Treasure of the Anasazi Page 6

  “Yeah, I know. I guess that would make sense.”

  “You may be able to confirm it if you can get one of the other brothers alone.”

  “That’s not going to happen. One never does anything without the others. Thanks again. I really appreciate you coming out here.”

  “No problem. If you need me again, don’t hesitate to call. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Say, Sam, would you like to have that lunch for real sometime? No distractions.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “You’re not seeing Jack anymore, are you?”

  “No.” She said with a disgusted look, without elaborating.

  “Good. You know Jack’s a good friend. I wouldn’t want to step on any toes.”

  “Don’t worry. You’re not.” Jack had his chance. Since he had walked out, she hadn’t been overly concerned with how Jack felt about anything.

  * * *

  I decided to spend some time in Durango, ask around and see if I could get any bites on the two men. I had concluded that they were strangers to Durango. I couldn’t recall a pair of men in the area that fit Sarah’s description and after living here all my life I knew pretty much every face in town. After spending the afternoon in almost every bar and pool hall in town with no success, it occurred to me that perhaps these men didn’t frequent this type of establishment or maybe they weren’t even staying in Durango.

  * * *

  I pulled up to the curb in front of Emitt’s place just seconds before Baker. She drove up as I was walking up the sidewalk to the front porch. I waited for her to start up the walk before I knocked. I couldn’t help myself from smiling as she approached the porch. I still found her very attractive. I think she was actually getting prettier with age. Then I remembered that she seemed to have become more stubborn too. In the past, different ones had said we were just alike. Maybe that had been the problem. She caught me smiling.

  With a puzzled look, “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Barbara, Emitt’s wife, answered the door.

  “Hello Sam, Jack. Come on in. Emitt’s just listening to the radio. Can I get you anything? How about some nice iced tea?”

  “No thanks, Barb, we just wanted to come by and see how Emitt was doing,” said Sam.

  “Well, go on in.”

  We walked into the living room followed by Barb. Emitt was reclined with both eyes closed. He looked pretty comfortable. A fan setting on a nearby TV tray oscillated and blew air directly on him with every pass.

  “Emitt!” yelled Barb, shaking his foot. “You’ve got company. Emitt!”

  First one eye and then the other cracked open, then realizing we were staring at him, he forced them both wide open and slowly forced himself to sit up in his recliner.

  “You two like to stay for supper? You’re more than welcome,” offered Barbara.

  “No thanks, Barb. Maybe another time,” said Sam.

  “If you change your mind, we’ll be eating in about thirty minutes.” Barb turned and headed back to the kitchen.

  Looking at Baker, Emitt whispered, “You know, I’m rethinking that retirement plan I mentioned. I don’t know if I’m ready to spend more time at home.”

  Baker and I both smiled. “I don’t think you’re suffering too badly,” I said. This time he smiled.

  “No, not too badly. I’m glad you two stopped by. I’m surprised to see you together though. How are you getting along these days? Oh well, never mind. It’s none of my business. Sam, how did it go at the park today?”

  “Okay, I guess. However, yesterday afternoon Jack came to me with some interesting information. He spotted a couple of people out in the eastern part of the park where he was working. We knew there wasn’t supposed to be anyone out there, so I asked him to show me.”

  “We didn’t find anyone out there, so we left…,” Jack began.

  “The strange thing is, we spotted the Hightowers watching us from a distance,” interrupted Sam.

  “Near the Restricted Area? Are you sure it was them?” asked Emitt.

  “Yeah, there’s no mistaking their truck.”

  “Maybe it was just a coincidence.”

  “I don’t think so. They were at the Mancos Café the same time we were there. The only way they could have known where we were going was if they followed us from there.”

  “Did you talk to ‘em to see what they were up to?” asked Emitt.

  “Not right then. They took off. But, when I got back to the office I called Detective Joe Larsen with the Sheriff’s Department and he met me today at the Mancos café. They showed up at the café as we were leaving, so we talked to them there. We didn’t have any luck though. All we got was sarcasm and no answers.”

  “You met with Joe today? That’s who you were meeting? Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.

  “If you’ll recall, I told you it was none of your business.”

  “If you didn’t know, let me clear it up. I don’t answer to you,” stated Baker.

  “Easy. I was just curious why you didn’t mention it. You know Joe’s a friend of mine.”

  “Yeah, I remember, and for your information, he’s a friend of mine too.”

  “Hey, you two. Cut it out or I’ll kick both of you out. You know I’m trying to convalesce here.”

  “Sorry,” Baker and I said in unison.

  “Emitt, would you mind if I ask you again about the night you were shot?” I asked.

  “No, I don’t mind. There wasn’t much to it, and I’ve already told you and Sam everything I remember.”

  “I know, just humor me. I may have new information as to who shot you.”

  “What are you talking about?” asked Baker. “This is the first I’ve heard about it. I’ve warned you about withholding information.”

  “Calm down. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it until I checked some things out,” I said.

  “Trader! We’re going to talk later,” said Baker.

  “It doesn’t really matter,” interjected Emitt. “It was just an accident. I’m not really happy about it, but accidents do happen.”

