Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 426: The Witnesses of the Sea

"Until this moment, I still have no idea what he went through that night."

Samantha’s fingertips brushed over the ring, her voice thick with a raw, lingering ache. "We were supposed to be married a month later. He was an only child, and now, his parents treat me like their own daughter."

As she spoke, the patrol boat slowed. The engine hummed at a low idle.

Samantha took a deep breath, forcing down the emotions swirling in her eyes. She instantly regained the sharp, professional focus of a coast guard officer.

She pointed toward the shimmering stretch of water outside the porthole. "Nancy, this is the spot. Three years ago, this was the exact coordinate where the Seabed-173 was discovered."

Nancy stood on the deck, the salty, metallic scent of the sea filling her lungs.

To find witnesses from three years ago, she needed a long-lived resident of the area. She had already settled on her targets before arriving. Gulls. They lived ten to fifteen years, sometimes reaching thirty. Once they reached adulthood, they usually claimed a specific territory. They were the perfect maritime intelligence stations.

Nancy worked with the officers to bring out the bribe. Golden, crispy, steaming fries and fresh chunks of white cod.

She placed a square acrylic cover on the deck, a transparent display case of sorts. She piled the fragrant food inside and connected it to a hook and rope, creating a temporary gull trap.

"Master Crow, it’s up to you to get their attention."

The crow understood perfectly. He puffed out his chest and let out a piercing call that cut across the waves.

"Dinner is served! Human deck! Unlimited fries and cod! First come, first served!"

He even mimicked the frantic, joyful cadence of a gull, sounding like an overeager street hawker.

Soon, a cacophony of squawks echoed from the horizon. A white cloud of wings approached rapidly, a flock of gulls summoned by the scent and the crow’s announcement. They dived toward the deck, focused entirely on the irresistible feast.

But just as the first wave was about to strike the fries, Nancy pressed a button and the acrylic cover snapped shut.

Several gulls slammed their beaks into the hard, transparent surface. The others fluttered around the cage in a frenzy, their wings flapping against the air. Their small eyes remained fixed on the food they could see but not touch, their cries turning desperate and aggrieved.

"Smells so good! Right there!"

"Open it! Open it now!"

"Give it to us! Immediately!"

Master Crow sauntered over to the cage, his dark eyes mocking the frantic gulls. He spoke with a slow, deliberate pace.

"There is no such thing as a free fry. You want to eat? Fine. Bring us information in exchange."

Nancy distributed a few small samples first, single fries and nail-sized pieces of cod.

"Work before you eat."

Nancy held up a large printout of the Seabed-173. "Help me identify this. Three years ago, did a boat like this pass through here? Maybe circling strangely or just sitting still?"

The gulls craned their necks to look at the picture and immediately began chattering.

"That kind of boat? Common! Very common! Always out here!"

"Iron hull! White! High deck!"

"Exactly," Nancy nodded patiently. "But the one I’m looking for, the Seabed-173, had an accident here three years ago. Three officers on board, and they never went home."

She gave them a brief summary of the strange tragedy.

The gulls listened while pecking at the food in her hand. Their frantic movements slowed, and they turned their heads toward her in unison, their beady black eyes full of focus. As loud, talkative seabirds, gulls loved gossip and stories more than anything. A suspenseful mystery was exactly the kind of thing that could keep them pinned to the deck.

She stopped the story at the most critical point.

The gulls stomped their feet on the deck in frustration, flapping their wings and screaming in a chaotic chorus.

"Oh my god! You can't stop halfway! What happened to the three men? Finish the story!"

Nancy shrugged helplessly. "And then, there was no then. We still don't know the truth. We don't know who the killer was or what happened that night. The sea fog was too thick, and the waves were too high. They wiped away all the traces."

"I was all settled in for a story and this is all I get?"