The Cat's Paw Page 4

  “Okay,” Zach said. He closed his eyes, thinking. “So we’ve got good reason to think Jersey could have taken Marvin.” He ticked off the reasons on his fingers. “She had motive, she had opportunity, and we have evidence to suggest she was at the scene of the crime. Now we just need a plan. I would vote against confronting her until we get more evidence. What do you think, guys?” There was no answer. “Guys?” Zach opened his eyes to find he was standing alone. Sophia was already marching toward Jersey shooting daggers with her eyes, and Evie and Vishal looked equally ready for confrontation. “Why do they always do this?” he moaned, hurrying after them.

  When Zach finally reached the group, things did not seem to be going well. Sophia’s face was white with anger, and Jersey had her arms folded and a smirk on her face. “Well, if it isn’t the little princess,” Jersey sneered. “What’s wrong? Did you run out of Mommy’s diamonds to sell so you could build more animal prisons?”

  Oh, boy, Zach thought, bracing himself.

  “How DARE you!” Sophia flew at the young woman.

  Evie grabbed Sophia’s arm and pulled her back. “Take it easy. Don’t let her get to you.”

  “For your information, we weren’t just building a habitat for critically endangered gibbons; the zoo also supports programs that help to protect gibbons in the wild. But obviously you don’t care about that!” Sophia’s voice was shaking. “You know, I want to help animals just as much as you do, but for people like you it’s never good enough! At least I’m actually doing something about it, instead of just standing here shouting at people!”

  Zach quietly cleared his throat. “Um, Sophia, you actually kind of are standing here shouting at people.” He cleared his throat again. “I mean, at least right now.”

  “Whatever,” Sophia huffed. She held up the bright-green FREE MARVIN flyer and shook it in Jersey’s face. “You know, I thought there was no stunt you wouldn’t pull, but you’ve really outdone yourself this time!”

  Jersey laughed. “Oh, did I finally get your attention?”

  “So you admit it?” Sophia demanded.

  “Well, duh,” Jersey said. “My organization’s listed right there.” She pointed at the black lettering on the bottom edge of the flyer: For more information, contact SCAT!

  Vishal punched Zach in the arm. “Dude, does that say scat?” he whispered. They both cracked up, and Evie bit her lip to hide her smile.

  “What about it?” Jersey snapped. “SCAT stands for Save Captive Animals Today. Why would that be funny?”

  “I mean, scat, you know, like, animal scat, as in . . . ” Vishal trailed off as he noticed both Sophia and Jersey glaring at him with identical death stares. “Never mind,” he mumbled. “Just go back to yelling at each other.”

  Sophia stood arms akimbo. “So you’re saying that all of this was just a publicity stunt for SCAT?”

  Vishal giggled behind her, and Evie kicked his ankle. “Sorry,” he whispered.

  “It’s not a publicity stunt,” Jersey shot back. “It’s an awareness-raising campaign. People need to know that innocent animals are being kept in prisons when they should be free. Imagine if you were just taken from your home one day and forced to live in a cage the rest of your life. Marvin belongs in the wild, not locked behind bars. All animals do!”

  “First of all, Marvin wasn’t taken from his home. He was orphaned by poachers, and he would have died if a zoo hadn’t taken him in and nursed him back to health. The zoo is his home!” Sophia moved forward so she was almost nose to nose with the activist. “And second of all, Marvin wouldn’t even know how to survive in the wild, so the sooner you tell us where you took him, the better.”

  Jersey stared at Sophia, dumbstruck. “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, don’t play dumb now,” Sophia said. “You’ve already admitted to kidnapping Marvin.”

  Jersey paled. “Wait, what? No, I didn’t. Are you saying Marvin’s missing?” She looked genuinely shocked, and Evie stepped in before Sophia could respond.

  “He went missing from his enclosure last night. Didn’t you see it in the news?”

  Jersey waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I don’t follow the news. It bums me out too much.” Her face grew serious again. “But he’s definitely gone? He must have escaped! See, he’s been longing to be free all this time. I knew it! That’s why I left those leaflets in the zoo, so that the people would finally come to know his plight.”

