LC 02 - Questionable Remains (19 page)

"I am. I majored in anthropology." The waiter brought
their salads and dark bread on a cutting board. They ate in
silence for a while. Finally Jennifer said, "What is it you
want to know?"

"Just the chain of events."

"I'm sure Grace told you I was married before. My husband was a lot older than me and had money. I can't say
that security wasn't one of the reasons I married him. But he
was also a smart man, and that was important to me, too.
I'm not a bimbo. I read a lot." She looked up from her salad
at Lindsay, expecting to be challenged. "He died of a heart
attack. It wasn't a suspicious death, or even unexpected. I inherited quite a bit of money. A lot of it went to pay off
debts, but I was left well off."

The server brought the steaks and poured the wine.
Jennifer took a sip. "This is good wine. I've never had a bad
bottle here."

Lindsay took a bite of her steak and sipped her wine. She
hoped the food and wine would loosen Jennifer's tongue
some more. So far she was very cooperative.

"How did you meet Ken Darnell?" asked Lindsay.

"A party. Halloween, of all things. I was Cleopatra and he
was Zorro." Jennifer smiled. "In the beginning he looked
rather dashing, but as the evening wore on the temporary
dye he used to spray his hair black began to run. It was very
funny. He was charming and asked me out." Jennifer
stopped and again smiled, almost to herself. "I didn't recognize the blond lanky guy who showed up at my door the
next day until he pulled his mask out of his pocket and put
it on. Ken was really a funny guy then. That's why I fell in
love with him. I didn't kill him."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Jennifer shrugged. "Life goes on. I've met someone else
and we're hitting it off. If that seems heartless, I'm sorry.
Ken shouldn't have gone into a cave as dangerous as Hell
Slide."

"Why was he there? Do you know?"

"He was checking out a place for our new venture."

"Wild Journeys?"

"Yes."

"Were you in sporting goods before you married Ken?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No. That was Ken's dream, but
I was glad to make it come true. Harold-he was my first
husband-and I knew people socially who had ties with the
Olympics. There are thousands of hopefuls out there, all
needing equipment. We started out as mostly a mail-order
place. We branched into mountain-climbing, camping, fishing equipment-we had the best and developed a market through friends of Harold's. It turned out I was good in
business. Ken and I were successful. We had just expanded
and moved to McMinnville when he disappeared."

"Where did you get the idea for Wild Journeys?"

"Ken and a friend of his came up with the idea. Actually,
I thought it was pretty good. They were going to put together tours anywhere from a day's outing to a week through
caves, or white water, anything adventurous. Advertise it as
getting back to the days when men explored dangerous
places."

"And Hell Slide Cave was supposed to be one of those
places?"

"No. It was on private property and known to be dangerous, but Blaine Hillard-that's Ken's friend-thought it
would be perfect for the more adventurous tours. I was
against it and I thought that was the end of it. Now Hillard's
wife thinks I murdered Blaine and my husband, too."

"Why?" asked Lindsay.

Jennifer looked at Lindsay. "I can't believe you haven't
talked to them."

"I have, but I want to hear your story."

"I see."

"I'm not trying to trap you. I just don't want to throw
other people's accusations at you."

"That's very considerate of you."

"They are suspicious because of the large amount of
insurance," Lindsay said.

"Look. When we decided on this venture, a lot of money
up front had to be spent-advertising, equipment, insurance for the customers, deposits on hotels. There were a lot
of things to take into consideration. If anything happened to
Blaine or Ken or any one of us, and we couldn't carry out
the plans, these things still had to be paid for."

"Mrs. Hillard thinks that her husband would have
named her as beneficiary for a large amount of the money."

"Not bloody likely." Jennifer chewed a piece of meat while staring at Lindsay. "I bought the policy. It was for the
business. Taking care of his family was Blaine's responsibility. He could have bought insurance at the same time, but
like a lot of men who like excitement, Ken included, Blaine
unfortunately didn't think anything would happen to him."
She pointed a fork at Lindsay. "I had a financial adviser
telling me how to protect myself and the business. If I hadn't gotten insurance on Ken and Blaine, I'd be stuck with a
lot of bills and people would be calling me a poor businesswoman instead of a murderer. Yes, I came out far ahead
with the insurance money. But I'd rather have my husband
back."

