The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 154

Chapter 154

Chapter 154

Nina wiped the sweat from her forehead, took a deep breath, and headed off to find the male red-crowned crane waiting in the holding area.

She said, “I need to talk to the male crane and figure out what she’s been eating lately.

“Most likely, it happened either early this morning or late last night.”

Nina’s mind flashed with a realization.

The male crane was totally fine, but the female was hit by poison. That had to mean she had eaten something he hadn’t, or gone somewhere her mate had never been.

She walked up to the male crane, lowering her voice, trying to sound both gentle and serious. “Hey, please think carefully- has your wife eaten anything alone recently?

“And has she gone anywhere you didn’t go with her?”

The male crane cocked his head, his dark eyes blinking as he tried to recall, hesitating for a moment.

He said, “Most of the time, we forage together. I’m usually the one who catches fish and brings them back to her.”

The male crane suddenly froze, an urgent tone creeping into his voice like he just remembered something big.

He said, “This morning, she told me she was thirsty. When we passed by a place, she drank from a hollowed-out stone right next to the well.

“I wasn’t thirsty then, so I skipped it.”

His uneasiness grew, and his wings shook a little. “Wait, could it be the water?”

A chill raced up Nina’s spine, sending shivers all the way to her head as her body went numb.

The water in that well was poisoned.

If that’s really the case, and it was not just some random old well but the one everyone in town drank from, then it meant the whole town was at risk of getting poisoned.

Red-crowned cranes were super smart, and the male crane suddenly seemed to realize something. His voice turned urgent and scared.

He said, “If the water really is poisoned, doesn’t that mean everyone who gets water from it will be poisoned?”

He flapped his wings nervously, freaked out by his own theory. “When we flew off, we saw several people actually drawing

water from that well.”

Nina swallowed her panic, forcing herself to stay sharp as she pressed. “Do you remember where that place is? Can you lead me there?”

The male crane nodded firmly, conviction in his voice. “I do. I can lead you there.”

Things just got critical. Nina grabbed her phone and called Simon again, her voice shaking from stress.

She said, “Simon, it’s an emergency. Someone probably poisoned the water, and the people there are already drinking it.”

Simon instantly snapped to attention. “I’m taking a team out right now to test the water. Which place are we talking about?”

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Chapter 154

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Nina looked at the male crane by her side and made a quick call. “Let me put a GPS ring on him so he can go ahead and show the way. You guys just follow the signal and catch up.”

Nina quickly got hold of a lightweight GPS tracker ring from the Wildlife Rescue Center.

This kind of gadget was usually meant for tracking wild animals once they were released back into the wild.

She gently strapped the tracker onto the male crane’s leg, then gave his wing a reassuring little pat.

“Alright, please take us there, buddy,” she said softly.

The male crane spread his white wings and shot into the sky like a blade of sunlight slicing through the clouds, disappearing fast into the distance.

Nina whipped out her phone and hit up her ace in the hole, Mr. Crow.

These days, he was more hyped than ever to crack cases-he practically lived for the thrill.

After all, every successful job came with a fat payout, and if he kept racking up wins, he might just score himself a real decent “part-time job” at the police station.

As soon as the call connected, before Nina could even finish, Mr. Crow’s voice burst through the line, practically vibrating with excitement.

He said, “What’s up? Rush Emergency? Extra pay, right? Wait, what? Poisoning?

“Alright, I’m in. Credit and bonus, no skimping.”

An hour later, Nina hopped into Simon’s car, following the GPS signal straight to their destination.

Besides Simon behind the wheel, there was also Riley Ross from the lab team.

Riley was a shy young guy with black-rimmed glasses, carefully cradling the sampling kit like it was made of glass.

Mr. Crow had already been perched on a roadside power pole for a good while, waiting for them.

He was shooting the breeze with a couple of blackbirds, looking every bit like the local kingpin-streetwise and in total command of his crew.

As soon as the cop car pulled up, he swooped down and landed on the hood like he knew every inch of the place. He tilted his head, tapping at the window with his beak.

Nina rolled down the window, and he hopped right in.

No hesitation at all-he just climbed onto the passenger seat’s headrest like it was his throne, those sharp eyes sweeping the whole crew with full-on boss energy.

Mr. Crow leaned over to check out the sampling tube in Riley’s hand, then jabbed it with his wing and called out to Nina, “Hey, these tubes look pretty slick. You’ve got a bunch-mind if I snag one?

“I could use it to stash my treasures.”

He just loved collecting things.

Riley, clutching his lab kit like a shield, had never seen anything so wild. He nervously pushed up his glasses and whispered, “What is this bird doing?”

Nina shot Riley an embarrassed grin. “Uh, he kinda wants to know if he can have one of your sampling tubes when this is solved.”

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Chapter 154

She thought, ‘Well, Mr. Crow never misses a chance to score some loot.’

Riley just stared, then nodded awkwardly. “Sure.”

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Mr. Crow did a little victory dance, then turned to Nina and crowed loudly, “This guy looks nice. I’m calling dibs on him for

our crew.”

He swept his gaze around, then suddenly tilted his head and squawked at Nina. “Wait, why am I the only bird sent out on this mission?

“Where are the squirrel and the ferret? Aren’t they coming?”

Nina patiently explained, “This one’s different. It’s a poisoning case, and things could get pretty dangerous out there.

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