Chapter Eighteen #2
“I don’t know. I went to call him for dinner and he didn’t show up. He’s not in the store and I can’t see him anywhere around
here. I’ve been reviewing the security tapes to try to spot something.”
“Do you think he was taken?”
“I don’t know.” Jax told herself to keep breathing. “I don’t know what to do. If he left on his own, then he should be nearby.
Should we expand the search area? Is he lost?”
She hated to think of him out there alone, not sure how to find his way home. Only that entire scenario didn’t make sense.
Marcus walked into her office. “There’s a crowd gathering,” he said as he moved close and hugged her. She leaned into his
embrace, surprised at how comfortable she felt there, only to step back when his words sank in.
“What do you mean a crowd?”
He led her into the store. She looked around in surprise—there were dozens of people clustered together in groups, all talking.
Cheryl hurried toward her.
“They’re showing up to help. Several brought binoculars. I thought we could send them out in groups to search for him while
there’s still daylight.”
“Yes,” Jax said eagerly. “Let’s do that. I’ll go with them.”
“You should probably stay here,” Marcus told her. “He’ll want to see you when he comes back. If something spooked him into
flying away, he’ll need reassurance.”
Jax would rather be doing something than standing around and waiting, but his words made sense.
She nodded and he immediately moved toward the crowd. In a matter of minutes he’d divided them up into smaller groups. Someone
got one of the town maps and opened it. Marcus drew circles, dividing the area into manageable sections. Moments later the
search parties had left.
More people arrived. Two hours after Jax had realized Ramon was gone, her kids ran into the store. They were both crying.
“We just found out,” Gentry said, rushing to her. “Mommy, no! Ramon can’t be lost.”
She hung on as if she would never let go. Xander joined her, sobbing just as hard.
“I love him,” Xander said, his voice muffled. “I love him and he has to come back.”
Shawna and Harris walked in. Harris came up to her, frowning in concern. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. He’s just gone.”
“He wouldn’t leave. This is his world.”
Shawna hovered a few feet back. Xander turned and glared at her. “She said we shouldn’t come. That it’s a school night and
we need to be in bed at our usual time.”
Harris put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey there, Tiger. Shawna meant well.” He gave Jax an apologetic smile. “Shawna’s not a
pet person.”
“Or a bird person,” Jax muttered, remembering the other woman’s reaction every time Ramon got close. For a second she wondered
if Shawna had done something to the parrot, then shook off the thought. For one thing, the younger woman was basically a decent
person. For another, Jax was pretty sure she was too scared of Ramon to get close enough to grab him.
“I knew they’d be upset if they came here,” Shawna said, sounding both helpless and defensive.
Gentry raised her head and sniffed. “Of course we’re upset. Ramon is family.”
“Okay, okay,” Jax said. “This isn’t helping. People are out searching for Ramon. I’m sure they’ll find him.”
“We need to call the police,” Xander said. “Call 9-1-1, Mom.”
Harris put his arm around the boy. “I know we’re all scared, but Ramon being gone isn’t an emergency.”
“It is to me.”
Jax agreed, but doubted dispatch would appreciate the call. “If we don’t find him tonight, I’ll phone them in the morning,”
she said, although she had no idea what they could do about a missing parrot. Still, making the call would give her something
to do.
She spent a few more minutes with her children, then insisted they return home.
“You can’t do anything here,” she told them. “I’m staying the night. I’ll be upstairs on the widow’s walk with the door open.”
She did her best not to start crying as she realized there was a very good chance she would never see Ramon again.
“You have to call if he comes back,” Gentry insisted, clinging to her. “No matter what time it is, you’ll call. Promise.”
Jax looked at Harris, who nodded.
“Of course she will,” he said. “We’ll all want to know.”
Shawna’s expression was pinched but she didn’t say anything. Instead she tried to put her arms around the children, but they
both shook off her touch. Jax knew she should probably say something, but didn’t have it in her. Those fences could be mended
later—right now all she could think about was Ramon.
She kept walking outside, calling for him. But as dusk turned to darkness, she knew he would have settled somewhere, assuming
he was in town and not in the back of an SUV being carted to who knew where.
That train of thought had her imagining him in a too-small cage, hungry and frightened.
If someone had stolen him, no doubt it was with the plan to sell him online.
He would be with strangers who wouldn’t understand him or take care of him.
He would be defenseless and calling for her.
