Henry Stark stared at the line in the food inspection report stating it contained human tissue. His brow was tightly knit, his handsome face etched with a grave expression.
"Hank?" his team member, Kyle Morgan, asked curiously from the side. "What's the report say?"
Henry Stark looked up, his gaze sharp. "That Miss Jennings was right."
Kyle Morgan's expression changed drastically. "This..."
"I'm going to see the director." Henry Stark stood up and strode toward the director's office.
Ten minutes later, Henry Stark called his team for a meeting.
Meanwhile, Renee Jennings was sitting in the boba shop when she spotted a mouse hiding next to the trash can.
She asked in a low voice, "Are you Shelly?"
All mice looked more or less the same, so she could only ask tentatively.
The mouse looked over at her.
A few seconds later, Renee Jennings heard the mouse burst out in an excited squeak. "You're the one Aunt Shelly was talking about! The Renee who can understand us mice and is super generous, right?"
'Aunt Shelly... so she's a relative of those two mice from yesterday.'
Renee Jennings: "Yes."
"My name is Graham Rattigan," the little mouse introduced himself.
Renee Jennings was about to say something when she suddenly felt a shadow fall over her.
Renee Jennings looked up in confusion, her eyes meeting a handsome face.
"Captain Stark." She raised an eyebrow. "Are the test results in?"
'She was a little surprised. She hadn't expected them to be so efficient.'
'Weren't they just suspecting her of filing a false report at first?'
Henry Stark pulled out the chair across from her and sat down, raising an eyebrow. "What's Miss Jennings doing here?"
Seeing someone sit down next to Renee Jennings, Graham Rattigan quickly hid himself.
Renee Jennings crossed her arms, her tone casual. "I placed a big order. I'm waiting for it."
"A big order?" Henry Stark mulled it over for a moment, then quickly understood what she meant. He took out his phone. "How much? I'll transfer it to you."
"I paid a three-thousand-yuan deposit." Renee Jennings didn't hesitate.
Henry Stark scanned her code and transferred three thousand yuan to her. He then stood up, his deep eyes fixed on her. "Miss Jennings, please keep your phone on. We may need to contact you again."
"Okay." Renee Jennings nodded.
Henry Stark strode toward Old Man Wallace's Fried Food, two plainclothes officers following behind him.
Just as the group reached the entrance of Old Man Wallace's Fried Food, Old Man Wallace himself emerged from a small back room, carrying a basin of marinated meat.
Seeing the three tall, imposing men, Old Man Wallace was taken aback for a moment before explaining with a cheerful laugh, "Sorry, fellas. We're all sold out of ingredients for today. If you want to eat, you can come back tomorrow."
Henry Stark's gaze fell on the basin of meat in his hands. "What kind of meat is this?"
Old Man Wallace: "Pork."
"Is that so?" Henry Stark stared at him, his gaze scrutinizing.
Old Man Wallace's gaze flickered, and his smile vanished. "Of course it is. You think I'd lie? Now get going, don't keep me from my work."
Henry Stark flashed his badge. "We've received a tip that you've committed murder, hidden a body, and are selling human flesh."
Old Man Wallace's expression changed abruptly. He then shouted a denial, "I didn't! You're spouting baseless accusations!"
Henry Stark said coldly, "Cuff him."
Kyle Morgan took out a pair of silver handcuffs and moved toward him.
Henry Stark pushed aside the door curtain and stepped into the small room. Seeing the filthy, squalid conditions inside, his brow furrowed tightly.
He put on a mask and gloves, walked over to the freezer, and pulled the door open.
A bloody human head was revealed.
His expression grave, Henry Stark slammed the freezer door shut.
Hearing the sound, Old Man Wallace's heart sank.
Henry Stark was now in front of him, his gaze piercing him like a sword as he demanded, "Whose head is that in the freezer?"
"What head? I don't know what you're talking about." Old Man Wallace lowered his eyes.
