The Case of the Parrot Loving Professor (Buttercup Bend Mysteries Book 2) - Debbie De Louise

The Case of the Parrot Loving Professor (Buttercup Bend Mysteries Book 2) by Debbie De Louise

Book excerpt

Cathy knocked on the door of Dr. Bodkin’s house. It was the first time she’d visited her anthropology professor from Humbard Valley College. It was a coincidence that he lived in Buttercup Bend only a few blocks from her. The reason for her visit was a tutoring session. She would’ve preferred to meet him at the college library or somewhere else on campus, but he said he only tutored at home on Saturdays.

Her grandmother Florence also expressed concern about Cathy going alone into a strange man’s home. Not that Barry Bodkin was strange. The oddest thing about the academic was his interest in birds, parrots to be precise. He told her he owned an African one named Charlie that had cost him $5,000. As the co-owner of a rescue, Cathy couldn’t imagine spending that type of money on a pet when there were so many homeless animals that cost nothing or little to adopt. She was curious to see this expensive bird.

From campus gossip, Cathy knew Bodkin had been divorced three times. In his late fifties, he wasn’t what she considered handsome, definitely not as good looking as Steve, Brian, or Michael, the three men she and her friend Nancy found attractive. Nor was the anthropology professor a competitor to Howard, her grandmother’s boyfriend. However, someone might find Bodkin more appealing than Sheriff Miller, who was closest to his age. Although Bodkin had the same rusty red hair, it was straight, while Miller's curly hair tended to stick up in spikes. The sheriff was also surprisingly less fit than Bodkin who, despite his sedentary profession, worked out regularly in the campus gym and encouraged his students to do so.

Cathy had considered joining a gym, but she couldn’t seem to find the time between her studies, her photography for the town’s newspaper, and helping her brother run their pet cemetery and animal rescue business. Doug lived next door to her and Gran, but now that he and his wife Becky had a baby and Rainbow Rescues had been expanded after a windfall that had happened as a result of a murder, Cathy had even less time for leisurely pursuits. When Bodkin didn’t answer her knock, Cathy tried the doorbell. She’d confirmed their appointment an hour ago by text, so she found it odd that he was taking so long to come to the door. She tried peeking in the window, but the blinds were closed. She rang a second time and, after hearing the bell echo through the house, she also heard what she realized was a bird squawking. She took out her cell phone and called the professor. The call went to voicemail. She considered that something may have come up, but Bodkin’s car was in the driveway.

Feeling apprehensive, she put her hand on the doorknob and pulled. It opened to her touch. Not wanting to disturb the professor’s privacy in case he was busy with something else that had taken precedence over their tutoring session, she hesitated in the doorway. But the persistent squawking of the parrot persuaded her to step into the house. She felt almost certain that his squawks were forming the word “help!”

Following the bird’s call, she walked through Bodkin’s home. For a bachelor, he kept the place neat. Bookcases lined the walls of every room she entered. As she grew closer to where the bird’s sounds were emanating, his calls for help became clearer. She passed through a door that opened to an enclosed patio. Sitting on a perch in his cage, belting his head off, was Charlie, a full-feathered gray African parrot. She noticed him first.

What she noticed second was Professor Bodkin laid across the tiled floor, his vacant eyes staring at the bird.