Tyger Lilly

by Lisa Trusiani

  After the woman left with a bag of goodies for Betsy, Mr. Stinchfield whistled. “Aren’t you the sincere, little expert on birds,” he said without a hint of mockery. Lilly gave him a stiff smile and tried to walk away. Mr. Stinchfield stopped her. “Stay,” he said. “I’m quite the expert, too but I’d like to learn more about your own parrot. How long have you had him?”

  “I can’t remember…” Lilly began.

  Mr. Stinchfield interrupted, “You can’t remember? Nonsense!” He spoke gruffly.

  “I was saying I can’t remember a time we didn’t have Tobias.”

  “Oh,” said Mr. Stinchfield, his voice softening. “In the Post Office I noticed you never clipped his wings. And he was wearing a pouch around his neck. Why?” Even though Mr. Stinchfield was sounding friendly again, his eyes told a different story.

  If he could reach down my throat and pull the answers out of me he would, thought Lilly with a shiver.

  The phone rang. “Interruptions!” growled Mr. Stinchfield while Lilly ran to the storage room. That afternoon, Lilly kept busy cleaning cages, feeding animals, and organizing the storage room. Her main goal was to stay as far away from her boss as possible, so if Mr. Stinchfield was in the back of the store, Lilly found work to do in the front. At the end of the day, Mr. Stinchfield told Lilly to go home for the day. As Lilly hurried past the sign, “USE ‘SKUNK SQUIRT’ TO ELIMINATE ODORS NO MATTER HOW FOUL,” Mr. Stinchfield grabbed her arm. “One more thing,” he said in his friendly voice, “follow me.”

  Pulling the store’s largest dog crate off the shelf, Mr. Stinchfield carried it toward the back and said, “You’re about the size of a, uhm… Russian Wolfhound. Do me a favor, will you?” Holding open the crate’s metal door, he said, “Climb in.”

  Later when Lilly recounted the story, Tobias screeched, “TIMMA-TIMMA-TIMMA! Well, did you? Did you climb in?”

  “I didn’t have a choice, Tobias, did I? But I was wearing this skirt,” said Lilly, standing and holding the bottom of her pink, cotton skirt flat against her thighs. “It’s a little short so I didn’t want to climb in headfirst because, well…”

  “Because entering a dog carrier headfirst is unladylike when dressed in a short skirt -- ?!” screeched Tobias.

  “Yes, that’s it,” said Lilly. “But when I tried to climb in bottom first…”

  Tobias couldn’t resist and interrupted her again, “Are you saying you tried to sit your way into the dog carrier, Lilly?”

  “Yes, that seemed the better way to do it, Tobias,” explained Lilly. Only now was it dawning on Lilly how upset Tobias was. He shook his head and groaned most dramatically.

  Despite his distress, Lilly continued to explain, “When I tried to climb in bottom first, my bottom got stuck in the opening so I never did get in.”

  “Thank goodness for that!” shouted Tobias. “Let me give you advice from the jungle. Do not go into a cage for any reason, for anyone, anywhere, ever! I was planning to ask you if anything suspicious happened while you were at the pet store today, Lilly.”

  “Mr. Stinchfield asked me to get into a dog carrier. Is that suspicious?”

  “Perfectly normal for a psychopath! Suspicious? Yes, timma-timma! Anything else?” Lilly turned away. Anything else? She remembered running to the backroom when the phone rang. She was so anxious to get away from Mr. Stinchfield, she forgot to listen to his phone call. What good would it do to tell Tobias the truth? He already thought she was idiotic for trying to climb into the dog carrier. What would he think if she told him she’d forgotten to spy on Mr. Stinchfield during his phone call? Instead of admitting her mistake, Lilly kept quiet. She promised herself she’d do a better job tomorrow. Lilly hoped Tobias wouldn’t ask any more questions about the pet store. She was tired and a little sad.

  Tobias changed the subject. “Mrs. Snodgrass was here, Lilly.”

  Lilly immediately felt better. “Great! She figured out a way to help us!”

