The Real Macaw: A Meg Langslow Mystery

Michael?” Dad asked, as he slid a plate in front of Timmy without asking.
    “Love some,” Michael said. “By the way, Festus says we have a long battle ahead of us, but he’s optimistic. And he also says we all owe a big debt of thanks to the late Parker Blair. I wasn’t quite awake enough to follow his explanation, but I gather if we hadn’t found out about the whole debt problem when we did, Festus’s job would have been infinitely harder.”
    Everyone fell silent, and I could hear the bacon sizzling in Dad’s skillet. I wondered if the others were fretting about the many problems facing Caerphilly, or feeling sadness over the death of Parker. Or, like me, a little of both.
    I lifted my glass of cranberry juice.
    “To Parker Blair,” I said. “He had his faults, but he loved animals and he did us all an enormous service. I wish we’d all had a chance to get to know him.”
    “Here, here,” Clarence said, and the rest of the breakfasters murmured agreement and toasted Parker with coffee, juice, and in Rob’s case, Diet Dr Pepper.
    We were all putting our cups and glasses down when Sammy stuck his head in the back door.
    “Chief!” he said. “The forensic computer guy’s here from Richmond!”
    “Great!” Dad and the chief said in unison as they leaped toward the door.
    Dad scurried out the back door after Sammy. The chief closed his eyes for a few moments, took a deep breath—I could almost hear him counting to ten—and followed at a more sedate pace.
    “Isn’t that nice?” Mother said. “Having the police station here is going to be such great fun for your father.”

OTHER MEG LANGSLOW MYSTERIES BY DONNA ANDREWS
     
    Stork Raving Mad
     
    Swan for the Money
     
    Cockatiels at Seven
     
    The Penguin Who Knew Too Much
     
    No Nest for the Wicket
     
    Owls Well That Ends Well
     
    We’ll Always Have Parrots
     
    Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
     
    Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
     
    Murder with Puffins
     
    Murder with Peacocks
     

 
     
    This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
     
    A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS .
    An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
     
    THE REAL MACAW. Copyright © 2011 by Donna Andrews. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
     
    www.thomasdunnebooks.com
    www.stmartins.com
     
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
     
Andrews, Donna.
     The real macaw : a Meg Langslow mystery / Donna Andrews.—1st ed.
              p. cm.
     “A Thomas Dunne book.”
     ISBN 978-0-312-62120-9
   1.  Langslow, Meg (Fictitious character)—Fiction.   2.  Women detectives—Fiction.   I.  Title.
     PS3551.N4165R43 2011
     813'.54—dc22
    2011007072
     
    First Edition: July 2011
     
    eISBN 978-1-4299-8358-7
     
    First Minotaur Books eBook Edition: July 2011