Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(17)
“And that green spot on her back to the right?”
“Her right kidney. I’m not a medical doctor, but I’ve not seen anything in the X-rays that shows it’s bone related.”
“Great. I thought maybe her liver or spleen.”
“That she’s even alive is amazing.”
Annie turned to look at Roash, who was busy drinking some of the chicken soup broth. “He must be starving if he’s drinking soup?” she said, pointing to the bird.
“I think its survival. For him and for her.”
Eagle got up and grabbed a loaf of bread from the side and plucked a bunch of the seeds off the top. He put them down beside the bird and watched as he ate them. “He’s a raptor. I need to get him something from the pens. The next batch of eggs don’t come out of the incubator for two days.”
“I never did understand how you could do that. You raise a couple hundred chicks from the eggs so the birds can eat them.”
“Chicks are a natural food for raptors,” he said absentmindedly. “And I know the world would look at me in horror because I let one hundred chicks die every day, but they are much easier to look after than mice.”
“Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not against it. It’s survival of the fittest. Mother Nature’s food chain. In your case, those birds need sustenance as well as anybody.”
“Besides I have to supplement it with roadkill I get from neighbors. And from the town. That deer I was given last week helped.”
“You’re lucky you could get the birds to eat that. Most need to catch their prey live. Too bad they won’t work on the bones.”
He shot her a look. “No, but the dogs will.”
She laughed and nodded. “Isn’t that the truth?” She pushed her bowl off to the side. “I could use a second bowl.”
He got up and filled the bowl again for Annie, then got himself a bowlful. The entire time Roash continued to drink chicken broth and peck away at seeds. He needed food as much as Issa. Unfortunately Eagle didn’t have much for him here. He’d have to go out and do the chores soon and check on the security system for the night. Especially tonight. He had an electric fence on part of the cages. He wanted to make sure they were all charged. He didn’t have a clue what the night would bring, but he’d be ready no matter what.
“I checked the other X-rays. But I can’t see anything else. There could be some stuff I don’t know how to read as I deal in four-legged critters, but you got the gist of it.”
“I really appreciate this.”
“I’m sure you do. As far as breaking in the machine, you were right. This was a good one.” With the second bowl of soup in front of her, she set about eating, dipping her bread into the broth. When she was done, she said, “Now that was good.”
She picked up the bowl, walked over to the sink. She turned and stared at Roash. “I’m a vet and spend my life helping animals, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I wish I knew more about the bond these two have,” he admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like it either.”
“Find out who she is, and then you’ll find where she was, where her cabin is.”
“I’ll do that.” He glanced out at the night. “I need to set up security and electrify the fence around all the raptors.”
“Forget about around the raptors. You need to make sure you got something set up around her.” And she nodded at the bedroom. “Call me in the night if you need to.”
Eagle smiled gratefully at the woman with a heart of gold. “Thanks.”
When she walked out, he stood at the front door and waited until she turned on her truck and took the battle-beaten old brown Ford out of his drive. She and Gray should get together. They had at one point, but they were both too damn stubborn to make it work. And yet they were two of a kind. And both damn good people.
As soon as he saw the headlights heading down the road, he turned around and walked to the gate and locked it. With the dogs at his heels, he did a quick walk around the property checking on the inner security system. He turned on the electric fence near the raptors. Annie was right. He should have something around the house. It never occurred to him that he’d be in a situation where that would be necessary in his own home. He thought he’d left all that behind when he was honorably discharged from the military. He’d hated having to watch his back day and night in the navy, but that’s where he was all over again.
He returned to the kitchen, turned on the lights to finish cleaning the guns, laid one by every window on the main floor, took three more upstairs where his bedroom was, and stepped into his big room.
He didn’t feel comfortable being a floor away from her. He grabbed his bedding and went down to the living room couch to make himself comfortable. No way to know what the night would bring. He just wanted to make sure he was ready.
*
Stefan walked into his studio. He hadn’t had the urge to paint in several days. The break had actually been kind of nice. He’d come off a difficult case—a serial killer in Maine, of all places. Stefan had connected with the killer through his painting. Stefan had shut down his art for a few days afterward, needing the break to heal.
The case had ended successfully, but it had left Stefan feeling worn and weary. As he walked through his studio, he opened up windows, pulling back the blinds to let in the sunshine. Something knocked at the back of his head, telling him to pick up a pen. He could ignore that a lot of times.