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“So the next thing I knew, I woke up three days later without any idea what had happened.”  Birdie scuffed her feet among the concrete floors, hay sneaking between her foot and sandal.   “But slowly, piece by piece, it came back to me.  It’s hard to explain, and it sounds so silly when I say it now.”

She looked up at her companion, who said nothing.  “As you know, Mr. Pemberely had stolen the old medicine woman’s soul, trapping her in the cat after he visited her village.  Well, all the animals from Mr. Pemberely’s shop and all the animals at the zoo rushed upon Mr. Pemberely and Max as the woman shot her magic into the sky.  Somehow, in a big swirl of souls and magic and screams, Mr. Pemberely and Max returned to their original forms, and the old woman restored all the animals’ spirits and their urge to be free.  The reason none of the animals had never left Mr. Pemberely’s shop was not because they loved him; but because he had given them a tonic that repressed their sense of adventure and urge to roam.  As soon as the old medicine woman had returned it, they never returned to the shop.  But you know that already.”  She grinned at her companion.

“And as a skinny old man with no trace of whiskers or yellow eyes and a bitter fat executive, Mr. Pemberely and Max were run out of town by Mrs. Adams and a humiliated Junior League, where they were promptly arrested for faulty medical practices, embezzling, forged paperwork and stealing from dozens of accounts from all sorts of large important and embarrassed people.  They won’t be getting out of jail for a very long time.”  Birdie grinned as a bird cawed in the distance.  She glanced at the clock.  Only an hour until her shift at work.

“And then, as promised, the old woman restored you,” she said, stroking the long grey nose of the Zarina elephant. “Not only did she whisk you back from whatever place she hid you, but she and my mother placed a spell of protection on you.  You never have to worry about anyone using you for their own fortune again.”

The elepahnt blinked her large, black eyes.

“But I think my favorite part of this whole adventure, besides meeting you, was meeting Mrs. Adams,” Birdie continued, stroking the elephant’s trunk.  “Without her and the Junior League using the proceeds of the Zoobilation to purchase the zoo as a protected nature reserve and building homes for all the animals Mr. Pemberely had stole, especially all the creatures he had miniaturized.”

“And it doesn’t hurt you’re in charge of it.”

Birdie grinned and turned to the familiar voice.  “You’re just bitter you didn’t get to arrest Pemberely himself and that Mr. O’Neil won a Pulitzer for the story.”

“But I did get a promotion out of it,” former Detective, now Sergeant Michaels grinned.  “Which makes it a lot easier to sneak over here and see you.”  He stepped aside, pointing to two of Birdie’s favorite human faces.  “Speaking of seeing you, these two came down to the station and wouldn’t leave me alone until we came to visit.  Apparently, they think dinner at the diner is in order.”

“You owe me fried pickles and a burger for that English paper,” Frankie reminded her, patting Zarina.

“And you owe me a milkshake and patty melt,” Percy added, shoving his glasses up on his long nose as he regarded Zarina suspiciously.  The only part of the zoo Percy liked was the part that housed the old animals from the Pemberely Pet Shop.

Birdie winced.  “I also told Proffessor Allright I’d buy him dinner at the diner tonight.”  Her eyes twinkled as she glanced at the clock.  “My shift is over at six, so we can go after that.”

“It’ll be a regular party, I’m sure,” Sergeant Micheals snorted.  “Hey, is your mom still here?  I need to go thank her for that tip on that commune she used to be a part of.  Some of my men and I sniffed it out–those weren’t herbs in that tea, after all.”

Birdie scrunched up her face.  “She might be.  She’s been going to the university with dad a lot.  They’re trying to develop a line of herbal products to care for the animals.  When she’s not giving tours or teaching yoga classes, that’s where she’s at.”

“She’s teaching yoga?”  Frankie’s eyes bugged out.  “To the animals?”

Percy shoved his glasses further on his nose.  “Surely she wouldn’t…I suppose she would.”  He shook his head.  “The mind boggles.  I thought you said she didn’t like animals.”

“She didn’t,” Frankie interrupted before Birdie could reply.  “But people change, I guess.  My mom’s just thrilled she’s making Birdie dinner now.”

“I’m not.”  Birdie made a face.  “There’s only so much tofu and dates a person can stand.  I’m in definite need of one of your mom’s meatloaf sandwiches.”

Frankie grinned.  “She’d love that.”

“So what are you going to do now, Birdie?” Sergeant Michaels asked, his lips twitching.  “Any new cases to work on?”

Zarina tapped Birdie with her long trunk, making her laugh.  “Well, I guess I got to get to work, guys.  I’ll see you in a couple hours.  Maybe I’ll find something else to investigate.”  She winked at Sergeant Michaels, who laughed, smoothing his khaki overcoat.  Waving goodbye to her friends, Birdie turned to the King Charles Spaniel waiting patiently at her feet.  “Well, Sassy?  Ready to make our rounds?”

The dog barked, wagging her tail and making Zarina pace nervously.  With an elephant on one side and her canine companion on the other, Birdie set out to do her evening rounds at the zoo.

And she couldn’t have been happier.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a new recipe tomorrow that’s perfect for autumn and a new Butterfly Dress Friday!

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