Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 12: The Crow's Bargain

"Little crow, are you there?"

Nancy held up the sketch of the killer. "Do you know where he dumped the victim’s head?"

The tree above was silent, no movement at all.

Strange. The giraffes had said the crow was usually home at this hour.

Nancy blinked. Could it be because she’d come empty-handed?

Remembering that crows loved shiny things, she dug into her pocket and found a leftover one-dollars coin from the bus.

She tossed it onto the ground. The coin rang with a clear ding.

Nancy waited a few minutes. Still nothing.

The crow never showed.

"Huh?"

Was it because the coin was too little?

Searching her pockets again, she found only the hiring bonus Mr. Henry had given her.

What she didn’t know was that a pair of round amber eyes were already watching her from the shadows.

Nancy pulled out a bright red hundred-dollars bill, frowning at the thought of not being able to trade it for shiny coins. Suddenly—

A crow swooped down from the sky, wings flapping hard.

In a flash, the red bill disappeared from Nancy’s hand.

She looked up. A little crow perched on a trash can, its claws gripping the bill tightly.

Had she just been mugged by a bird?

This crow actually knew the value of a hundred-dollars bill!

So it had ignored the one-dollars coin earlier because it wasn’t good enough?

Just as she thought that, the crow hopped down, pawed at the coin on the ground, and tucked it under its wing.

Nancy was speechless.

This was a money-grubbing crow. Big bills, small change—didn’t matter, it wanted them all.

She crouched down in front of it. "Little crow, you’ve taken my money, so now you’ve got to do something for me."

The crow locked eyes with her, tilting its head as if it didn’t understand.

"Don’t play dumb. You followed this man, didn’t you?"

Nancy showed it the sketch of the killer.

The crow glanced at it, its small eyes flashing.

Nancy waved the other red bill in her hand.

At the sight of it, the crow suddenly found its voice. "Yes, yes, yes, I followed him!"

Then it tried to snatch the bill from her hand with its beak.

Nancy pulled back quickly. "Where did he take the victim’s head? Speak clearly."

The crow’s gaze stayed locked on the bill. "Last night, I was hoping for a brain buffet. I followed the man, but instead of tossing the head away, he carried it to the basement of an abandoned construction site.

When the door shut, I knew the buffet was over, so I flew back."

Nancy’s heart leapt. "Where is that construction site?"

The crow’s eyes shifted. "Are you sure you want to go alone? The place is remote, eerie as hell."

Nancy was about to say she’d call the police, but then she frowned.

If the police asked where she got her tip, what was she supposed to say?

At that moment, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

It was her brother Simon calling.

His voice was tense and worried. "Nancy, where are you? Why aren’t you home?"

Her heart warmed. "I’m at Loren Zoo right now."

Nancy told him about the bizarre events that had happened since she started work today.

Simon was uneasy. "It’s so late. I’ll come pick you up."

Nancy blinked in surprise. "Don’t you have work tomorrow?"

"I just scored a reward," Simon chuckled. "The station finally gave me a vacation."

Only then did Nancy realize her brother had hardly ever taken time off, always on duty. Since everyone else was local with families, the station had simply expected the single out-of-towner to shoulder the extra shifts.

Twenty minutes later, Simon arrived at the zoo gate.

He wore a simple navy T-shirt that outlined his solid muscles beneath, radiating a strong, upright presence.

Nancy had met plenty of handsome men growing up, but they rarely caught her attention. Yet every time she looked at her brother, she couldn’t help but think: no wonder he’d been handpicked by the state.

Simon’s gaze fell on the crow hopping eagerly behind her. His expression turned suspicious. "Nancy, why is there a crow following you?"

Nancy pointed at it. "It’s been trailing me, flapping around like crazy. It seems like it wants to show me something."

In truth, the crow was only following her because she hadn’t paid the rest of the fee yet. It wanted her to settle the bill once it led her to the killer’s hiding place.

Hearing Nancy’s words, the crow conveniently flapped and hopped around to put on a show, backing her story.

Nancy put on a thoughtful look. "Crows are scavengers. I’m wondering if this one found the head from the zoo’s headless body."