Crow and Bauble
One for sorrow,
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral,
Four for birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven for the devil, his own self
”He was like you, daft about birds,” Helen Crockett sighed as she let me into Barnie’s house.
Helen’s been Barney’s housekepper for as long as I can remember. Word has it she was his mistress at one time and it morphed into what it just recently was—a business arrangement minus the other benefits…and it seemed to suit them both just as well.
Helen seems gruff but under that harsh exterior I can see she’s been crying and I don’t blame her one bit. I miss him deeply myself and can only imagine what that means for her.
Myabe I need a housekeeper and maybe she needs a job, but I’m getting ahead of myself. What we both need is some closure because she’s not convinced it’s just natural causes anymore than I buy the coroner’s preliminary results.
“No way he’d go anywhere near Ravenwood,” she muses, echoing Maddie’s remarks.
“So you’re saying Barney was superstitious?’
“Naw, not susperstitious, but he went by his gut—and his gut told him that place was pure evil. If he was out on a call, he’d avoid even driving by the place—that’s how I know he wasn’t just out for a walk—not there, especially not in that god-forsaken woods.”
“Did he ever explain why he felt so strongly about the place?”
She arched an eyebrow. “Do you really think Barney Ferguson would confide in me? I don’t think so—not in a million years.”
“What was his usual routine?”
“If it were a workday, I could tell you, but it was a Sunday—the one day he took off. I have no idea what he did on that day or where he went—but I can guess one thing…”
“What’s that?” I prodded her.
“He’d be out in the yard feeding them damn birds. They’d actually call to him to come out. I think he cared more about then than human company, “ she sniffed.
I sensed it was time to stop the questioning and scope out whatever I could myself.
Barney didn’t have an office in his house but was obviously a kitchen-table type of guy and that seemed to serve as his makeshift work station.
A glance out the patio doors showed me where he had his breakfast—there was a patio table and chairs with a silver tea setting and dishes but the yard was onminously quiet—even the ravine beyond.
I felt the birds, whatever their inclinations, were aware Barney was gone and were making it a solemn occasion…
But then again, maybe I was endowing them with preternatural powers as Maddie often observed…
Still, it was eerily quiet and I felt somehow they were aware and were watching me right now from the rooky woods and judging my reasons for being there.
As I mentoned before, I’m a psychic and fancy myself a bird shaman, but at times I question myself—like today, when it seemed to me two crows were shadowing me and following my car all the way home.
I pulled into the driveway and looked up. One crow stayed back on a telephone pole but the other perched on the peak of my roof.
Like Barney, I follow my gut and my instincts were telling me these birds knew something I didn’t—what it was, I had no idea, but I was fascinated enough to make coffee and toast and take it out on my back patio and see what that action might stir up.
Sure enough, both birds alighted in my Maple tree and kept keen watch on me.
I sensed Barney cared for them and fed them so I tossed two crusts onto the lawn.
The one crow swept down and ate a crust and then took the other back to his mate.
I had no dea what I was acomplishing, if anything, but I felt their keen eyes observing me and finally crumbled the remaining slices of toast and tossed them onto the lawn and went inside.
When I came back later that afternoon to clean up my dishes the crusts of bread were gone but on my patio table gleamed a gift—Barney’s sliver tea ball.
It was typical crow sense of humour, but it meant more than that—it was a trade—this for that—the crows were willing to barter…
They observed who I was and decided they could trust me. Where this would go from here I had no idea, but I won their repsect and I knew they could help me solve this case.
We had a soul-link. We were all devoted to Barney and I sensed this was the first real break that would open this case.