Terror at the Zoo (6 page)

After he went to the bathroom, he would take the long way back to the tent. He would go past the snow leopards and the other big cats. Maybe one of them would roar at him.

Yes. That’s what he would do. Heck, if he was going to be at the zoo all night, he had to have some fun. Let
Ellen sleep in the tent if she wanted to. Corey would have his adventure by himself.

ACROSS
the zoo, on the other side of the lion area, Tony Haymes walked quietly down the path. He felt good now that he had eaten and even though there had been only fifty dollars in the cashbox, it was better than having no money at all. He also had two bananas and a sandwich in his jacket pocket, along with the cash. It was always nice to know where his next meal was coming from.

He had pulled the panel securely shut and left the snack shop through the door. No one would be able to tell he had been inside the building until they opened the cashbox and found it empty.

Tony smiled. I haven’t lost my touch, he thought. Eight months in prison couldn’t take away talent like his. Of course, fifty bucks was peanuts compared to Tony’s usual haul.

That’s what I need, he decided. A big job. Fast. Make enough in a hurry to get me out of the country, let me lie low for awhile. Then I’ll start over somewhere else. Mexico, maybe. He’d heard there were ways to make big bucks in Mexico. But in order to get to Mexico he had to do more than pilfer petty cash from a hot dog stand.

Think big, he told himself. Think big. Bank robbery? No. Too risky. All the banks have surveillance cameras these days and he would be recognized. Jewelry store? No. He would need a fence to get rid of the stolen goods and he was out of touch.

He left the African area behind and meandered past the orangutans and great apes. There was a special display outside the monkey house and, curious, Tony squinted in the moonlight to see what it said.

COME MEET THE NEW BABY! We are pleased to announce that a golden lion tamarin monkey was born here on August 2nd. This species seldom reproduces in captivity. The baby is healthy and enjoys having visitors.

Next to the announcement were several snapshots of a baby monkey. Tony stared at the pictures for a long time. The monkey was tiny, no bigger than a doll. In one of the pictures, a person was holding it and the little monkey had its arms wrapped around the person’s neck and its head snuggled against the person’s chest just the way a little child might.

There was also a newspaper article about the birth of the baby monkey. The headline said: RARE BABY MONKEY ATTRACTS ZOO VISITORS. The story began by saying zoo attendance was up 35 percent since the birth of the baby monkey.

Tony tugged on the glass doors that led inside the monkey house. They were locked. He cupped his hands on the sides of his face and peered inside.

The interior of the building was dimly lit, as if the zoo were trying to match the moonlight of the outdoors. Tony could see glass partitions which separated zoo visitors from the floor-to-ceiling chain link enclosures where the monkeys lived.

Inside the enclosures, he saw trees, fallen logs, and platforms at various heights. In one cage, high up by the ceiling, there was a swing.

Something moved in the cage closest to where he stood. Tony saw a small shape. For a moment he thought it was a squirrel. When it moved again, another, smaller, shape followed and he realized that it was the golden tamarin monkey and her famous baby.

And that’s when he knew how he would get enough money to go to Mexico. He would kidnap the baby monkey and hold it for ransom.

It should be a snap. All he had to do was get into the cage and coax the little monkey to come to him. That would be simple enough.

Tony’s heart began to pound as he thought of what he would do after he had the monkey. He’d get a room somewhere, hide out, and demand a ransom. The zoo must have plenty of money and if they didn’t, they would get it from the public. People who love animals are suckers for animal sob stories. The public would contribute. All the people who had come to the zoo to see the baby monkey would want to help get it back. They’d give money; he was sure of it.

Twenty thousand dollars. Tony leaned his head against the cool glass door and closed his eyes. He would demand a $20,000 ransom for the return of the baby monkey. And he would get it.

But first he had to have the monkey. He squinted through the door again. Even if he broke in, the glass partitions inside looked solid and so did the chain fencing. Even his knife couldn’t cut through chain like that; it would take a hacksaw.

Take your time, he told himself. Calm down and think it through before you act.

There had to be some other way to get inside. How do the keepers put food in? How are the cages cleaned? There must be some kind of entrance at the back side of each cage.

His hands dropped to his sides and he started around the outside of the monkey building. He soon came to a wooden door marked “Employees Only.”

My lucky day, he told himself, as he used the knife to pick the lock on the door. As he worked, he planned his strategy. He would go through whatever opening was at the back of the rare monkey’s cage. He would use the bananas in his pocket to make friends with the mother monkey. While she ate the bananas, he would pick up the baby, step back through the door or hole or whatever it was, and leave.

He would have to move quickly. Even though the monkeys were tiny, they were still wild animals and he wasn’t sure what the mother would do if she saw him take her baby. The last thing he needed was to get bit.

If he had to, he would give her his sandwich, to distract her. That should keep her occupied until he and the baby were safely outside the cage.

