thinking about all
this and I’ll try to work things out, somehow.”
 

He turned and walked quickly away,
leaving Lin to wonder if approaching him had been the right thing to do.
 
Maybe she should have simply given him
more time and space to make his decision.

Lin fought against the tears that
threatened her composure at this point.
 
Why am I still pushing this man, she thought.
 
Is it because I think he can help
resolve this case or am I just concerned about my own relationship with
him?
 
She couldn’t be sure of her
own motives; she just knew she had felt compelled to speak to him once more. Lin
couldn’t put her finger on it, but she still felt the events of a year ago were
somehow linked to those of today.

Realizing that it was nearing time for
her appointment with Deputy Taylor, Lin took a deep breath and pulled herself
together as she headed to her car.
 
Soon she was pulling into the parking area at the law enforcement
complex.

Billy Taylor was waiting for her and
quickly offered her a cup of coffee, which she welcomed.
 
She was beginning to understand why he
and Danielle seemed to have hit it off.
 
Perhaps she had misjudged him when Cullen’s
body had been found.
 
Then she
thought he was making a rush to judgment—and maybe he was, but now he
seemed much more open to rethinking his initial conclusions—at least in
the case currently before him.
 
Lin
realized that his position in law enforcement required that he consider
evidence; he couldn’t afford to ignore this in any case.

Taylor was smiling as he told her of the
decision to release Michael and Teddy. “The boys have certainly participated in
illegal activity,” he commented, “and they may have to pay for that but I think
the position they were in with Tso might earn them some concessions for
mitigating circumstances.
 
Did David
tell you that the tribal authorities have Tso in custody?”

“Yes, he did,” Lin responded, “ but he
also said that you need more evidence to tie him directly to the murders—the
weapons, for example.”

“That’s right,” Billy responded, “We are
still looking and I hope to find them—especially the gun used on Darren
Steele—but, meanwhile, we’re putting together all the other bits and
pieces of evidence, hoping to be able to make a charge of murder stick.
 
One of the victims was Tso’s cousin and
one of Tso’s men has told us that he was hired to follow Darren—that Tso
was upset with him over some sort of art deal maybe—but he swears he only
followed him, that he didn’t kill him.
 
That may not be true, but it would help if we can get a confession.
 
Evidence, evidence—that’s the name
of the game.
 
We do have a strong
case on the assaults; however, and don’t forget the fact that he was using
minors to do illegal things, plus making them work off debts—the tribal
child welfare authorities are investigating that area.
 
We have a lot of ways to prosecute Mr.
Tso”

“Well, I do have some additional
information to share with you that might help,” Lin responded.
 
She proceeded to outline some of the
facts and connections she and Sue had collected, particularly emphasizing the
possible connection to Lee Chou.

“I’m sure that Michael told you about Tso’s
meeting with a Chinese man and other evidence indicates Tso was into the art
black market—at least on a limited basis.
 
It appears he may have been trying to
break into the larger market and connected with Chou somehow.
 
Maybe he viewed Darren as trying to undercut
his efforts.”

Billy was thoughtful as he jotted down
notes, “That may well be true, and from what your friend Sue has shared with
you, it appears that Lee Chou is a major player in this art black market.
 
Maybe this will be the case that opens
up what he has been doing for years.
 
I will certainly call the Santa Fe police and see what else I can learn
about this man.
 
Hopefully, that can
lead to something.
 
If I can get a
photo of him, Michael could probably identify him—if he was the person
who talked to Tso.
 
Thanks Lin, this
is very helpful information.”

Lin smiled at Billy, she was happy to
have helped the case, and she hadn’t revealed any of the information that Neal
had shared with her.
 
She decided to
push a bit further.

“ You know there are so many connections
which seem to link this murder case to the art trade.
 
One of the victims, Darren Steele, used
to work for a gallery here in town.
 
He worked for John Sessions.
 
He was also talking about searching for pottery hidden in the park—perhaps
the same stuff Tso was looking for—could there be a link there?” Lin
asked.

“Perhaps,” Billy admitted, “but I would
need more solid evidence to prove it. Steele was related to Tso.
 
However, Sessions has been pretty clear
that he has had no dealings with Steele since he disappeared last year and I
can’t find any evidence to the contrary.
 
What we do know is certainly not enough to link him to Steele’s death in
any way.
 
On the subject of dealing
in the art black market, we may have more to go on, but that takes us into a
whole new case.
 
That may have to
wait until we pin down the loose ends in this investigation.”

“ Sessions’ assistant, Isaac Tsosie, did
confirm to me that he is selling art illegally through the Internet,” Lin
revealed, “but I doubt he would talk to any authorities about that.
 
He is afraid to anger his employer—he
needs his job.”

“I will probably talk to him anyway,” Billy
reported, “ and I would like to talk to Sue Gray about what she has learned in
her contacts with the gallery, especially if she decides to meet with Sessions
again.
 
There is a good bit of ‘smoke’
here regarding this art business and we cannot ignore it even if Sessions is
not directly linked to this case.
 
Maybe that will be my next big one!”
 
Billy smiled at the thought.

 
“By the way,” he added.
 
“We
have told Danielle that Lomaki can be reopened by Saturday.
 
We’ve scoured the area pretty well and I
think we have collected all the evidence we’re going to garner from that
site.
 
I’ll keep the twice daily
patrols in that area through Friday but then we’ll go back to normal.”

Lin rose to leave.
 
She had shared all of the information
that she felt she could.
 
This case
seemed to be moving toward a conclusion, especially with Tso in custody and
Billy Taylor pursuing any links to Lee Chou.
 
Maybe it was time for her to get back to
work at Wupatki.
 
Danielle had said
she could take the week but she really didn’t know what else she could
contribute at this point.
 
Sophie
and her family seemed to be taken care of.
 
She could check on that but, otherwise, she thought it was time for her
to get back to her normal routine.

Lin thanked Billy for his attention to
her findings and asked him to call her if any questions arose that she might be
able to help answer.
 
Then she took
her leave.
 
It was close to five and
she still needed to pick up dinner at Wildflowers.

Lin realized that she might never learn
exactly how Cullen Honeyestewa died.
 
She felt strongly that his death was related somehow to the recent
murders but there was a missing link somewhere. He was supposed to meet Darren
Steele and Darren was a cousin of Raymond Tso, as well as an employee of John
Sessions.
 
Darren had disappeared,
after he reported that Cullen failed to show up, and had turned up as a victim
in this case.
 
Perhaps somewhere
there was a connection to Tso’s activities there also but she could see no way
that she could do any more to uncover evidence of that.

Lin could only hope that, when the
current case was brought to a conclusion, the connection that she felt existed
would become evident.
 
Meanwhile,
she could focus on the fact that she had been able to help the family learn
what Cullen was trying to do for Michael at the time he met his death.
 
That was better than not knowing
anything, she guessed.
 
In spite of
all her efforts, she wouldn’t really have learned that had it not been for Neal
revealing his role in helping Cullen.
 

No matter how hard she tried, Lin couldn’t
help but feel frustrated that her efforts hadn’t produced more knowledge for
the family.
 
She was also troubled
about Neal Smith, concerned about what he was going to do about his own part in
all of this and how that might affect their relationship.