“Well, they could be,” he said. “We’ll take a look.” As they moved up and around the area, they saw some kids playing. “Recognize anyone?”
She shook her head slowly. “Honestly it just happened so fast.”
“Of course,” he said. He walked up, waved at a couple kids. One waved back, but another just stared at him. The others kept playing, ignoring the adults.
“I guess your reception isn’t always positive, is it?” she asked Mack.
“It’s not negative either,” he said. “It depends on how the kids have been raised. As to whether they’re afraid of the police or not.”
“I can’t imagine raising children to be afraid of the cops,” she said, with a shake of her head. “Besides, you don’t look like a cop, but you do look like authority.”
“Maybe not, but it happens.”
“I guess I just think it’s wrong.”
He smiled. Then a child who had been sitting nearby got up and tore off in the opposite direction.
“Well, that’s not a good response,” she muttered.
Mack stopped and studied the kid, as he disappeared around the corner.
“Do you know him?” Doreen asked Mack.
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, yet something is a little familiar about him.”
“Well, I imagine, after a number of years, you get to know everybody here.”
“Unfortunately that’s not the case,” he admitted. “I’d like to say it is, but certainly a lot of people live here that I’ve never come across.”
“Well, that’s a good thing then because that means they haven’t been involved with the police.”
“Well, that’s the theory anyway.”
Something in his tone of voice made her stop and glance at him. She looked around at the other kids, who were smiling, but they were looking at Thaddeus. “This is Thaddeus,” she said. “He’s my parrot. Do you have any idea which two kids saw him on the river earlier?” They just stared at her with odd looks on their faces, mostly blank. “I don’t think we’re terribly welcome here,” she said quietly to Mack.
“I think you’re right,” he said, his hands across his chest, as he surveyed everybody in front of them. “The question to that then is, why not?”
She shrugged. “Maybe it’s more of a poor area or maybe it’s just a smaller area, where they’re warier of strangers.”
“I wouldn’t have said so,” he said, “but sure. Up ahead we do have a lot of apartment buildings.”
“That doesn’t mean that it’s a low-income area though. And I’m sure not one to be talking,” she said, “because I’ve probably got less money than any of them.” He chuckled again. She smiled. “I’m glad I can make you laugh at least.”
“You always make me laugh,” he said, looping an arm around hers.
She smiled, and they walked up a little closer to the kids. “Do you think they’ll talk to us?” she asked.
“I doubt it,” he said.
Just then a door banged on a house nearby, and a big burly man—wearing jeans, suspenders, and a dirty T-shirt—stepped out, glaring at them.
Mack smiled. “Hey. Nice day, isn’t it?” he said.
“Well, it was until the pigs showed up.”
She stiffened and gasped. “Did you just call me a pig?”
He glared at her. “Who are you, toots?”
At that, her jaw dropped. “My name is Doreen,” she said, inclining her head regally, completely at a loss as to how to deal with him.
“That’s nice,” he said, shaking his head at both of them. “You’re not wanted here, so get lost.” And, with that, he stepped back inside and let the door slam again.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody quite so rude,” she mused, staring at the door.
“Get used to it,” he said, “particularly if you think you’ll align yourself with the cops. An awful lot of people out here don’t like us.”
“But you’re very nice,” she said in astonishment.
He laughed. “Doesn’t matter if I’m nice or not. I’m a cop, and, if they’re trying to avoid the law, they don’t like cops. Likely they’ve had a bad experience.”
“Exactly, but that’s still no reason to treat you like that,” she said in outrage, and it was getting harder and harder to keep her temper contained.
“Whoa,” he said, looking at her sideways. “Don’t you go getting all riled up now.”
“Why not?” she said. “That was really unfair of him.”
He snorted. “That’s hardly an insult in today’s world.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“Maybe not, but it doesn’t make it terribly wrong, and we won’t cause an issue over all this.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. He just rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s head home.”
“No, somebody here put out a cry for help,” she said. “Remember? That’s why we’re here.”
“We don’t know that it’s from here at all,” he said, with quiet emphasis. “Remember that. We don’t have any reason to be bothering these people.”
She raised her hands in frustration and turned, as if to leave, then stopped when she spied the same little boy. “Don’t look now,” she said, “but that little guy who took off is watching us from around the corner.”
“Of the same house?” he said, slowly turning.
“No, the neighbor’s,” she said.
“Good,” he said, “maybe I should go take a look.”
“Maybe I should,” she said. “He might do better with a woman than you.”
“Maybe not,” he said.
“Well, I can tell you that he’ll do better with Thaddeus than both of us,” she muttered.
That stopped him in his tracks. “You’ve got a point there,” he said, with a nod. “Go ahead and see what you can do.”
Chapter 6
Doreen, after checking to ensure Thaddeus was securely on her shoulder, called Mugs and Goliath to her side and walked slowly toward the little boy, who stared at her from around the corner. Once he realized she was approaching him, he backed away.
She immediately held out a hand. “It’s okay. We won’t hurt you,” she said in a gentle voice. “Do you want to come meet my animals?” The little boy’s eyes grew round, but he nodded. She smiled and crouched down just a few feet away from him. She didn’t dare check to see what Mack was doing, but hopefully he had sense enough to stay back a little bit.
Thaddeus leaned forward. “Big guy, big guy!”
The little boy looked at him in surprise and then quickly gazed at her and back to Thaddeus.
“Yes, he talks,” she said, with a beaming smile. “At least sometimes he talks. Just when you want him to talk, he doesn’t though.” The little boy giggled. She smiled. “Do you want to say hello to him?”
The little boy crept out a step and then another. He extended his hand, and Thaddeus reached forward—but with his beak—so the little boy got scared and pulled back.