Chapter Twenty-Seven

Bonnie had wanted to spend the evening around the hotel, observing the birds in town, chatting on the phone with her husband, and maybe visiting online with fellow birders. So Kate headed to the library.

“Hey, where have you been?” Livvy gave Kate a cheery wave from where she was working by the children’s books.

“Where haven’t I been?” Kate greeted her with a sigh and an exaggerated roll of her eyes to show how rattling the whole day had been. She gave her friend a quick rundown, ending with showing Livvy the threads she had found in Artie’s drive.

“So are you thinking this implicates him?” Livvy handed the snarled thread back to Kate as they climbed the stairs to the computer lab.

“Anyone could have been in that drive.” Kate thought back to the record of appointments she’d seen in Artie’s house. “Well, I can think of two people besides Artie who I know were in that drive.”

“And then there are those animal traps.” Livvy stopped and cocked her head as Kate sat down to do her online research.

“I’m going to see what I can find out about them now.” Kate logged on to the computer.

“Mind if I look on?” Livvy peered over her shoulder.

“I’d love your input. I’m not exactly sure how to start the search. Any thoughts?”

“When you only have a little to go on, start simple, see what you find, then narrow the search,” Livvy suggested. “Try ‘trap’ and ‘cardboard box.’”

The keyboard clicked as Kate typed in the words. A page full of returns popped up. Kate guided the cursor so that only the images from the search would show. A double click, and the entire screen filled with pictures and diagrams.

“Bingo,” she said softly. And by following just a few more links, she had all the information she needed on that topic.

“What do you make of that, Kate?” Livvy asked.

“I’m not sure. It’s not like the trap Bonnie tripped over. It’s clearly not meant to catch or harm a person. You know, I saw Dot Bagley trying to catch a cat in that same part of the countryside. I wonder if there’s a connection...”

“She’s been telling people she has a pet project, so I’d go with cats too. But then, it’s birds that have gone missing out there.”

“Well, don’t you imagine that Dot putting out cream and baiting traps might bring more cats into the area? And naturally, more cats means...”

“Big trouble for birds.”

Kate nodded. “I think this needs a little more thought. There’s a chance she may be trying to catch birds too.”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“Why would anyone drive from South Carolina or other parts of the country to come to Sparrowpalooza? Why are there so many Web communities devoted to birding? There are so many reasons people do the things they do.” Kate turned from Livvy to face the computer screen. “I did a little poking around online and found images of the umbies, but since there are all kinds of birds missing, I moved on to trying to learn more about birds and Best Acres. I didn’t get a chance to tell you, I guess, but I did find out a little something more about Artie Best.”

“Oh?” Livvy finally took a seat beside Kate. “What?”

“Just that he was engaged once,” Kate said offhandedly as she clicked and typed, looking for any unusual information about the rare sparrows that had sparked so much interest. That search led her to a birding community. She couldn’t tell from the names if it was the one where Artie had met Dud and Charlene. Still, she found herself engrossed in the increasingly heated exchanges over the past few days regarding the umbies.

“I had no idea people felt so passionately about these little birds,” Kate murmured.

“People get emotionally charged up about the strangest things, Kate. And these days, a lot of people are really focused on environmental issues. Rare sparrows, birds some people suspect are on the verge of extinction, suddenly returning to an area? That’s a big deal.”

“Of course it is. In this group”—she turned to look at Livvy as she pointed to the highlighted text on the computer—“they go so far as to say the birds should be caught and taken to a preserve where they can live and reproduce in safety.”

“That’s pretty radical.”

“Not to mention a little worrisome. Liv, how far do you suppose someone would go to get their hands on a rare bird?”

KATE PONDERED THAT QUESTION as she drove home and went about the rest of her day.

As soon as Paul came home from the church, he popped his head into her stained-glass studio, where Kate had been looking for examples of bird-themed stained-glass windows in some pattern books. “How goes the missing bird situation?”

“I don’t know. I went to see Artie Best again.” She went back to the pattern books she’d been going over. “He’s a tough one to figure out. A softie one minute, a gruff old goat the next. Except, he’s only in his forties, not that old at all.”

