Jackie's Wild Seattle by Will Hobbs

Author:Will Hobbs [Hobbs, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2003-01-25T13:00:00+00:00

15

TO THE EDGE

I woke before sunrise. This was it. For three days running, Neal had stayed at Liberty’s side, talking her ear off to no avail. Now the day had come. Liberty was going to have to be put down.

I checked in on Cody and found him still asleep. I dressed quickly and went straight to Liberty’s pen. There was Uncle Neal, sitting with his eagle.

Neal’s eyes were moist. It broke my heart to see that bird still plopped there. How hard would it have been, I wondered, after all these weeks, simply to stand up? “Today’s the day, isn’t it?” I said.

“You heard?”

“Yeah, we’ve known. Does she have all day at least?”

Neal nodded but didn’t speak.

After breakfast I took a call about a hurt raccoon in Woodinville. The man on the phone wouldn’t listen to the few questions we always asked, like “Describe the condition of the animal.”

“That’ll be obvious enough when you get here,” he snapped. “I told you, it’s hurt.”

“Where’s the raccoon?”

“In my backyard. Are you coming or not?”

I told Uncle Neal about it. I was sure he’d want to stay with Liberty, but he surprised me. “Let’s go,” he said grimly.

We went. It turned out to be easy enough to find the raccoon, even without Sage. It was under the man’s deck, in agony, crying something awful. The man was a snappy dresser, every hair in place. He was wearing a sweatband; his head was ringed with embroidered golf balls. “What happened?” Neal asked.

“Just kill it,” the man told him. “I have a ten-fifteen tee time.”

“What happened?” Neal repeated firmly.

“Look at this,” the man said. “Look at my hot-tub lid. Pure maliciousness. Maybe the rest will learn to stay out of my yard.”

“You need to tell me what happened to the raccoon,” Neal insisted, plainly irritated.

The man’s forehead was breaking out in a sweat. It was becoming obvious why he wore a headband. “I hit it with a hockey stick, okay? I broke my son’s hockey stick, and maybe the miserable creature’s back. Just do whatever you do—drag it out and put it down.”

Uncle Neal got on his knees and peeked under the deck. “From the looks of it, you did break the raccoon’s back. I’m afraid I can’t help you, though. I’m not licensed to euthanize animals. Not that I would. Call Animal Control.”

“The dogcatchers? Thanks for nothing. Now I’m definitely going to be late. And look what the deer have done to my fruit trees, will you?”

To the side of Uncle Neal’s eye, a vein was throbbing. I was afraid he was going to blow a fuse. Voice loaded with tension, Neal said, “From the looks of it, this is a new subdivision.”

“Of course it is. So what?”

“Not very long ago it was these animals’ home. That raccoon’s creek didn’t use to run through a concrete culvert. It knew there was water inside your hot tub, even with the lid closed. Just for a second, picture how you would like it if somebody bulldozed your community and your home.

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