The Serpent and the Crow

Book 4: Chapter Sixteen

Douglas realized they were facing something they didn't fully understand. There were questions that needed answering before they went to Redfern. Douglas saw a fork in the road: NAVAJO RESERVATION 10 MILES it read.

"Take a hard right."

Bolivar popped his head from the backseat.

"Hey, Dougie. The Helipad is 20 miles this way."

"Why are we going there, Doug?" Asked Wade.

"Halonie is at the Hospital at the Rez. "

"I thought you have... differences with the Navajo Nation. "

"You had differences with your brother, is that right?"

Wade nodded. He knew for some time that his brother took the brunt of the blame for the kidnapping of his family. But he thought in some small way that his brother had redeemed himself, or at least offered the olive branch.

Douglas said, "You can have differences and respect. At least if there is a common foe. Isn't that right, Bolivar?"

"Who, me?"

"I didn't fully understand why you were coming, but I think I can guess. Chambers Housing Limited. Robert W. Chambers. "

"What do you know of Bolivar?"

"The files Lawton...my partner had. The Chambers family hired a third party to enslave women and children on the Mexican border. Bolivar Vega. You were ten, weren't you?"

Bolivar remained silent. It was a sore spot that hadn't been prodded for years.

Wade said, "So, that's why you were eager to wipe out Proctor, not for territory. It was personal."

"I have seen that Serpiente that haunts you, Wade. No matter if it's human or otherwise, the story is the same for all kids; a Serpiente awaits us all. I'm here to change how that story ends. Hopefully, not one more kid will ever read it again. "

Wade drove up on the gates of the Navajo Reservation. Dust kicked up from the rear tires. Old Bungalow's with turquoise colours lined the desert road. Cheaply built. One of them still had a sign on them that read Chambers Realty. It was everywhere. The reach of the Chambers family was far reaching. It explained a lot about why the killer seemed to have crossed borders. Chambers Housing Limited was big in Solemn Pines but had built properties in neighbouring states. It made sense that they had detailed information on the occupants, and spot inspections, floor plans. It was a smorgasbord of victims and ­Elmore had his picks. Wade knew they had to find out how involved Ellroy, the twin brother, was involved with the family business. The business of suffering.

Wade stopped the car. It looked deserted. The houses were in poor condition. There was a clear demarcation. Demarcated to show the poverty line in all its glory. Whatever was metal, rust. Whatever was wood; rotten. The people; humble.

Wade pulled up to a Navajo boy. Douglas wound his window down and spoke in a dialect unfamiliar to either Wade or Bolivar.

Douglas said, "He said many have shut themselves in for the night. We can visit Halonie after we visit with the Elder. "

Wade looked around the humble bungalow. Pictures. Old Pictures of family and friends. Ancestors in black and white. War trophies displayed on the wall. A young man perhaps younger than Lawton sat in a chair with a rifle in his arms.