Jennifer stopped and took a breath and a sip of wine.

"What can you tell me about the day they disappeared?"
asked Lindsay.

"Not a lot. We were planning a party Saturday evening.
The last time I saw Ken, it was Friday afternoon and he was
waving to me, going out the door of our store. He just said
he'd be back in a while. He never came back. Saturday
morning I called the sheriff. I found out that Blaine was
missing, too. I figured they were together, but I had no idea
where. We looked everywhere we could think of."

"No one thought of Hell Slide Cave?"

Jennifer shook her head. "They weren't supposed to be
there. It didn't occur to me. Like I said, it was on private
property, and Mr. Lafferty is very hard on trespassers. I
thought they had maybe gone rafting, working the kinks
out of the first tour coming up, perhaps drowned. It was the
only thing I could think of."

"What about the cars?"

"They took their off-road bikes and left them parked just
inside the cave entrance. They apparently boarded up the
cave behind them so Mr. Lafferty wouldn't know they were
there. It's rough terrain, hard to get to, and he keeps the
entrance to the cave boarded up."

"Were there boats missing?"

"Boats?"

"You said you thought they might have gone on the
river."

"Oh. No. But Ken was buying the equipment for the
tours. I thought he might have rafts that I didn't know
about."

"Who was the third man?"

"Roy Pitt? He was a friend of Ken's. I didn't know him.
Ken was going to hire him as a guide, I think."

"You've been very open," Lindsay said.

"Yes, I have, and I'll tell you why. I have a new man in my
life, and I don't want him to start believing I'm some kind
of black widow. I want all these accusations to stop."

"How long have you known him?"

"What?" Jennifer snapped.

"The new man in your life. How long have you known
him?"

Jennifer sighed. "I met him before Ken died, if that's what
you're asking. He was a business associate, and that was all.
I know Grace thought I was having an affair, but I wasn't. I
understand one of her busybody relatives saw us together
once. It was business. But it's not just business now. I really
like him. Ken is gone, and I have a right to be happy." She
put down her fork and knife and picked up her napkin,
twisting it in her hands. Lindsay could see anger burning
her face. "Ken shouldn't have gone into that damn cave and
not tell me where he was going. How does Grace think I felt,
wondering where he was, wondering if he was somewhere
hurt and needing help? Ken was reckless and stupid, and he
died for it." Her hand shook as she took a drink of water.

"Thank you for answering my questions."

"Will you tell Grace to leave me alone?"

"Since there is no evidence that he was murdered, much
less by you, she'll have to. Do you, by the way, have pictures
of his remains? I know that is a rather-"

"No, she doesn't." Both looked up at the sudden intru sion. A man sat down at the table. He was a handsome man:
black hair, dark eyes, straight nose, square jaw, evenly
occluded white teeth. His hair was short and professionally
styled, and his tweed jacket, Armani shirt, and slacks
appeared new. He looked polished, as if he never wore old
clothes. He also looked as if he worked out regularly.
"That's a cruel request, don't you think?" He had a smooth
midwestern accent.

"Unpleasant, yes," said Lindsay, "but not cruel. Suppose
someone did kill Mrs. Darnell's husband. I'm sure she
would be the first to want the murderer caught."

"But someone didn't. Many professional people have
looked into it."

Lindsay and the newcomer stared at each other for a
moment.

"This is Craig Gillett, my friend," Jennifer explained.

"I'm sorry if I seem insensitive," said Lindsay. "I'm only
trying to find out some information about Ken Darnell for
his sister."

"Jennifer said she was going to tell you everything she
knew. I hope you're satisfied with that."

The waiter brought a small folder with the check and discretely put it on the table. Lindsay reached for it, but Craig
Gillett slid it out from under her hand.

"I should pay," said Lindsay.

"Yes, you should," said Craig. "However, it will be high,
and since I don't believe this is either university or state
business, it will probably come out of your pocket, so I will
pay for it. But don't count on any more goodwill from us.
Jennifer deserves a life."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Lindsay said to
Jennifer. "Under the circumstances, it was more than I
expected."

"Please tell that to Grace."

"I will."

