The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 205

Chapter 205 Crucial Evidence

Chapter 205 Crucial Evidence

Nina dangled a bird treat in front of the cockatoo, and the latter’s head tracked Nina’s hand, bobbing along as she moved.

She said, “The room where Amber was taking a bath yesterday? Wait, I remember now. Dr. Handsome went into his bathing room, but he left almost right away.”

Nina looked puzzled. “Dr. Handsome?”

She thought, ‘Does this cockatoo get a thing for good-looking guys, too?’

“That’s the guy,” the cockatoo said, nodding toward the staff board on the wall. “Everyone calls him Dr. Oakley.”

Nina followed the cockatoo’s gaze.

On the staff board was a young man with slicked-back hair and glasses. It was Vance Oakley, the vet.

Nina lowered her voice. “Is it Vance?”

The cockatoo mimicked her, ducking her head. “Yeah.”

As she spoke, her eyes scanned the room like she was on patrol. “I’m 37 years old, you know. My only hobbies are munching on sunflower seeds, swapping gossip, and looking at hot dudes.

“Dr. Oakley is hands down the hottest guy in this whole place.”

Nina was stunned. “What? Are you 37?”

She knew cockatoos were in it for the long haul; most lived 50 to 70 years, some had even made it past 100, and plenty reached their 80s.

She just didn’t expect that this cockatoo would be fourteen years older than her

Cockatoos hit their senior years around 40, so this bird was basically an elder in the cockatoo world.

Seeing Nina’s shocked face, the cockatoo bobbed his head proudly. “What, jealous now? Go on, call me Cocky.”

Nina offered the treat with both hands. “Cocky, did Dr. Oakley wear gloves when he went into the room?”

The cockatoo nodded happily, pecking at the treat. “Yeah, he did. It was kind of weird. His gloves were way thicker than the ones he usually wears for checkups.”

Nina’s guard shot up. She thought, ‘Those gloves again. It’s probably contact poison. That makes Dr. Oakley a prime suspect.’

Amber had mentioned to Nina on their way to the pet shop that the place where/pets got cleaned up was divided into two sections-a back room and a front room.

F

The back room was where the pets got washed up, while the front room was where the next pet and their human would hang out and wait their turn.

Their collars would get dropped into a little basket out front while they waited.

Nina kept going. “So, do you know what Dr. Oakley did when he went into Amber’s bathroom?”

The cockatoo perked up instantly. “Of course, I never miss what the handsome guy’s up to.

“Dr. Oakley was only there for a moment before he came out. I didn’t catch what he did inside. After he came out, I wanted to hop onto his shoulder and have him help tidy up my feathers, so I just followed him.

“Instead of heading back to his office, he went straight to the most tucked-away storage room in the shop to make a phone call,”

Nina grew excited and motioned for the cockatoo to join her in a more secluded corner of the pet shop. “What did Dr. Oakley say on the phone?”

The cockatoo lowered her voice, perfectly mimicking Vance’s tone. “Dr. Oakley said, ‘It’s already done. Now it’s your turn. Are you sure your dad is the only one who’ll touch the collar?”

Nina’s heart skipped a beat at the words “your dad” because that meant Kaysen was poisoned by his own children.

Vance rigged the collar with poison, but was afraid someone else might get exposed if they touched it.

Amber had told her before that because her collar was blinged out with gems and diamonds, the groomers were so worried about scratching it or having to pay for any darte on theyd Gwly went ‘oves when touching it.

Successfully unlocked!

Vance knew this perfectly well, so he was sure the staff would never handle the collar without gloves.

What really worried him was that after Amber got home, the first person to touch the collar wouldn’t be their target, Kaysen.

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Chapter 205 Crucial Evidence

Nima quickly messaged Ramon, telling him to bring his men over to the pet shop quietly and get ready to make an arrest.

As Nina typed out her message, she asked, “Cocky, did you hear the voice of the person talking to Dr. Oakley on the phone? Did you catch what they said?”

The cockatoo shook her head, looking disappointed. “I tried to listen in, but I just couldn’t make out what they were saying. Their voices were low.”

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as if he had just remembered something. “Oh, right. Right when Dr. Oakley answered the call, he said, ‘Sounds like there’s some construction noise on your side. I can’t hear you.”

‘Construction?’ Nina thought.

It hit Nina that Blanche had just said she was busy redoing the garden at Winston Manor these last few days. She thought, ‘Wait, they’re working on the garden at Winston Manor.

‘The only way the person on the phone could be so sure Mr. Winston would be the first to touch Amber’s collar after he got home was if they were right there at Winston Manor themselves.’

“Cocky, thank you. You did me a huge favor,” Nina said, buzzing with excitement.

Nina fired off a message to Ramon. [Mr. Warner, find out which of Mr. Winston’s kids was at the garden at 2 p.m. yesterday.

The cockatoo watched Nina bustling around, her eyes full of curiosity. “So, when you catch someone doing shady stuff, that’s what you call a clue, huh?”

Nina nodded. “That’s right. Amber’s collar was probably laced with poison, and we’re on the case to figure out who did it. Any animal who helps out with a clue can score a police reward.”

The cockatoo suddenly lit up, her little eyes gleaming. “Wait, I’ve got another clue. After Dr. Oakley finished his call, he pulled out a thick black bag and tossed in a small bottle along with the gloves he’d worn.

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