Death Takes a Gander by Christine Goff Read Free Book Online

print,” someone up the line yelled.
    “I say get some new glasses,” someone else hollered.
    “Better yet, get some binoculars.”
    The crowd erupted with hoots and shouts.
    Frakus sputtered a moment, then said, “Fine. Since you’re such an expert, Lark, tell me, how do you propose we get the birds off the ice within the hour?”
    Lark glanced around. There were dead and dying geese sprawled everywhere. Counting those in the pile, she figured there were at least a hundred birds. “How many of us are there?”
    Cecilia took a quick head count. “Twenty-three.”
    “How many have trucks?”
    A half-dozen hands shot up.
    “I have a truck,” Angela said.
    Eric waggled his fingers. “Me too.”
    “Great.” Lark said. “Counting mine, that gives us nine trucks. Do we have any pet carriers?” She looked at Eric.
    “We have some. Maybe twenty-five or thirty. Not nearly enough.”
    “I’ve got a medium-sized one,” offered Dorothy.
    “The type where the lid comes off?” Eric pantomimed the gesture. “We can’t use the type with the wire door. We don’t want to stuff the birds through an opening.”
    Dorothy nodded.
    “Okay, look,” Lark said. “If we break into groups and divvy up the manpower, we can do this. We can put the geese into carriers, haul them up to the Raptor House, unload them, then bring the carriers back down here and repeat the process.”
    “There’s not enough time!” exclaimed Frakus.
    “Oh, my,” Cecilia said. “Will there be enough room?”
    “We’ll make room,” Lark said. “And we’ll beat the clock.”
    “You’ll never make it,” Frakus said.
    “Give us a chance.” Lark paused for effect, then added, “Or if you prefer, John, we can stand here and discuss it some more.”
    Frakus dropped his arms to his sides, balling his hands into fists. “That’s blackmail.”
    “It’s reality.”
    Angela stepped forward. “She’s right, Frakus. I say the fine print gives me grounds to stop you.”
    He turned to Eric. “What about you? Are you siding with them too?”
    Eric met his gaze. “Lark brought up some valid points.”
    “Idiots!” Frakus kicked at a clump of snow, wincing as his foot struck solid ice. Hopping on one foot, he waved off his men. “Forty-five minutes. That’s all you get.”
    Before Lark could utter his thanks, Frakus whirled around and limped back toward Petey’s truck. “Climb out of there, Hinkle. Get the rest of the guys, grab some buckets, and start cleaning the ice. We need to get rid of the blood and the crap before the fishermen show up.”
    Lark watched for a moment, then gathered the EPOCH members around her. “Okay everyone, listen up. We need to break into groups—some of us up at the Raptor House, some of us on the ice.”
    “I’ll coordinate the treatment area,” Eric said. “We need someone to coordinate treatment housing.”
    “Cecilia and I can do that,” offered Dorothy.
    “Good. Then all we need is about ten volunteers to work with Dorothy and Cecilia. Who doesn’t have a truck?” Lark asked.
    A number of EPOCH members raised their hands.
    “Then how about you go with Eric and Dorothy?” she said, pointing to them. “Plus we’ll need a couple of people with trucks to fetch the carriers.”
    “I’ll go,” Harry Eckles volunteered. “I even know where they are.”
    “Me too.” Andrew Henderson lumbered forward. At nearly four hundred pounds, Lark would be glad to have him off the ice.
    “We don’t even know what’s wrong with these birds,” pointed out Angela. “We should be observing them and figuring out what’s making them sick before we move them. It’s possible that it could be something dangerous to humans.”
    “Good point,” Lark agreed. “But we don’t have much time.” The lineup of plows made that obvious.
    Angela faltered.
    “How about I tell them to wear their gloves at all times, at least until we figure out what’s wrong?”
    “Agreed.”
    Lark passed on the message, then