Page 62 of Claws and Feathers

Little Bird.

Chapter eighteen

The ensuing hours ticked on like a blur. A blur of phone calls, police, and more questions than answers –always more questions than answers.

Cooper was never far from Abby’s side. She had handled the situation with as much grace as possible, but he knew she was shaken. Her eyes were glazed over with unmistakable fear. She looked to be lost, wandering through a maze of numbness and uncertainty.

Cooper headed into the kitchen to where Johnny Holmes was examining the dead bird. They had tried to pinpoint something distinguishing on the animal. Cooper was hoping it was a rare bird, or that it could somehow be traced to a local pet shop, but it seemed to be a robin. A common, wild bird. The knife was a run-of-the-mill kitchen knife, but they were still taking it in for processing.

“Anything of interest?” Cooper inquired, stepping over to the kitchen table and leaning forward on his palms.

Johnny shook his head. “Nada.”

“Shit. I couldn’t find shoe tracks out front either. There wasn’t any mud or soggy patches to leave prints.”

Whoever had left the bird at the door had to have been quick. The Withered Man didn’t exactly scream ‘fast and nimble’, but he certainly made the most sense as a suspect. The ‘Little Bird’ detail had not been disclosed to the public, so the only people who would relate a dead bird to Abigail Stone would be the police, the suspect, and…

Wait.Cooper had a thought. A terrible, grotesque thought that made his stomach churn.

He walked back into the living room and approached Abby, who was curled up on her sofa with a blanket. She was sipping on a cup of tea. “I have a question,” he said.

Abby looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. She nodded for him to proceed.

“I’m probably way off base here, but…” Damn. It was tough to even spit the words out. “Did you ever tell Maya that the suspect called you ‘Little Bird’ in your therapy sessions?”

Her eyes widened and she paled. “Oh, my God. You don’t think…?” Abby curled her fingers around her mug with a taut grip. “I did tell her. Yes.”

Cooper sat beside her on the couch, leaning back with a sigh. “Honestly, I don’t think she has it in her. But she’s jealous, cunning, and had inside knowledge into your case. I can’t rule it out.”

What the hell did itmean, anyway?Little Bird.It was the one detail that threw him the most. At first, Cooper thought it may have been a reference to the town name of Crow’s Peak. He’d wondered if a crazy person had snatched her up and simply associated her with The Crow. He wasn’t so sure now. But Cooper had questioned Abby about the name having any association with her past, and he’d always come up empty. He’d inquired about her city, her school, her pets, her friends. Nothing rang a bell.

What did it mean?

“You don’t think it was my captor?” Abby asked, her voice sounding small and far away.

“I don’t know.”

Unfortunately, that was the truth. Cooper glanced over at her, watching as she glided a finger along the rim of her mug. This particular stunt didn’t exactly fit the profile Cooper had created of the suspect. The Withered Man had been messy. Nothing he’d done had seemed to be thought-out or planned. It all had felt spontaneous and sloppy.

This was sneaky. Deliberate. Something about it felt off.

Abby leaned into him, her breath shuddering. “I feel like I’m never going to wake up from this nightmare,” she whispered. She sighed against his shoulder. “I wish Nana were here. She always knew how to make the nightmares go away. She could fix anything.”

Cooper sat in thoughtful silence. He hadn’t done too much digging into Cecily Stone. She was dead, after all, and her fortune had gone to Abigail. Her husband, Rodney Sr., had passed away from heart failure far too young – before Abby was even born. The couple had appeared to be pillars of society. Most articles about them had been praising their charitable donations and contributions to the small, affluent town of Kenilworth.

A feeling flickered through him, and Cooper pulled out his cell phone to call James who was already at the station processing the knife into evidence. Cooper turned to Abby as he stood from the couch. “I need to make a call. I’ll be right back.”

She nodded with a faint smile.

Cooper disappeared into one of the spare bedrooms and dialed James’ cell.

“Walker,” James answered.

“Hey, it’s me. Can you do me a favor? I’d issued a subpoena for Abby’s financial records when she went missing. She shares the account with Cecily Stone,” he explained. “I’d only looked through the recent transactions, but I want to dig a little deeper. Can you go through past statements? Deposits, withdrawals – see if there’s anything suspicious.”

“Theory?” he wondered.

“Not really.” Cooper leaned back against the wall and ran his hand over his face. “Just a feeling.”

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