  Tobias frowned. “She wasn’t here to see you, Lilly. I saw her walking around the backyard with a stranger.”

  “Why?” asked Lilly. “Why would she do that?”

  “I’m sorry, Lilly,” said Tobias. “I saw them shaking hands. I can think of only one reason Mrs. Snodgrass, a real estate agent, would bring someone to your house, Lilly. She’s found a buyer. Most likely, she’ll represent him at the auction. Instead of helping you keep your house, I think Mrs. Snodgrass is helping someone else buy your house and in doing so, she helps herself to a big sale.”

  Lilly lay on her bed wishing she could disappear. In the past, she had floated away because she was frightened. Now she wanted to float away because she was sad. But as she lay there breathing slowly, she began to think deeply about her situation, and a change happened. The more Lilly thought about her mother, the animals, and herself being a family and being forced to leave their house, the angrier she became. She was now as angry as she had been sad and in the end that would make all the difference.

  Chapter 32

  Lilly stopped at the sheriff’s office on her way to the pet store. “Good morning, Lilly,” said Sheriff McDuffie when he saw her standing in the doorway. “Don’t be shy. March right in.”

  “Okay,” mumbled Lilly.

  “Sally over at the Post Office tells me you’re my Numero Uno Deputy. Is that true?”

  Lilly liked the sheriff’s laugh. He was laughing now. “I keep my eyes open in case I see a criminal on your Most Wanted list, sheriff.”

  “Good,” he said. “I can use all the help I can get. Now how can I help you?”

  Lilly hesitated. She wasn’t quite sure how to say what she needed to say. “Are there rewards for criminals who aren’t on your list, sheriff?”

  It had occurred to Lilly that spying on Mr. Stinchfield in the pet store might be a way of killing two birds with one stone. When she told Tobias he screeched, “Bloody murder! Don’t say that again – kill two birds with one stone! TIMMAAAA!”

  Tobias did, however, like the idea of collecting a reward for catching Mr. Stinchfield selling illegal animals. Then their work would accomplish two things at once.

  “Have you met any criminals lately, Lilly?” asked the sheriff. Lilly bit her lip. “Are you here to report a crime?”

  Lilly thought about the previous six days with Mr. Stinchfield. Every night, she met with Dorian and Tobias to tell them what happened at the pet store. They all agreed it was as if Mr. Stinchfield was on best behavior. Most of the time, he left Lilly alone to do her work. Except for the dog carrier incident, Mr. Stinchfield hadn’t said or done anything suspicious. She could answer Sheriff McDuffie honestly. “No, sir. I don’t know any criminals. I was wondering in case I run across one.”

  “Well if you turn in a criminal, you might earn yourself a thank you from the Mayor. But reward money is given for finding criminals on the sheriff’s MOST WANTED list.”

  “Oh.” Disappointment clouded Lilly’s eyes.

  “I know why you need the reward money,” said the Sheriff. He sat on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms over his broad chest. He leaned towards Lilly in a friendly way. “Sally told me.”

  Darn, thought Lilly. When I changed my mind and told Sally about the taxes I didn’t realize she’d tell the sheriff. What if the sheriff calls Child Welfare?

  “I didn’t mention that to scare you, Lilly.” The sheriff spoke reassuringly. “Sally also told me you need new homes for forty-nine animals.” He rocked back and whistled.

  “Forty-eight, sir,” corrected Lilly politely. “Tobias makes forty-nine but I couldn’t live without him. And I don’t think Tobias could live without the egg. But I haven’t counted the egg yet because he hasn’t hatched. We’re hoping he hatches before we… have to leave.” Lilly stared at her feet. In some ways it was easier to deal with people who were mean. When people were kind, it was harder not to cry. Lilly bit her lip to hold back tears.

  “I don’t mean to upset you either,” said the Sheriff, still perched on his desk. “
But I want you to know that if you need a place for your fish aquarium, Sally said it was a big one, you can put it here.” The sheriff stood and touched the wall next to his desk.

