Blood Red

The stranger held out one hand and Avery watched as two of the crows on the phone lines above his head lowered like leaves in a graceful fall, to settle on the man’s opened palm and forearm. “Where are you going so late in the evening, my young friend?”

“Whoa! How did you do that?” Avery forgot himself and talked far louder than he meant to, the excitement of watching the crows taking away his fear of being busted.

“They’re friendly birds when you know how to talk to them. Would you like to hold one?”

“Can I?” He walked forward and held out his hand, reaching eagerly.

“Carefully. They are easily startled. They must come to you; you must not come to them.”

Avery nodded and stopped, holding his hand like he’d seen the man do before. “What makes them so nervous?”

“Look at yourself. You are as big as twenty of them. How would you feel if a giant reached out to grab you without warning?” The man’s eyes looked into his, amusement emphasizing the light crow’s feet around the dark pupils. Then he moved his hand closer to Avery’s and the crow bobbed its head three times before walking sullenly over to stand on Avery’s palm. The feet were cold and black; he felt the pinpoints of the claws where they pinched his hand.

Avery stared, amazed by the bird now in his hand. The crow craned its head around and looked at him with one glossy black eye.

“Can I keep him, mister?”

The man laughed lightly and shook his head. “He is not to be kept, my friend. He is too wild for that. He must live his own life or he will never be happy.”

Avery understood the concept, but wasn’t thrilled by the news. He would have loved having a crow as a pet. How cool would that be?

The stranger lifted his hand and the crow that had been perched there flew into the air, powerful wings lifting it back to the perch it had previously abandoned. The bird in Avery’s hand fidgeted a bit and danced from foot to foot for a moment. Then it took off, the wings almost striking his face before it was airborne.

Avery turned to thank the man who’d shown him the crows, but when he looked, there was no sign that he had ever been there. He frowned, and was about to call out when the hands caught him around the throat and lifted him from the ground.

Avery couldn’t scream, couldn’t breathe, and his feet kicked at the man again and again, but seemed to have absolutely no impact.

“Shhh . . . Avery Tripp. You and the crows will be good friends, I think.”

The world faded away, lost in a darkness that was filled with the rustle of black feathers.

IV

“Have you ever seen so many birds?” Ben looked around the car in wonder, a smile playing at his lips. He was a great big kid in a lot of ways.

Maggie stood nearby, holding the last of the boxes. He took it from her and set it next to the car, then reached into a box he had brought with him. Aside from the gloves both of them wore, the box also held a small meter of some kind.

“What’s that?” She sounded amused, and he was glad she was having fun.

“This is an electromagnetic emanation detector.” He put on a deep scholarly voice for her.

“A what?” She was smiling and looking at him with those amazing eyes.

“It checks for radio waves and other stuff.”

“What? You think he bugged you?”

He looked right back at her, his smile fading a bit. “I would. If someone was screwing with me this way, I most certainly would.”

“You really think so?” He couldn’t tell if she was thinking about it or doubting his sanity.

“I’ve made threats against him. He’s a cop. And he’s not a very nice cop. I don’t want to take any chances.” He shrugged, trying to tell himself it didn’t matter if she thought he was loony.

“See? That’s smart. I wouldn’t have thought about it.”

He turned on the meter and ran it carefully over each of the boxes. The first two were clean. The third gave off a signal. He found the source and pulled a small transmitter out of the edge, frowning at it. Not a lot of range, but it would do if the man using it was careful.

“Bastard,” he was laughing as he said it.

“You’re not upset?”

“No. It’s like chess. Only he doesn’t know all the rules.”

“Yeah? Like what?” She moved closer, and he showed her the small tracking device.

“Like I don’t play nicely.” He moved the device over to a different part of the parking area, placing it into a knothole in one of the trees.

“Should I call him now? Or make him wait?”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head, actually looking indignant. “Call his ass and break his balls.” He blinked and smiled. He wasn’t used to her using vulgarity. Then again, he wasn’t used to her. It was nice new territory to explore.

“Okay. You win.”

He picked up the phone he’d been using earlier and dialed the number for the man’s house again.

The phone rang seven times before Brian Freemont answered. He didn’t sound at all happy about the interruption.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Officer Freemont. I found your tracking device. Now you get to wait at least one more day before I give you back your life. Don’t write any checks.”

He turned off the phone and put it back into his pocket.