The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 204

Chapter 204 The Cockatoo

Chapter 204 The Cockatoo

Nina took off her gloves and gave Tabby King a good head rub, her mind racing.

Tabby King could tell Nina was thinking about something important, so he just put up with it.

Nina locked eyes with Amber. “Amber, did you feel any discomfort when Mr. Winston put the collar on you yesterday morning?”

Amber shook his head. “Nope, not at all. Kaysen was digging through the jewelry box yesterday morning, trying on a bunch of collars for me. He finally picked the pink collar.”

Amber sighed. “Being a collar model is exhausting.”

The more Amber spoke, the sadder he sounded. “But if he could just wake up, he could pick out a hundred collars for me, and I wouldn’t complain one bit.”

Tabby King thought, ‘Seriously, is he flexing on purpose, or is he just naturally extra?’

Nina instantly realized Amber had a stash of diamond collars, and which one he wore depended entirely on whatever Kaysen felt like that day.

Since the choice was random, there was no way the killer could have touched the collar at Winston Manor.

Then it must be the pet shop.

Whenever pets got bathed and groomed, their collars had to come off. That was the perfect window for the killer.

Nina turned to Amber. “Come on, let’s go check out the pet shop.”

If the killer tampered with the collar at the pet shop, she’d have way more leads to work with.

Nina crouched down and gave Tabby King a serious look. “Stay here and see if you can get the scoop from the mice in the garden. See if any of them caught something strange yesterday.”

Even a fancy manor like this couldn’t escape the mice’s attention. With all the food in the kitchen and the lush gardens, it was basically a mouse paradise.

No matter how many pest control teams they hired, there were always a few local troublemakers who slipped through the cracks.

Tabby King’s whiskers twitched proudly, and his tail swished with confidence. “Gathering intel? That’s what I’m known for. Just wait.”

Once everything was set, Nina gave Ramon a quick heads-up, brought along Amber, and drove off to the pet shop he frequented.

The pet shop was about 3 miles from Winston Manor, a mid-sized place buzzing with activity. All sorts of cats and dogs were either waiting their turn or already getting pampered.

Amber was a regular here. As soon as he walked in, he made himself comfortable, as if he were back in his own living room.

However, all that swagger disappeared the instant he caught sight of a cockatoo perched on its special stand.

Amber slammed on the brakes, his fur puffing up as he darted behind Nina, looking like he’d just run into his enemy.

Nina felt Amber go stiff and bent down to ask softly, “What’s wrong?”

Amber ducked his head even further behind Nina and muttered, “That cockatoo belongs to the shop owner. She never shuts up. She’s always flapping her beak and acting like she runs the place.

“She’s got an opinion on everything, critiquing the cat’s fur and nitpicking the dog’s sitting style. She just never stops talking.”

Amber grumbled, sounding totally defeated, “I’ve argued with her three times and lost every single round. She trashes cats like nobody’s business.”

Just then, the cockatoo, lounging on her stand and munching sunflower seeds, shot Amber a sharp look, her eyes locking onto him in an instant.

She spat out a sunflower seed shell and started squawking at the top of her lungs. “Well, look who’s here. Isn’t this our superstar, the famous Pharaoh Cat?”

The cockatoo shook her head with a cheeky s Successfully unlocked! stop. “What brings you down to our tiny dump

of a shop today?

“Look at you, cowering behind your human again. Shame on you.”

1/2

Chapter 204 The Cockatoo

Amber instantly smooshed his face against Nina’s leg. “Nina, did you hear that?”

Nina didn’t get mad; she just laughed and pulled out a jar from her bag. Inside were her homemade bird treats, packed with nuts and grains.

It was her secret weapon against mouthy cockatoos like this one.

She popped the lid, and the nutty aroma filled the air.

The cockatoo, about to start another rant, suddenly froze, her neck stretching out like she’d been hit with a spell, eyes locked on the jar.

Nina took out a treat and waved it in front of her with a teasing flourish. “Do you want some? Then apologize to Amber for what you just said. Say you’re sorry.”

The scent of the treat was tempting, beckoning the cockatoo closer.

Nina could see the battle raging inside her as her claws fidgeted restlessly on the perch.

Finally, she tried to hide her face behind a wing and blurted out, barely understandable, “I’m sorry. Now give me the treat. Hurry up and hand it over.”

All that swagger vanished. Now she was just a snack-starved bird.

Nina handed over the treat with a satisfied smile, then shot a wink at Amber, who was still standing there in shock.

Amber looked up at her, his eyes wide with awe. “You actually made that mouthy bird apologize. You’re the real boss here.”

The cockatoo scarfed down the treat in no time, licking her beak.

She gave Nina’s jar a hungry stare, and any pride she had was long gone.

Just then, the bell above the door rang, and a customer walked in, leading a corgi on a leash.

The moment the corgi’s butt hit the floor, the cockatoo perked right up, back to her old antics as she started squawking

away.

She said, “Hey, it’s you again, you poor little thing. Wasn’t it you who snuck some cat food last time, got the runs, and did eight laps around the living room?”

The cockatoo was flapping her beak nonstop. “Your mom got you a new leash, huh? Pretty flashy. It matches the carpet you secretly peed on last time at the pet shop. Is that the special edition for your little mishap?”

The corgi was so annoyed that he turned his butt right at the cockatoo.

Nina picked up on something in the cockatoo’s snarky running commentary.

Nothing in this pet shop escaped that bird; she had eyes and ears everywhere. She basically knew everything here.

Nina pulled out another bird treat and dangled it in front of the cockatoo. “Hey, I need some intel from you. Did you notice anyone shady hanging around Amber’s bath yesterday? Anyone sneaking in or out of his room?”

There was a chance someone from the shop had tampered with Amber’s collar, and Nina didn’t want to spook the culprit by checking the cameras just yet. She decided to ask the bird first.

口

Subscribed

1 Likes