Fatal Divide Read Online Free

values called him-dag in the language of The People. She wouldn’t utter it until she had an opportunity to speak to her cousin.
    Dylan nodded, then looked at Alex, who gave him a tremulous smile and nodded in encouragement.
    “Tia Wanda, I haven’t had a chance to talk to my lawyer, but I’m going to be talking to Thurston tonight or first thing tomorrow morning about something, before he has a chance to find out on his own. Maybe that will distract him.”
    Alarm shivered through Wanda’s veins and sharpened her voice. “What? What do you know about it?”
    Dylan stared at her, puzzled. “Nothing, Tia Wanda. But Herman Alvarez is — was — head of the tribal council considering the adoption. Thurston is going to consider me a suspect.”
    “No!” Wanda objected. Dylan nodded again.
    “It can’t be helped. He’ll find out. If I tell him myself, maybe that will get me some brownie points. I was just going to call Rick Englebright when Paul came and told us what happened at the city council meeting. So, are you saying that Thurston actually accused you of wrong-doing, and that’s why the council requested you to step down?”
    “Demanded,” Wanda answered, her face warring between bewilderment and fury. “After all the years I’ve served and no one has ever even accused me of jaywalking before, Thurston comes in and whispers ‘withholding evidence’ and they try to throw me out without due process. I thought I was doing a good job!”
    Fury gave way to despair, and Wanda’s promise to herself that she wouldn’t break down was broken as her voice rose to a wail. In a flash, Hector was at his wife’s side, glaring at Dylan and Alex in turn, as he knelt at Wanda’s side to comfort her.
    Dylan held his hands up as if in surrender. “We didn’t... she was just...”
    “Mr. Lopez,” Alex interrupted. “Is that fry bread I smell? Can I help you in the kitchen? Dylan and Wanda need to talk.”
    Wanda patted her husband’s arm, and said, “Yes, Hector. Let Alex help you. Are you fixing tacos? Is there enough for the kids?”
    “Of course,” Hector grumbled. He fixed Dylan with a stern eye. “Don’t upset her,” he commanded.
    “I won’t, sir,” Dylan assured him. Hector followed Alex into the kitchen.
    As soon as she was sure her husband and Alex were out of earshot, she put her hand on Dylan’s arm. “Be careful. Kevin Thurston is a dangerous man. He has no imagination, sees everything in black and white.”
    “I know,” answered Dylan. “But I’m almost certain time of death will clear me. Once the city council realizes he’s shooting in the dark, they’ll apologize to you. It will be okay, you’ll see.”
    “You don’t know. Listen to me, Dylan, I need your help. I do know something I haven’t told him. Herman was sheltering one of my brothers, but I don’t know much more than that. I need to know which cartel my brother is hiding from. Then we’ll know who killed my grandfather.”
     
     
     
    FIVE
     
    Before Dylan could ask Wanda to explain more, Alex was back to say that Hector was putting dinner on the table. While he was helping Wanda up, she clutched his arm.
    “Come to my office tomorrow. There’s more,” she said.
    “I will, as soon as I’ve seen Rick,” Dylan answered.
    During dinner, Alex looked from one to the other of them, and Dylan was certain she knew something was up, but she didn’t ask. Afterward, he insisted on helping Hector clean up while the women went back to the living room.
    “How is it that you ended up doing the cooking, Hector?” Dylan teased. KP definitely wasn’t in the job description for most Native men, nor most Latino men, for that matter. He wanted to ask Hector in which camp he belonged, but didn’t, thinking it may be rude.
    When the kitchen was clean, both men joined the ladies in the living room, where Alex was getting a lesson in O’odham relationship conventions. She had already heard most of it from Dylan as he learned it,