The Real Macaw(54)

Randall Shiffley suggested forming a committee to study the feasibility of doing away with the mayor and the town council entirely on the grounds that they didn’t do a lick of useful work and only caused problems for the county board and confused the hell out of people. Festus intervened, suggesting that however appealing this project might be, the citizens needed to focus first on the immediate crisis.

Randall withdrew his motion, but I had the sneaking feeling that he’d be hearing from a whole bunch of people eager to serve on his committee whenever he formed it.

Most important of all was the blue ribbon committee that was staying on after the main meeting adjourned to make a decision on the most urgent question facing Caerphilly—whether to sit tight in the county offices and prepare for a siege or evacuate and form a government in exile. The Fight or Flight Committee, as everyone had already started calling it.

The one option no one even brought up was the mayor’s order that everyone go home and behave themselves.

The meeting broke up at around nine thirty, but by half past ten the barn was still far from empty. The Fight or Flight Committee members were still waiting for things to become quiet enough for them to begin their deliberations. Michael and Rob had taken Timmy and the twins up to bed, and I was about to delegate shutting up the barn for the night to Rose Noire, if I could find her. People were straggling out slowly, some still talking in animated clusters, some exchanging phone numbers and e-mail addresses with their fellow committee members.

And many carrying dogs and cats. I was particularly pleased to see the reverend Wilson’s wife, a stately steel-haired matron in a formidable church hat, cooing happily to the white kitten with the black patch over his eye. I made a mental note to thank the chief for helping Pirate the second find his home.

I found him talking to Clarence and Grandfather by Spike’s pen.

“So I assume you’ve decided it’s okay to release the four-legged evidence?” I asked.

“We convinced the chief that it would be heartless not to take advantage of people being here, and in a generous, volunteering mood,” Clarence said.

“I asked that they put every new pet owner on notice that they were responsible for producing the animals if they were needed as evidence,” the chief put in. I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

“Over half of them out of our hair,” Grandfather said, with satisfaction. Although he was committed in theory to the welfare of animals of every kind, he tended to be bored rather quickly with individual animals unless they were either dangerous or endangered—preferably both.

“We had a lot of them spoken for already, yesterday or earlier today,” Clarence said. “Some of those people took them home tonight, after the chief gave his okay, and a lot more people just adopted on the spot. All of them people I’m well acquainted with, naturally—anyone I can’t vouch for has to go through the usual investigation. And when you add in the people from that file you gave me—the people Parker was going to meet to hand over the animals—we’ve got about three-quarters of them placed.”

“Of course, the ones left over are going to be the hardest,” Grandfather said. “But we’ll manage somehow. We’d better—looks as if we’ll have plenty of other work to do.” He gestured toward the stage, where the Fight or Flight Committee was starting to assemble.

“Ironic, isn’t it?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Grandfather was frowning suspiciously. I had the feeling he didn’t like irony very much unless he was the one wielding it.

“If the committee does decide in favor of evacuation, there’s one county agency that won’t have a very big moving job, thanks to CORSICA,” I said. “You won’t see the animal shelter staff scrounging for a new location.”

“That’s because the mayor fired all the staff,” Grandfather said.

“No, they quit,” I said. “So isn’t it lucky for the mayor you took all the animals away? Otherwise they’d have to figure out what to do with all those animals cluttering up one of the buildings they’re seizing.”

“Hmph.” Grandfather glowered at me and stormed out.

“I plan to take care of moving the shelter equipment,” Clarence said.

“I plan to get some sleep,” I said.

I decided to check my office to see if Rose Noire was there so I could ask her to lock up the barn after everyone left.

I opened the door and found Caroline and Rose Noire standing on either side of a sobbing Corsican. I recognized her. The weepier of Parker’s two known girlfriends. Louise; that was her name.