charm—would work on me, too. It didn’t. “And comparatively, the cost of some of those medications considerably overwhelms the—”
“You’re not much better—” I had a head of steam going for me now. “Aren’t you a little lax about drugs here? I mean, I know a cop who—”
“Just a minute!” Marc had caught his breath. “Just because my sister is getting all sentimental about that filthy bird, doesn’t mean you have the—”
“Oh my God!” Jane, her voice raised above ours, interrupted everything. “What’s wrong with Randolph?”
Inside his cage, the parrot was shaking, his wings extended slightly from his side, his feathers puffed up as if by the cold. I grabbed a towel and raced over to the cage. Before I could open its door, his little body jerked once, as the parrot vomited. And then Randolph fell off his perch.
“Do something!” Ever the big sister, in a crisis Jane took charge. In this case, that meant yelling at me as I scooped the bird out of his cage and wrapped him in the towel
“Doctor?” I looked up at Wachtell. I didn’t have great hopes there, but any medical expert in a storm. He shook his head wordlessly, and I turned back to the siblings. “Did your mother have an avian first aid kit?”
They looked at each other. Jane shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. There isn’t much I could do.” I’m not a trained vet tech, and I’m just not as up on my birds as I am on cats and dogs. Not that they had to know this. I looked down: Randolph was breathing and beginning to stir. “I’m going to take him to County. To the animal hospital.”
They nodded—I was in charge now—and parted to let me through as I headed toward the door.
“What’s wrong with Randy?” A woman in a wheelchair was waiting at the elevator. “Is he sick?”
“Seems to be,” I said, cradling the bird, who had begun to move. I needed to keep him warm and still. I certainly didn’t want him getting loose outside the apartment.
“You go ahead.” She motioned me in as the elevator arrived. “He’s more important.”
“Is Randolph sick?” I heard Rose’s voice from down the hall. I didn’t wait to hear the wheelchair-bound resident’s answer. I was too busy thinking through the events of the last few hours. The treats had been sealed. Could they have been bad? I thought of the fast food wrappers. The empty coffee cups. The dust of packing. The missing meds. Hell, even something in the forced hot air that had made this building an overheated solarium. Any of these could have sickened Randolph. He’d been flying free moments before—
That did it. I went through the timeline in my head. When the door to the late Polly Larkin’s apartment had opened. When it had closed. When Rose and Genie had come in, then Jane, Marc, Wachtell…All of them seemed to think nothing of going in and out of the unlocked apartment. All of them had been there when the parrot had done his macabre routine; odds were, they’d heard it before. It was a reach, but I had to consider the possibility. Any one of them could have ducked in at some point. Any one of them could have wanted Randolph to shut up. Any of them could have poisoned the parrot.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hang in there.” It was a silly thing to say to a bird, especially such a still one, as he lay wrapped in a towel on my passenger seat. But as I peeled out of the LiveWell parking lot, I wasn’t thinking of parrot vs. cat, or even animal vs. human. I was thinking that a creature in my care was ill, and that all I wanted to do was get to help as soon as possible.
The options weren’t great. As the elevator descended, I’d raced through them. While there were private vets closer by, County—the combination shelter/animal hospital—still seemed like the best bet. The hospital part was well stocked, and Doc Sharpe, the director, was easily the most experienced vet around. Problem was, County was close to twenty minutes away, even as I drive. I
“You’re not much better—” I had a head of steam going for me now. “Aren’t you a little lax about drugs here? I mean, I know a cop who—”
“Just a minute!” Marc had caught his breath. “Just because my sister is getting all sentimental about that filthy bird, doesn’t mean you have the—”
“Oh my God!” Jane, her voice raised above ours, interrupted everything. “What’s wrong with Randolph?”
Inside his cage, the parrot was shaking, his wings extended slightly from his side, his feathers puffed up as if by the cold. I grabbed a towel and raced over to the cage. Before I could open its door, his little body jerked once, as the parrot vomited. And then Randolph fell off his perch.
“Do something!” Ever the big sister, in a crisis Jane took charge. In this case, that meant yelling at me as I scooped the bird out of his cage and wrapped him in the towel
“Doctor?” I looked up at Wachtell. I didn’t have great hopes there, but any medical expert in a storm. He shook his head wordlessly, and I turned back to the siblings. “Did your mother have an avian first aid kit?”
They looked at each other. Jane shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. There isn’t much I could do.” I’m not a trained vet tech, and I’m just not as up on my birds as I am on cats and dogs. Not that they had to know this. I looked down: Randolph was breathing and beginning to stir. “I’m going to take him to County. To the animal hospital.”
They nodded—I was in charge now—and parted to let me through as I headed toward the door.
“What’s wrong with Randy?” A woman in a wheelchair was waiting at the elevator. “Is he sick?”
“Seems to be,” I said, cradling the bird, who had begun to move. I needed to keep him warm and still. I certainly didn’t want him getting loose outside the apartment.
“You go ahead.” She motioned me in as the elevator arrived. “He’s more important.”
“Is Randolph sick?” I heard Rose’s voice from down the hall. I didn’t wait to hear the wheelchair-bound resident’s answer. I was too busy thinking through the events of the last few hours. The treats had been sealed. Could they have been bad? I thought of the fast food wrappers. The empty coffee cups. The dust of packing. The missing meds. Hell, even something in the forced hot air that had made this building an overheated solarium. Any of these could have sickened Randolph. He’d been flying free moments before—
That did it. I went through the timeline in my head. When the door to the late Polly Larkin’s apartment had opened. When it had closed. When Rose and Genie had come in, then Jane, Marc, Wachtell…All of them seemed to think nothing of going in and out of the unlocked apartment. All of them had been there when the parrot had done his macabre routine; odds were, they’d heard it before. It was a reach, but I had to consider the possibility. Any one of them could have ducked in at some point. Any one of them could have wanted Randolph to shut up. Any of them could have poisoned the parrot.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hang in there.” It was a silly thing to say to a bird, especially such a still one, as he lay wrapped in a towel on my passenger seat. But as I peeled out of the LiveWell parking lot, I wasn’t thinking of parrot vs. cat, or even animal vs. human. I was thinking that a creature in my care was ill, and that all I wanted to do was get to help as soon as possible.
The options weren’t great. As the elevator descended, I’d raced through them. While there were private vets closer by, County—the combination shelter/animal hospital—still seemed like the best bet. The hospital part was well stocked, and Doc Sharpe, the director, was easily the most experienced vet around. Problem was, County was close to twenty minutes away, even as I drive. I
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