Page 111 of For the Birds

“He’s given Buck Reynolds an ultimatum: return Scooter by eight or he’s declaring war. If this were between Buck and anyone else, I’d be callin’ them too. I have to stop this.” I thought about the guilt James lived with. He didn’t need any more. “James is about to do something he’s gonna regret.”

Neely Kate turned to Witt. “She’s right. She has to callhim.”

“Dammit.”

I hated this. I hated putting Witt in the middle of something he didn’t want any part of, but we had to keep the peace.

Neely Kate gave me an expectant look, but I put the phone in my lap. “I’ll wait until we get to Miss Mildred’s.” I wanted to talk to him without an audience.

She nodded and her eyes filled with sympathy, but Witt’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. I was going to have to split off from them at some point. Witt was uncomfortable with my continual name-dropping of James—even though we were looking for James’ brother—and he’d made it clear he’d protect Neely Kate at any cost. Neely Kate would refuse to stay behind and take a stand. The whole situation was going to cause a rift between two cousins who were close. I couldn’t let that happen.

This had to be the reason Witt and Neely Kate had been alone in my vision.

We drove past Miss Mildred a block away from her house. She was wearing a house dress and a church hat, and Squawker was perched on her shoulder. The hat had a long carrot attached to the top, and the parrot was eyeing it while Miss Mildred hobbled down the street with hercane.

“Oh, my word . . .” Neely Kate gushed when we saw her. “Have you ever seen such a thing?”

“I’ve gotta get a picture of that,” Witt said. “No one’s ever gonna believe it otherwise.”

“You will not,” Neely Kate said, swatting his arm. “You’re driving.”

“She’s definitely losin’ it,” I said, feeling sorry for her. “The Miss Mildred I knew growing up would never have tied a carrot to her churchhat.”

Witt parked the car about twenty feet in front of Miss Mildred, and Neely Kate and I both got out and waited for her to reach us on the sidewalk.

“I told you we’d help, Miss Mildred,” Neely Katesaid.

“I can walk a damn parrot home just as well as you can,” she muttered.

“We were actually gonna drive,” Isaid.

“Well, there you go,” the older woman grumbled. “You were gonna drive.” Only, she made it sound akin to killing baby bunnies.

“How about we walk with you?” Neely Kate asked, falling into step besideher.

“I’m capable of walkin’ on my own,” Miss Mildred snapped.

“Of course you are,” Neely Kate said, “but we really need to talk to Squawker.”

“You’re gonna talk to him?” she asked in disbelief.

“He doestalk . . .”

Miss Mildred lifted her shoulders in a barely perceptible shrug. “Suit yourself. But you’re gonnalook like a damnfool.”

Says the woman walking down the street with a carrot tied to herhat.

Neely Kate shot me a look that said, How do we interview a parrot? Maybe we should have given that part more thought in thecar.

“Squawker,” I said. “Did you see somethingbad?”

“Something bad,” he repeated.

Neely Kate gave me a sidelong grimace.

“Maybe we should try saying the phrases he used before,” I suggested. “But only parts of them. That way we’ll know if he’s just mimicking us or really saying what he heard.”

“Good idea,” Neely Katesaid.

---