NO ORDINARY OWL

by Lauraine Snelling

  Another look between Sunny and Vee. The other two agreed that Byron would be glad to get them, as it would tell him more about the wounded owls.

  “Except it doesn’t tell us anything about that Awful Person,” Vee commented.

  Pinch.

  “Nobody gets to touch them. Beake Man hopes to release both of them.” Sunny walked backward to face them while she was talking. Esther knew if she’d done that, she’d trip and break her head. “Did you know that wild bird helpers aren’t supposed to name the birds?”

  Yes, of course Esther knew that. When she’d checked out how to help wild raptors, she’d learned that “imprinting” was dangerous to a wild bird. Once an animal or bird connected to a human, it made them dangerous to themselves in the wild and to humans. She just hadn’t had a chance to tell them with the Squad busted into two groups, and she and Aneta doing the hard part. She most certainly hadn’t told them she had gone ahead and named one of the owls anyway.

  She’d only named Bubo, the smaller owl, because she knew with all the blood that day they’d found them, he would end up staying. Like she wanted to stay. He would get to be in on all the fun of the bird education shows that the Bird Lady did, like the Squad would have the fun of more animal rescues. She was different from Bubo in that they’d do those things without her.

  So not fair.

  Pinch.

  “Yeah,” Vee took up the lecture, with a hint of a smile in her voice. “He told us that the day Aneta fainted and—well, Esther had to leave.”

  Sure. Make her sound like the one Squader that couldn’t take it. The tightness in her tummy squeezed.

  “I bet he said that ’cause he thinks we’re silly girls who want to wrap them up in baby blankets and have a tea party with them,” Vee finished, curling her lip.

  In a few more steps they would break through the end of the trees that fringed the open space where the buildings were. That’s when Esther first heard the sounds.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Sounds like a bunch of people talking,” Vee said.

  “No, it’s not that. Not people,” Sunny disagreed.

  “Chickens. It’s chickens,” Esther said, listening hard and pulling the monocular from her side cargo pocket.

  Peeking through the pines, the girls saw pens of chickens way off. The different feathered birds scratched here and there, pecking at whatever was on the ground.

  “Esther was right,” Sunny breathed.

  Why was it such a surprise she was right? Esther rolled her eyes. Now what would Imogene do with a chicken farm? How was a chicken farm going to help with finding clues about that Awful Person? Smothering a sigh, she remembered none of the other Squad adventures had been this hard to figure out.

  While Sunny spilled what she remembered her uncle Dave had said about some guy opening a free-range chicken farm a few months ago and that he didn’t seem to know much about chickens or free range, Aneta and Vee squatted down to listen. Each traced sticks through the pine needles. Esther remained a few steps apart, staring at the farm through the monocular. She was staying focused.

  What did she care about a chicken farmer and if he knew about raising chickens? The girls kept forgetting the plan was to help the owls be safe. The tightness in her tummy gave her a nasty taste in her mouth. Maybe they didn’t care if they solved the mystery.

  She was about to turn to them and yell, “Why don’t you care?” when she caught a flash of something larger than a chicken. Before her brain could tell her legs to crouch, her legs collapsed on their own, thumping her on the pine needles. A man. A man staring right at her while she’d been staring right at him!

  “Uh, guys,” she said, her breath coming in fast bursts, interrupting Sunny who had detoured into a long story about Uncle Dave getting ready to take Aneta’s mother out.

  “—slicked back his hair, and you know his hair. It looked so—what, Esther?” Sunny sighed and paused.

  “We’ve been spotted. He’s coming for us.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to tell them what the man was carrying.

  Chapter 14

  Save the Beake Man!

  Run!”

  “Run fast!”

  Were they kidding? They would all make it back to the mansion, and she’d be stumbling right in the guy’s way. Esther needed a different plan, a better plan. She ran along behind them, looking for a bush, a cave, a secret passageway. Nothing. She sighed and started looking for something else.

  A tree to climb.

  The man passed them and was nearly out of sight in the trees before the girls blew out the breaths they’d been holding. Sunny, Aneta, and Vee sat high in an evergreen tree, Esther on the lowest branch of another.