  “I like fish. They’re relaxing to watch. Might calm down some of the jittery fellows we get in here. If you empty out your aquarium and put the fish in a bucket, you call me and I’ll come and pick it all up. When you and your mother settle in somewhere else, and you want your fish back, well… we’ll just go ahead and get them back to you, okay?” The sheriff nodded in an encouraging way.

  Lilly looked up. The sheriff’s eyes reminded Lilly of eyes she’d seen before. Friendly eyes. Now, she remembered. Gabriel, the Church Lady’s Basset Hound. Lilly smiled at Sheriff McDuffie. “Okay,” she said softly. “I think they’ll be happy here until I can come back for them.”

  As she headed to the pet store, Lilly scuffled her feet on the sidewalk. Step on the crack and break your mama’s back. Lilly was angry with her mother for getting them into this. Even so, she didn’t want her mother’s back to break. Although Lilly didn’t believe the rhyme, she was careful to step over the cracks. Hells bells, thought Lilly looking up. No more bad breaks, okay? We’re running out of time.

  It was Lilly’s seventh day at the pet store, and it was mostly uneventful. She cleaned a stubbornly dirty hamster cage along with many other less filthy ones. She figured out what was killing the fish in one of the tanks. It was a broken heater, which threatened to cook every fish from the smallest to the largest in that order. When Lilly informed Mr. Stinchfield, he calmly said he’d take care of the problem. By then, Lilly had rescued the survivors and moved them to a cooler aquarium.

  By mid-afternoon Lilly had fed all the animals, played with the hamsters, and waited on customers. Whenever a customer was unpleasant, Lilly enjoyed reminding herself that the customers were animals, too. When Mr. Stinchfield saw Lilly reading a magazine, he gave her an order of cat food to deliver. After making the delivery, Lilly went to the train station but no one looked the least bit criminal.

  Lilly returned to the pet store and handed Mr. Stinchfield the check for the delivery. It was almost five o’clock. In a few minutes, Lilly would leave. The phone rang. “Perfect Pets,” said Mr. Stinchfield bored, “How can I help you?”

  “What are you waiting for?” shouted Mr. Stinchfield. Lilly jumped. “How long is the delay? Hours? Days?” He kicked the counter. “Years -- ?!” he screamed.

  Lilly picked up a cage and headed to the back. She stopped in the hallway and listened. “You better make sure the shipment is here tonight, Jake. Yeah, everything’s set. Operation Green Poultry is a go, too.”

  Mr. Stinchfield lowered his voice. Lilly strained to hear but whatever Mr. Stinchfield said was impossibly quiet. The call ended loud-and-clear, however, when Mr. Stinchfield slammed the phone down. “Low life,” snarled Mr. Stinchfield to himself. “If that idiot pulls anything, I’ll skin him alive.”

  Chapter 33

  Lilly hurried home. When Tobias finished questioning her about the phone call, he shrieked, “TIMMA! Timma-timma. We have him now. I have a feeling in my pygostyle!”

  Lilly knew about pygostyles from listening to Tobias talk to the egg. A pygostle is the tailbone in a bird. Although birds have no tails, their tail feathers grow from their pygostyles. In other words, Tobias had a feeling in his tailbone. Lilly wondered if he really did or was his plumage talking again?

  “With an international airport only twenty miles away,” explained Tobias. “a shipment of animals could be coming in from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa or Australia.”

  “Tobias sounds like a detective,” thought Lilly. She finished wiping the fifty-gallon fish aquarium. It had taken Lilly a long time to scoop out the fish, siphon the water and remove plastic plants, pebbles and the stone mermaid. While Lilly worked, Tobias paced side-to-side mumbling to himself about a ‘secret plan.’

  Lilly looked at the metal bucket on the floor where Valentine and the other fish were swimming in circles. I wonder if they get dizzy, thought Lilly.

  Lilly noticed the only fish not swimming was Old Grandaddy. He appeared to be motionless at the bottom of the pail. “I wonder if he got dizzy from going around in circles and fainted. Or maybe it’s something worse,” thought Lilly. She tapped on the bucket. Old Granddaddy sprang to life. “Phew,” said Lilly.

