The Monkey Howled at Midnight by Zack Norris

the same idea,” Otis said. “Only he thought Luis was Pino.”
    â€œYes, he made a big mistake.” Carlos crossed his arms. “He’s very sorry now, I can assure you. And now, my young detectives, we have talked enough. Before you have a chance to tell anyone about this, I’ll be halfway around the world with a brand-new identity.”
    Carlos swept past Cody and Otis and entered the study. He walked toward the desk where his computer lay but stopped short. He found himself surrounded by Captain Montez and several of his officers, along with Mr. Estevez.
    â€œSorry, Carlos,” said Captain Montez. “What I’ve heard is very interesting. Besides, after Cody called, I had you followed. It seems that you went to the bank and withdrew a great deal of money from Mr. Estevez’s account … by forging his signature on a check.”
    â€œWhy did you do this?” asked Mr. Estevez.
    â€œMoney,” Carlos said, his voice full of contempt. “But that isn’t all. I hated your arrogance. I’ve seen people like you all my life. You push other people around. Look at all of the work I did for you—and yet you never wanted to give me a raise. Then the man known as The Chameleon approached me. He was interested in your land. I could get money and get back at you at the same time.”
    â€œYour reasoning is twisted, Carlos,” said Captain Montez. “You’re under arrest,” he pronounced, as he snapped handcuffs on Carlos. As the police led Carlos out of the house, he glanced at the monkey that was still munching on fruit. “Good-bye, macquinho ,” he whispered.
    When he reached the door, Carlos jerked to a halt. “How did you figure it all out, Cody?” Carlos asked, without turning around.
    â€œOh … I didn’t right away. But you mentioned engineering new species at the warehouse. I never said anything about that. The only way you could have known is if you were involved in the business. Then there was the word macquinho. You were always calling your monkey little pet names, including the one that Aldo used as his computer password. Plus, you were the one who gave Aldo the check he used in the forgery. I just put it all together.”

[ Chapter Twenty-One ]
    W hen The Chameleon did not get a response from his chief contact in Brazil, he knew that things had gone sour. He had to move quickly or agents would soon be knocking on his door, ready to escort him to jail.
    He grabbed a large tote bag. It was the one that matched his shoes that were adorned with the heads of cane toads. He unzipped the bag.
    The Chameleon held it up, stared for a moment, and then threw it down with a snort. He couldn’t carry something like that around. He went to his closet and chose a plain black duffel bag. He found a pair of plain black boots stashed in a corner. Now he had to work out a disguise.
    The Chameleon was angry and frustrated, but he wasn’t worried. He had been in difficult situations like this before. All he had to do was go undercover for a while. Then he could start all over again.
    He smiled to himself. Federal agents had been looking for him for years. He wasn’t going to be brought down by some kids.

[ Chapter Twenty-Two ]
    W ith the password he had gotten from Cody, Captain Montez searched Santos’s computer. He found the information and the evidence he needed to crack the animal-trafficking operation wide open.
    He didn’t waste any time. Captain Montez moved fast, calling agents all over the world. They arranged for raids on warehouses at 9:00 a.m. the following day.
    That was a lot of phone calls. They paid off. At 9:00 a.m. the next morning, police raided every one of The Chameleon’s locations. The long arm of the law reached into many airports and captured an impressive number of smugglers.
    While the raids were going on, one of The Chameleon’s most trusted smugglers walked into an airport