Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 262: The Link

"One of the locals said they definitely saw the guy in the sketch heading toward the east gate of the park," Simon said.

Finally, a real witness.

The officer next to him spoke up. "We flagged the black car, too. Traffic control tracked it to a parking lot in the suburbs. We’ve got a clear shot of the plates, and the team is pulling the registration now."

Simon handed Nancy an ID photo. "Let the kestrel see if this is him."

Nancy angled her phone toward the bird on the recovery bed.

The kestrel didn't even need a full second before it started thrashing its wings. "That’s him! That’s the piece of shit who shot me!"

"He confirmed it," Nancy said, her voice dropping. "It’s him."

"Randall Gaunt, thirty-two. Runs a pet supply shop," Simon read from the file.

Nancy stared at the face in the photo, her chest tightening. "Wait, I know this man. I’ve seen him before. When I was in middle school, he used to visit the Summers family."

Simon looked up, his eyes wide with shock. "Are you sure about that, Nancy?"

"I'm positive," she said, her voice steady. "I was doing laps in the garden as a punishment, and I saw him leaving through the back gate. He came by more than once, and he always went straight to Chandler’s study."

She frowned, trying to pull the memory forward. "The nanny just told me he was a guest. Then he just stopped showing up."

Neil’s face went hard. "Miss Nancy, can you prove any of that? Do you have evidence he was at the estate?"

Nancy shook her head. "That was almost ten years ago. I didn't even have a phone, let alone the sense to know he’d turn into an arsonist."

"In that case," Neil said, his voice cold, "maybe stop throwing accusations at the Summers family. People’s memories get messy after that long. It’s easy to get it wrong."

He stepped toward her, his eyes narrowing. "Randall is a pet shop owner. Is it possible you just have a grudge? Or are you just so obsessed that you have to blame the Summers family for everything that goes wrong?"

Nancy didn't flinch. "You’re awfully protective of them, Officer. If I didn't know better, I’d think they were paying you to be their spokesperson."

Neil’s face flushed. "That’s slander!"

Just then, a young officer burst in with a tablet, looking like he’d just won the lottery.

"Officer Simon, Officer Neil! We got the registration on the car!"

He stopped, his voice echoing in the quiet room. "The car is registered to a shell company owned by the Summers family."

The room went dead quiet.

Neil, who had been glaring at Nancy a second ago, froze. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. The air in the room turned thick and awkward.

"Maybe, maybe he stole it," Neil muttered, trying to save face.

The screen on Simon’s phone lit up. He checked it and then looked at Neil with a sharp, knowing grin. "Whether he’s a car thief or a hitman on their payroll, we’ll find out as soon as we put the cuffs on him."

He turned to Nancy. "We have a lock on his location. The strike team is heading out to stake him out now."

"I'm going with you," Nancy said.

Simon grabbed her medical kit without a word. "Let’s go. It’s dark enough now. Let’s bring the animals and finish this."

Nancy whistled for Chunk and the rest of the crew. "Time to work!"

Chunk flapped his wings, landing on her shoulder. "Finally! I've been waiting to get out there."

Simon looked at the plump bat and laughed. "We've worked together enough for me to trust his lead."

The guy lived in a decent apartment complex in the city. Nancy thought about it and decided to bring Snowball, the white ermine, and the five little bats for aerial backup.

They headed to the parking lot. The high-performance SUV she’d been rewarded with was waiting. Inside, the back had been completely customized for the animals.

When Nancy pulled the door open, she was floored. She’d mentioned a few things to Simon, but he’d gone all out. There were specialized hanging racks on the ceiling for the bats, and they flew up immediately, looking like a row of fuzzy ornaments. Even Chunk managed to hang on properly. Snowball leaped onto the passenger seat and buried himself in a pile of plush toys.

Simon had even put in small water stations and a travel litter box. It was a mobile command center on wheels.