Chapter One
Moira Earthrowl was Irish enough to know that a bird that
tried to enter your house meant death. And here the cardinal was,
flinging itself at the living room window again, thud, thud, thud
at the glass: a stout red bill, a rush of scarlet feathers.
"Get away, get, you crazy bird!" She waved her arms at the
intruder. How could she concentrate on her weaving, with a foolish
bird assaulting her window? It was the third day in a row it
had come, and she was mystified. More than that, she was downright
worried.
Now, she didn't really believe that a bird could bring death,
but twice already the superstition had come true. A blackbird had
flown into her grandfather's workshop in Ballyvaughan, Ireland,
and the next day the old man was dead of a massive heart attack.
And at Aunt Bridget's funeral a sparrow darted through an open
window, circled the casket three times, and flew out. Of course,
Bridget was already dead, so it wasn't quite such a concern. But it
proved the superstition; her mother had reminded her of that.
Here it was again: wham! bam! dashing its crimson side
against the glass, then its fiery red beak. She half expect ... read full excerpt from Poison Apples ebook
