Lavender and Lies by London Lovett

Author:London Lovett [Lovett, London]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Fox Press

Chapter 17

I toddled out of the market with the empty wagon bouncing and squeaking behind me. I giggled to myself thinking about how it must look—a grown woman walking along with her empty toy wagon. Only it wasn't empty long. I felt a light tug and turned around to find my crow sitting on the edge of the wagon, going along for a ride.

"King, what have I told you about hitchhiking?" I quipped just as two women were walking past. They smiled weakly at the odd woman scolding the crow. And here I was wondering what people would think about me dragging around an empty toy wagon.

The wind was not nearly as cold and biting going back toward the shop, so I was able to keep my face up and, hopefully, avoid running into angry, flustered people with grocery bags.

Wings flapped behind me. I looked over my shoulder as Kingston lifted into the air and took off toward the beach. I had a spare few minutes and decided to follow him. I was that mom, the one who kept a tracking app on her wayward, rowdy kid. There was hardly anyone on the beach this time of year, so the seagulls wouldn't have left behind any potato chip or sandwich crumbs. I was interested to see what'd caught his attention this time.

My little wagon danced cheerily behind me as I headed along the wharf to the steps that led down to the beach, the direction I'd seen my daft crow fly. I decided not to put the wobbly wheeled wagon through the torture of a stout flight of warped wooden stairs. I left it behind and trotted down the steps. It seemed I'd been wrong about the seagulls. A large group of them, frenzied and flapping, were just finishing an impromptu picnic, provided to them, by none other than Heather Houston, the photographer. She stood nearby by with an empty wrapper and looked on, with a small degree of horror, at the melee she'd started with her leftover sandwich. She backed out of the way of the wild wings and circled behind her tripod, where her camera sat ready to go. She took a few quick pictures of the seagull frenzy.

Kingston was perched on the edge of a nearby trash bin waiting for his chance. I knew, too well, that he was well fed, but Ryder and I had concluded this was just one way for him to still act like a bird. Something he occasionally liked to do.

"Did you get a good shot?" I asked, startling Heather.

She pushed a curly strand back into a hair band and smiled, though it wasn't exactly genuine. It looked a little forced. "Not sure if there's such a thing when they're all flapping their wings at each other. I made the mistake of tossing my crust to one lone gull that had been hanging around watching me take pictures of the ocean. Next thing I knew, there was an entire flock of them dropping down from the sky.

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