demanding attention. He knew that voice. Hi Mary Catherine! My name is Joe and I have a parrot named Jinks. He can look at pictures in magazines and tell me what he sees. And he's right more often than he's wrong. He saw a picture of a dog and made barking noises. He saw a picture of a couple hugging and asked me for a hug. He frequently copies things he sees on television. He saw a man get cookies from the cabinet and flew in there, demanding cookies. Do you think he's gifted?
SIX
"I ASKED YOU A question," the woman inside the fence with the poodle reminded her. "I'm gonna call the police. What were you trying to do to my dog?" Mary Catherine ignored her, trying to concentrate on what Tommy was trying to tell her. "You know her?" Tommy was too terrified to respond. He kept flipping his tiny body over and trying to get out of the box. She could tell he believed the woman was a threat. She looked at Charlie, not sure what to tell him. She wasn't sure she could trust him and didn't want him to realize the case he was investigating might be involved with Ferndelle's death. She apologized to Tommy as she lifted him from the box, but she had to be sure he was right about the other woman. The turtle reacted immediately. There was no question in her mind that he recognized the woman on the other side of the fence. Animals were very specific about humans. Tommy not only recognized the woman, but said she was there when Ferndelle was killed.
Mary Catherine was stunned, but managed to recover when the woman demanded again to know what she was doing. "I'm sorry. I thought your dog was trying to get out of the fence. That happens to me all the time and I wanted to save you the bother." "That's very nice of you." The other woman still sounded suspicious. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" "I'm Mary Catherine Roberts, the Pet Psychic." She put out her wet hand. "Okay." The tanned woman in the red tank top and shorts reached across the fence and shook it. "I know you! I listen to your show all the time! This makes sense now. Who else would stop during a thunderstorm to save someone's dog? I'm Charlene Tate. It's a pleasure to meet you." "I'm pleased to meet you too. You have a lovely dog. His name is Jacques, right?" Charlene giggled. "That's right! You really are psychic! I was just telling Colin-" "Yes?" "Oh, nothing." Charlene recovered her mistake. "Thanks for stopping. I'm really glad I got to meet you" Mary Catherine got back in the truck and pushed her hair out of her face. She didn't need an animal for this one. Charlene had given it away by herself. Of course, Tommy's insistence that the woman was on hand when Ferndelle was killed didn't sound good for Colin. "Did you get anything from the poodle or the woman?" Charlie pulled the Suburban into the street. "I couldn't hear what she was saying."
"The dog was only passing thoughts about his food and his grooming. Some dogs are like that. They don't think much beyond themselves. If his owner had been killed, it might be different." Charlie watched the turtle continue to flip over in the box. "What's up with him? Is he afraid of the dog? What about Charlene? What did she say?" Mary Catherine didn't respond. She had to throw him off. Maybe he needed information about Charlene's indiscretion but she had more important things on her mind. She didn't plan to allow Charlie to ask too many questions until she had answers to what had happened when Ferndelle was killed. "You know something," he accused. "I know her name is Charlene Tate." "You know her name? You really can talk to animals. I didn't tell you her name, did I? I was careful to keep that from you. I don't know any other way you could've known. Her name isn't on the mailbox. How did you know?" Mary Catherine clicked her seat belt in place. She could've told him the conventional truth, but she was enjoying his amazement. "You're babbling, Charlie. You already knew I talk to animals. Why are you so