Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 285: Queen Bee's Intel

In the end, the bird partially covered its face with one wing and mumbled in a hurried, slurred voice.

"Sorry, Mr. Cat! Now give me the biscuit! Give it to me!"

The arrogance from moments ago had vanished, replaced entirely by a desperate craving for treats.

Nancy handed over the biscuit with a satisfied smile and winked at Penny, who was staring in disbelief.

Penny looked up at her, his golden eyes filled with shock and adoration. "You... you actually made that loudmouth bird apologize? You must be the real Pharaoh!"

The cockatoo crunched through the biscuit in seconds, smacking its beak as it looked longingly at the jar in Nancy's hand. Any shred of its remaining pride had dissolved.

Just then, the shop’s bell chimed. A customer walked in leading a Corgi. The moment the dog’s paws touched the floor, the cockatoo perked up again, its condition returning instantly as it shrieked out a critique.

"Look at those stumpy legs! Weren't you the one who ate the cat food last time and got the runs? Didn't you do eight laps around the living room?"

The bird’s mouth was like a neighborhood gossip. "That new leash your mom bought is pretty gaudy. Same color scheme as the carpet you ruined when you peed in here last time. Is it a commemorative edition?"

The little Corgi turned its back on the bird in a huff.

Nancy, however, noticed something crucial in the bird’s obnoxious commentary. This cockatoo knew every single thing that happened in this shop. It was the ultimate intelligence hub.

Nancy pulled out another biscuit and held it close to the bird. "Hey, little one, I want to ask you something. While Penny was being bathed yesterday, did you see anyone suspicious go in or out of the grooming room?"

Nancy suspected someone on the staff might have tampered with the collar, but she didn't want to alert anyone by asking for security footage just yet. This feathered informant was a better first step.

She waved the biscuit back and forth, and the bird’s head followed her hand like it was hypnotized.

"Yesterday... Penny’s room... I remember! The handsome, polite doctor went in. But he came right back out."

Nancy frowned. "The handsome, polite doctor?"

Even the bird has a thing for the staff?

"That one over there." The cockatoo turned its head toward the employee bio board on the wall. "Everyone calls him Dr. Houston."

Nancy followed the bird's gaze. On the board was a young man with slicked-back hair and glasses. A veterinarian named Ashton Houston.

Nancy lowered her voice. "Dr. Ashton Houston?"

The cockatoo lowered its head to mimic her tone. "That's the one!"

The bird’s eyes darted around like a radar. "I'm thirty-seven. I don't have many hobbies besides cracking seeds, gossiping, and looking at handsome guys. Dr. Houston is the best-looking one in this hospital."

Nancy was stunned. "You're thirty-seven?!"

She knew cockatoos were long-lived; averaging fifty to seventy years, with some reaching over a hundred. But she hadn't expected this bird to be fourteen years older than her. At nearly forty, this bird was practically a senior.

Seeing her shock, the cockatoo bobbed its head proudly. "Jealous? Call me Queen Bee and I might tell you more."

Nancy offered the biscuit with both hands. "Queen Bee, was Dr. Houston wearing gloves when he went into that room?"

The cockatoo nodded with satisfaction as it pecked at the treat. "He was. But it was weird. The gloves were thick, way thicker than the ones he uses for checkups."

Nancy went on high alert. Gloves again. If this was a contact poison, Ashton was looking like a prime suspect.

Earlier, Penny had explained how the grooming area worked. There was an inner wet zone for bathing and an outer dry zone where owners and pets waited. The collars were usually taken off and placed in small baskets in the waiting zone.

"Do you know what Dr. Houston did inside the room?" Nancy continued.

The cockatoo got excited. "I never miss a move a handsome guy makes! He was only in there for a minute. I didn't see what he did inside, but when he came out, I tried to land on his shoulder so he'd groom my feathers. I followed him, but instead of going to his office, he went to the storage closet in the back to make a phone call!"

Nancy felt a surge of energy. she coaxed the bird into a quieter corner of the shop. "What did he say on the phone?"