Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 254: The Inside Job

Across the park, Nancy worked with the zoo’s veterinary team to check over the black-capped capuchins. The monkeys were the unexpected heroes of the afternoon, and they needed a careful look.

Nancy and Barry were both in white lab coats. One treated humans while the other tended to the animals. They didn't need to speak to stay in sync. They moved around each other with the practiced, easy rhythm of professionals who knew exactly what they were doing.

Deep in the heart of the burn site, Simon sifted through the ash with the fire crew.

Suddenly, Captain Terry’s radio crackled to life. "Sir! We found the frame!"

A firefighter jogged over with a transparent evidence bag. Inside was a charred, nearly carbonized strip of wood. The original structure was just barely visible through the soot.

Simon took the bag and squinted at the remains. "Based on the shape, it’s definitely the frame of a kite."

Right then, an officer in charge of the security feeds came running up. "Captain Terry, we have a hit! Ten minutes before the fire started at 12:13 PM, a truck delivering animal feed entered through the back gate."

He wiped sweat from his forehead. "Officer Neil already took a team to intercept it."

Simon’s face went cold. "Let’s go. Now."

Nancy’s heart sank when she heard the news. She knew that delivery. It was from Nina’s agricultural base. She didn’t doubt Nina for a second, but if someone was targeting the zoo, they could have easily used the shipment as a cover to smuggle in the gear or even poison the feed.

Nancy stood up immediately. "I’m coming with you."

When they reached the warehouse, police had already boxed in a blue heavy-duty truck. Neil was overseeing a search of the cargo with a hard expression.

The driver was standing to the side looking like he’d seen a ghost. "Officer, this is a state delivery. Everything we carry is vetted. There’s no way there’s a problem with this load."

Neil was just as stubborn as Jack. He didn't even look at the driver. He just signaled his men to keep tearing into the bags.

Nina had been touring the park with her students and rushed over after the driver called her in a panic. She looked completely blindsided.

"What is this?" Nina asked as she stared at the line of cops.

The driver looked ready to collapse. "The police think the truck is connected to the fire."

"That’s impossible!" Nina’s eyes went wide.

Just then, an officer shouted, "Found it! We’ve got a hit!"

Everyone’s attention snapped to the back of the truck. The officer wore white gloves as he pulled a plastic handle from deep inside a feed bag. Wrapped around it was a length of kite string severed by a clean cut.

"We have the evidence. This is the handle for the kite."

The driver’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He stumbled back with his voice shaking. "No... no way. We loaded this ourselves. We checked every bag."

Nina went deathly pale and steadied herself against the side of the truck. She stared at the evidence in total shock with her mouth hanging open. How could something like that end up in a shipment that had passed strict quality control?

Nancy and Simon traded a look. They were both thinking the same thing.

Neil stared at the handle with a sharp gaze. "This looks like an inside job. The culprit probably didn't expect the fire to move so fast and ditched the tools in the feed bag during the chaos."

Another officer checked his tablet. "Surveillance shows that after the truck arrived, only the driver, Nina, and her two students were near this vehicle."

"An inside job?" Nina’s students were caught between terror and fury.

One of them snapped back, "We came here to talk about a partnership! Why would we burn the place down?"

Even the usually soft-spoken Nina was reaching her breaking point. She shoved her glasses up while her voice trembled with rage. "Accusations require proof! Do you have any actual evidence that we started that fire?"

Neil stayed cold and professional. "Everyone stay calm. This is a routine investigation. We need your statements so we can clear your names."

Nancy stepped forward with a firm voice. "I trust Nina. They had no reason to do this."