Read Online Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery by Sharon Canipe - Free Book Online

with caution.
    They parted company and Lin started back
to her car.   When she reached the
corner she looked back.   Surprisingly, she saw Dr. Smith heading back into the art gallery.  
    Lin felt pretty sure that she had heard
the gallery owner tell Neal that he would call him the following day about some
business they were discussing and Neal had indicated that he would wait to hear
from him.   Wonder why he is going
back now?   Lin thought to herself.
    Arriving at her car, she added her
jewelry purchase to the earlier packages.   She hadn’t intended to buy anything like that but the jewelry was nice
and the earrings would be a good gift for her daughter.   She would enjoy her pair too—they
were pretty reasonably priced for handcrafted items.   She smiled to herself as she drove out
of town and turned up Highway 89 toward the park.   It had been a very nice morning and she
had enjoyed her lunch also.  
    Lin reflected on her conversation with
Neal.   He seemed to assume that the
person found the day before had fallen victim to an accident also; he
definitely seemed uneasy about the topic and had not wanted to discuss it
further.   She wondered why?   It had certainly been a shocking
experience but it was mysterious and she still felt there were lots of unanswered
questions.   She had wanted to
explore these with Smith to see what he thought but he had steered away from
that topic.   She wondered why?   Maybe he found the entire incident too
disturbing.
    ***
    Returning to her apartment, Lin quickly
dressed in her uniform and reported to the visitor’s center a few minutes early
for her afternoon shift.   The center
was crowded when she arrived, a school group from one of the local middle
schools had just finished a tour and program and the kids were milling around
looking at the exhibits.   Some were
considering purchases of T shirts, magnets, and even books.   With her practiced principal’s eyes, Lin
quickly ascertained that this was a lively but basically well-behaved group of
kids.   She sometimes missed the
times when she had been able to accompany groups on such field trips.   If properly prepared for and well led
the students could learn a lot and such trips added much to their
curriculum.   This appeared to be
such a group and Lin took a moment to complement the teacher on the group’s
behavior before she took her place at the desk near the entrance.
    After the group departed the rest of the
afternoon saw a slower procession of visitors.   It was steady; however, with the tourist
season not yet really underway, the situation was easily manageable by one
person.   She felt sure that once
summer arrived they would all be grateful to have the extra help of the SCA
students.   This park was “on the way”
to Grand Canyon, one of the most visited parks in the country.   Many visitors from across the US and
around the world stopped to see the ruins as they traveled to and from the Canyon.   Today, however, there were not so many
visitors. As closing time approached, the visitor center grew empty.
    Lin took the opportunity afforded by the lull
in visitor traffic to take a short break.   While keeping an eye out for any new arrivals, she poured herself a cup
of slightly old coffee and checked the schedule for the following week.   She noted her own work times on a sheet
of paper from the recycle box near the copier, noting with interest when Neal
Smith was scheduled to visit during one of her duty times.   He had mentioned that he might bring his
summer graduate interns out if the area were open by then. Perhaps they would
talk again… She heard sounds near the entrance and returned to the desk to see
that Toby was coming in with the stocky, blond deputy who had been at the
incident scene yesterday.   Both men
looked a bit warm and dusty and were happy to accept the bottled water she
grabbed from the refrigerator and offered.
    “Deputy Bill Taylor,” Toby offered, “I’m
sure you