Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery (4 page)

 
“ Nowadays finds are certainly more
difficult but there are still unexplored areas, especially since the park here
is over thirty-five thousand acres, and there are always places that may have
been missed before.
 
When ruins are
found, the park archeologists generally excavate the site but then cover it
after they have documented the find.
 
It seems the best way to preserve the past is to leave it where it is,”
Smith explained. “Not everyone agrees with that but the parks have very strict
rules about such things.”

“I understand,” Lin replied, “it‘s look,
photograph, but leave things as they are.”
 

“Yes,” Smith responded, “but it does give
the students the opportunity to explore and to learn what signs to look
for.
 
Sometimes we have actually
found some good evidence of ruins and artifacts.”

“Are you looking for anything in
particular today?” Lin asked.

“As a matter of fact, I read somewhere
that there are some earth cracks and slot areas in the box canyon near this
ruin which might contain some pottery fragments.
 
No one has actually documented this but
it is a promising area for us to explore,” he had a spark of excitement in his
eyes as he spoke.

The bus soon arrived at the entrance to
Lomaki ruin.
 
Pulling in they
observed only a couple of visitor’s cars at the far end of the parking
lot.
 
The visitors would probably be
walking the trail to the beautiful pueblo ruin.
 
The box canyon area was nearer the
entrance.
 
The bus pulled up and
soon they were disembarking; the students chatting excitedly as they pulled out
charts they had been given that mapped the area.
 
Several had cameras and most had camera
phones. All were eager to get going.

Lin observed as Smith instructed the
students carefully indicating on the maps they had where the areas were they
could explore.
 
He divided them into
teams of three or four and assigned each group a different area.
 
Lin was surprised when he turned to her
to explain the dos and don’ts according to the park rules, but she was happy to
do so and used the opportunity to welcome the students and offer to answer any
questions that she could.
 
Soon the
teams were off to explore their respective areas.

 
Lin followed behind the group heading
into the box canyon.
 
She had driven
out here earlier and briefly visited the ruin, but this was her first
opportunity to really explore the small canyon with its hidden bends.
 
She knew that there were some earth
cracks and narrow slot canyon areas near the end and was eager to see what they
were like.

Soon the teams of students were busy
exploring various areas.
 
Lin was
happy to observe that they were being very careful not to disturb the sites
more than necessary.
 
They were
photographing the areas that seemed interesting but not moving any rocks or
digging around them.

 
One team had arrived at the edge of a
large earth crack.
 
The monument was
full of such geologic formations related to earthquakes and volcanism in the
area; some of them were large enough for a person to actually enter.
 
Others were merely narrow slits in the
ground. Lin had been told that some of the larger ones had been entered and explored—one
group of scientists had even studied bats that roosted inside some of the
cracks.
 
Lomaki ruin itself was
located along the edge of one of the larger cracks and there were others in the
area.

One of the students, a tall slender boy,
approached Lin, “Is it ok to enter this earth crack?” he asked, “ It doesn’t
look too deep, I think I can see the bottom and it widens out from this point
so I don’t think I would find it hard to move around; I have a climbing rope.”
  
He seemed eager and it was not
against park rules for him to do this, so long as Dr. Smith agreed to supervise.
 
The permit for the class included
exploring all canyon areas so Lin agreed provided he had Dr. Smith’s
permission.
 

“Thanks,” he responded eagerly.
 
He was off to speak to Dr. Smith
immediately.

A few minutes later, Lin joined the team
of students to watch the boy’s descent.
 
Dr. Smith and another team member had secured the climbing rope around
the base of a fairly large pinion pine tree nearby and looped it around an
adjacent boulder so it seemed pretty secure.
 
The student eagerly began his descent.
 
The crack was not large but it did
afford enough room for the student to move freely, and Lin had also observed
that it widened nearer the bottom.
 
Soon the student was visible as he left the rope and moved toward a
brushy area ahead.
 
It was shadowy
in the crack, despite the bright sun overhead, so he had to utilize his
flashlight.
 
As he moved slowly
along he commented about some of the shelf-like areas he saw. Unfortunately
there seemed to be no evidence of any artifacts there.

“There is a big pile of loose, brushy
limbs down here,” he called up, “is it ok to move some of them to look further?”
 

“Sure,” Lin replied, “so long as they are
loose.
 
Just don’t cut anything that
is attached or growing.”

“Gotcha,” the student responded.
 
She could hear him shoving the limbs
further into the crack ahead.
  
Lin was thinking that it would be nice if the student did actually find
at least some small shards of pottery.
 
These earth cracks had often been used as middens, garbage dumps, in the
past by the native occupants of the park areas and it was not too unusual to
come across shards in such areas. They were generally small finds.
 
It was exciting to find things, even if
they could only be photographed, and Lin shared the enthusiasm of the students
for the hunt.
 

The sounds of brush being moved aside
stopped and all was quiet below.
 

“Do you see anything?” one of the team
members yelled down.
 

At first the student said nothing.
 
The team members gathered near the edge
of the crack.
  
Then the
student called up. “ I am at the rope, come help pull me up.
 
I found something alright—and it
has clothes on!”

