My Witnesses Have Paws and Wings Chapter 2

The medical examiner, Dr. Evelyn Reed, shot her head up, her gaze slicing through me like a scalpel. “What did you say?”

“This skeleton… it’s Captain O’Connell’s,” I repeated, my voice trembling. “You and Captain O’Connell… you were married, weren’t you?”

Evelyn tore off her surgical mask, revealing a pale, drawn face. A bitter, sarcastic smile twisted her lips. “Are you mocking me? Everyone in this city knows my ex-husband was Mike O’Connell. And he was a deserter.”

“Ma’am, he wasn’t a deserter. He was a hero!” I gestured desperately at the animals gathered in the shadows. “They all saw it. If you just run a DNA comparison with his… with your daughter’s…”

Before I could finish, Evelyn’s voice cracked like a whip. “Enough! Mike abandoned his post right before the second explosion. The water pressure failed because of him, which caused the main flare-up that killed thirty-six of his own men!”

“That’s thirty-six lives, thirty-six shattered families. He was too much of a coward to face the consequences, so he fled the country. A man like that would never die trying to save someone!”

Her eyes were filled with a profound, aching disappointment. “And more importantly,” she added, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper, “there was a witness. An eyewitness from the fire who saw him run.”

“Mike O’Connell better hope he never shows his face again. Because if he does, and if one of those families doesn’t tear him apart first, I will.”

Her words hit me like a physical blow. I stood there, stunned.

An eyewitness saw him run.

Could the animals have been wrong?

The remains were taken to the morgue, and I had no authority to follow. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that the body belonged to Captain O’Connell. For days, I interviewed old residents around the ruins and sought out more animal witnesses.

The humans still hated Mike’s name with a passion, so I learned to stop asking them. From the animals, however, I began to piece together a mosaic of the truth, and it only made my heart heavier.

That afternoon, I found the hero’s daughter, Lily O’Connell, outside of Northwood Elementary. I needed to get a DNA sample from the little girl to run a match against the remains.

Lily was holding the hand of a man with glasses, smiling sweetly up at him.

The school’s resident stray, a scruffy terrier mix, grumbled from his spot by the gate.

Woof! I hate that glasses guy. Kicked me once when I was sleeping. He bullies all the animals around here!

Not like Lily’s dad. He’d always scratch our heads, give us treats. We all loved him. A shame we’ll never see him again.

I frowned and walked over, my focus on the small girl. “You must be Lily. I’m a friend of your dad’s.”

The girl glanced at me shyly before the man, Ken Thompson, pulled her protectively behind him. His eyes were cold and wary. “I know all of Mike’s friends. Who are you?”

I met his gaze directly. “We met on the day of the fire, seven years ago. Did you hear? They just dug up an unidentified body from the ruins a couple of days ago.”

Ken’s face darkened instantly. “He was a coward. And if you met him on that day, you’re probably the same. Get the hell away from us.” He grabbed Lily’s hand and walked away at a brisk pace.

I didn’t follow. Instead, the next day, with a little help from the terrier, I slipped onto the school grounds.

Lily was sitting alone on the swings.

“My daddy was a deserter,” she mumbled, her head hung low. “That’s what all the kids say. They all hate me. No one will play with me.”

I knelt in the wood chips in front of her, meeting her eyes. “Lily, what if I told you I could understand what animals say?”

Her eyes widened slightly.

“The swallows under the eaves remember how your dad would leave a dish of water for them on the windowsill every spring. The stray cats on the corner remember how he always kept treats for them in his pocket. Even the dog next to the old firehouse says Captain O’Connell was the bravest man he ever knew.”

The light in the little girl’s eyes began to flicker back to life.

“All the animals say your dad wasn’t a deserter,” I continued softly. “They say he was a true hero. He charged back into that horrible fire to save the children in the daycare center. He just… he didn’t make it back out.”

“I knew it! I knew my daddy wasn’t a bad man!” The little girl looked up, her eyes swimming with tears, and grabbed my sleeve. “When he came home, he used to pat my head and say, ‘Don’t you worry, sweetie. Daddy’s the Captain. The fire knows to walk around me.’”

“He saved so, so many people. He never ran from anything. But nobody believes me…”