Ann Martin: Mary Anne And The Zoo Mystery

Logan pointed at me. "Remember the time we were watching the seals, when they were being fed?"

I nodded. "We talked about the competition, and then we went to Dr. Wordsworth's lecture."

"That was just before the gibbons' cage was found open," Logan said. "Now, do you remember what Mr. Chester said when he was late to the lecture?"

I nodded. "He said he had to feed the seals ..." A light bulb in my brain suddenly went on. "But he didn't feed the seals, because you and I watched the blond guy with the moustache feed them fifteen minutes before."

"Exactly!" Logan cried.

"And the berry stains," I said, suddenly remembering the stains outside the gibbons'

cage door. "Mr. Chester must have made them — "

"Because he was standing in the bushes," Dawn jumped in, "when he yelled at Howie and Alan about feeding the animals,"

I was so excited I could hardly breathe. "We've got to tell Mrs. Wofsey right away. Like now."

Logan pointed to the office by the front gate. "Let’s try her office."

We were in luck. She was in.

Logan, Claudia, Dawn, and I crowded into her tiny office and took turns telling our story. We told her about finding the zoo key, how the emu gate was accidentally left open, and especially about the berry stains and Mr. Chester's lie.

When we were finished, Mrs. Wofsey looked grim. She pursed her lips and shook her head for a long time before she spoke.

"It comes as no surprise that our culprit is Mr. Chester. You may or may not have noticed that there has been some tension between us. When I was hired for this position, he was resentful. He thought the job should have gone to him. He's done everything in his power to undermine my authority."

"What are you going to do?" Claudia asked. "Call the police?"

Mrs. Wofsey sighed. "Not just yet. You see, we really don't have anything concrete against him. All of the evidence is circumstantial,"

"You need to catch him in the act," Logan said, nodding his head.

"But how?" Dawn asked.

Mrs. Wofsey stood up and moved to her bulletin board, where a big color photo of Mojo and James was displayed. "If Mr. Chester really wants to get me into trouble, he'll free the gorillas."

Chapter 14.

Good-bye, Gorillas! read the banner above the visitors' center. A large sandwich board outside welcomed the eighth-graders from Stoneybrook Middle School to the farewell party. Bouquets of green, silver, and purple balloons were everywhere.

That Saturday morning, Dawn and I had risen early. We'd wanted to go over our plans for the big stakeout.

After Mrs. Wofsey had expressed concern that Mr. Chester might try to free the gorillas, we had agreed the best time for him to do it would be the day of the good-bye party.

'Today's the day," Logan said as Dawn, Claudia, and I huddled outside the front gate that morning. "We'll have to be on our toes, never let Chester out of our sight, and report anything, I mean, anything strange."

"You got it," Alan said, joining our huddle.

Howie was right behind him. "Just tell us

what to do and we're there." He had arrived a little early so he could apologize to Mrs. Wofsey about leaving the emu pen open. After she let him off with a warning, he was even more excited than Alan was about catching the other suspect.

I realized I had forgotten to tell my friends that I'd invited Alan and Howie to help with our stakeout. I figured they were already involved because of the zoo key and the emu escape, and besides I'd filled them in on Mr. Chester. And well, they were my group partners. It would probably have been okay if they hadn't looked so ridiculous.

Howie had chosen to wear all black. I think he'd been watching too many spy movies. Alan was dressed in camouflage pants, T-shirt, and a camping cap.

"I thought hunting season was over," Logan cracked, looking at Alan. I shot Logan a warning look and he immediately backed off. "Thanks for helping out, Alan."

"No problem," Alan said. "I want to catch this Chester guy in the act."

I guessed that Alan's determination was fueled by the embarrassment he'd felt when Mr. Chester had yelled at him in the berry bushes.

"Okay, now that there are six of us," Logan

continued, "we can put two guards on the primate area, near the gorillas, one on Mr. Chester — "

"Which should change every fifteen minutes," I cut in. "Or he'll get suspicious."

"Right," Logan said. "The rest of us will patrol the area until it’s our turn to watch Chester."

We made a list determining who would do what job first and in what order. Then I checked my watch. "It’s ten o'clock. The party starts in half an hour. That gives us plenty of time to get to our positions."

"Now, the party lasts for an hour," Logan reminded us. "Then everyone is going to meet at the gorilla cage, where James and Mojo will be served banana cake."

"Gross," Alan said, grimacing. "I hope they don't want us to share it."

Logan chuckled. "Seriously. It would probably have gorilla slobber all over it. I've watched those guys eat. They lick everything first."

I was glad Logan was keeping his promise to be nice to Alan. It made everything so much more pleasant. Even spying on a possible criminal.

My first assignment was to stay by the visitors' center and watch the party guests, keeping an eye out for anyone looking suspicious. I liked this job because it let me attend the party. And boy, was it fun!

Mrs. Wofsey and her assistants had turned the center into a gorilla carnival. The pictures of the different animals had been replaced with life-size photos of Mojo and James at the Bedford Zoo. The room was lined with booths featuring a gorilla theme. At the far end of the room the video that Dr. Wordsworth had introduced to us was playing.

Kristy, who had missed the action during the week, brought her brother David Michael and her stepsister Karen to the party.

"I want to try the gorilla ring toss," Karen said, tugging on Kristy's arm. "Could I, please?"

"Of course." Kristy laughed. "We can try everything. And afterward we'll have a banana split at the Banana Boat snack bar."

My favorite display was the one titled Gorilla My Dreams. The zoo staff had made cardboard cutouts of two gorillas standing arm-in-arm, with a place between them for people to put their faces. A photographer with a Polaroid camera stood by, ready to take pictures. I made a mental note to bring Logan back here, if all went well.

I roamed the room, watching children color drawings of gorillas and make day gorillas

with a plastic mold. There were gorilla masks and even several guys dressed in gorilla suits in the crowd.

Mrs. Wofsey was in one corner talking to a group of students and their parents. She caught my eye and waved. I could tell she was worried about what might happen in the next hour. So I gave her a thumbs-up sign.

I checked my watch. Fifteen minutes had passed. Time for me to move to my new post by the gorilla cage. Before I left the building, I saw Mrs. Wofsey give a few instructions to the guys in the gorilla suits, then slip out the side door.

I passed Howie, who was taking, over my position at the party. He had put on a pair of dark sunglasses and didn't even say hi as he walked by. He did pretend to scratch his head, and I noticed him wiggling a few fingers in my direction. I nearly laughed out loud.

Seconds later I heard feet pounding behind me. It was Logan. "This is it," he hissed. "I think Chester's making his move."

"Don't run," I replied. "He'll think something's up."

Immediately Logan slowed to a walk beside me. "Sorry, I got a little carried away," he said. "Claudia followed Chester to the employees' locker area, where he changed out of his blue blazer into green pants and a green shirt."

"So he'd look like the plant crew,"