It was close to noon and the day was
growing warmer by the time the authorities arrived at the site to examine the
remains found by the student.
 
It
was a good forty-five minute drive from Flagstaff just to the park visitor
center.
  
Lin had radioed
Danielle at once to report the student’s discovery and had quickly instructed
the students that no one else was to enter the earth crack.

 
The student had been helped to climb out,
visibly shaken by what he had seen.
 
The other teams had ceased to explore and all were now sitting around
the area talking quietly and waiting to be told what to do.
 
Lin had informed Dr. Smith regarding
Danielle’s instructions—no further movement about the park but no one
should leave until the authorities came and told them what to do.

Some of the students had returned to the
parking lot area to wait while others chose to sit on nearby rocks.
 
Lin was pretty shaken by this discovery
but managed to remain at least visibly calm and chose to wait near the earth
crack with Dr. Smith and some of the students.
  
She made sure that no one further
disturbed the site.

Now, as the midday sun beat down, she was
increasingly aware of how the temperatures could vary so much during the
day.
 
The cool, nippy spring morning
had given way to a very warm midday, unless you were in a shaded area, and
there was little shade to be had at this spot.
 
She brushed damp hair back from her
forehead, tucking it under her wide-brimmed hat, and took a long drink from her
water bottle.
 
The water was no
longer cool but it was still wet and refreshing.

Soon a small procession appeared coming
from the parking lot.
 
Two officers
from the Coconino County sheriff’s department were led into the canyon by some
of the students.
 
They approached
the young man who had discovered the remains.
 
He was visibly shaken but was able to
describe what had happened.

“I did not touch anything down there
except the brush I pushed aside,” he said, “nothing else was disturbed. “

“That’s good,” a stocky, blond deputy put
his hand on the boy’s shoulder eliciting a small smile. “ Important not to
disturb the remains.
 
The medical
examiner is on his way here.
 
Should
just be a few more minutes.” He introduced himself as Deputy Billy Taylor.

Deputy Taylor moved to the edge of the
earth crack and peered over the side.
 
It was not really possible to see the remains from there.
 
The rope used by the student was still
in place—the only way to enter the area.

By this time Danielle and another deputy
had arrived.
 
“You may need this,”
Danielle offered a large coil of rope, “We can rig another climbing rope and
maybe even make a sling.”
 
She was
obviously thinking ahead to the necessity of removing the remains.

A radio crackled, “ The medical examiner
just arrived; he is on his way in.”

Looking back up the canyon, Lin saw Dr.
Smith walking in with a man she assumed was the examiner.
   
She noticed that Smith was
somewhat nervously pulling on the brim of his cap.
 
She could not hear what he was saying
but he appeared shaken up to her.
 
Well, they were all shaken up—who wouldn’t be.
 
It was not every day that one found
human remains while hunting for artifacts, at least not her every day!

With the help of the deputies and
Danielle, the medical examiner soon had another climbing rope rigged and
another arrangement that could be used as a sling to hoist the remains.
 
He and one of the deputies descended
carefully into the crack and then called for their camera and other equipment
to be sent down.

Lin could only hear the low sound of
their voices as they proceeded with their work, she could not really tell what
they were saying.
 
It seemed to take
a long time but they had to be careful.
 
She wondered whom the person could be, maybe a hiker who had fallen
in?
 
She hadn’t really heard anyone
in the park talking about a missing person, though she knew people could
certainly access the area without coming to the visitor center and signing
in.
 
In that case no one would know
about the entry.
 
Still, it seemed,
if anyone in the area were missing, someone would have reported it. Her
curiosity was certainly aroused.

After what seemed like a long time, Lin
saw the medical examiner’s equipment being lifted up and heard someone call for
the sling.
   
She was both
concerned and curious as the body bag containing the remains was slowly hoisted
up and placed on the side of the opening.
 
A smaller bag followed shortly and was handed to an officer for
safekeeping. What had they found, Lin wondered.

 
The deputy and the medical examiner
followed shortly.
 
The deputy
instructed the officer holding the bag to take it to the car but didn’t
indicate what it contained.

Approaching the body bag, the examiner
unzipped it and opened a flap on one side.
 
Lin couldn’t really see much but recognized some clothing—jeans, a
plaid shirt, boots, a wide belt.
 
The rest was hidden somewhat from her view.

“Does anyone here recognize who this
might be?”
 
The deputy asked,
looking around at those gathered nearby.
 
“ These remains have been here for some time, it appears; someone might
recognize the clothing—anything to help us ID this person.”

 
Neal Smith approached the remains
cautiously, Lin noticed a quick, jerking movement, his hand briefly coming up
to his face, as he viewed the remains.
  
He shook his head as if to
indicate he did not recognize this person and then moved away.
 
There was an unmistakable look of shock
on his face.
 
This had to be an
awful sight.

 
Lin had no desire to look at the remains
herself and drew back to the edge of the group.
 
After all, she had only arrived in the
area a couple of weeks earlier. It was not likely this would be anyone she had
had the opportunity to meet.

Danielle was thoughtful as she approached
the remains, studying what she saw.
 
