Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 385: The Desert's Secret

Construction gear and camera cranes were visible in the distance, with shadows moving around under the work lights. A few high end trailers were parked off to the side.

"Something's up," Nancy said, looking out the window. "Looks like a film crew doing a night shoot in the desert."

But as they got closer, the set looked like a wreck. People were screaming, a few were off to the side throwing up, and medics in white coats were crowded around someone on the ground.

When their SUV pulled up with its military plates, a producer drenched in sweat ran toward them, waving his arms. The guard stopped the car and rolled down the window.

"Are you just passing through? We need help!" The man gripped the door, he was horrified. "We were digging a sand pit for a shot and we found three mummies!"

Nancy stared at him. "Mummies? Are you sure they are bodies and not a prank?"

"They look like bodies," the producer stammered. "Wrapped head to toe in white cloth, just like mummies. The smell is localizing the whole area."

Snowball’s nose twitched. "It smells like death out here."

Nancy went still. The producer pointed toward the lights of the set, looking like he was about to crack. "We are in the middle of nowhere, it is dark, and there is no cell signal. Everyone is losing it. Can you please just look? We need to know what to do."

After a quick talk, the guard used a satellite phone to call the police. Nancy and Simon followed the producer to the site.

The producer acted like they were his saviors, leading them through the crowd. "They are here! Someone who knows what they are doing is here!"

The crew moved aside to reveal a half dug pit. At the bottom were three human shapes wrapped in white bandages. A foul stench was coming off them.

Simon looked around. "Is anyone hurt?"

"No," the producer said. "The lead actress just fainted from the shock."

Nancy leaned in, holding Snowball. The ermine craned his neck, sniffing the air. She tapped his head. "Snowball, what do you smell?"

Snowball wrinkled his nose and covered it with a paw, looking disgusted.

"It is disgusting! It smells like rotten meat mixed with moldy sand. It is worse than the carrion we hide for winter and forget about. But the worst of it is gone. Based on the rot, these things have been in the ground for at least two weeks."

Suddenly, Snowball jumped down and crept toward the edge of the pit, taking a long sniff. He ran back to Nancy immediately.

"Nancy, they smell like hay and beans. It is the same stuff I smelled at the wildlife center. It is camel feed."

Simon listened as Nancy translated. "Camel feed? That is interesting."

"It means they were around camels before they died," Nancy said. "Or..."

Simon nodded. "Or they were brought here on the back of a camel."

The guard walked back from the car. "The police are coming from Raventown, but it will take time. They want you and Simon to check the scene while we wait."

Simon put on a mask and gloves and climbed down into the pit. Nancy held the flashlight steady for him.

He pinched a bit of the white cloth. "The texture and the color... this is bleached linen. The kind hotels use."

"A hotel?" Nancy looked at him. "The only hotels around here are at the resort. Were they killed there?"

"Not necessarily," Simon said. "The killer might just have access to hotel supplies and used what was easy to grab. But if three people died in a hotel or three guests went missing, the news would be everywhere."

Nancy realized he was right. In a resort that size, a disappearance like that would have blown up on the internet weeks ago.