And once he had the baby monkey? Then what? He would put the monkey inside his overalls and zip his jacket. He would take a cab—tell the driver his infant son was asleep. That would explain the lump in his coat. He would rent a motel room, one of those places where they don’t ask for license numbers, just cash on the line. He had the cash, from the snack-shop box.

Tomorrow he would call the director of the zoo and tell him where and when to bring the $20,000. He would
leave the monkey in the motel room, go get the money, and be on his way to Mexico.

Yes! Tony thought. It would work! Later, he could figure out exactly how to word the ransom call and arrange the pickup. Right now he needed to get the baby monkey in his jacket and get away from the zoo.

His heart thumped rapidly in his chest and little beads of moisture stood on his upper lip as he opened the “Employees Only” door and slipped silently into the area behind the monkey cages.

COREY
paused outside the rest rooms, debating which way to go. He was tempted to head north, past the bison and wolves. He bet those wolves would be howling tonight, with the moon almost full. The thought made him shiver with excitement.

He wasn’t scared. After all, what could happen to him? Still, it was odd to be here like this, in the middle of the night, with only the zoo animals.

He turned toward the lion area. The lion had roared earlier; maybe it would do so again. If not, he would keep walking, down past the orangutans and gorillas, all the way to the monkey house.

The monkey exhibits were Corey’s favorite part of the zoo. Ellen liked the Nocturnal House but all those bats gave him the creeps. He’d take the monkeys any day. Monkeys were silly; they made him laugh. And it was easy to make up stories about what they did because they always did something unexpected.

He wondered if monkeys lie down to sleep at night or if they sit in the trees. Maybe they make little beds in the leaves and lie down and use each other’s tails for pillows. Do monkeys dream? Do they sing monkey lullabies to their young?

Corey didn’t know anything about how monkeys act at night. Well, he thought happily, this is my chance to find out.

He paused for only a moment near the lion area. When none of them roared, he decided to go on. Even with the flashlight, it wasn’t as easy to find his way in the dark as he had thought it would be. He started walking toward where he thought the monkey house was.

Here I come, monkeys, he thought. You’re going to have midnight company.

T
HE LION
roared again.

Ellen’s eyes flew open. For a moment she didn’t know where she was or what she had heard. Then she remembered. She sat up, pulled the flap of the tent open, and looked out.

She wondered where her parents were. Something must have gone terribly wrong or they would be here. They would never let her and Corey spend the night here alone. Heck, she and Corey weren’t even allowed to spend the night alone at home, in their own house with Prince to protect them. Grandma and Grandpa always came and stayed with them if Mom and Dad had to be gone.

“Corey?” she whispered. “Are you awake?”

There was no answer. He must be asleep. She kept still, listening for animal noises again. She heard nothing. Not even the rhythmic breathing of someone who’s asleep.

She reached over toward Corey’s sleeping bag. It was empty.

“Corey?”

She groped for her flashlight and shined it frantically around the tent. She was alone.

Stay calm, she told herself. Maybe he went to the bathroom. That’s where he must be. She probably heard him leave without knowing it and that’s why she woke up.

Ellen stretched and moved her head from side to side, working the kinks out of her neck. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the ground.

She wondered if the zoo security man had gone past yet. She had meant to stay awake and watch for him.

She felt thirsty now so she opened the ice chest and removed a can of juice. After a few sips, she looked outside again.

Corey should be back by now. It didn’t take this long to walk to the rest rooms and back.

Ellen put the can of juice down. It would be just like him to decide to go off by himself in search of some excitement. Like it or not, she supposed she had better go look for him.

She walked across the meadow to the rest rooms and cracked open the door to the men’s side. “Corey? Are you in there?”

There was no reply. If Corey had been to the bathroom, he was gone now.

She wondered which way he would go and decided it was useless to guess. With her brother, anything was possible. He was probably looking for his dancing zebras and flying giraffes.

At least she didn’t have to worry that Corey would get lost. He knew his way around the zoo and no matter
which way he went, sooner or later he would come back to the North Meadow. She just hoped he wouldn’t try to find the thief and spy on him.

The thief must be a zoo employee—a keeper, perhaps, or a maintenance man. She found it hard to believe that anyone who worked at the zoo would also steal from it but the fence went completely around the outside; no one else could possibly get in.

Or out, she thought glumly.

She decided to take the path to her left first, because she thought that path dead-ended at the north end of the zoo. If Corey had gone that way, she would find him for sure.

She had not gone far when a rustling sound came from the right side of the path. She stopped walking and pointed the light in that direction. Then she smiled. On the other side of the fence sat a whole row of wallaroos, a small kind of kangaroo. They were all up on their hind legs and supported by their tails. They sat still, watching her. Their eyes glowed red as her flashlight reflected off them. Apparently, they were curious about her flashlight and had come to see what it was.