  “Marvin didn’t escape,” Zach said. He held up the plastic container from his exhibit. “Someone took him.”

  “Not just someone.” Sophia pointed at Jersey. “She took him.”

  “Listen,” Jersey said. “That poor animal finally escaped from your precious zoo, and you want someone to blame? Well, don’t go looking at me. I’m not about to get framed for something I had nothing to do with.”

  “From our perspective, it looks like you had something to do with it,” Zach said. He pointed to the flyer. “We saw you outside the zoo last night, and you’ve already told us you left those flyers near Marvin’s exhibit. You could easily have snuck into the zoo and used Marvin’s favorite treats to lure him away.”

  “Killer idea, kid, but it’s not happening.” Jersey brushed a stray strand of stringy hair away from her face. “Yeah, I left the leaflets yesterday afternoon. And yeah, I want Marvin to be free, but I’m not stupid. I’m not going to just grab an animal and randomly let it go somewhere that’s nothing like its natural habitat. Marvin is a red panda. He belongs in the Himalayas, not Minnesota.”

  Sophia folded her arms and shot Jersey a skeptical glare. “Oh, so now all of the sudden you have a conscience?”

  “I don’t have any trouble sleeping at night,” Jersey retorted. “Do you?” She saw the expression on Sophia’s face, and she sighed. Her tone softened. “Look, you’re obviously really worried about the little guy. And to be honest, I am, too. But I’m telling you, I didn’t take him.”

  “What about this?” Zach held up the plastic container. “It was only a couple feet away from the leaflets you left. Maybe you wouldn’t set Marvin free here, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t keep him for a while until you could send him somewhere else.”

  Jersey shook her head. “I don’t know anything about taking care of a red panda, and I don’t want to. SCAT doesn’t even believe in owning pets.” She took the empty meat container from Zach’s hand and gave it a sniff. Her lip curled in distaste, and she quickly shoved it back to him. “And even if I did want to free him, I would never do it with this.”

  CHAPTER

  8

  “I’m a vegan, guys. No animal products of any kind, and definitely no meat. Do you really think I would advocate the murder of one animal just to free another one from prison?”

  “Whoa. Okay,” Evie said. She chose her next words carefully. “You obviously have strong beliefs. But couldn’t that mean you would be willing to sacrifice anything for your cause? Even if that means, um, you know, using meat?”

  “Exactly,” Sophia added. “Right now we just have your word, and why should we trust that?”

  “Look, if you don’t believe me, ask that fascist security guard from last night. She came flying out of the zoo yesterday with her long braid and her attitude, saying I wasn’t allowed to protest that lame party.”

  “Wait a minute, that doesn’t seem right,” Zach said. “Sophia said you’re always out here protesting, and that’s not against the law.”

  “Well, that’s what I said,” Jersey retorted. “I had almost finished spray-painting the zoo’s wall when she made some whole scene about vandalism being illegal.”

  “Oh,” Zach said. “Yeah, vandalizing stuff is totally against the law.”

  Jersey rolled her eyes dramatically. “Ugh! That’s what the cops said when they rolled up. They took away my spray paint and everything, and then they made me leave the zoo. So stupid.”

  Vishal eyed the stone walls that flanked the zoo’s entrance gates. “I don’t see an
y spray paint now.”

  Jersey pointed to the patch of fresh gray paint on one of the walls. “They painted over it already.”

  “Well, isn’t that convenient,” Sophia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Whatever,” Jersey said. “I don’t have to prove anything to you. I know I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “You mean other than vandalizing public property?” Sophia shot back.

  “Listen, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not really worried about what a couple of bratty kids think of me, okay? I have better things to do.” Jersey turned away from them and shoved a leaflet at a young couple with a toddler. The man frowned and took the flyer before throwing it away in the nearest trash can without even looking at it.

