Parrots Prove Deadly Read Online Free PDF

want to explain to some irate vacationer that Mama Coon got to stay while her kits were growing.
    “You want me to remove the animal?” I didn’t get paid to do Albert’s job, but I’d help him out. Hell, I’d be helping the animal, too. At some point the manager would probably poison it if it came back. I pushed out of the chair. “Traps in the back?”
    He scurried to follow me. “Actually, Pru, the raccoon is back there. I went back and got him.”
    That manager must have been furious. That said, I wasn’t sure why Albert had called me in. He bit his lip again, and I waited.
    “They say it might have rabies.” He paused. I didn’t know what he was thinking. My gift doesn’t work with people. I knew I was getting angry. Yes, rabies in raccoons is epizootic—the animal equivalent of an epidemic—and zoonotic, which means it can be transmitted to people. But sick animals act like sick animals—they charge at you. They look like hell. From everything I’ve heard, this poor creature was only trying to find a safe place to spend the winter. “I had to take it.”
    That was that, then. “Did you send in a sample?” Our little pound doesn’t have the facilities for medical testing.
    “A sample?” Albert blinked up at me. The idea of him at a microscope almost made me smile.
    “Of the brain matter.” Another blink. “You know, the animal’s head?”
    “Oh, no.” He looked over his shoulder. “I was hoping you’d handle it.”
    I closed my eyes. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t be paid for this; it was that I couldn’t be paid enough to do it. “I’m not killing a healthy animal, Albert.”
    “Killing?” For a big man, his voice sure could squeak.
    “That’s how they do the test.” My curiosity was aroused. “So, when you said you ‘took it…’”
    “I mean, I took it in the trap. It’s in the back.” He motioned toward the pound area, and when I opened the door he made to follow me. “Alive.”
    “Albert.” I turned and he raised his hands in surrender.
    “Sorry. I just…” He had no excuse, and I felt for him.
    “Look, the animal is probably freaked out as it is. The fewer people who go back there, the better.”
    He nodded and returned to his desk. As he did, he pulled open a drawer and a familiar masked face popped out.
    “Frank!” I did my best to keep my excitement out of my voice. “I didn’t know you were here today.”
    “ Cave, cage, locked in… ”The ferret was not happy at being confined.
    “I was going to start cleaning the cages when you came in,” Albert fumbled for an excuse. “I wanted him to be safe.”
    “Uh huh.” He’d been napping and didn’t want his companion eating his lunch, more likely.
    “ I ate the pistachios already. ”Frank stood, his nose twitching. The little mustelid had more need of food than his person. “Half the donut, too. ”
    I couldn’t help smiling. Frank, at least, could take care of himself. That raccoon, though—he might be in trouble. Still, while I was here…
    “How’s the cute little boy?” I spoke out loud to explain why I was bending over Albert’s desk, reaching my hand out for the ferret to sniff. I had barely touched the parrot during my visit, unable to find an excuse to take him out of his cage. And I had showered this morning, so even any lingering traces would be gone. Still, it was the only way I had of cluing the ferret in. Help me, I was saying. I need your expertise, your particular animal skill. Silently, I was visualizing the parrot. The gray smooth back, the roughed-up belly feathers. The cursing.
    “Nest—birds. Big bird means big nest. ”I held my breath. The children, I’d known something was hinky with them from the start. “Big nest means…big eggs! ”
    “ Sorry, Frank.” I swallowed, my own mouth suddenly full of saliva. “No treats for you today.” So much for that idea.

Chapter Six
    Twenty minutes later, I was on my way. Beauville—deep in the Berkshires—was in peak color,