Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25: You Can Also Understand Cats?
Renee Jennings turned around and saw a man in his fifties or sixties wearing a black jacket and a dark blue bucket hat.
The tuxedo cat exclaimed, "I’ve been digging here for the past two days, and this human keeps chasing me away!"
Upon hearing this, a glint appeared in Renee Jennings’s eyes.
She withdrew her gaze, bent down to scoop the tuxedo cat into her arms, and left in silence.
The older man stared at Renee Jennings’s retreating back until she was out of sight before turning around.
He looked toward the spot the tuxedo cat had been digging. His gaze fell upon the half-exposed finger, and his expression suddenly changed, a look of horror appearing on his face.
Renee Jennings carried the tuxedo cat to a more crowded area of the park, and just then, the system’s voice sounded.
[System 009: New mission triggered: Help Cici. Mission Reward: Elephant Dictionary. Mission Failure: Ten thousand needles to the heart.]
Renee Jennings looked down at the little cat in her arms and asked softly, "What’s your name?"
The tuxedo cat obediently replied, "My name is Cici."
"Did you see who buried your owner in the dirt?"
"I did, but I don’t know who he is."
"Wasn’t it that man from just now?"
"No."
Renee Jennings frowned. "Then what happened before he buried your owner?"
Cici blinked his feline eyes, thinking hard. "That day, my owner took me out. We saw that person, and my owner told him that after he collected his prize money, he would buy a big house."
"Prize money?" Renee Jennings was puzzled. "What prize money?"
Cici said, "My owner bought a piece of paper and said he’d won, that he could collect a lot of prize money."
Renee Jennings said, "A lottery ticket?"
Cici replied, "Yes, yes, yes! A lottery ticket, that’s what he called it!"
Renee Jennings could already guess what had likely happened.
Cici’s owner had won the lottery, and someone, driven by greed, had killed him.
Seeing that she was silent, Cici spoke again, cautiously, "Miss, that human should be gone by now. Can we go back and dig? I’m afraid my owner will get bored being in the dirt."
"You don’t understand. My owner gets bored so easily. He always needs me to play with him."
"I haven’t played with him in days. He must be so bored!"
Renee Jennings was stunned for a few seconds, then raised her hand to rub his little head. "Silly Cici."
Cici tilted his little head in confusion. "Why do you call me silly?"
"I’ll tell you after I call the police." Renee Jennings took out her phone to make a call.
She sat down in a pavilion, holding Cici, unsure how to tell him such a cruel truth.
’His owner would never be bored again.’
Seeing that Renee Jennings didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all, Cici felt a little angry.
He leaped from her arms, his round feline eyes staring at her. "Miss, are you unwilling to help save my owner?"
"No," Renee Jennings explained gently. "The two of us can’t save your owner."
Cici was confused. "Why not? Don’t we just have to dig my owner out of the dirt?"
Renee Jennings sighed. "Cici, even if we dig your owner out, he won’t be able to be with you anymore."
His small, feline face was filled with confusion. "Why?"
Renee Jennings looked up at the sky, her tone heavy. "He’s already gone to heaven."
"Heaven..." Cici murmured, his mood suddenly plummeting. "My owner is dead, isn’t he?"
Renee Jennings remained silent.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
She answered the call. It was the police.
They had already arrived at the entrance of Blue Bay Park.
Renee Jennings looked at Cici. His head was bowed, his ears flattened back. He was quiet, looking lonely and grief-stricken.
"The police are here. They’ll get your owner out of the dirt."
When Renee Jennings finished speaking, Cici didn’t react.
She let out a breath and stood up, walking toward the park entrance.
Among the responding officers, Renee Jennings saw a familiar figure.
"Miss Jennings?" Henry Stark was a little surprised. Then, after a moment’s thought, his gaze sharpened as he asked, "You’re the one who called it in?"
Renee Jennings nodded. "Yes."
’The third case,’ Henry Stark thought to himself.
Renee Jennings led the officers. Partway there, she found Cici had followed.
"You must be lying to me!" Cici cried, aggrieved. "My owner can’t be dead!"
With other people around, it was inconvenient for Renee Jennings to talk to Cici. She just stopped to scoop him into her arms, stroking his back soothingly.
"Is this your cat?" Henry Stark asked.
Renee Jennings shook her head. "I just met him. He’s the one who led me to the body."
Henry Stark raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
The arrival of the police attracted the attention of many onlookers, who started to follow. The older man who had chased away the tuxedo cat was among them.
In the easternmost corner of the park, Henry Stark and his team arrived to find the small section of a human finger sticking out of the dirt.
His expression grew grim. He ordered his subordinates to document the scene and start digging.
"The cat was the one who dug up that exposed finger," Renee Jennings said softly, standing next to Henry Stark.
Henry Stark’s gaze fell on Cici.
’How could a cat know someone was buried in the dirt?’
’And how did it lead Renee Jennings to find the body?’
"Captain!" a police officer came up to Henry Stark. "We’ve dug up the body."
**
Renee Jennings, holding Cici, accompanied Henry Stark and his team to the police station to give a statement.
As she was leaving, Henry Stark called out to her at the station’s entrance. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Miss Jennings."
Renee Jennings stopped and turned to look at the man who radiated integrity. "Is there something else, Captain Stark?"
"Is it a coincidence?" Henry Stark strode over to her, his expression complicated.
Renee Jennings met his gaze and said lightly, "What are you trying to say?"
Henry Stark glanced at the tuxedo cat in her arms. "Besides understanding dogs, can you also understand cats?"
Hearing this, Renee Jennings’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
’He actually guessed?’
’Wait.’
’The day I picked up Zane and Jasmine, I ran into Henry Stark when he was buying fruit. Don’t tell me he also saw me at the coconut chicken place afterward?’
Renee Jennings pressed her lips together and asked, "Were you at Haelon Joy City that day too?"
Henry Stark explained, "Someone posted a video online. I just happened to come across it."
Renee Jennings: "..."
’How come I never saw it?’
"Miss Jennings, you still haven’t answered my question," Henry Stark said in a gentle tone. "I’m not trying to pry into your privacy, but this is very important for our investigation."
After a moment’s hesitation, Renee Jennings slowly nodded.
Henry Stark watched her, his jet-black eyes twinkling like brilliant stars in the night sky.
The next day, Renee Jennings was invited to the police station again.
This time, she wasn’t taken to an interrogation room, but to the criminal investigation team’s internal office.
"Miss Jennings." Henry Stark placed a steaming cup of coffee next to Renee Jennings’s hand. "It’s a bit cold. Have something warm to drink."
Renee Jennings: "..."
She glanced at the steaming coffee, then her gaze returned to the man. "Captain Stark, you should just say what’s on your mind."
A faint smile touched the corners of Henry Stark’s lips, and he stopped beating around the bush.
"The results of yesterday’s investigation are in. The deceased’s name is Mason Zorn. He was thirty-two years old, his parents are deceased, he was unmarried, and his only companion was a cat—it should be the one you were holding yesterday."