Finally, she spoke, “I can’t be certain, but it seems to me that I have
seen that belt buckle on someone coming to the park before. It was not recently
and I can’t recall who it was.
 
It
is distinctive though.
 
I’ll speak
to some of the other personnel about it.
 
They may remember something and if we can help with an id I’ll give you
a call.”

The deputy and the examiner nodded their
thanks and closed the bag.
 
They
began the task of closing off the area with crime scene tape.

“Do they think a crime was committed?”
 
Lin asked Danielle.

“Not really,” Danielle responded. “It
looks like someone fell and hit their head on a large rock.
 
They found a rock that might have dried
blood on it.
 
They’re taking it in
to check.
  
It looks more like
an accident than anything else but they want to close the area off until they
can examine further to be sure.
 
Remind me that we’ll need to place some signs here also, maybe close off
this entire area at the road until they’re finished. “
 

She shook her head, “ It’s a shame to
have to close off the entire ruin area but we simply do not have the staff to
stay out here and make sure no one goes into the canyon.
 
Even closing it at the road entrance can’t
really keep everyone out but we do the best we can.”

By now the authorities were in the
process of leaving the area and Dr. Smith was loading his students on the bus
to return to campus.
 
Their day was
certainly finished.

Smith approached Lin.
 
“ Can you ride back to the visitor
center with Danielle?
 
It saves us a
lot of time if we can leave by the north entrance rather than going back
through the park.
 
I’d like to get
the students back as soon as possible.
 
This has been quite a shock for them.”

“Of course,” Lin responded, “and this
area is going to be closed for awhile anyway.”

“Yes, we may have to cancel next week’s
visit and after that we give exams.
 
I could come back with my summer interns, if the area is opened, but I don’t
think I will bring my class again.
 
This trip was very stressful for them.”
 
Smith seemed to have regained his
composure, “ If you come into Flagstaff though give me a call.
 
My number is at the visitor center.
 
Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee,” he
smiled again.

Again, not wanting to encourage his
apparent interest in her but still wanting to be polite, Lin nodded and smiled
but said nothing.
 
She turned and
headed for the park vehicle where Danielle was waiting for her.

Danielle seemed quiet and thoughtful
during the ride park through the park.
 
She appeared to be trying to remember something.
 
Finally, Lin spoke, “ You said something
was familiar about that person they found?”

“ Yes,” Danielle spoke slowly and
thoughtfully, “ The clothes not so much.
 
Everyone around here wears jeans and shirts like that and the boots didn’t
seem unusual, but there was something familiar about that belt buckle.
 
It was a fancy design with an eagle’s
head carved in it and I know I’ve seen it before.
 
I’m just not sure when or who it
was.
 
I think it was maybe one of
the native people who sometimes come to the park but they don’t always come to
the center. Sometimes I don’t see them for months and it is hard to
remember.
 
I am going to ask the
other employees though; maybe they can jog my memory.
  
I just can’t attach it to a face
or name right now.”

By this time they had arrived at the
visitor center.
 
It was
mid-afternoon, well past time for Lin’s shift to be over, and she felt hot dirty
and tired.
 
She spent a few minutes
checking on some visitor numbers and receipts.
 
Remembering that they were going to have
to close Lomaki ruin, she located some area closure signs in the equipment room
and took them to the front desk.
 
Stopping by her office, Lin saw that Danielle was talking to Toby White,
one of the seasonal rangers. Lin stuck her head in.

“Do you want me to drive back out to
Lomaki and set up these signs before I leave today?”
 
She asked.

 
“No, No,” Danielle responded, “You’ve
already worked overtime and I know you must be shaken up by all of this, we all
are,” she added.
  

Toby spoke up, “I’m still on for a couple
of hours and things are pretty quiet around here, I’ll take them out, you go on
home.
  
Would you like to join
me for some burgers on the grill later on?”

“Sure,” Lin replied, “I have some baked
beans.
 
I’ll bring them over.”

“Great,” Toby smiled, “maybe Danielle can
come too,” He looked her way.

“Maybe,” Danielle answered, “If I can, I’ll
bring some of that leftover cake from the birthday party last week.”

Lin gave a nod, “Hope you can make it.”
  
She left the office and proceeded
to the closet to pick up her jacket and then left the visitor center.
 
It was a close-knit community here in
the park residences.
 
There were two
houses—one, the original, historic park ranger’s home, was occupied by
Danielle as the head law enforcement ranger.
 
The other was currently assigned to one
of the park archeologists, Steve Barton, who was overseeing some work at some
of the more remote ruins.
 
Lin had
met him but he was not around much.
 
He worked late in the field, usually, and rarely joined others when they
gathered.
  
Lin did recall that
he had said that his wife and son would be joining him for the summer after
school was out.
 
He had a home in
Flagstaff and had some affiliation with the university—part-time teaching
she thought—but this spring he was full-time with the park service doing
this work so he was staying in the park during the week.
 
Since his wife and son were coming soon
and the larger home was available, Danielle had assigned it to him.
 
The other park workers—seasonal
rangers and volunteers—lived in the small apartments that were attached
in a row between the two larger homes.