Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 389: The Camel's Tale

"Should we have Mr. Fox confirm the scent?"

Half an hour later, in the hotel lobby.

As soon as Simon approached with the sealed evidence bag, the fox perched on Nancy’s shoulder perked up. His ears twitched, and his nose began working frantically. He leaped to the floor, circled the bag three times, and then stood on his hind legs. He pressed one paw to his chest and pointed a trembling claw at the bag, his voice full of drama.

"It is him! That wicked scent! The demon from that night is right here! I swear on the collective reputation of my entire kin, there is no mistake!"

Simon stared, baffled. "Is there something wrong with this fox?"

Nancy was used to the act by now. "He is just being theatrical. He confirmed it. The man who buried those bodies is Rino."

Nancy had a sudden thought. "Let's find the camel team Rino used. Maybe the camel that hauled the bodies is still there."

Simon tracked down a lead quickly. Most of the camels in the area stayed at a local station to rest. The owners who had partnered with Rino were all based there.

When the siblings arrived at the station, they were hit by a wall of hay, leather, and sun-baked earth. Dozens of camels were lying in the sand, lazily ruminating. They chewed their cud with rhythmic motions, their long lashes blinking over watery, intelligent eyes as they watched the newcomers with gentle curiosity.

A camel merchant with a thick beard and a booming voice walked up, leading two of the animals. He gave them a wide grin. "Officers! I brought the camels over for you. But Rino? That guy is as quiet as a grave. You could hit him with a stick and he wouldn't say a word. What did he do?"

Simon got straight to the point. "Did he rent any camels from you two weeks ago?"

"He did!" The merchant slapped his thigh. "Not just then, either. He was renting them constantly all month. Claimed he had a ton of tourists wanting the full experience. I was surprised because he is usually terrible at getting customers, but he said he was getting private bookings from some big spenders online. The last time he showed up, about fifteen days ago, he took three camels. Didn't even blink at the price."

The merchant leaned in, looking for gossip. "He was so quick to pay it made my head spin. Did he strike gold or something? Or did some rich lady finally sweep him off to the city?"

While Simon talked to the merchant, Nancy noticed some of the camels looked a bit run down. She moved closer and saw a few had minor issues with their hooves and eyes. She knelt down without a word and began carefully checking them, cleaning their small wounds and applying a soothing ointment.

The camels let out appreciative grunts. "This human is so gentle. The vet our owner hires takes days to fix stuff like this, but this cream makes the itching stop instantly."

"Guys," Nancy said, holding up Rino’s work clothes after she finished treating them. "Do you remember this scent?"

The camels, who had been lounging around, crowded around her immediately. Their wet noses twitched in unison as they leaned in to help.

"I know that smell!" a spotted camel said first. "That man was mean. He never let us rest."

"He did," a younger camel added, nodding. "He kept taking us to the same spot far away. Then he would spend all day digging with three other men."

Three men. That matched the three bodies perfectly.

Nancy felt a chill. She pulled her sketchbook and a charcoal pencil from Simon’s bag. "Do you remember what those three men looked like? How tall were they?"

Camels are incredibly intelligent. They don't just know the way; they know people. They burn faces and scents into their memory along with every experience.

An older bull camel stepped forward. "The tallest one was half a head taller than I am when I stand."

A female camel nudged her way in, using her neck to show the scale. "The second one was shorter. His shoulder only came up to my hump."