Chapter 247: He Seems to Be My Master’s Dog
Chapter 247: Chapter 247: He Seems to Be My Master’s Dog
After lunch, in the police station conference room.
Renee Jennings sat before the terrarium, feeding the trembling little spider, her mind on Michelle Fuller out in the main office area.
She turned to Sawyer and said, "I’m going to go check on Michelle."
"Okay," Sawyer nodded. "It’s her first time dealing with something like this. She must be pretty shaken up."
"Yeah." Renee Jennings stood up and walked out of the conference room.
Michelle Fuller was just coming out of an interview room after giving her statement, and the two ran right into each other. "Renee."
"Feeling any better?" Renee Jennings asked, taking her hand. "Want to go across the street and grab a coffee or some milk tea?"
"Much better." Michelle Fuller linked arms with her and smiled. "No, it’s okay. If you’re busy, go ahead. I already called Hank to come pick me up."
Renee Jennings pulled her toward the station exit anyway. "Hank isn’t here yet, so let’s go get some. We can grab a few for everyone else, too."
The two of them crossed the street, bought a dozen or so cups of milk tea, and by the time they carried them back, Sean Fuller had already arrived.
Seeing them return, he asked anxiously, "Sis, Renee, what happened? Why are you at the police station?"
"It’s nothing," Michelle Fuller said with a wave of her hand. "I’m just keeping Renee company for work."
Sean Fuller looked at Renee Jennings, confused. "Renee works at the police station?"
"Kids shouldn’t ask so many questions." Michelle Fuller shoved a cup of milk tea into his chest. "Drink up."
She then looked at Renee Jennings. "Can you manage those?"
"I’ve got it." Renee Jennings took the milk tea from her and looked at Sean Fuller. "Go take your sister out for a bit."
"Okay." Although Sean Fuller was bursting with questions, he still nodded. "I will."
Renee Jennings watched the two of them leave, then carried the milk tea into the police station.
"Kai, can you pass these out to everyone?" she said, handing the bags to Kyle Morgan. She kept two cups for herself and went into the conference room. "I’m back."
Sawyer looked up. "Is your friend doing better?"
"Her brother picked her up." Renee Jennings opened one of the milk teas and handed it to her. "Here."
"Thanks." Sawyer took the cup and had a sip. "This is delicious."
Renee Jennings looked at the small spider in the terrarium, took a photo of it, and did an image search.
’A blue-green tarantula?’
’Judging by its size, it must still be a spiderling.’
’Why would Evan Shepherd suddenly start keeping a spider?’
Renee Jennings put down her phone, her gaze falling back on the terrarium. The small spider seemed to have recovered; its eight legs were no longer trembling, and it was slowly munching on a dried insect.
She whispered, "Hello, little spider. I’m Renee Jennings, but you can call me Renee."
Hearing a human seemingly speaking to it, the little spider stopped eating. Its eight small eyes, clustered at the front of its head, began to swivel.
"Are you talking to me?" the little spider asked.
Seeing it respond, Renee Jennings’s eyes lit up, and a faint smile bloomed on her lips. "I am. What’s your name?"
The little spider seemed to react sluggishly, answering only after a long moment, "I don’t have a name."
"Can I think of a name for you, then?" Renee Jennings asked tentatively.
The small spider sensed her kindness and pleasant scent, so it agreed. "Okay, think of a nice name for me."
The spider’s body was covered in fine, velvet-like hairs. Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow slightly. "How about Fluffy, then?"
"Fluffy?" The little spider pondered for a moment, then said excitedly, "That’s a very nice name. I like it a lot."
"I’m glad you like it," Renee Jennings said in a gentle voice. "Fluffy, why weren’t you in your terrarium? Why were you hiding under the sofa?"
"My door was left open, so I wanted to go out and explore," Fluffy said. "But I wandered too far and got lost. I couldn’t find my way home."
Renee Jennings nodded. "Ah, so that’s what happened."
Fluffy went back to eating the dried insect.
After a moment’s thought, Renee Jennings found a photo of Evan Shepherd and showed it to the spider. "Fluffy, do you recognize this human?"
"Let me see." Fluffy crawled forward, getting closer to the glass to stare at the photo on the phone. "That’s the mean human. He hates me."
"What makes you think he hates you?"
"A human brought me to his house that day. When he saw me, he screamed and called me a disgusting thing." Fluffy sounded a little hurt as it spoke. "Am I disgusting?"
Renee Jennings immediately shook her head. "Of course not. I think you’re very cute."
Being told it was cute made Fluffy feel a little less sad.
"That mean human also wanted to throw me out. Luckily, my owner said no, so I wasn’t thrown away. But he didn’t care if I lived or died. He never fed me, and I almost starved to death."
"Your owner?" Renee Jennings’s slender brows furrowed in confusion. "Isn’t this human your owner? Then do you know what his relationship is with your owner?"
Fluffy thought for a moment before answering. "He’s like... a dog my owner keeps. It’s so weird. He’s obviously a human, so why does my owner call him a dog?"
Renee Jennings asked, "Is your owner male or female?"
Fluffy: "Male."
Renee Jennings was silent for a moment, then said, "Fluffy... that mean human is dead. Did you know?"
"I didn’t know." Fluffy swayed its body slowly.
Renee Jennings pursed her lips, propping her chin on her clasped hands, her delicate features clouded with thought.
Just then, the conference room door was pushed open from the outside.
Levi Hollis walked in, holding a tablet. "I checked the building’s security footage. On May 21st, fifty minutes after you left Evan Shepherd’s apartment, a courier delivered a box to him. He went out on the evening of May 22nd and came back a little after 3 AM on May 23rd. He was in a really bad state when he returned, and he hasn’t left the apartment since."
Renee Jennings took the tablet and watched the footage, frowning. "I’ve known him for years. I’ve never seen him look like that."
His expression was blank, his spirit broken. His steps were unsteady, and he swayed as he walked, as if he’d suffered a devastating blow.
"Something must have happened during those ten hours he was out," Renee Jennings said, looking at Levi Hollis. "Can you find out what?"
"I’ll try." Levi Hollis glanced at the little spider. "Any progress on your end?"
"Still working on it," Renee Jennings said. "So far, I only know that the spider wasn’t Evan Shepherd’s. It must have been the one delivered by the courier after I left that day."
Levi Hollis nodded. "Alright, I’ll do some more digging."
He turned and left the conference room.
Fluffy, having listened to the humans’ conversation, asked curiously, "Are you investigating why that mean human died?"
Renee Jennings: "Yes. We brought you here hoping you might know what happened."
"Then ask away." Fluffy had taken a liking to her. "You’re a nice human. I’m willing to tell you what I know, I just don’t know if it will be helpful."
Renee Jennings smiled, her voice softening. "Do you remember what the mean human did yesterday?"
"Let me think..." Fluffy said, then began to recall, scuttling its eight legs and spinning in little circles.