"Hey," Octo-Cat protested.
"Hey yourself," I said. "I just need a minute so I can focus on finding an exit."
“Does this mean you’re finally going to set up my litter box? Because I’ve been holding it, and I hate holding it.”
I refused to dignify that question with a response since I’d already made my position on the travel litter box more than clear. And a few miles later I found an exit that boasted a gas station, if not much else.
Hey, gas station coffee was good enough for me, especially since I didn't know how quickly Nan's car ran through fuel and didn’t want to take any chances there.
“Can you top us off?” I asked Nan after pulling in beside the pump closest to the door. I was out of the car and rushing inside before she could even answer.
A few minutes later, I returned with a steaming Styrofoam cup full of the good stuff clutched greedily in my hands.
"We should stop for some breakfast,” Nan suggested, finishing up at the pump.
"I'm not sure there's anything on this exit."
"Well, something will turn up eventually," she said with a smile, and so we took a twenty-minute detour until at last we found a small diner that looked like it had been converted from a mobile home.
We ordered scrambled eggs and sausage to go, then sat outside with the animals in the parking lot as we tried to enjoy our meal.
"So what's going on with those seagulls Charles was talking about?” Nan asked when we’d both eaten through about half of our containers.
"Oh, they need help with a territory dispute." I tried to wave her off and changed the subject. “How about Dr. Roman, though? Do you really like his guide to romance?” I asked with a giggle.
"It's as good as any other guide out there, I'm sure," she said. "But why are you going out of your way to help these birds now? Couldn't this have waited until you were back from the trip? Is there some kind of deadline?"
"According to their laws, we don’t have much time before a war starts up,” I explained casually. "So I agreed to work on their terms in hopes of preventing that war.”
"But why?" she said, studying me with glistening eyes.
"I..." my words trailed away.
"It's okay, dear. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm a big girl. I can handle it,” Nan said with a half-cocked grin.
"It's just, they said they know where..." I didn't know how to word this, exactly. Nan was my grandmother. And yet I longed to know the woman our family had lost so many years ago. "Well," I started again, taking a different approach. "You know how birds are. They see everything, and they know the lay of the land, and…” I continued to sputter nervously, getting nowhere fast.
"Is this about your other grandmother, dear?" Nan said softly, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "It's okay if it is."
I nodded but said nothing.
"Well then, we better help these birds because I'd like to meet her, too.”
Chapter Ten
The rest of the day eked by at a snail’s pace. I also felt like an ant who’d had its legs trapped in molasses. Well, whatever kind of insect I’d become, I was moving and moving and yet getting nowhere.
By this point, we’d more than half finished Dr. Roman’s audiobook. Nan had taken over the wheel about an hour ago, but still I couldn’t sleep. Somehow, against all odds, Octo-Cat had also stayed awake this entire time. His eagerness to reach our destination was far past being cute… and dangerously close to the point of me putting him in his carrier just to calm him down and give the rest of us a break.
When my phone rang, I jumped in my seat at the chance to answer it. I’d have liked to read a book or play some games, but I always became carsick when I focused my gaze anywhere but on the road ahead.
“Angie?” Charles said when I forgot to offer a hello.
“Yes, I’m here. Sorry. What’s up?” I leaned forward in my seat eager to hear his report.
“I’m just about to leave the firm and head to your place.” He hesitated. “That is, if you still want to speak with Pringle.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course I do. How was your day? Better than it started out?”
He hesitated again, sending my worry into high gear. “Kind of. At least the entire flock didn’t follow me to work.”
“But some of them did?” Why had I ever agreed to help these annoying birds? Yes, they had some serious leverage over me, but I hated that they were practically stalking Charles while I was too far to do anything to put a stop to it.
“Yeah. Well, one of them, anyway.”
“That’s probably Bravo. He’s kind of in charge of this whole legal thing.”
“He’s been sitting at my window all day. Watching. Waiting. I don’t like it, Angie.”
I didn’t like it, either, but Charles needed me to remain calm and handle the situation. “Put him on, please.”
“Just a second.”
I listened as Charles wrenched the window open and whistled for the bird to join us.
“You’re on speaker,” Charles informed me a few seconds later.
“Bravo?” I asked, doing my best to keep my voice calm and even. Authoritative.
“The one and only,” the seagull confirmed.
Okay, the flock worked according to rules and hierarchies. If I could appeal to that, perhaps I could get him to back off. “Why are you stalking Charles?” I demanded. “You hired us to help, and now you have to trust us.”
“No can do. Alpha has given me express instructions to keep a close eye on everything, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
“And I’m asking you very politely not to. Charles will work better if you cut him some slack.” I took a shallow breath, resisting the urge to sigh heavily into the phone.
Unfortunately, Bravo remained steadfast in his refusal. “Alpha’s orders are final. Your mate’s going to have a white shadow until it’s go time.”
A white shadow? I didn’t like the sound of that at all and was starting to understand why Charles was so suspicious of what had led to this whole territory dispute in the first place.
“Okay, well, I tried,” I told the bird, and then, “Charles, take me off speaker.”
“Okay,” he said with a huff. “So, what now?”
“Close the window,” I whispered into the phone. “I don’t want Bravo to hear this next part.”
I waited as the window slammed shut with a thump.
“This is getting weird, right?” Charles whispered back.
“I think it started that way, but it’s definitely weird.” I paused and took a moment to figure out a plan. “I’m going to call you back. Let it go to voicemail. I’m going to leave a message for Pringle. Make sure Bravo’s not around when you let him listen to it.”
“But how can I do either of those things? Getting Pringle to listen to me and keeping Bravo away?”
That was a good question. I ran through my options, silently wondering just how well birds could hear. Would Bravo be able to listen in through a closed window? I didn’t know, but I still had to take a chance with this. After all, the alternative was doing nothing to help poor Charles through this mess.
“Um, I’ll call back twice and leave two separate messages,” I decided. “One to get Pringle inside, and one to tell him what we need. As long as you don’t let Bravo into the house, that should give you the privacy you need. You still have the key I gave you, right?”
“I do,” he answered.
“Good. Head straight to my place. Pringle is probably in one of his treehouses, but he might be off collecting secrets from the neighborhood. Can you call me back when you find him?”
“What about the voicemails you’re planning to leave?” Charles wondered.
“Those are just a fail-safe. Call me, and I’ll make sure to stop whatever I’m doing—be it driving or sleeping or whatever—and I’ll give you my full attention. Hey, do you mind hanging around my house for a while if he’s out?”