Summary

At the beginning of Chapter 4, Dell’s narrative tracks the events in the summer of 1960 leading up to the crimes his parents later commit, and he explains how he has cobbled together the story from his own childish observations, unreliable newspaper accounts, and the chronicle his mother wrote while in prison.

For several years, Bev had been involved in a scheme at the base in which officers worked in conjunction with the Cree Indians, who stole and slaughtered Hereford cows from local ranchers and delivered the quality meat for cash. Eventually higher-ups at the base discovered the swindle and Bev was demoted from captain to first lieutenant, which Dell believes contributed to his father’s decision to leave the Air Force with an honorable discharge. Bev then decided to resurrect the scheme on his own, only this time supplying the dining cars...