Paul chuckled and came to her side, slipping his arm around her waist. “Something about him has gotten to you.”

“Yes...and no. Before leaving his farm today, I found a thread of Bonnie’s scarf, just like the ones tangled up at the site of the trap.”

“Oh?” Paul’s expression went suddenly somber. “So you think you found a connection between Artie and the snare?”

“A thread might have been carried there on anyone’s shoe or blown there, or it might have been something he picked up after the fact. Let’s go into the kitchen, and I’ll tell you about the new trap I found.”

The two of them went into the kitchen as Kate described the cardboard box, stick, and fishing line setup she’d come across. “It only took me a few minutes online to find all sorts of sites telling how to make a drop trap and what to use it for.”

“A drop trap? That’s what they were!” Paul said as he got himself a glass of water at the sink.

“What what were?” Kate had the feeling she was on the verge of a breakthrough. “You saw one too?”

“One? I bet I saw four, maybe five.” Paul took a seat at the table and proceeded to tell her about the episode in the plane. He even confessed that he’d considered not telling her to keep her from worrying. And since Lucas had finished plotting the best route for the Sparrowpalooza event and didn’t need Paul to go up with him again, she wouldn’t have had anything to worry about anyway. He concluded by telling her about the rectangles he’d seen dotting the landscape.

She leaned against the back of a vacant kitchen chair. “These were around Best Acres?”

“Nope. We were specifically told to swing out wide and avoid Best Acres. These were closer to Dot Bagley’s house.”

“Dot. I’ve wondered if she might be connected to the drop traps.” Kate stood upright and shook her head thoughtfully. “These traps you saw, they didn’t happen to have strips of maroon-colored cloth tied on stakes near them?”

Paul thought about that a minute. “That wasn’t the kind of thing I was looking for. Why?”

“The trap I found was marked by a piece of Bonnie’s scarf.” Kate put her hand to her forehead.

“So does that mean there may be a connection between Dot Bagley and whatever is going on out there?”

“Well, I couldn’t really rule her out before, but now...I think I have to seriously consider that she has her hand in this.” Kate went to the window and watched the birds flitting about in the last bits of daylight outside. “She’s been so secretive about her pet project. But the more Web sites I’ve searched, the more convinced I’ve become that Dot’s behind the drop traps.”

“Why?”

“Because time and time again, the Web sites recommended using just that kind of trap for one of two things.” She held up two fingers.

Paul scooted forward in the chair and leaned his forearms against the table. “Let me guess...One of them was cats.”

Kate nodded. “And the other was birds.”

KATE PICKED BONNIE UP outside the brick hotel Wednesday morning, where she had said she planned to sit and count birds awhile.

“How goes the birding?” Kate asked, wrapping her cream-colored cardigan around her shoulders as she breathed in the invigorating September air.

“To be honest, I haven’t even cracked open my field guide.” Bonnie picked up the compact book in her lap to show it to Kate.

“It is peaceful out here, isn’t it?” Kate took Bonnie by the elbow to support her as she got up.

“I can see why you love it here, Kate, and why you flourish here. I just hope I haven’t put you through too much trouble trying to figure out what’s happened to the migrating flocks.”

“Trouble? Are you kidding? There are few things I enjoy more than a challenge.” Kate gave Bonnie’s shoulders a squeeze.

Bonnie laughed, then she raised one hand to fluff her hair and groaned. “Speaking of challenges. That bump on the head took some of the air out of my hair. But only on one side! I look like a real fright.”

“I have an idea to deal with that.” Kate craned her neck to peer at the state of Bonnie’s hair. “How about we pay a visit to Livvy Jenner at the library after we pop in to see Betty Anderson for a quick touch-up?”

IT TOOK BONNIE A WHILE to get around because of her injury and stiff muscles, but when they reached the salon, Betty welcomed Bonnie cheerfully.

“Thank you so much for taking me as a walk-in, again, Betty.” Bonnie peered at herself in the mirror, ran her hand back over her hair, and winced playfully at her image. “I was afraid you’d take one look at what I’d done to your handiwork and suggest the only hope to make myself presentable would be to get myself to the Mercantile and buy a hat!”

