The Serpent and the Crow

Book 4: Chapter Eight

Mick Flavell shook hands with a few police officers outside of the precinct. Flavell got in his car, and his rear lights flashed on and his '93 Jeep Cherokee pulled aside from the curb. Douglas followed too, but with his headlights off.

Lawton grabbed his snout nose revolver and loaded a few slugs. Douglas wondered why Lawton had such an old-timey gun. Perhaps Lawton had seen a few law enforcement shows and felt like a Billy Bad Ass totting around that gun. It kind of reminded him of Wade.

"Slow your roll, Lawton?"

"Why?"

"Maybe because you are new around here. I don't know how they do it in Virginia. But, in Solemn Pines you cannot just roll up on a superior and ask him to reach for the skies."

"Take it easy, I'm just being careful, after all the stuff you've heard from Hadley, Basinski, and Sullivan... are you not a little cautious?"

"If Flavell was an air refresher, then he's been stinking for quite some time. But if we're wrong, then Flavell's going to kick up such a stink with us we'd wish we just held our noses and kept out of his shit."

"Flavell's dirty or at least culpable."

"It's like Sully said to Basinsky and Hadley; Conjecture. Did you ever think that some of the shit these guys said might not be true, or a version of the truth?"

"Sure, maybe one guy's opinion is conjecture. Two, and we have probable. We've heard three guys saying something stinks and the guy who dealt it us, Flavell."

"They didn't say that, you're just hearing what you want to hear. Let us just see what Flavell says first before we ventilate him with that old-timey gun you got."

"Of course, I'm just loading my gun because I'm nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"Is Flavell a hunter?"

"No, why?"

"Then why are we following him into the wilderness."

Douglas had not noticed. He was too busy driving on autopilot to notice that Lawton was right. Lawton had veered off into a back-road heading towards Lake Laconic.