Chapter Four

LuAnne gave Dot the to-go cup of cream, then moved over to Kate and Bonnie’s table with a pitcher of sweet tea. She stood with the pitcher poised above Kate’s glass. “Something wrong with the birds at Best Acres?”

“Not as far as we know,” Kate hurried to clarify. “It’s just beginning to look like fewer birds are out there than Bonnie thinks there should be.”

“But not being from here, it’s too soon for me to be certain,” Bonnie reassured them.

“Well, the only birds I know anything about are the kind you’ll see on our menu.” LuAnne refilled Bonnie’s glass, then gestured with the tea pitcher. “But like I said earlier, Dot’s from out there.”

A slight scowl crossed Dot’s features as she paused, her coffee cup hovering in midair.

“So tell us, Dot,” LuAnne urged, “have you noticed a change in the bird population out your way?”

Dot wrinkled her nose to show that she didn’t exactly know how to answer such a question.

Bonnie fixed her gaze on Dot as if expecting a riveting reply. Kate noticed Renee also watching the exchange with interest.

“I don’t know.” Dot frowned, clearly wishing she had a better answer. She fiddled with the cup in her hand and shook her head. “I’m not a bird person. I can’t say as I’ve paid them any mind. And this last week or so, I’ve been all caught up in...well, let’s call it a pet project of mine.”

Kate tilted her head as she studied Dot. She’d always liked the affable, talkative woman, and it wasn’t like Dot not to have something to contribute to a conversation, even if it was pure speculation.

“Sorry. I have to run.” Dot picked up her take-out cup, then headed to the door and pushed it open. “Best of luck getting to the bottom of all this.”

And she was gone.

Kate and Bonnie finished eating, then paid their bill. The early dinner crowd would begin sifting in soon. Kate thought it best that they not wait around and possibly have LuAnne steer the conversation back to this topic, even in her friendly chatting way. It really wasn’t something to get the town worked up over.

Before the women got up to leave, Kate glanced back at the table where the couple she’d noticed earlier had been sitting. She’d planned to introduce herself, but they’d already left.

“Where did those people go?” Kate asked.

LuAnne shrugged. “Left the money for their bill on the table and slipped out while we were all gabbing.”

“Hmm.” Kate wondered if the couple had heard them talking about Artie Best. “Did anyone know them? Are they from around here?”

“Never seen them before in my life, but if it matters, they were pretty nice.” LuAnne moved to the table where the couple had been sitting. She gave the tip a quick once-over, looking impressed, then tucked their bill and payment in her apron pocket. “Oh, except that the man had a kind of ugly habit. He kept digging into this little green and orange foil packet of fancy black sunflower seeds.”

She lifted one plate and peered under it, then set it in the crook of her arm. She did the same with a second plate. “Hmm. Must have taken the packet with him. I wouldn’t have paid it any mind, except that she got onto him a bit about it, saying he’d better go easy on them because they weren’t for him, and they didn’t know when or if they could get more.”

A man with sunflower seeds in a local diner in the days leading up to a big bird-watching event?

“Maybe they were in town early, like Bonnie, for the Sparrowpalooza?” Kate wondered out loud.

“Or maybe they were traveling, just passing through. Wouldn’t it be lovely to go off on an adventure with a loved one?” Bonnie sighed.

“They didn’t say if they were traveling or if they were here for the bird thing.” LuAnne gathered the plates and glasses up, then headed toward the kitchen. “I only know he said he couldn’t help himself with those sunflower seeds, but he promised to try.”

“Well, you were right, Kate. That sure did hit the spot.” Bonnie folded her napkin and looked at Kate expectantly. “What next?”

“Next?” Kate thought it over, though she didn’t have to take long. She wanted to get to a computer and do a little research. There was a very good chance she could find some facts about the local bird population and their habits with a few well-worded Web searches. And while she was at it, she’d put the name Artie Best into the search engine and see if she couldn’t come up with a little more useful information on the local bird wrangler as well.