Wild Spirits. Rosa Jordan

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      Even though she knew she was being irrational, Wendy stayed inside the store until the two men left, and she could see out the front door that there were no other men between her and her car. Then she hurried out and drove home.

      When she got there, Danny was sitting on the steps, waiting for her.

      “Hi, Danny,” she called. “Want to carry this roll of wire around back?”

      She opened the back of the Toyota RAV 4 and slid the roll of wire out. Danny tried to lift it, but it was too heavy for him to handle alone. Wendy took one end, and together they staggered around to the backyard.

      Danny was more helpful than she had expected. “You’re pretty good with tools,” she remarked, watching him double-measure a board before making a chalk mark and starting to saw. “And careful.”

      He finished the cut, then sat back on his heels. “I fix things around the house for my mom. Sometimes Butch lets me use his tools.”

      Raccoons can both climb and dig, so the pen had to have a top and a bottom. It took most of the day to build it. Danny drove a final nail and stood back to admire their handiwork. “Looks good,” he said.

      Wendy nodded. “As soon as I wire down this water dish to keep the little rascals from spilling it, we can put them in.”

      Danny filled the food and water dishes. Wendy set the pet carrier inside the pen. She opened the carrier door and quickly closed the gate to the pen. The raccoons instantly came out and began running around the pen, looking for a way out.

      “Keep your fingers away from the wire,” Wendy warned. “A raccoon bite is a terrible thing.”

      Danny looked at her in surprise. “Why? They’re not big enough to hurt me.”

      “Yes, but there’s a law. If a person gets bitten by a raccoon, it has to be reported. Then authorities cut off the raccoon’s head to test to see if it has rabies. If it does, the person who got bit has to get shots to keep them from getting rabies.”

      “Even if it’s a little bite?” Danny asked in dismay. “They kill the raccoon?”

      “They do,” Wendy confirmed. “That’s why we are very careful, and wear thick leather gloves if we have to handle them. Not just to protect ourselves, but to protect the raccoons.”

      Danny did not answer, and Wendy could not tell what he was thinking. She just hoped he would remember what she’d told him, and be careful.

      Wendy heard a car pull into the driveway, but didn’t tense up this time, because she recognized the sound of the engine. It was Kyle.

      “Around back!” she called.

      A minute later, Kyle came around the house. “Hi, Wendy. Hi, Danny.”

      Danny cast Kyle a sidelong look, then fastened his gaze on the animals, with barely a mumbled, “Hi.”

      “I see you two have met,” Wendy said, but she didn’t ask when or where. From Danny’s embarrassment and the meaningful look Kyle gave her, she guessed that it was one of the times when the police had been called to Danny’s house to break up a fight between his parents.

      “I was on that stakeout most of the night,” Kyle said. “And went home from there. I didn’t hear that the robbery was at your bank, and you were involved, until I got to work this afternoon. You okay?”

      Wendy gave a small shrug. “More or less.”

      “I talked to the officers who handled the case,” Kyle said. “I can’t believe you didn’t get the license number! What were you thinking?”

      Wendy put her hands on her hips and gave him a look. “I was thinking of getting out of there. What would you be thinking of if some guy stuck a gun in your face?”

      “You could’ve got the license number when they were driving away,” Kyle insisted.

      Wendy was on the verge of getting seriously annoyed with Kyle, who seemed to have forgotten he was her boyfriend. Instead, he was acting like a policeman, asking the same questions they had asked her half a dozen times at the cop shop. But just then Danny said something neither of them heard.

      Wendy glanced at him. “What did you say, Danny?”

      “I did.”

      “Did what?” Kyle asked.

      “Got the license,” said the boy.

      “Oh my gosh!” Wendy exclaimed. She turned to Kyle. “He was right there in the parking lot, not fifty feet away. I completely forgot!”

      “Did you tell the police?” Kyle asked in a skeptical voice.

      The boy shook his head.

      “Why not?” Kyle demanded.

      Danny kept his eyes fixed on the raccoons. “Nobody asked me,” he said in a timid voice, the voice of a kid who feels that no matter what he does, other people are going to decide it was the wrong thing.

      Wendy noticed that Danny was gripping the wire of the cage tightly with both hands. “Don’t put your fingers through the wire like that,” she reminded him. She caught hold of one hand to move it off the wire. It was trembling. It occurred to Wendy that even though Danny had seen the license plate, he probably couldn’t remember the number, and thought he’d get in trouble for forgetting it. But maybe he remembered something.

      “You didn’t happen to see what kind of car it was, did you?” she asked.

      “Pinto, like what my stepdad drives,” Danny said in voice so low they had to strain to hear him. “But not the same colour. His is green. Theirs was tan, with lots of beer cans up on that shelf by the back window.”

      “But you don’t remember the license number?” Kyle asked sharply.

      Danny didn’t answer, or even look up. Wendy thought, He’s so scared, he’s trying to make himself invisible, like a wild rabbit when it knows it’s been spotted and hasn’t got a chance of escape.

      Wendy knelt next to him. “You know, Danny, when robbers get away like these did, sometimes they come back and hit the same bank again. If you would tell Officer Kyle what you can remember, the police might be able to catch them.”

      “CR3 2FP,” the boy said quietly.

      Wendy shot a look at Kyle, and saw his jaw drop in astonishment. He quickly pulled a notepad from his pocket and jotted down the number. “Did you see what state the license was from?” he asked, this time in the respectful voice of an adult who is prepared to take something a child says seriously.

      “This one,” Danny told him.

      “That’s a big help,” Kyle said, giving Danny’s shoulder a friendly squeeze. “I mean, a big help.” To Wendy he said, “My cellphone’s in the car. I’m going to call the station.”

      “I’ll come with you,” Wendy said. And to Danny, “Will you keep an eye on the raccoons, СКАЧАТЬ