Winter Rose

XII. Enter the Sparrow

★★★

Within an hour of the call, Billy sped his patrol car, donned with the words "canine unit", up the gravel driveway. I could see the excitement on his face as he pounced out of the car, hand on his weapon, overjoyed that he might have a chance at some real action. Harnessed to a thick leather leash, a gigantic German Shepard climbed out after him, all muscle and teeth.

Despite my current predicament, I couldn't help imagining the theme of the reality show, "Cops" playing behind them, as the rookie and his monster dog strolled up to where the rest of the humans stood.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

Winnie turned to me, her eyebrow raised as she captured my thoughts. She must've thought I was beginning to go insane. Who knows? Maybe I was.

Focus, she projected, effectively putting an end to my amusement.

She'd become distant after the discovery of the bloody bat in the barn, as if she were deliberately hiding her thoughts from me. The sadness in her eyes was working my nerves. Winnie knew much more than she was willing to disclose. Her expression signaled that something bad was waiting right around the corner.

Billy danced from one foot to the other, close to peeing his pants with anticipation, his hand gliding over the gun in its holster.  "Boy oh boy!" he said. "Never would have imagined all this commotion going on all the way out here at the Rose's place."

The older officer tucked the blood covered baseball bat, secured in a large black trash bag, into the trunk of his patrol car. "Those little fellas found this in the barn loft," he said, gesturing to Winnie and I.  He opened the bag a bit, allowing Billy to peek his head in for a look at the evidence. " That's when I decided it was time to bring you in. If he's hiding out here somewhere, we're gonna need a professional to sniff 'em out."

Monster dog stood at attention next to his owner, ears forward, awaiting his orders. The look on his face signaled he was far too important to entertain our presence. He was the real-life Rin Tin Tin—forget us rookies.

The sun hung midway in the sky. I guessed it was somewhere around noon. My stomach turned and growled. My attention was drawn to Hank and Boon on the hill. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves; barking and chasing  a group of terrified chickens around.  I sighed. Carefree. It would be nice to be carefree.  Maybe I'd just run off and join them, forget about the current mess we were in. Let whatever was meant to be—be. I'd already lived one long, hard life. Why not make the best of this one?  I could live out the rest of my life chasing chickens and laying in the sun.

Winnie let out a low growl, the fur standing on the back of her neck as she glared at me. Once again, she was reading my thoughts. The whole transfer thing did not come without its price. Privacy was not an easy thing to achieve as a dog.

Winnie I— A fluttering of wings interrupted my train of thought. Somewhat ungracefully, Sparky perched himself on a clothesline above our heads. His black eyes beat down on us.

Good old Sparky. I hadn't seen him in awhile. His eggs must have hatched and flown out of the nest by then.

Let me guess, I projected sarcastically, glancing up at him. Do you want us to—stay away from your nest?

The bird gave me a disdainful look, catching me off guard. No, he answered. I need to speak to Aria.

I nearly jumped a foot in the air at his unexpected words. Winnie stiffened next to me, giving the bird a scrutinizing look.  A sly expression came over her face as the bird's identity hit her. Well, well. Look who's broken the rules now! You stubborn fool! I knew you'd come around and see things my way!