Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 427: Witness From the Depths

"I'm so stressed I can't even think about dropping a deuce!"

"This is like finding the best fish in the sea, taking one bite, and having a wave wash it away! It's torture!"

"This is officially the most frustrating gossip I've ever heard! I'm losing my mind here!"

The gulls circled Nancy, their small eyes wide with accusation. They looked like an audience that had reached the climax of a show only to have the screen go black.

Nancy watched her frantic listeners and could not help but laugh. "Don't be so impatient. The rest of the story depends on you helping me find the ending."

She pointed toward the vast expanse of water. "You are the locals here. You know this sea better than anyone. Can you ask the other animals who have lived here a long time if anyone saw this boat three years ago? What did it really encounter?"

The moment the gulls realized they were the key to the mystery, they puffed out their chests with a sudden surge of responsibility.

"Leave it to us! We're on the case!"

"Save those fries for us! We're bringing back the truth!"

"Move out! We have a cold case to crack!"

With that, the flock scattered in every direction, spreading out like an aerial intelligence network. They did not just look for themselves; they shrieked at every peer they encountered along the way.

"Come quick! There's a situation! We need witnesses from three years ago! The pay is fries and cod!"

Soon, the entire area was buzzing with activity. White shapes darted through the air, and the sky was filled with a chaotic chorus of chirps and squawks. An unprecedented maritime search was officially underway.

Before long, several sleek silver arcs breached the surface in the distance, accompanied by high-pitched clicks and whistles. Three dolphins pursued one another like playing children, cutting through the waves toward the boat. They leaped gracefully, sending sprays of sunlit water into the air.

"We heard you needed us!"

Dolphins were known as the puppies of the ocean, social and full of curiosity. The lead dolphin, a deep gray, blinked its large eyes at the human and the crow on deck. It slapped its tail fin against the water. "You need help?"

Nancy leaned over the railing, offering a sincere smile. "Yes! We need you very much! Are you willing to join us and become ocean detectives?"

"Detectives? Yes! Let's do it!"

A spotted dolphin did an excited flip. "Is this about that weird boat that kept going in circles three years ago? I remember it!"

"Everyone whispered that the Sea God put a curse on it!" the smallest dolphin added, pushing through its companions to speak.

The deep gray dolphin tilted its head as if digging through old memories.

"Now that I think about it... that night three years ago, I was hungry and snuck out for a midnight snack." It flapped its fins a bit bashfully. "And then I saw... a shadow pop out of the water. Just like a bubble! He had a shiny little thing in his hand and he stabbed the man with the flashlight on the deck. He was wearing the same uniform as you! It was a sneak attack!"

The dolphin mimicked a stabbing motion with its fin. "It was fast! The man with the flashlight stumbled and then just collapsed on the deck!"

Nancy’s heart skipped a beat. She exchanged a look with Master Crow, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"The officer on the deck... that must have been Dan Andrews."

He had been found drowned on the aft deck, but the water in his lungs was fresh water from the ship’s own tank, not seawater. There were no struggle marks or scratches on the railings. If the dolphin saw him get stabbed and collapse, it meant the killer likely used a sedative.

Dolphins possessed highly developed brains, second only to humans in terms of brain-to-body mass ratio. They were famously intelligent. This one remembered the details clearly.

"That officer stumbled after he was hit and fell unconscious almost immediately." The dolphin’s tone held a hint of instinctive caution. "Then the person from the water climbed onto the boat. He was wearing strange, tight black clothes that wrapped all around his body. The tourists who jump off boats to play wear them too. It lets them move through the water just like us."

Nancy’s eyes sharpened. "A wetsuit."

If the killer had approached silently by diving, everything started to make sense.