Page 7 of Dead Clucked
“That’s the one with a bad case of bed head?” Jude asked, waving to the unkempt-looking hen. Her crown feathers stuck up in every direction imaginable, with one jaunty little feather, hanging down in her face. The feathers on the right side of her body were tawny, while the left side feathers were tawny edged in gold. The hen was an absolute disaster. “I’ll pose with Fricassee!” The poor gal needed a glow up and Jude was the right person to provide it.
“I’ll take Hennifer Lopez,” Fitzgibbon said. “Which leaves Ronan with Hen Solo. May the Force be with you.”
“When do we take pictures with our leading ladies?” Ronan asked, kneeling in front of the pen and offering his hand to Hen Solo.
“We’re doing the photo shoot tomorrow, but you’re taking the girls home with you for the night.”
“What do you mean taking the girls home with us?” Fitz asked, looking as confused as Jude felt. “They’re chickens, they need to live in a barn, right?”
Manny shook his head. “Not at all. Chickens make great pets.”
“They also make great sandwiches, but that doesn’t mean I want a live chicken in my kitchen.” Jude backed away from the pen. Cope was going to absolutely lose his mind if he brought a chicken into the house.
Manny gasped in obvious horror. “Please don’t say the “S” word around the girls. It makes them nervous.” Manny turned and waved to several farm workers. “We’ll have the hens crated for you. I’ve got boxes loaded with feed and treats for your girls.”
“You’re serious,” Fitzgibbon said, fisting his hands on his hips. “We’re taking these chickens home with us overnight?”
“It’s a great way for you and your chicken to bond. We learned that last year after the Beverly Fire Department posed with some of my favorite hens. They couldn’t wait to take the girls back to the firehouse with them.”
“Yeah, as pot pies!” Ronan snickered.
Manny shook hands with each of the detectives. “I know you’ll take great care with our animals. My card is in the chicken care package. Feel free to call day or night if you need anything.”
“What, like gravy?” Ronan rolled his eyes. “How the hell are we going to explain this to our husbands?”
“I’m not afraid of telling Cope so much as I’m worried what’s going to happen with LizzyB and Wolf when we have to give Fricassee back.”
Fitz and Ronan nodded their agreement.
For better or worse, Jude was the proud foster parent of a chicken. There had to be at least two hundred chickens in the barn. They all looked happy and healthy. All he had to do was keep the bird fed and watered overnight. What could possibly go wrong?
6
Fitzgibbon
Sister Hens
On the ride back to Salem, Fitz, Ronan, and Jude tried to figure out the best way to present their new leading ladies to their husbands. After much debate, Fitz decided to bring the chickens to his house and invite everyone over for pizza.
Fitz wasn’t stupid, he knew there was no way extra cheese was going to soothe over the situation he was in. Like Jude, Fitz was worried about Aurora’s reaction to Hennifer Lopez. He’d picked that particular chicken because she was the prettiest of the bunch, with her blue crown feathers. Half of him was scared she’d freak out over the live bird, while the other half feared her reaction to giving the chicken back at the end of the shoot. Either way, it was going to be a giant cluster cluck of epic proportions.
Each man grabbed their respective cages and headed for Fitzgibbon’s back yard. Thankfully, none of the birds looked any worse for wear, with the exception of Fricassee, who’d somehow managed to lose her jaunty, downward facing feather.
“What do we do now?” Ronan asked, sounding nervous. “Do we let them out or keep them caged until everyone gets here?”
“I say we keep them caged.” Fitz shook his head. “I don’t know how Aurora’s going to react. If it goes badly, you all can release your hens at home. The only thing worse than Aurora freaking out over one chicken, it would be her freaking out over three.” A beep sounded inside the house. “That’s the door alarm. They’re here.” Fitz’s stomach dropped the way it did when he rode a roller coaster. Not only did he have Aurora to think about, but Jace too. His husband was a city boy, born with a silver spoonin his mouth. Fitz wasn’t even sure if Jace had ever seen a live chicken before, never mind cohabitating with one.
“Daddy!” Aurora ran out onto the patio and into Fitzgibbon’s arms. “Where’s my surprise?”
“Yeah, Dad said there was a surprise!” Wolf chimed in.
“Chickens!” Everly shouted from the kitchen. She ran outside past Ronan and her friends, straight to the cages. She knelt in front of Hen Solo’s cage. “Hello, beautiful, my name is Everly.” She began cooing at the bird, who, surprisingly, began to cluck back.
“My surprise is a chicken?” Aurora asked, sounding less than thrilled.
“Cool!” Wolf said, sitting beside Everly. “Which one is ours?”
Everly pointed to the third cage. “The one that looks like she went through the carwash.”
