‘This is really important, Brock. Think …’
Brock Williams had been in the middle of a meeting, talking his finance partners through the drawings for the condo development on Lakeshore, but when his secretary mentioned Adam’s name, he’d dropped everything and hurried out. He had left a message of sympathy following Faith’s stillbirth, but hadn’t actually seen Adam since it happened and, as he ushered his old friend and his strange, teenage companion into his private office, he’d apologized profusely for being such a bad, absent friend.
To his surprise, Adam had batted his apologies away. He had come to him for one reason alone – Brock’s knowledge of birds. Brock assumed Adam was joking, teasing him even, but when it became apparent that he was deadly earnest, he wondered if Adam had been drinking. But, actually, Adam appeared his usual self – a little agitated perhaps, but otherwise lucid, intelligent and precise.
‘It sounds like you might be describing an eagle of some kind,’ Brock said hesitantly. ‘Could you give me the sound again?’
The teenager – whom he now learned was called Kassie – mimicked the bird’s cry as best she could, cackling long and loud. Brock immediately crossed to his laptop and opened YouTube.
‘Is this what you mean?’ he offered, hitting the play symbol on a clip.
The room filled with raucous cackling, as a host of birds called to each other.
‘Yes, that’s it. That’s definitely it,’ the girl cried, looking oddly moved.
‘Then it’s a bald eagle you heard.’
‘Where’s that from?’ Adam followed up quickly, pointing at the clip.
‘It’s just a generic clip. It’s not from around here,’ Brock replied, surprised by the urgency of his friend’s tone.
‘But you do find them in Chicago, right?’
‘Sure, they come here every spring.’
‘And where do they nest?’ the girl interrupted.
‘All over. They come to feed, stay for maybe six weeks –’
‘Where specifically?’
‘On any large body of water,’ Brock blustered, sensing the pair were dissatisfied with his answers. ‘Lake Michigan is a big draw –’
‘That’s too large an area,’ Adam interjected. ‘Is there anywhere else you might find them? We’re looking for somewhere remote.’
‘Well, Lake Winnebago has a large population, but that’s north of Milwaukee.’
‘Closer than that,’ the girl urged.
‘Well … if you really want somewhere local, there is one body of water that might fit the bill. I haven’t been down there because it’s hard to access, but they say there’s a huge population of bald eagles there this year.’
‘Where?’ Adam demanded.
Brock paused, before concluding:
‘Lake Calumet.’