The Panda Puzzle by Ron Roy Page B

asked.
    “Afraid not, Jimmy,” Officer Fallon said. “This is evidence.” He drew a clean handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wrapped the knife.
    “Hey, look at this,” Josh said. He reached through the fence and pulled back a stalk of bamboo. The top had been sliced neatly off.
    “There’s more,” Josh said, pointing through the fence. “Someone cut a bunch of this stuff.”
    “Maybe the kidnapper took some bamboo to feed Winnie,” Ruth Rose said.
    “At least she won’t be hungry,” Josh said.
    “That explains the knife,” Officer Fallon said. “With a struggling panda in his arms, the kidnapper probably never knew he dropped it.”

    Officer Fallon reached into his pocket. He pulled out the object that had been found in Ping’s cave. “Know what this is?” he asked.
    “It looks like an alarm clock,” Dink said.
    “It is,” Officer Fallon said. “It’s an alarm clock with the volume set on loud. I’m guessing the kidnapper tossed it into Ping’s cave, knowing the pandas would run out when the thing went off. He probably grabbed Winnie as she came out of the cave.”
    “And if we want her back,” Dink said, “Green Lawn has to pay a million dollars!”
    “You’re right,” Officer Fallon said, “unless we find the bad guy first.”
    “But we only have till midnight,” Ruth Rose said. She looked at her watch. “That’s only twelve hours from now!”

CHAPTER 3
    “I’m hungry,” Nate announced. “Can we go home?”
    “Okay,” said Ruth Rose. “I’ll make us some sandwiches.”
    “And I’ve got to get to my office and check these things for fingerprints,” Officer Fallon said. “But unless this guy was stupid, he’d have worn gloves.”
    They separated at the police station. Dink, Josh, Ruth Rose, and Nate headed for Woody Street.
    At Ruth Rose’s house, the kids made lunch. Nate took his sandwich tothe living room to watch a dinosaur video.

    Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose ate theirs at the kitchen table. Pal snoozed at Josh’s feet.
    “It’s almost one o’clock,” Dink said. “Eleven hours till midnight.”
    “So where do we start looking for a panda kidnapper?” asked Josh.
    “It could be anyone!” Dink said.
    Ruth Rose chewed slowly. “Not anyone,” she said after a minute. “If that knife really was the kidnapper’s, maybe he’s a fisherman.”
    “Or a fisherwoman,” said Josh.
    Ruth Rose nodded. “Good point.”
    “Whoever it was either has a key to the gate or can climb over tall fences,” Josh went on. He reached for another sandwich. “So who does that narrow it down to?”
    “Anyone,” Ruth Rose said glumly.
    Nate screeched from the livingroom. “Dinosaur fight! Come see, you guys!”
    Josh ran to the living room, with Dink and Ruth Rose following.
    On the TV screen, a Tyrannosaurus and a Stegosaurus were circling each other. Their tails lashed back and forth. The Tyrannosaurus roared and snapped his enormous teeth.
    Then the dinosaurs were gone, and the scene switched to a museum. A man’s face appeared on the screen. “Hello, I’m Dr. Paleo,” he said, “and I’d like to talk to you about what you just saw in this video.”
    An idea popped into Dink’s head. “Ruth Rose, didn’t you tape what happened at Panda Park this morning? Why don’t we watch your video? Maybe we’ll see some clues.”
    “Good idea,” Ruth Rose said. “Do you mind, Natie?”

    Can I have a cookie? Nate asked, grinning at his sister.
    “Sure. Bring the box in here so we can all have some, okay?”
    “O-kay!” Nate said, racing toward the kitchen.
    Ruth Rose ejected the dinosaur video, then plugged the camcorder into the VCR.
    Nate came back with the cookie box. Josh reached for one as Ruth Rose hit the Play button.
    The kids watched as Tom Steele, Irene Napper, and Flip Frances came on the screen. Seconds later, Ping emerged from her cave.
    Ping looked around, froze, then turned her head sharply. Suddenly she rushed forward and began throwing herself