“Have you been outside?” he asked.
She frowned. “Why? Are you out there? I thought you had a lot of business to attend to here. Why are you hounding me? I’m doing my best.”
“Go outside.”
Caer made her way along the hallway, through the foyer and out the front door.
There were birds everywhere. They were on the eaves of the house. In the trees. Flying above in great swooping crowds.
Black birds.
Dozens of them were even sitting on the lawn.
“Michael, what’s going on?”
“The list…your list, to be specific—is changing. Names are appearing and disappearing. Right now, Caer, your purpose is what matters. You’ve got to forget your…entanglements and pay attention. This isn’t supposed to be happening. You’ll upset the entire scheme of things if you don’t prevent what’s coming.”
“Michael,” she said, desperate, “help me. What should I do? What should I not do? What’s coming?”
“You know I can’t tell you that. It’s not even that I won’t tell you, but I honestly can’t foresee what’s next. Too many things are in flux. Keep on as you are, but be on the lookout. Be careful, and stay sharp.”
The phone went dead.
She hung up and looked around. As she did, the black birds blanketing the front lawn suddenly let out a shrieking, dreadful cry, en masse, and with a thunderous flurry of wings, they rose into the sky like one giant omen of doom.
After he arrived at the morgue, the receptionist took Zach to meet Dr. Jon Wong.
He was cordial and serene, which Zach supposed was one way to cope with death on a daily basis.
He asked that the body be brought into autopsy room A, and the two of them chatted idly as they waited for the remains.
Zach had seen just about everything during his days in the forensic department in Miami-Dade. Body parts in barrels, bones that had been dug out of the Everglades, fresh bodies, looking as if they might leap up from the gurney, slashed flesh, burned flesh, shot flesh, mangled flesh.
But Eddie was bad.
That was what happened after so many days in the water. So many days as the target of hungry fish. His finger had been chewed to the bone.
Where once his eyes had been, only empty sockets remained. The corpse was hardly recognizable as Eddie.
But it was Eddie.
Dental records would clinch the ID, but the tattoo remained, along with the medallion he wore, a piece of Spanish gold drilled through and hung on a chain.
“It is Edward Ray?” Wong asked.
Zach nodded. “Cause of death?”
“The soft tissue around the wound was eaten way,” Wong said, showing Eddie’s exposed ribcage. “But there are marks on the bones made by something very sharp.”
“Did you find anything that could help us find his killer?” Zach asked.
Wong shook his head sadly. “No, but that kind of wound…I think the killer took him by surprise. My guess is that he was killed and thrown off the boat almost simultaneously, maybe caught off balance as he died. What was left of his clothing is with the forensic department at the police station. Feel free to stop by there and see what they can tell you. Meanwhile, I expect we’ll be releasing the body in another few days.”
Zach thanked him, and headed to the police lab.
Amanda looked at the bags and hampers she’d readied for the day. “What a shame. We had all those strapping Flynn brothers here before, but now that we could use their help with all this, they’re gone. Oh, well. Tom, I’m sorry, but would you mind grabbing that bag?”
Kat looked at Caer, incredulous that Amanda was being so nice. As she walked past Caer, picking up one of the hampers, she said, “Almost scary, huh?”
“You know what, Tom?” Amanda said suddenly. “I think you and Clara should come along today.”
Kat and Caer stared at her.
Tom gaped.
“You want the two of us to come sailing with you?”
Clara, standing at the sink, said, “Oh, no. We couldn’t.”
“Of course you can,” Amanda insisted. “I’ve invited Cal and Marni, too, but Tom would be a big help. Sean still shouldn’t be doing anything strenuous, you know.”
Tom looked at his wife. Her eyes widened, and she shrugged. “All right, then.” She still looked stunned by the offer.
Cal and Marni arrived just as the car was being packed up. Entering through the open garage door, they gave the others a start.
“Sorry. We thought we’d see if you needed some help getting ready,” Marni said, apologizing for startling them all.
“I think we’re good. Let’s get going,” Amanda said.
“We’ve got a bottle of Irish whiskey,” Marni said. “We can drink to Eddie. It was his favorite. Hey, where’s Zach?”
Everyone went still for a moment.
“I guess Dad didn’t want to tell you until they were sure,” Kat said. “A body washed up near Providence. Zach went to see if it’s Eddie.”
“Oh, God, no,” Cal said, his shoulders drooping.