Page 15 of Mother Clucker

That had yet to be determined, but I nodded anyway. I glanced at the side yard where I saw a shelter employee bathing a dog. While another brought a rambunctious puppy out of the front door on a leash, giving him what sounded like training commands the whole time.

“You know, I’m going to be around this month with not a lot to do. Do you need any volunteers? I work in Burbank during the week but I could do weekends. Maybe even a couple of weeknights?”

“Our core staff can always use volunteer help, whenever you can give it.”

“Good. I’d like that. And now, I really should let you go and get on with my own day.” I smiled as I spotted Charlie leading a leashed Trixie along the sidewalk.

The goat completely derailed the puppy’s training as the dog hopped in circles and Trixie joined in.

I turned back to Anna. “It was really nice meeting all of you.”

I might say that phrase all the time at work and not care either way, but today, I completely meant every word.

Somehow it felt as if I’d made new friends in Anna, Charlie, and even Trixie. As if these people were going to be part of my life while I was here, displaced in Hermosa Beach.

After saying my goodbyes and taking my leave, I made the twenty-minute drive back to the condo. Once I got inside, I settled myself in front of my laptop and the ocean view on the deck and set to work.

My first search for Strickland Feed Corporation brought up a full page of results.

The top one was a pay-per-click ad leading to the corporate website. I clicked on that link, taking satisfaction in the knowledge that David Strickland would have to pay for that click.

It might be a nasty thing to do, but he obviously had too much money if he could afford gas for that monster truck of his.

If he’d invested his money in a vehicle more environmentally friendly, I might feel a little more kindly toward him. The way things stood, I did not.

I clicked around the corporate site, which was dry and boring.

It did yield one bit of information though. While I’d assumed Strickland Feed sold chicken feed since Anna had said he was a chicken farmer, it turned out they actually sold dog and cat food. Their premiere product being the all-natural chicken canned dog food.

Oh no. Strickland Feed wasn’t feeding chickens. Strickland was feeding chickens to dogs!

My heart pounded as I typed in, what are the ingredients in Strickland Chicken Dog Food?

I was hoping it was just fake chicken flavoring or something. The list that came up nearly made me vomit. The first ingredient was all-natural chicken.

No wonder he didn’t answer my comment about the number of eggs his chickens laid. He didn’t raise them for eggs. He raised them to be dog food.

That son of a biscuit eater!

I was standing before I even had the laptop lid closed. After slamming the sliding doors shut, I tossed the computer on the sofa inside and whipped out my cell.

There was the address of where David had taken Rowdy to his friend’s chicken farm in Cerritos. There was no doubt in my mind his friend was also a chicken killer.

David didn’t have that much of a head start on me. If I jumped in the car right now and broke a few speed limits I should be able to get there in half an hour.

Good gosh, I hoped I was in time.

Rowdy’s life could depend on it.

6

David

“Drew Bowman. How the hell are you?” I asked.

“David Strickland. My long lost friend. Long time no see, buddy.” Drew grinned as he slapped me on the back.

Drew’s comment, a shot across the bow, landed squarely. Contrite, I sighed. “I know. It’s been awhile. Too long. About six months. Right?”

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