“Aw, no. Wednesday mornings are pretty slow around here.” Betty fastened the cape in place over Bonnie’s patterned brown sweater. “I just hate that you find yourself having to come in again under these circumstances.”

Betty began to delicately examine what she had to work with. “Do you have time for a shampoo?”

“I think so.” Bonnie looked to Kate for confirmation.

Kate looked at the papers Bonnie had been given at Joanie’s Ark, with all the information about Sparrowpalooza Weekend. “If you’re sure you don’t mind me poring over this material while I wait, I’ll have plenty to occupy me while Betty works her magic.”

“Ooh, magic.” Betty wriggled her fingers like a sorceress preparing to cast a spell. “I like that.”

Bonnie laughed. “Well, it may take magic to undo all this damage, but if anyone can do it, you can, Betty. Let’s give it a whirl.”

The two women moved to the shampoo room at the back of the salon, and Kate, comfortably ensconced on the bench up front, opened the large folder that contained the participant’s material Cassie Capshaw had given to Bonnie when she’d checked in.

Kate set aside the promotional flyers from Pine Ridge businesses that might be of interest to the festival participants. Then she pulled out three pale green pages stapled together. She found a detailed agenda of activities for Thursday evening, the education and preparation venues on Friday, and Saturday’s official sparrow search. Last she found an ecru-colored trifold pamphlet with some rules and reminders about proper conduct for registered participants while in the area.

Kate had just begun to scan the agenda when Betty helped a still-limping Bonnie, who had left her cane by the chairs in the front so as not to be a bother to Betty, back to the stylist’s chair. Once Bonnie situated herself, Betty unwrapped the towel wound around the older woman’s sopping wet hair.

“Do you want a set and a dry, or do you want a dry and a style?” Betty asked, standing behind Bonnie and speaking to her reflection in the mirror.

Bonnie pursed her lips and tipped her head to one side, then the other. “I think dry then style. I’m afraid there’s no point in me going too fancy, since I plan to spend the upcoming weekend looking for sparrows.”

“Yes, but who will be looking at you?” Betty bent down to place her cheek next to Bonnie, still speaking to the image of her client in the mirror.

“She has a point, Bonnie.” Kate lifted the agenda in the air even as she continued to read from it. “You have a welcome reception on Thursday, and all those classes, lectures, and demonstrations on Friday. The only official day to spend in the field is Saturday.”

“And that might not last the whole day,” Bonnie muttered. “Unless the missing birds come out of hiding.”

“Oh? Birds are missing?” Betty tucked her hands in her work smock. “I do not intend to lift a finger, much less curl a tendril, until I have the whole scoop.”

Bonnie swiveled her chair around to see the other women better and said, “I didn’t know you were interested in bird-watching, Betty.”

“I’m not, particularly. But I can’t abide the idea of a client saying something that intriguing while in one of my chairs and me letting her get away before she’s told me every last detail!”

“We don’t actually have a lot of details, Betty,” Kate said. “But I’ll tell you what, you do Bonnie’s hair, somewhere between the really nice way you did it earlier and the way it looks now, and we’ll tell you what little we know.”

“Oh, do my hair a little closer to the way it was earlier than to the way it looks now, won’t you please?” Bonnie leaned forward and crinkled her nose at herself in the mirror. “Because right now I look like a half-drowned cat.”

At the word cat, Kate looked up. Her thoughts went to Dot and the traps. What was Dot up to? Kate went over what she knew. The cream for Dot’s pet project. Paul seeing four or five drop traps set out around her property. The fishing line that matched the line that Bonnie had tripped over. Dot catching the stray cat. Kate realized that explained the protective oven mitts. For some reason, Dot Bagley was trying to collect cats!

That might account for some birds staying out of the area. Now, how did that connect to the trap near Artie Best’s land?

Before she could even begin to come up with an answer, the door flew open. Dot Bagley stormed in, planted herself in front of Kate, and crossed her arms firmly across her ample chest. “I can’t believe you turned me in to the authorities, Kate Hanlon!”