He would call and call and she wouldn’t be able to hear him.
She sank into the nearest chair and covered her face with her hands. Sobs ripped through her as she rocked back and forth.
It hurt to breathe and all she could think of was her beloved Ramon.
“Jax, we couldn’t—”
She heard Marcus’s voice and tried to control her emotions but the pain was too big. She continued to cry. He knelt in front
of her and drew her into his arms.
“I know,” he said quietly. “I know. He’s been your guy since you were twelve years old. You’re scared and it hurts and you
don’t know where to put all the feelings. We’ll find him. We have to.”
She sniffed several times and tried to catch her breath. “If he just flew off, it would be better. If I knew he was somewhere
around here then I could believe he’d come back. But what if someone took him? Then he’s gone forever and I’ll never know
what happened to him.”
She began to cry again. Around her she heard people talking in low tones. She would guess the search teams were returning
and judging by their voices, no one had seen Ramon.
She allowed herself a few more seconds in Marcus’s arms. Having him here, knowing she could trust him to take charge when
she couldn’t, gave her the strength to take the next step. She drew back and wiped her face, then stood and faced her friends.
“Thank you for helping,” she said. “There’s nothing more to do tonight.
If he’s still in the area, he won’t fly in the dark.
He’ll find somewhere to settle.” She tried to smile, but knew she failed.
“At least it’s not winter. He’s not really an outdoor kind of guy, but he’s smart and he has his instincts. Hopefully he’ll come home tomorrow.”
Ryleigh moved close and hugged her. “He will,” she said. “I know you’re going to wait up for him. I’ll stay with you. In the
morning we’ll come up with a plan.”
A few other people offered to stay with her, but Jax refused. She didn’t want to have to entertain anyone while she was waiting.
She thanked them and sent them home. After they had left, Marcus moved close.
“I have a client,” he told her. “I did a big remodel on his house. He’s a computer security guy. I’ll swing by my office,
get his number and reach out. I want to ask for his help to set up some kind of program to monitor the internet. If someone
did take Ramon and wants to sell him, there has to be a way for us to get an alert.”
For the first time since she’d realized her parrot was gone, Jax felt a flicker of hope.
“Thank you. That’s a great idea. Then I could buy him back.”
“Yeah and then the police could arrest whoever did it and throw him in jail.”
She didn’t care about justice—she only cared about her family. “You’ll call the guy?”
“Within the hour. I’ll let you know what he says.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” He nodded at Ryleigh. “You’re staying?”
“All night.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.”
Jax sat out on the widow’s walk, her sister next to her. They were on their chaises and wrapped in blankets against the chill.
It was probably only in the mid-sixties, so that was something, but it was still cooler than Ramon was used to. She hoped
wherever he was, he was warm and fed, then had to blink away tears.
“Go to bed,” she said, staring out into the darkness. Even knowing Ramon wouldn’t fly at night, she felt compelled to sit out here, waiting, hoping he would appear.
“I’m fine,” Ryleigh said with a yawn.
“You’re tired, it’s nearly midnight. Go home.”
“Nope. I’m staying.”
Jax sighed. “You have to work in the morning. You can’t do that on no sleep. Oh, crap. You have a cat. Lucy’s alone. You have
to go home to her.”
Ryleigh yawned again, then shook her head. “She’s fine. I texted Alex. He and Noah went to get her. She’s spending the night
with them. Noah’s hoping she decides to sleep with him.”
“That would be nice,” she said automatically even as she stared out into the darkness, willing herself to see a familiar parrot
swooping down to land on the railing. For a second, she would have sworn she heard the flap of wings, but it was only her
imagination.
She drew her knees to her chest. “It hurts to breathe,” she whispered. “My chest is so tight.”
“We’ll find him,” Ryleigh told her.
“Unless he was taken. Then I don’t know.”
“You have that computer kid helping with that. If someone tries to sell him, we’ll know.”
Jax hoped so. Marcus’s client had come through. Actually his sixteen-year-old daughter had gotten involved and set up some
kind of program that would monitor any listings for an African gray coming up for sale. Apparently the teen had needed a project
for her advanced programming class at high school and had loved the idea of bringing Ramon back home.
More tears fell. Jax brushed them away, then turned to her sister.
“Go home.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Fine. Then at least go lie down in the guest room and get some sleep.”
Ryleigh looked concerned. “What about you?”
“I have to wait for him.”