because he felt sorry for Jak and wanted to give him one last night of a soft bed and hot water before they locked him up? He nodded. “Thank you.”
“I’m sure once you process all of this, you’ll have questions for me too. I’ll answer anything I can.”
Jak thought he might have nodded, but he was having trouble feeling his body. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Pause. “Jak, just one final question and then we’ll talk tomorrow. Is there anything about Harper’s parents that you didn’t tell me?”
Jak met his eyes. “No. I told you everything I know about that.”
The agent studied his face for a second and then nodded. “Okay. If you need me tonight, you call, all right?” He reached into his pocket and took out a small white card, handing it to Jak. “My number is on here. If you want to call me and your grandfather hasn’t gotten you a phone yet, just ask someone around here to show you how to dial the number on the landline, all right?”
Landline. He had no idea what that was. He was lost. He’d always be lost. “Okay.”
The agent stood and so did Jak. He had a worried look on his face. Did he think Jak might hurt him too? He looked up at the corner of the ceiling. “There are cameras in here,” Jak said. If he hurt anyone, that would be on video too. Just another thing to lock him up for. Also, he realized, what the agent had just told him had been recorded as well. But who cared? To know things and to see things was very different. Very different.
Harper.
His stomach knotted again.
The agent gave him a confused look but nodded. “All right. I’ll show myself out. Then I’ll be back in the morning. Nine o’clock, okay?”
“Okay.” Jak watched as Agent Gallagher left the room, heard him say something to slinky Nigel in the hallway and then the sound of his footsteps was gone.
Jak left the library, the place where he’d felt safe and . . . happy. For a time. Now, now there was nowhere he felt safe.
Brett stepped out of a doorway, opening his stupid big-toothed mouth to say something and Jak growled, pushing him out of his way. He stopped, hoping Brett would want to fight him, but he stumbled back, letting out a high-pitched sound like a girl chipmunk. It would be no fun to fight a female squirrel. He’d crush him. “Jesus, you’re an animal,” Brett said to his back as Jak walked on. Brett was right. Jak couldn’t hide it. He’d thought he could, but he was wrong.
The sound of the crying birds drew him. He entered the aviary, stopping and looking around at the beautiful sad creatures. The cat-pretend-bird lady was there and she moved toward him. “I knew you’d come around.”
Jak stepped by her, moving toward the cages. He flung one of the doors open, and then moved to the other two, the birds quieting, hesitating. He reached in and took one of the bright yellow creatures in his hand and threw it into the air, the bird whooping and fluttering her wings, flying free. “What are you doing?” Loni screeched.
He flung the third birdcage door open and a few birds flew out. He began tossing more of them into the air, their wings flapping with happiness, and after a moment more followed.
Jak ran to the wall of windows, unlocking them and flinging them outward as Loni screeched some more, trying to get the doors of the cages closed. But she was taken over in a massive fluttering of wings, the bird cries turning to laughter that rang through the room, growing louder, more joyous. They rushed toward the window, following one another to freedom.
“You beast! You uncivilized savage!” she screeched. “You’ll kill them! They’ll all die out there!”
He walked past her, heading for the door. Yes, he knew that. Creatures couldn’t live where they didn’t belong. But at least they’d die laughing.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
He’d disappeared. Apparently during a riotous bird jailbreak. Now no one knew where he’d gone. Harper’s heart twisted as she paced her apartment. Jak, Jak, Jak.
She could only imagine the torment he’d felt when Agent Gallagher told him about what they’d found. He’d not only survived those unthinkable moments, but they’d been orchestrated, saved on film. Critiqued. Twenty-four hours later, she could hardly fathom the evil. Could hardly think about it without tears springing to her eyes.
“Where are you?” she murmured. The only place he knew was the