  “Esther, you didn’t tell us he was carrying a hunting rifle.” Vee sagged against a big branch behind her.

  “For pizza sakes, we get into trouble!” Shaking her head, Sunny stood up, balancing on a thick branch highest up. She’d been the quickest to scramble up the tree when Esther changed their plan. Aneta was across from her.

  “I am glad I had climbed a tree already today,” she said. “It was a very good opportunity.”

  The other two laughed at Aneta’s use of opportunity, her adoptive mother’s favorite word. Esther, who had her arms wrapped around the branch she was straddling like a pony, said not a word. If she opened her mouth, she might fall out of the tree and bounce a couple of times on the ground. This had to be the worst Squad adventure ever. Sure, they had had trouble before, but never had she messed up so many times.

  They could do better without you. The thought wriggled up her stomach again. I am the worst on the Squad. I can’t run fast, I’m no good at climbing trees, and I can’t chop up a mouse. But she was so smart in school. She could find things on the Internet. Once those snaky thoughts slithered into her heart though, more followed and repeated, They’re better off without you.

  “Um, guys,” Sunny said, looking down at them from her perch. “While we were in the carriage house, Vee and I heard Byron on the phone with some guy who was really angry.”

  Poor Byron. He’d been nice enough to let her use the monocular. Esther grabbed for her pocket. Whew. Still there. So were the owl pellets. Was that man going after Byron?

  “We’ve got to save Byron!” she yelped, jerked, and fell right out of the tree.

  Thump!

  Ow. More skin off her elbows.

  The worst Squader.

  As soon as the rest of the girls descended the tree—losing no skin—they trotted after the man. Vee checked her pocket to make sure she still had her tiny notebook and pen.

  “We need a plan,” she said.

  “You can’t write in your notebook while we’re hurrying,” Esther snapped, stumbling again on the uneven ground. She hated, hated, hated hurrying, even though she knew they were saving Beake Man.

  “I know that.” Vee shot her the Vee Stare. “What’s up with you?”

  “In case nobody noticed, I am all scraped up, I’m limping, and—oowf! ” Something leaning against a large stone sent her sprawling on the softish, fragrant, piney ground. Could she just please stop sprawling on the ground? Pinch.

  The three turned and hurried back to help her up.

  “Look, Esther—look what you tripped over!” Aneta held up a metal something with a dangling—what?

  “Slingshot.” Sunny put her hands on her knees, drawing in a couple of slow breaths. “For pizza sakes, Aneta and Vee, you guys have such long legs!” She collapsed on the ground, only to spring up again. “I bet—”

  “That Awful Person used that to hit the owls!” Esther interrupted. Sunny bobbed her head in agreement.

  “And that guy came this way and must have dropped it!” Vee thrust her hands in her jeans pockets and kicked around the area where Esther had splatted. “I don’t see anything else.”

  With her knee smarting enough to make her eyes sting, Esther shifted from one leg to another. “Then we better get going.” Stuffing the slingshot in her
other bellows pocket, she finished, “If that guy would zing baby—”

  “ —‘teenage,’ Beake Man said.” Vee turned to run again and missed Esther’s glare. “But yeah, if he’s mad enough at Beake Man, he could zap him with something bigger!”

  Esther remembered how gentle Beake Man was with the birds, how he made sure he didn’t slam the carriage house doors. Okay. Stop complaining! she told herself sternly. They had to save Beake Man. Grunting, she slapped at the slingshot in her pocket and said, “C’mon.”

  They heard the two men before they saw them between the carriage house and the mansion.

  “I’m sick of you teaching your killer birds to practice on my chickens!” that Awful Person roared, reaching up to poke a finger at Beake Man’s skinny chest. He was quite a bit shorter than Byron.

  “If you’d take your blinkers off, you’d see it’s not my birds playing havoc with your chickens!” Beake Man’s voice, though thinner and a little gaspy, sounded equally angry.