  “Where are you taking the fish, Lilly? Did you find a home for them?” asked Tobias. “You can’t move that aquarium by yourself. Even empty it’s much too heavy.”

  Tobias saw Lilly’s shoulders suddenly sag. “You did empty the tank to move it, didn’t you?” asked Tobias. “You haven’t forgotten the auction is tomorrow, have you? Even Mr. Joe remembered. He said customers at the Silent Bird Restaurant were talking about the auction this morning. They saw a notice for it in the town newspaper.” Tobias looked at her sadly.

  “Stop, Tobias, stop!” yelled Lilly. “Of course I haven’t forgotten. It’s practically all I think about!”

  Tobias sniffed. Lilly ran to her bed and flopped face down on her mattress. Tobias flew to her side. “I’m so frightened,” whispered Lilly looking up. “But if you weren’t here I’d be even more frightened. Tobias?”

  “Yes, Lilly?”

  “You wouldn’t fly off and leave me would you? I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go back to your island or to Parrot’s Paradise. But if you did I just couldn’t stand it.”

  Tobias pushed his face against her cheek. “A deal’s a deal!” he softly croaked.

  “Deal?” asked Lilly.

  “Promises-promises. I promised your father I would take care of you.”

  “You did?”

  “I did, timma-timma, when he left for the Himalayas. Ever since, I’ve come to care for you as much as if you were my very own offspring even if you didn’t hatch from an egg,” said Tobias. Lilly smiled.

  “Enough is enough!” said Tobias. He lifted his head and straightened up to his full twelve inches. “There is something we must do that is more important than finding a home for ourselves. TIMMA! Lilly, as you yourself heard Mr. Stinchfield say, a shipment is coming in.” Lilly walked to the fish bucket while Tobias spoke. He flew to her shoulder and continued his speech. “If the pet store is dealing in stolen animals, we’ll need proof to stop them. Mr. Stinchfield did say the shipment would be delivered tonight, didn’t he?”

  “Yes,” said Lilly bending over the fish bucket abruptly.

  “BIRD OVERBOARD!” screeched Tobias. He hopped from her shoulder onto her head to avoid falling in. “Careful, Lilly, I haven’t learned to swim yet.”

  “Sorry, Tobias. I need to tell the fish something.” With lips inches above the water, Lilly shouted, “Valentine! Old Granddaddy! You’re going to live with the sheriff for a while. But don’t worry. All the criminals are locked up and there’s no fishing allowed.”

  “Heavens, Lilly, you’re louder than a macaw. I’ll explain to them later. Please concentrate on our secret plan for catching Mr. Stinkstench.”

  “What secret plan?” asked Lilly, standing abruptly. Tobias toppled off her head. With a flap, he righted himself in midair. “How are we supposed to find out what’s in the shipment tonight?”

  “CLANDESTINE!” whispered Tobias. “First we hide in the alley.”

  “The alley?” asked Lilly with a worried expression. “Won’t Mr. Stinchfield use the alley to bring endangered animals into the pet store?”

  Tobias swung from the chandelier. “Before I explain, please get Dorian. Like you, Lilly, he is critical to the success of my plan. While you’re gone, I’ll put the finishing touches on my plan.”

  Finishing touches? thought Lilly heading for the window. It sounds like Tobias is decorating a cake. Lilly slid out the window feeling nervous. When she hit the ground she turned to look into her room.”

  “TOOLS!” shouted Tobias. “We need tools. Tell Dorian to bring two flashlights, dark clothing and a tarp.”

  “We’re going to wear dark cl
othes and hide in the alley under a tarp? This is the secret plan?” asked Lilly nervously.

  “All will be revealed when you and Dorian return,” said Tobias in a reassuring voice. “And don’t forget the flashlights.”

  As Lilly hurried away, Tobias screeched, “Tonight is the night we find out which animal winds up in a cage, Mr. Stench Stinker. TIMMAHO!”

  Chapter 34

  The Garden Center was closed for the night when Lilly arrived. She entered the side door and climbed rickety steps to the second floor. Dorian answered the door when she knocked.