‘What the hell?’ I breathed.
Robbie looked at me, then followed my line of sight. ‘My murder,’ he said, a shade sheepishly. ‘Let me feed them. I’ll just be a moment.’ He pulled a bag of unshelled peanuts from his duffel bag and approached the birds with their midnight wings. They cawed excitedly, fluttering around him, nuzzling him and jockeying for a position on his shoulders.
‘I’m glad to see you too,’ he said aloud. Then he scattered a good amount of nuts on the ground.
Instantly, the birds flocked to the earth, fighting and cawing over the monkey nuts.
He poured more out until the bag was empty and all of the crows were on the floor instead of on him. Then he turned to me, a soft smile in his eyes. ‘Come on,’ he said, slinging his bag into the car. ‘Let’s get you to your dead body.’
Drawing myself away from the spectacle of the still-cawing crows, I slid into the car and did up my seatbelt. Then I repeated myself. ‘What the hell Robbie?’
He grimaced. ‘You know I have my own little murder of crows. At night, they act as guards for me. Everyone knows that my family line can speak to birds, thanks to a piper who somehow gifted one of my ancestors with magical powers. So … I don’t have to hide my ability to pipe birds. My murder were pissed off when I told them we were moving from my den in the HomeCounties to up here. A good few came with me, but most stayed behind, hoping I’d change my mind. Looks like they finally accepted that wasn’t going to happen.’
‘You’ve missed them,’ I said.
‘More than I realised. Having them back …’ He smiled. ‘I’m glad to see them all.’
His shoulders were loose, and I wondered if he was even honest with himself about how pleased he was. He had no family, no friends, but he had his crows. And he’d given them up to come to Chester – for me.
That feeling I still struggled to label welled up so hard it stole my breath.
‘Where am I driving you to, Inspector?’ he asked lightly.
I told him the address and watched with concern as his knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, turning white. Shit.
‘You know someone at that address?’ I asked, dread curling in my stomach.
‘Yeah.’ He let out a slow breath. ‘I do. My uncle.’
Chapter Sixteen
My heart stuttered. ‘Your uncle? I thought you didn’t have family left alive?’
‘I don’t. Not really. Alasdair was my mother’s brother, but he … he hated that she’d taken up with an ogre. Refused to come to their bonding ceremony. Refused to visit with me. When Mum died, he blamed Dad. My father never came out and said as much, but I always got the feeling that my uncle was Anti-Crea.’
I shook my head. ‘Robbie, I’m so sorry.’
‘Yeah.’ He swallowed hard. ‘When I was a teenager, my piping powers were … fluctuating. I fucked up and piped someone in front of an audience.’
‘What happened?’
Robbie started the engine and turned his attention to the road. ‘My dad killed them all.’
I closed my eyes and blew out a deep breath. Fuck, this was heavy. Still, I appreciated his willingness to share with me like I’d asked.
I had no doubt my father would have done exactly the same to keep me hidden. Keep me safe.
His father was dead and gone, so I let it go. ‘And then?’
‘Then he took me to Alasdair and told him to train me or he’d do the same to him. We had a two-week holiday with Uncle Al.’ His tone was sardonic, making it clear that such familiarity had never been offered. ‘After he was sure I knew enough not to fuck up again, he kicked us out. We’ve never spoken since. He may have been my mother’s brother, but he was never family.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Thanks. The address is his. He moved away from the Home Counties after our little two-week tête-à-tête. Dad kept track of him in case he ever became a threat. When Dad died, I kept up the same habit. Drummond currently works at Chester Zoo as a keeper, piping the ordinary animals when needed. His Common co-workers think he’s some sort of genius animal whisperer. He’s written books on animal behaviour. He is – was – a smart man.’
‘No he wasn’t,’ I said sharply. ‘If he disowned you, then he was a fool.’
He slid his eyes to me and smiled. ‘Thank you for that.’