Gillett paid the check, and they walked out of the restau rant. Lindsay watched him put Jennifer into her car, then get
into his own, which was parked beside hers.

Lindsay drove to the motel. She entered her room,
slipped out of her shoes, and had started to take off her
clothes when she heard a knock at the door. Through the
peephole she saw Craig Gillett standing outside her room.

A LONG TIME ago, the Sun became angry with the people of
earth when she saw them squinting their eyes in her direction.
"I'll teach them to make ugly faces at me," she said and became
very hot, sending them fever and disease. The Little Men who
sometimes helped the people saw what the Sun was doing and said
she must be killed.

The Little Men turned two men into snakes, an adder and a
copperhead, and told them to bite the Sun when she visited her
daughter who lived in the middle of the sky above the earth. They
hid near the daughter's house, ready to strike the Sun, but she was
too radiant and blinded them.

The Little Men then turned a man into a large winged snake
with crystal scales that sparkled like crackling fire and horns that
grew out of his head. In the middle of the snake's forehead there
was a dazzling crest that sparkled like a bright star. The bright
crest was called Ulunsuti. The snake was called Uktena, the Keeneyed. The Little Men also turned another man into a rattlesnake
to help Uktena kill the Sun.

Uktena and the Rattlesnake went to wait near the Sun's daughter's house, but the Rattlesnake was so excited that he raced ahead
of Uktena and bit the daughter when she came to the door and
killed her instead. The Rattlesnake became confused by his mistake
and raced back to the people without waiting for the Sun. Uktena
followed angrily. In his anger and frustration he became danger ous. If a warrior simply looked at him, Uktena would cause him
and his whole family to die.

Many warriors tried to kill Uktena, but their arrows and spears
could not pierce the hard scales. There was, however, a special
place on the Uktena's body that was vulnerable. A great shaman
found it and killed Uktena and took his crest. It was a great crystal, transparent except for a blood-red center.

The crystal gave the shaman great power, the power to see into
the future, to always have a good hunt, to make it rain whenever
the shaman wanted. Even each of the thousands of scales of
Uktena had power. The big crystal that was his crest, however,
was so powerful that the shaman had to keep it in a cave, wrapped
in a deerskin and placed in a clay jar and fed the blood of animals.

Esteban Calderon reread the story his cousins, Sancho and
Ruiz, had written down during their visit with de Soto. A young
Indian boy they had met told them the story. Esteban had said that
it was a foolish story, the tale of a savage and backward people, but
Sancho kept pushing the map at him and pointing at an X, tapping his finger on the place for emphasis.

We heard this story again at another village. An old man
knew where the cave was. He said his great-great-grandfather was
the one who killed the Uktena. He showed us the cave in return for
an ax and a knife. Don't you see, Esteban? Read the story! It's diamonds they are talking about. One large diamond and thousands
of smaller ones. It's diamonds. Diamonds, Esteban. A king's ransom in diamonds."

"You know this?" Esteban had asked.

"Yes. They are waiting there in the cave."

"If these," Esteban had gestured at the diary with Ruiz's notes,
"are so powerful to the Indians, why did the old man trade you the
knowledge of the cave for a mere ax and a knife? Tell me that!"

"Because only the owner, the old man's great-great-grandfather, could go into the cave and use the crystal. After he died, no
one could use it. That's what they believe."

"This is a map to the cave, Cousin," Ruiz had said. "It is very accurate. You know Sancho can draw a map that is so accurate
you can find your way in the dark. Find the diamonds and bring
them back."

Roberto understood the language of some of the people visiting
in the town of Chilhaxul, the large Indian village that welcomed
traders from all over the land. As he wandered through the village,
looking at the various wares to be traded, he met a few Indians
from his adopted tribe. They were not from his village, however,
for lie didn't know them, but they had the same dress, same tattoo
designs, and spoke the same language. Roberto discovered from
them that the chiefs of several neighboring chiefdoms were traveling to Chilhaxul for a meeting called by Piaquay. Filled with
apprehension, Roberto stationed himself outside the council house,
pretending to be working on a piece of clothing for his master. He
listened to the translator inside the house and discovered that the
Indians were planning to attack the Spanish when they came to
the village of Chilhaxul.