  It was obvious that Jersey had nothing more to say to them, so the four friends walked back into the zoo. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Zach asked. He walked over to the flamingo exhibit and put a quarter in a nearby machine. He turned the crank and a handful of small dry pellets landed in his palm. He sniffed at them. “Man, I don’t know what flamingos eat, but whatever it is, it stinks.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s shrimp or something. Isn’t that why they’re pink?” Evie plucked a few bits of food from his hand and tossed them into the exhibit’s pond. “I believe Jersey,” she said thoughtfully. “She obviously cares a lot about animals. I don’t think she would lie about something as serious as a missing red panda.” The flamingos flapped at one another and fished out the floating pellets, swishing their beaks back and forth in the water.

  Sophia put another quarter in the machine and turned the crank with short, angry jerks. “Ugh, you guys are so naive.” The food spilled out of the machine, half of it scattering onto the pavement and missing Sophia’s hand completely. She ignored it. “The woman is obviously a criminal. She already admitted to vandalizing the zoo. What more do you want?”

  Vishal bent down and swept the fallen pellets into his hand. “Chill, Sophia. Just because someone is guilty of one thing doesn’t mean they’re guilty of everything.” He tossed the pieces one by one into the far side of the pond, where a smaller flamingo with mottled pink-and-gray feathers stood by itself. It eagerly guzzled up the unexpected bounty. “Besides, we can easily find out if Jersey’s telling the truth.” He stepped over to a passing security officer. “Excuse me, Officer Eylon?” he said, reading the guard’s name tag. “There was a security guard working at the party here last night. She had long, dark hair in a braid down her back. Do you know if she’s working today?”

  The officer stroked his neatly trimmed red beard. “Oh, you must be talking about Kristin Tongson. She’s on duty in the security office today.” He pointed out a spot on the zoo map, and the kids thanked him before making their way to a brown brick building behind the photo booths.

  The security office was part of the staff building, and the kids passed a meeting room and a sad-looking break room before they found Officer Tongson sitting behind a long counter in the security office. She was bent over a clipboard of paperwork, her long, dark eyelashes fluttering as she read. A small bank of TV monitors mounted to the walls behind her showed several angles of the zoo entrance, the main gift shop, and a loading bay.

  “Hi,” Vishal said, flashing a confident grin.

  Officer Tongson looked up. “Well, hello again. What can I do for you?”

  "My friend here thinks she might have dropped her phone at the donor party last night when we were getting on the tram.” He pointed at Sophia, who tried her best to look like a person who had recently lost a phone. “We were wondering if you might have found it last night.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” the guard said. “I don’t know what I would do without my phone. You must be so upset!”

  Sophia clutched her hands together over her heart like a damsel in distress and let out a lofty sigh. “Oh, I’m just devastated!” She blinked her eyes and gazed mournfully up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what on earth I’ll do if I don’t find it!”

  Vishal nudged her with his elbow. “Take it down a notch,” he said under his breath.

  Sophia dropped her hands. “Yeah, no. I mean, I just really need it,” she said quickly.

  Officer Tongson gave Sophia a strange look and nodded slowly. “Okay,” she said. “I don’t remember finding anything last night, but let’s take a look in the lost and found.” She pulled a clear plastic bin from a shelf and plopped it on the counter. After a few moments of rummaging, she gave a regretful shrug. “Sorry, hon. It looks like mostly jackets and pacifiers, and an occasional one of these.” She held up a tiny baby shoe and sighed. “Poor parents, right? I don’t think these things ever stay on.”

  “Are you sure nobody found anything?” Vishal pressed. “Maybe you could check the security tapes and see where she might have dropped it?” The officer looked uncertain, and Vishal nudged Sophia again.

  “Oh, please, Officer Tongson! It would mean so much if we could at least check!” In a flash of inspiration she added, “My parents will absolutely kill me if they know I lost my phone again!”

  The officer’s face softened, and she gave a conspiratorial grin. “Strict parents, huh? Mine were the worst. I was always getting in trouble for losing stuff!” She clicked a few buttons on the keyboard. “Let’s see what we can find.”

  “Thank you so much, Officer Tongson,” Sophia gushed.

  “You can call me Kris.” The monitor switched to the first guests arriving at the zoo for the previous night’s dinner. The walls of the zoo entrance were clearly visible, and the kids could see Jersey waving her sign in the background as various familiar faces greeted the staff and boarded the trams inside. Kris sped up the tape, skimming quickly through the images.

