Page 18 of Talk Birdie to Me

Cody’s mind went to the door he’d left unlocked. Could one of the cats have gotten in here?

No. That was ridiculous.

Even if it was some other animal, they wouldn’t have closed the door behind them once they entered.

So what the hell was making Gary screech in the dark?

After being in the room for a few minutes and adjusting to the darkness, Cody still couldn’t see across the small space.

Suddenly, a bright light shined beside him as Kayleigh turned on her phone’s flashlight.

That’s when he saw the figure.

A man.

Standing near the bird’s cage.

His hand reaching inside the metal door.

A second later, Cody heard a horrific screech. This time, the screech came from the man, not the bird.

“Rat bastard!”

That was from the bird.

6

The man withdrew his arm from the cage and darted toward the door.

Cody followed, but the man had long legs and a head start. Cody skidded to a stop at the door frame. There was no way to know if anyone else was hiding in the room, and he didn’t want to leave Kayleigh alone to find out.

Reluctantly, he watched the man disappear around the corner of the gift shop.

Cody then turned to make sure Kayleigh was okay. She was aiming her phone at him, the flashlight beam trembling ever so slightly.

He flipped on the room light and approached her. “You all right?”

He touched her arm gently, nodding at the phone. She nodded back and turned off the phone’s flashlight.

“Can you call for the police while I make a pass around here?” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Just to see if they took anything.”

No need to let her on to his real concern that someone else might be lingering in a corner or behind the huge prep table.

She was clearly worried about the same thing, as evidenced by her eyes darting around the room. But she nodded anyway and began dialing.

He squeezed her forearm and whispered, “Thanks.”

Then he left her to make the call while he took care of other tasks.

First things first.

Cody closed the birdcage door. Gary, however, didn’t look like he wanted to leave the safety of his cage any time soon.

Next, Cody made a casual pass around the room, trying to make it seem as if he was searching for missing whats instead of any additional whos.

The room was clear of both.

On his way back past the cage, he tripped over an empty carrier. A carrier that didn’t belong out in the middle of the floor, especially since there were no other animals except Gary in there.

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