  “Please, Emitt, humor me and tell me again this one last time. What do you remember?”

  “Go ahead, Emitt,” said Sam. “If you’re up to it, because he’ll never let it drop until you do.”

  “Okay. Well, as you know, Sam came back to the office from making her rounds, saying that she had seen lights near the Restricted Area. I told her to go on home and I drove out there to check it out. As I approached the end of the road I caught a flicker of headlights, just like Samantha had thought. It wasn’t a steady beam, but off and on, like a vehicle driving over rough terrain. It was hard to judge exactly how far away it was. I figured it was another group of poachers after coyote. As you know, Sam, it wouldn’t be the first time. I got back in my truck and headed in that direction. I couldn’t ignore trespassing after hours and hunting on park property. Besides that, if they would happen to get hurt on park property, either by shooting themselves or falling off into a ravine or canyon, somehow the park would be found responsible, and you know I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. Anyway, I continued down the road, catching a glimpse of the headlights a couple more times. When I reached the end of the road, near where I thought the lights had been, I stopped, turned off the truck, got out and listened. I didn’t hear a vehicle or see a light.

  I grabbed a flashlight and walked in the direction of where I had last seen the lights. Next thing I knew I was spun around and knocked to the ground as if I’d been kicked by a mule, followed simultaneously with the sound of a gun shot. I must have passed out. The next thing I remembered was coming to with my shoulder feeling like it was on fire. I laid there on the ground for a while trying to catch my breath. I’m not sure how long. It was still dark out. I then felt of my shoulder. It was wet and sticky. At that point I was pretty sure what had happened. Not too far off, I’m not sure which direction, I heard a vehicle start up and
from the sound of the engine it was in a hurry. I guess they figured out what they’d done and wanted to get out of there. I never saw a thing. Fortunately, I was able to climb back into the truck, but then I think I may have passed out again. When I came to my senses, I radioed for help, but I didn’t get any response. I hadn’t really expected anyone to be at the office since it had been closed for a couple of hours. I started the jeep and drove back to the park office. It seemed to take forever. From there I phoned Samantha at home, and I’m pretty sure I passed out again. I guess Samantha got the ambulance out there because I came to in it on the way into the hospital. And that’s it.”

  Emitt smiled up at Baker. “Thanks, Sam.” She smiled back.

  “Emitt, you said you heard the vehicle. Did you recognize the sound of the engine, like a jeep or a pickup, or something familiar that maybe you’ve heard before?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Think hard, Emitt,” I appealed.

  Emitt sat there a moment trying to think if there was something he’d forgotten.

  “C’mon, Jack. Let’s leave Emitt alone. He doesn’t remember any more,” said Baker.

  “Sorry, Jack. I wasn’t paying attention.” There was a pause and then he looked up. “Wait a minute, I do remember something. It was the sound of their exhaust. It was pretty loud. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a pickup. Sounded like lots of power or maybe just a bad muffler. I just remember it was loud.”

  “That’s great Emitt. That’s something. It may help,” I said.

  “I think you’re barking up the wrong tree, Jack. Just accept it. It was an accident and I’m going to be fine,” said Emitt.

  He removed the sling from his shoulder and stretched his arm in the air, flexing it up and down. He quickly placed it back in the sling. He placed his finger to his mouth as he looked around, making sure Barbara wasn’t lurking about.

  Baker grabbed me by the arm. “Thanks Emitt. We’ll be going now.”

  I said, “Excuse me,” as I pulled my arm free.

  “Emitt, there is something else I need to ask you about, if you’re up to it,” I said.

  “Go ahead, I’ll answer if I can.”

  “Yesterday I was working at a site and saw a boy running through the brush. He crossed the fence into the Restricted Area and I followed him. Right after that I was met by a young Indian woman. She introduced herself as Sarah Leaphorn. Do you know anything about her?”

  Emitt sat up in his chair, leaning forward. The ever-present smile had left his face.

  “You crossed the fence into the Restricted Area? You know that no one is allowed in that area,” scolded Emitt, red flooding his face.

  “Hold on, Emitt. A boy’s life may have been in danger and you don’t seem very surprised that I ran into Sarah.”

  “Yeah, I know about her. The point is that you shouldn’t have gone into the Restricted Area. Period. There’s a reason for that fence.” He completely sidestepped talking about Sarah or the boy.

  There was no mistake that Emitt was angry. The atmosphere in the room had changed completely from warm and friendly to a bit on the chilly side. I didn’t understand why he was so upset with what I had done. No real harm had been done.

  “I knew I wasn’t supposed to cross over, but I was concerned about the boy. I hoped he wasn’t out there all alone. I thought I would find out if he was with anyone else and tell them they shouldn’t be there. I was just trying to do the right thing,” I said.

  “He’s telling the truth. He did come and tell me about them. That’s why I asked him to take me back out there,” said Baker, as she tried to explain and save me.

  Emitt sat back in his chair, seeming to relax a bit.

  “That wasn’t your responsibility, Jack. I understand why you did it, but there is more at stake here than you realize. What happened when you met Sarah?” asked Emitt.

  “Nothing. She told me her name and that she wanted me to leave.”