  The girls hid behind two big trees that shared a massive trunk. Sunny on her knees with Aneta crouched over her. Vee peeking from the other side with Esther sitting cross-legged and peering out through the pine branches that grew close to the ground. She pulled out an uncomfortable pinecone from beneath and seconds later had an idea.

  “Hey,” she hissed, holding up the pinecone. “We’ve got to break this up before they start fighting.” If the Bad Guy hit him in the face or bumped Byron’s mask, bad things might happen to Byron’s face. The Squad was becoming very fond of Byron’s face.

  Esther tipped to all fours and pushed herself to her feet. They had to move quickly. Spy Mode.

  “Nothing like this happened before you moved in!” that Awful Person was saying.

  The girls looked at the two men. Esther shared her plan, gesturing with the pinecone.

  “Spy Mode then!” Esther directed the girls to slink from tree to tree until they were on the side and behind that Awful Person.

  “Take off your sweatshirts.” Sunny demonstrated why with her hoodie that had a picture of a horse on it.

  Good idea.

  Now that Awful Person was telling Beake Man he ought to punch him in the face. Beake Man was backing up, fists clenched.

  I bet he wants to pop that ole Awful Person. Esther knew just how he felt. Someone had made fun of Siddy once when her little brother was doing something strange. Good thing Mom had been there and said something about rising above the situation. Esther hadn’t liked it, but it helped her not hit the kid, which was a good thing. The kid had been a lot bigger than her.

  “Brilliant!” Vee said, stripping off her Moby Perkins Elementary red-and-yellow hoodie.

  “The Squad thinks of everything,” Aneta approved and followed suit with her bright Cunningham Academy hoodie.

  For a very quick second, Esther wished her hoodie wasn’t still swinging off the spikes out front. But—she grinned—she had the slingshot. “Once you’re in position, I’ll give the signal.” The girls nodded and dropped to scuttle like monkeys, using their arms to keep their balance so low to the ground. In a blink, they were in position.

  She looked right. Vee was filling her makeshift ammo holder with pinecones. Looking left, she noted Aneta and Sunny doing the same.

  “You can use my pinecones,” Vee whispered.

  Esther nodded. “Right. Time to act.” She raised both arms up, pressing them against her ears. Peering around her arms, she smiled. Vee was ready. She turned left. Sunny and Aneta nodded. They would attack that Awful Person’s left side.

  She brought her arms down hard, squatting quickly to load the slingshot.

  Chapter 15

  Imogene Moves

  Esther loaded and pitched the first pinecone, a solid, unopened one. Playing endless catch with her brothers—and especially Siddy who was remarkable for his age with catching, though not throwing—she had an arm. She released the rubber sling, and the pinecone whizzed through the afternoon sun breaking through the drizzle and smacked that Awful Person on the neck. Ha! Surely an Imogene move.

  He turned in her direction.

  Sunny’s voice hollered from the left. A second pinecone, larger and heavier looking than Esther’s, thunked that Awful Person’s shoulder. Whipping his head around, he started for Sunny and Aneta. They shrieked and ducked back into the protection of the trees.

  “You there! Back off those girls!”

  That Awful Person stopped and turned to face the taller man, sneering. “What is this, your security force?” But he didn’t continue after the girls.

  Esther stepped from her spot, slingshot in hand. Vee joined her, muttering, “I didn’t even get to pitch mine. I wanted to nick his ear.”

  They joined Beake Man, facing that Awful Person who glared at them, clenching his fists. His eyebrows shot upward. Darting forward, he snatched the slingshot from Esther’s hand. “Where did you get this? This isn’t yours!”

  Esther opened her mouth to tell him just where she got it and how it now proved that he was the zapper of the poor owls when Byron raised his hand and spoke. His voice, though quiet, sliced through the tension in the backyard.

  “Enough. Take your leave. You are not welcome here.”

  That Awful Person muttered. Esther thought she heard him say “she” and figured he was griping about her breaking up his plan to punch Beake Man in the face. The Squad had done it again. That slingshot had helped this time instead of hurting.