  Evie saw herself and her friends appear onscreen, and she knew that if Kris noticed, she would stop the tape before they could see Jersey. She tapped the counter near Kris’s hand and pointed to the guard’s elaborate gel manicure. “OMG, I love your nails! May I see?”

  “Oh, thanks!” Kris held out her hands, and Evie oohed and ahhed over the pink-and-gold pattern tipped with tiny crystals. Evie glanced at the TV screen. The last of the guests had driven off in the cart, and Jersey was just walking toward the entrance.

  Kris’s eyes moved toward the monitor, and Evie pulled out her phone. “Can I take a picture?”

  “Sure! Just do a close-up, though. I only started working here a few days ago, so I don’t want my new boss to see it and think I’m slacking off on the job.” She carefully arranged her hands on the counter, and Evie snapped a few photos.

  Kris glanced up to the monitors and saw the police escorting Jersey across the parking lot back to her car. “Oh, my gosh! You should not be seeing that,” she said quickly, and turned off the film.

  “Oh, no worries,” Vishal said easily. “We won’t say anything.”

  Kris looked relieved. “Thanks.” She put the lost and found bin back on the shelf. “And I’m sorry about your phone,” she said to Sophia. “Did you guys see anything that might help you figure out where it might be?”

  Zach nodded. “I think we got what we needed.”

  CHAPTER

  9

  The teens thanked the security guard for her help, and Zach pulled the others into the empty break room. It had a sagging, torn couch and a scarred lunch table with a few plastic chairs scattered around it. A TV showed the local news with the sound turned off. “The time stamps on the security video show that Jersey never went inside the zoo last night. And the cops escorted her out by eight forty, which was about half an hour before Nikki discovered that Marvin was missing.”

  “Yeah, but she could have snuck back in after they all left,” Sophia said.

  “I don’t know,” Vishal said. “That would be cutting it pretty tight. She’d have to circle back, hide her car somewhere, sneak into the zoo, get to Marvin’s exhibit, and use the meat to lure him into a carrier. Then she would have to sneak him out again, all without being seen
by anyone. That’s a lot to do in half an hour.”

  “Vishal’s right,” Evie said to Sophia. “I know you don’t like Jersey, but the timeline just makes it way too hard for her to be the likely culprit.”

  “But not impossible,” Sophia countered. “So I’m keeping her on the list of suspects.”

  Evie sighed. “Fine. Whatever.” She folded her arms. “You always do what you want anyway.”

  “You guys.” Zach grabbed Evie’s shoulder and pointed at the TV. “What’s happening?” City Councilman Tommy Brown stood behind a podium in front of a makeshift crowd near the zoo’s front gates. His once-affable face was hardened into a stern glower, bushy white eyebrows pushed low above his eyes. His leathery pink forehead was shiny with perspiration, and he pointed vigorously at the zoo entrance. An inset photo of Marvin flashed up on the corner of the screen, and it was quickly joined by an image of B-17.

  Vishal grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. “How long must we continue to tolerate this menace in our midst?” the councilman demanded. “This brazen animal broke into the zoo and killed Marvin, a beloved city icon, right under our noses. If we don’t stop it now, what’s next? Our pets? Our children?” The crowd murmured angrily in front of him.

  “What is this?” Evie asked. “What’s he saying?”

  “I want to pledge to all of you standing here today, that as your city councilman—and, God willing, someday soon as your city’s mayor”—at this, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd, and Brown allowed himself a small smile—“I will do everything in my power to keep our zoo animals, our pets, and, most of all, our children safe from dangerous wildlife like B-17. And so it is with great pride that I stand here today to tell you that I have introduced a city ordinance banning wild predators from our borders, and I have called upon our leaders to vote next Monday to have B-17 destroyed once and for all. This is our city, and I won’t allow its citizens to live in terror anymore!” The crowd erupted in cheers, and the gaggle of reporters near the podium pushed forward, shouting questions. Brown simply waved them off with a grandfatherly smile and turned to shake hands with a cluster of gray-suited businessmen, who grinned and slapped his back, pumping his arm up and down vigorously.