Page 40 of Half Dead

I nodded. “The crows came looking for me … to get help.”

“The crows? Like actual birds?”

“Yes.”

“Did they…? I don’t know how to ask this question. Did they tell you what they saw?”

Please.

“I told them if they know who did this to bring them to me.”

“Tome, Lorelei. I’m the police chief, remember?”

“Whoever did this, trust me, you don’t want to meet them.”

“Any chance this could be connected to the influx of insanity cases? Maybe she learned something she shouldn’t have.”

I noticed the stains of smoke on my hands and wiped them on the grass. “Can’t rule it out. I think the fire started in her computer lab, so there’s a likelihood the killer was also trying to destroy information.”

An emergency worker appeared with a blanket. Two medics with a stretcher trailed behind him.

The chief lowered her voice. “Is there anything else you want to do before they take her away?”

There were countless things I wanted to do, not that any of them would matter. Kristabel Danvers was gone; time to accept it.

“No, but thank you for asking.” I resisted the urge to close Birdie’s eyes. It seemed only right that her final gaze be directed at the open sky.

I moved farther away from the house to let the emergency workers do their job. The man with the blanket followed me.

“You’re shivering,” he said.

I hadn’t noticed.

“Here.” I didn’t object as he placed the blanket around my shoulders.

“Thanks,” I rasped.

“Fire’s out,” a voice said in the distance. I didn’t bother to look. What was the house without Birdie in it?

I knew I needed to call Kane, but I wasn’t ready. The news would shatter him. I needed to put on my own oxygen mask before I could help with his.

I didn’t know how much time had passed when the chief reappeared. Despite the warmth of the blanket, I felt numb. She joined me on the cold, hard ground.

“This is going to aggravate my arthritic hip,” the chief complained.

I snorted. “You’re a bit young for that.”

“Starts early when you’re in charge of keeping people safe in this town. You should see the white hair under all this dye.” She ran a hand through her brown hair. “Enlighten me. Why would anyone kill Birdie?”

“I think it has something to do with an object she found.”

“What’s the object?”

“A cufflink. One of the crows found it and brought it to her, then she gave it to me.”

“I’m not following. What’s the big deal about a cufflink?”

“Birdie thought it was evidence that an undesirable was on his way to town or was already here.”

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