  “That’s good. Then what?”

  “I turned away from her for a split second, and when I turned back, she was gone. I searched the area, but couldn’t even find footprints in the sand. That’s when I went back to my jeep to find and notify Sam. That’s it.”

  “I don’t want either one of you to go back into the Restricted Area. There is a good reason why no one is allowed in there. There are things going on out there that you don’t know anything about.”

  “Sorry, Emitt. It’s too late for that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I went back to the cliff site this morning. I saw the boy and Sarah again. This time she asked for my help,” I said.

  “Your help to do what?” asked Emitt.

  “She said two men have been out there several times, crossing the fence, looking for something and that they’re getting very close to you know what. She’s afraid of what will happen if they come any closer. She showed me everything.”

  Sam looked at me strangely. “What ‘everything’ are you talking about?”

  “Does she know?” I asked Emitt.

  “No, but I guess it’s about time.”

  Sam looked bewildered. “What’s this all about Emitt?”

  “I trust you both so I’m going to tell you something now that you must keep to yourselves. It should help to clear things up for both of you.”

  “What is it, Emitt?” asked Sam, feeling completely in the dark, expecting something terrible.

  “I know you’ve heard the story of the Wetherills and how they were the first to ranch in this area and run cattle. Just as it is now, the Restricted Area was off-limits then too. The Ute Indians allowed them to graze their cattle in the general area as long as they stayed away from this particular area. They claimed the area was a spiritual and sacred area for their tribe’s use only. One can only assume that they knew about the others and were trying to protect them.”

  “What others?” asked Sam, becoming even more exasperated and anxious.

  “The Anasazi,” said Emitt.

  She cracked a smile then broke out laughing. “Now I know you’re putting me on. Very funny. The Anasazi have been gone for eight hundred years.”

  Neither Emitt nor Jack was laughing.

  “That’s what I thought, but now I’ve seen them for myself,” I said.

  “You’ve actually seen the Anasazi?” Sam asked, still thinking that he was trying to pull something over on her.

  “Yes, an entire village.”

  “Just because you saw an Indian village doesn’t mean you’ve seen the Anasazi.”

  “It’s true, Samantha,” said Emitt. “I know it’s going to take a while to get used to the idea, but I swear to you that they are the last of the Anasazi.”

  “I’ve worked out there at the park for ten years and all that time I had no idea that anyone lived in that area, much less Anasazi. How could they have been there all that time and I never saw them? Why didn’t you tell me about them?” asked Sam.

  “I couldn’t. I swore to keep the secret, until the time came to pass the information on to my successor. It would appear that time may have arrived,” said Emitt.

  “So, are you saying that the area that is fenced off today is the same area set aside by the Ute Indians?”

  “That’s right. And when Mesa Verde Park was dedicated in 1906 by President Roosevelt the Ute Indian Council insisted the area remain a restricted one, and of course their wish was honored.”

  “Who knows what’s out there?” asked Sam.

  “I’m not sure who knows, but it stands to reason that someone in the government is aware of it. I don’t know if I buy that it was only to keep it pristine. How else could it have been set aside as a Restricted Area? We know some people have actually been there. Fortunately they realized the importance of keeping the secret. The story goes that while rounding up stray cattle, one of the Wetherill boys wandered into what is now the Restricted Area and happened onto the community. You can imagine his surprise, and theirs. He made a decisi
on not to tell his dad. One reason was that he didn’t want his dad to know he had crossed over into the Restricted Area, possibly jeopardizing their grazing rights with the Utes. Another was that he didn’t want to see these people exploited for the sake of money. There had already been enough attention drawn to the abandoned cliff dwellings. There had been a great deal of excavating, collecting of pottery, implements, and even opening graves for the mummies, bones, clothing and jewelry. There had been many, his family included, who collected artifacts to sell to museums and private collectors. He knew what would happen if word got out that there was an actual living Anasazi community. I want you to understand that what I’m telling you is hearsay. This story has been handed down over the years, so consider that as you listen. As for myself, I believe everything I’m telling you.”

  “Before Mesa Verde was a park, it was visited by a young Swedish scientist, Gustaf Nordenskiold, in 1891 who came to investigate the cliff dwellings. I know you’ve heard of him, but what you don’t know is that the same Wetherill boy, while acting as his guide, led Gustaf down the Mancos River Canyon, intentionally bypassing this community, taking him to the deserted cliff dwellings. Later, he was glad that he had. Gustaf, fascinated with the cliff dwellings and the artifacts he found, extended his visit from what was intended to be weeks to months. It is said that he became preoccupied with being able to justify his stay at Mesa Verde to his father by producing a profit, either by collecting artifacts, taking pictures or writing articles to sell. It’s well known that he loaded up quite a few relics and bones, enough to fill railroad cars, and sent them oversees to his native Sweden. I can just imagine what his reaction would have been if he knew he was being led past a living Anasazi village, what would have been the greatest discovery of the time.”

  Barbara poked her head through the doorway. “Supper’s ready. I went ahead and set two extra places at the table.”

  “It looks like you two are staying, whether you want to or not. I’ll finish the story after we eat,” said Emitt.