Birdsongs Read Online Free Page B

 “I would guess that’s why,” Benny answered.
        “I suppose so,” Michelle confessed. “She don’t like that he’s dating me.”
        “I would imagine a woman wouldn’t like her ex dating anyone.”
        “Why do you have to always be right?” Michelle asked chuckling.
        “I don’t know,” Benny responded with a belly laugh. “You might have to ask my ex-wife that one.”
        “Where is she now?” Michelle probed cautiously.
        “Couldn’t tell ya,” Benny answered. “Don’t have a clue.”
        
         Benny’s final stop before returning home was to Ned’s, the local technology nerd and mad scientist. As Benny was driving down Ned’s long driveway, he spotted Ned hanging uncomfortably on the limb of a tree in his front yard. Ned was a wiry fellow with patches of hair in odd spots around his head. He invented a hair growing remedy that did not work out quite as he planned that left him with this very unusual look. His thick spectacles accentuated his buggy eyes, which always seemed to be searching for something. Ned was a young man but carried himself as if he was nearing a hundred. Benny parked the car and curiously got out hoping Ned would not fall out of the tree and said, “Ned, what the hell are you doing?”
        Ned answered as though what he was doing was completely normal saying, “Just getting some bark samples to try and figure out why these trees are growing too slow.”
        “Can you come down for a second?” Benny asked.
        “Sure Benny. Can you pull that ladder over here?” Ned put some bark pieces in a zip lock bag and slowly made his way down the ladder. Once down he said, “What’s on your mind Benny?”
        Getting right to the point Benny asked, “What do you know about Johnsonville Binoculars?”
        “Those are hi-tech Benny. A lot of bird-watchers use them. Their advertisements say you can see a mile with them. Probably cost about eight hundred dollars or so. Why?”
        “Just curious,” Benny said. “Thanks Ned, I gotta run.”
        “OK Benny,” Ned answered as he began to focus on the tree again. “Let me know if you find anything out about the murder.”
     
     

Chapter 8
     
        Benny decided to make a quick pit stop at his house to see if his cat Jezebel was still speaking to him. He hadn’t been by in a couple of days and needed to refresh her food and water and pick up some clothes. Jezebel was a bit of a loner. Being a rescued alley cat made her quite different from the cats he had growing up. She was a shorthaired black and white, with stripes resembling a zebra. He recalled only a couple of times she had actually let him pet her. With a cat door leading outside, Jezebel could come and go as she pleased. The mailbox was full as usual and the grass was so long it would be a real pain in the ass battle with the lawn mower to get it back to a respectable height. Benny checked the inventory of the fridge just in case some groceries magically appeared. The mustard, empty bottle of ketchup, and the jar with one pickle was still there just as he feared. The pantry was worse. There was a bag of cat food, paper plates, and a roll of duct tape. Benny wondered to himself why he even bought the house. Paying a thousand dollars a month on a mortgage for a cat living alone was absurd.
      
 
       As Red got off the bus in Tilley, the reality of his actions dawned. He traveled halfway across the country because of a picture on an old tattered and torn newspaper clipping. The autopilot that had seemingly driven him to this point abruptly shut off, taking with it the adrenaline that ignited the fire within him. Suddenly, fear surfaced.
        Back home in the Ozarks, Red felt comfortable in town because he was with his father and being such a small town everyone knew of his verbal and social deficiencies. He dropped his head to avoid eye contact with anyone and began walking briskly away from