Vengeful Messenger

North Americans tend to think of mimicry as a capability unique to exotic birds of the parrot family. We even use the expression, parroting, to mean repeating what another person says. But many of us remain unaware that we have plenty of mimicking birds right in our own backyard — literally. A bird as ordinary as the crow can learn to mimic the words we use, even if they seldom need to in the wild. Crows are also very intelligent, and good at recognizing faces.

Gail Foster was friends with many crows, who often congregated in droves at her rural mansion in the Northwestern United States. A lover of nature, her estate had an enormous courtyard garden, where she often fed and played with the birds, as well as a tall fountain where they would go to drink and bathe.

As she was feeding the crows, one day, she was surprised to see them suddenly scatter and take refuge in the surrounding trees. Wondering if she may have done something to startle them, she decided it would be best to head back into the house for the time being. The instant she turned around, Gail was met with the unexpected sight of her son-in-law, Bill, standing only inches in front of her. The estate sat on the edge of the woods and wasn’t completely fenced off, so he’d been able to let himself into the garden.

Once she’d gotten over the initial shock of her son-in-law’s sudden appearance, the two exchanged the usual pleasantries and made small talk. However, the reason for Bill’s visit quickly came to light. Gail had never established a will, but would soon be meeting with Bobby, the family lawyer, to discuss it, and Bill wanted to speak with her about how she would be dividing her assets.

Gail came from old money, but her own past entrepreneurship had added substantially to the family fortune. She and her late husband had had two daughters, the elder of which was Bill’s late wife, and the younger of which was a single mother of two. Gail was forthcoming with Bill that she intended to leave the entirety of her wealth to her surviving daughter and grandchildren, but Bill objected.

He argued that, because his wife was the eldest child and he was her surviving spouse, he should rightfully be the primary beneficiary of the family estate. But Gail countered that she had already paid his tuition for medical school and, as a practicing doctor, he was already comfortable financially. Whereas, her daughter and grandchildren needed the money to secure their futures.

Changing tactics, Bill tried to argue that Gail had gotten on in years and would need help managing the family estate, and as the man of the family, he should be the one to see that everyone was provided for. Really, at her age, it would be best to move into a long-term care facility, rather than living by herself in the middle of nowhere. But Gail stood her ground, retorting that she already had Bobby to help manage the estate, and she had no intention of moving into any facility.

At the age of 88, she was in excellent health. She had all her groceries delivered, she cooked and cared for herself every day, she was in regular contact with family over phone and video calls, and she always wore an alert pendant in case of emergencies. When she did start needing help with everyday tasks, she intended to hire a live-in nurse.

Bill was quickly becoming agitated. He tried to press her to reconsider, but she firmly told him that her decision was final, and asked him to leave. But as she began to walk away, he grabbed her by the arm and forcefully pulled her back to face him.

“Bill, you’re hurting me!” she shouted. She didn’t even have time to notice that he’d picked up a large rock with his opposite hand. There was a loud sound of impact as he struck Gail in the head with the rock, then another as her lifeless body hit the garden floor, and the throng of frightened crows dispersed from the mansion grounds. Bill staged the scene of the murder to look like it had been an accident and snuck back out of the grounds the same way he’d come in, through an unfenced area that led into the woods.

It wasn’t long, thereafter, that Bill arranged his own meeting with the family lawyer in the hopes of manipulating the division of Gail’s estate in his own favor.

As they met in his law office, Bobby was his usual poised, business-like self, yet he was also noticeably sullen and subdued. Gail was one of his closest friends; she’d been like a mother to him. Since her passing, he’d visited her beloved garden, where her family had scattered her ashes and placed a plaque in her memory. He’d felt how the energy of the garden had changed from the bright atmosphere it once was to one of palpable sorrow and unease.

Bill, however, wasn’t worried about anything. As a medical professional himself, he was confident that he’d staged Gail’s death as a plausible accident. She hadn’t had any neighbors nearby, and he knew her home didn’t have any security cameras.

But, as he and Bobby were discussing the logistics of dividing Gail’s assets, there suddenly came a loud bang from the window nearest Bobby’s desk as something smacked into the glass.

Both men stopped and turned to look as a crow, again, reared back and smacked into the window.

Bobby smiled slightly, and wistfully remarked, “I wonder if that’s one of her crows,” half speaking to Bill and half musing out loud. Neither could have expected what happened next.

This was a window that opened inward, and with the force of its third smack, the bird managed to knock the window open and fly inside the office, perching itself on a light fixture in a menacing posture. Before either man had time to react, the crow called out,

“Bill, you’re hurting me!” in Gail’s voice.

Bobby’s mouth fell open in shock as he looked from the rogue bird to Bill and watched the color drain out of Bill’s face. In committing the perfect crime, he’d made one fatal oversight he could never have anticipated. Bobby had Bill removed from his office by security before calling the police.

During the murder trial, the courthouse was continuously swarmed with dozens of crows, who gathered at the windows to stare into the courtroom. It became necessary for security to protect Bill from the crows, as they aggressively cawed and swooped at him whenever he entered or exited the building. Bill was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His greed to claim a wealth he hadn’t needed had cost him everything he already had.

The crows returned to the courtyard garden of their late friend, Gail. As they called out the verdict, “guilty! guilty!” the oppressive sorrowful atmosphere of the garden suddenly became peaceful and serene.

Gail was pleased to know that things had been made right.