Henry Stark's face was frosty. "Take him away," he ordered coldly.
As they walked out of the fried food shop, several uniformed police officers immediately stepped forward to seal off Old Man Wallace's Fried Food.
The crowd of onlookers all wore curious expressions.
People from the neighboring shops craned their necks to get a better view.
Renee Jennings sat in the boba shop next door. Her face was fair and elegant, and her long, dark, curly hair cascaded over her chest, making her complexion appear all the more luminous and pale as snow.
She tilted her head to watch Old Man Wallace being pushed into a police car, her gaze serene, every bit the unsung hero.
As she drew her gaze back, it met a pair of dark, profound eyes.
Henry Stark gave her a slight nod.
Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow, then got up and left.
Suddenly, a system notification sound chimed.
[System 009: Congratulations, Miss Jennings, for completing the hidden mission: Find the Murderer. Reward granted: Aquatic Dictionary.]
**
On the afternoon of the third, Renee Jennings got into Michelle Fuller's luxury car to head to a hot spring in the suburbs.
A black Porsche sped along the highway as pristine white snowflakes fluttered down, adorning the branches lining the road.
Renee Jennings was talking with Michelle Fuller when her phone suddenly rang.
It was an unknown number.
She answered the call.
"Miss Jennings." The voice on the other end spoke first.
Renee Jennings blinked. "Captain Stark?"
"It's me." Henry Stark was standing by a window, watching the snow outside. "Zeke Warren murdered his wife."
'Renee Jennings assumed this was just the standard procedure of notifying the informant about the case's outcome.'
She said softly, "Okay."
Henry Stark spoke again. "He said his wife was having an affair and that she not only demanded he keep it a secret, but also that he pay her lover's monthly living expenses."
Renee Jennings frowned. "He's lying."
"Miss Jennings knows why?" Henry Stark asked.
'Renee Jennings suddenly realized she had misspoken.'
'She was just a customer. How could she possibly know what was going on in Old Man Wallace's family?'
Renee Jennings gripped her phone a little tighter. "I don't know why. It's just a gut feeling."
"Why do you have a gut feeling like that?"
...
Renee Jennings fell silent.
Henry Stark wasn't in a hurry. He waited quietly for her to answer.
Renee Jennings pursed her lips and adapted what the mouse couple had said. "One time when I went to the shop to buy something, I heard the owner yelling at his wife. It seemed to be because he favors sons over daughters. Since he only has a daughter, he wanted to use their family's money to buy a house for his nephew, but his wife wouldn't agree."
Michelle Fuller, who was driving, heard this and immediately blurted out, "Is he nuts? Doesn't his nephew have his own dad? Why should he be the one paying for a house?"
Renee Jennings sighed. "I thought it was outrageous too, which is why it stuck with me."
"I see." Henry Stark's tone softened considerably. "Thank you, Miss Jennings."
"Is there anything else?" Renee Jennings asked.
Henry Stark: "No, that's all."
"Goodbye, then."
Renee Jennings hung up, and Michelle Fuller immediately started pressing her for details.
Renee Jennings didn't hide the fact that she could understand some animals and told her the whole story from beginning to end.
"Holy crap! Holy crap!" Michelle Fuller was floored. "Babe, you're so freaking cool! Can you understand what tigers say? Let's go to the zoo in a couple of days, okay!"
Renee Jennings wasn't sure either. "Tigers are felines, but I don't know if they share the same language family as house cats."
"We'll find out if we try! And you're so gutsy! After hearing what those two mice said, you actually ran to the police station to report it!" Michelle Fuller exclaimed in amazement as she drove.
Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't thinking that much about it at the time."
'She'd never considered that an animal might lie.'
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the car drove into the hot spring resort villa area.
Michelle Fuller had already booked in advance, so she drove straight to Villa No. 6.
The moment she got out of the car, she excitedly dragged Renee Jennings along to find some animals. "Are there any stray cats around here? Quick, show me your superpower!"