Redhawk Caldera smart in an original way

A cold feeling trickled through her at those words: "I guess people around here don't usually die of old age." Before Towhee could really parse out what that inferred, Lagan said something else that caused her to squint in confusion. She didn't know Burke (having done a pretty good job of avoiding the transplants from the fen) but she did know Birk.

"He doesn't seem old to me," she replied, totally unaware that there were two wolves in the pack who shared a name phonetically. "I thought he was around your age." Her head tilted, eyes quizzically roving over Lagan's face.