Ann Martin - Mary Anne And The Zoo Mystery

"I guess these animals mean a lot to them," she said.

"I wonder how far they'll go," Dawn said, handing each of the twins a small carton of apple juice from her bag. "When we went through the front gate, I talked to one of them about the emu. He didn't seem the least bit surprised, or even upset, that one of the zoo animals had gotten out and was running free."

"Maybe he knew it was going to happen," I suggested. "He could have been part of the plot."

"What plot?" Howie asked.

"The plot to free the animals," I said. Then I turned to Dawn. "I hope you remember what he looks like. He could be a suspect."

Dawn nodded. 'I'll write it down. Tall and thin with red moustache."

Claudia, who had gotten herself an ice-cream cone, finished it, and returned to the table. "Well, back to work," she said.

Alan, who had taken several sips of our shared Coke, stood up also. "Today I'm watching the emu. I think I'll take a look at how she handles the stress of glimpsing freedom and then having it ripped away from her."

"That sounds grim," I said. "Are you sure you wouldn't want to study the bears or seals?"

"Oh, no," Alan said with a sly smile. "Be-sides, I have a feeling I'm going to make some prize-winning observations today."

"What makes you think that?" Dawn asked, taking a sip of her own juice.

Alan wiggled his eyebrows. "That’s for me

to know and you to find out." He looped his

backpack over one shoulder and sauntered off.

"Well, Howie?" I said, facing him. "Which

do you want — the bears or the seals?"

"Bears," Howie replied, taking a final loud slurp of our soda. "I'm really starting to like those guys."

"Then 111 take the seals," I said, grabbing my backpack. "This should be fun. Catch you guys later."

Dawn waved good-bye. "Don't forget to check the bushes," she reminded me. "And

watch for any suspicious people."

I gave her a thumbs-up. I had every intention of checking for berry bushes. In fact, I'd already decided to take the long way to the seals. That way I could have one more look at Edith the emu's pen.

Alan had a few minutes' headstart on me, but I fully expected to catch up with him at the emu pen. When I got there, though, he was nowhere to be seen, which was strange, since he had done that little eyebrow wiggle, saying he was going to be making some prize-winning observations about emus. I followed the fence along the entire perimeter of the emu enclosure. No Alan.

But I did discover something else. Where the emu fence bordered the primate area was a large duster of bushes. Red berry bushes, to be exact. Some of the lower branches were quite near to the ground. I wondered if they were low enough to have been walked on. As I bent down to examine them more closely, several of the new employees in blue blazers went running by.

"We're over by the primates, base," one of them said into his walkie-talkie. "We're coming on the double to help with containment."

Something was up. I decided to follow them, to see what the commotion was about. The men hurried around the side of the primate enclosure, where Mojo and James were on display, then hurried down a sidewalk leading toward the African savannah exhibit.

I wondered if one of the elephants was having a problem. But no, the men hurried past the elephant barns and amphitheater, heading toward the giraffe house.

A crowd had already gathered. Several of the new security people were setting up a barricade with yellow sawhorses. Mrs. Wofsey was there, speaking to the onlookers in a steady, firm voice.

"Please, everyone, stay back," she ordered. "Giraffes may look harmless but if they become frightened or angry, they can be quite dangerous."

Two zookeepers appeared, holding long ropes which were loosely draped around the neck of the giraffe ambling along between them. She was about fourteen feet tall and towered above everyone. If I hadn't known the giraffe had escaped, I might have thought the three of them were out for an afternoon stroll.

"Here you are, Geraldine," Mrs. Wofsey said in a reassuring voice. "Back home, safe and sound."

Geraldine's eyes darted back and forth as she spied the large crowd milling behind the barriers. Her nostrils flared several times, but

on

she made no attempt to kick or run. She waited patiently as the keepers opened the gate leading into the corral. Several other zoo-keepers were waiting for her inside with a bucket of oats. They used a long stick to lift the bucket up to the feeding trough, which was attached to a pole.

The moment Geraldine spied the food, she trotted into the corral. Instantly the gate was shut behind her and Mrs. Wofsey breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, now, that’s that," she said to the crowd. "I guess, since it was such a nice day, Geraldine thought she'd take herself out for a little stroll."

This drew a chuckle from the crowd.

"Rest assured, folks," Mrs. Wofsey continued, "the Bedford Zoo will not let an incident like this happen again."

But how will they stop it? I thought. Already two animals had been set free. How many more would escape before they discovered whodunnit! As the crowd dispersed, I noticed something odd. Marilyn Arnold was standing by herself near the gate to the giraffe house. She was looking guiltily over one shoulder. If she weren't so young, I might have thought she had something to do with the escape. I decided I'd better keep an eye on her.

"That was pretty exciting, wasn't it, Marilyn?" I said, joining her at the gate.

Marilyn nodded sadly. Her chin was quivering as if she were about to cry.

"What’s the matter?" I asked.

She pointed to the giraffe, who had devoured the oats and was now looking over the fence at us. "Geraldine looks so sad," Marilyn murmured. "I wish she didn't have to live in that cage."

I draped my arm over Marilyn's shoulder. "I wish that, too. But these people seem very kind. Look, the zookeeper is scratching her behind the ear with that long brush. Geraldine seems to like it."

Marilyn shrugged. "Maybe. But it still is sad."

"Come on, let’s go find Dawn," I said. "I'm sure she is wondering where you are."

"Dawn and Carolyn are watching the monkeys. I just couldn't go there."

"We'll walk back," I said, already guiding her to the primate enclosure. "Then you and I can wait outside."

We ran into Howie and Alan on the way.

"I looked for you at the emu pen," I said to Alan. "But you weren't there."

"Uh, I was with Howie," Alan explained. He seemed very nervous. "We decided to watch the seals. They were tossing a ball around and being really squirrelly."

"It’s too bad you missed all the excitement," I said. "One of the giraffes escaped from her cage."

"What?" Howie gasped. "Did they have to tie her down and sedate her with one of those tranquilizer guns? That must have taken a lot of guys."

"I think you've been watching too many safari movies," I said with a laugh. 'Two of the keepers just walked her back into the corral. I guess they were lucky she didn't fight. Mrs. Wofsey said giraffes can be pretty fierce if they're upset."

"Marilyn!" Dawn cried, hurrying to join us. Her face was red from running. "Where have you been? Carolyn and I have been looking for you everywhere."

"I was watching the giraffe," Marilyn replied.

Dawn turned to me and said stiffly, "Would you watch Carolyn for a moment? Marilyn and I need to have a very serious talk."

She took Marilyn by the hand and led her to the nearest empty bench. I couldn't hear what Dawn was saying but I could guess from their body language. Dawn's face was tense and she was talking a mile a minute, while Marilyn stared down at her hands, her head bent. Every few moments Marilyn nodded. Dawn was making it very dear to Marilyn that