  Circling Byron, the girls peppered him with questions. “Are you all right?” “Is your face okay?” “We had lots more pinecones!” “I wish I’d had a chance to shoot mine!”

  Aneta looked worried. Esther knew she was wondering “now what?” after shooting someone, even with a pinecone. Esther hoped Aneta would see all this as an “opportunity.”

  For a moment, Beake Man closed his eyes and tipped his head back. It was a familiar gesture, and Esther’s frown slipped into a smile. Frank had that expression whenever he was around the girls for very long. “You like us now, don’t you.” She stepped forward and patted his arm.

  Aneta’s big smile broke out.

  Sunny spun. “I knew you would. Nobody hates us for very long.”

  Only Vee looked reluctant. “Except Melissa. She just keeps hating us.”

  Sunny opened her mouth then closed it, shaking her head. Esther wondered why. Was she going to say that Melissa wasn’t so bad? That maybe she’d changed? Maybe Sunny wished Melissa could become a Squad member? No, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

  “I think you’re bonkers, but your hearts are gold.” Byron finally smiled. It was the first real smile they’d seen. It stretched slowly at first, like it wasn’t used to being out and about, but then crawled wide and big. His teeth were large and white. He looked quite nice behind that mask. With a start, Esther realized she’d stopped being shocked when she looked at him.

  “We couldn’t let that Awful Per—guy hurt you.” Aneta flushed, lowering her eyes and scanning the girls anxiously. She’d nearly let the name slip. Even though nobody had said “don’t,” the Squad seemed to sense that now was not the time to tell Byron that they had discovered the identity of the one who hurt the owls.

  Vee checked the time on her ATP. “We’ve got to get going. It’s almost five.”

  “Before you go”—Byron’s voice faltered, like he wondered if he should say what he was going to say—“mightn’t you like to peep at the owls on the camera?”

  Vee looked at Aneta, whose eyes were wide with delight. Sunny looked at Esther. Esther clapped her hands.

  Four voices shouted, “Mightn’t we!”

  Esther punched the code into the pad by the garage door, shucked her muddy sneakers, and pounded up the stairs. “Mom! Mom!”

  Halfway up, she heard Siddy’s delighted echo, “Mom! Mom!” and then “Esther is here. Hooray for Esther!” She stifled a groan. It was nice to be greeted when she got home, but her little brother didn’t understand that shouting into her ear hurt.
/>   At the top of the stairs, her mother, smiling, held Siddy back. “What happened to make you so excited?”

  “We saved Beake Man from that Awful Person!” Pausing with one hand on the wall and the other on the stair railing, Esther beamed up at her mom. “It was so cool. We used pinecones!”

  Her mother waved her up. “C’mon up. I can’t hold your brother off much longer. Tell us both.” Holding her son with her left arm, she pointed to the living room with her right. “Fall into a chair and tell us.”

  After Esther braced herself, her mom let Siddy go, and her little blond-headed brother bounced the two steps and threw himself at her. There was never any doubt in Siddy’s mind that someone would catch him. That worried Esther. What would happen when he went to school? Would he ever go to school, or was he too different?

  She told the story in every exciting detail and then flopped against the worn plaid love seat. Siddy lost interest and headed toward his room down the hall.

  “Esther! You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

  Esther shook her head.

  “I would certainly like to meet the Beakes,” her mom mused. “Your dad says they’re great people, but different.” She brightened. “I know. I’ll invite them, you can invite the girls, and we’ll have dinner here. Then”—she fixed a slanted fake-mad glare at her daughter—“you can tell the S.A.V.E. Squad about our moving.”

  Here? People here? In his room, Siddy alternated between chanting “Moving! Moving!” and “Esther’s home! Hooray for Esther!” Sure. Let people think she lived in a crazy house.

  “Oh, I don’t know, Mom, the Beakes are kind of different. I don’t know if they go to people’s houses. The birds take a lot of time. Especially the owls. Byron let us see them through the camera and play with the robotic arm to feed them with the mother bird puppet. It was so cool. I still wish I could be with Vee and Sunny and help feed them. I—”