Detective,” Nastase said into the handset. “Klaus and I have been going through the wreckage here, and it hasn’t exactly been fun.”
“We found a few webcams we believe were used to case the boat,” Harrigan replied. “Their server seems to be overseas — ultra-secure, dead end. But we’ve got something else that might turn into a lead. There have been reports of an aggressive owl terrorizing cats and dogs in a Long Island town not far from you. You lost an owl, didn’t you?”
“Yes, a very valuable one,” Nastase confirmed. “But surely there are a lot of owls on Long Island.”
“The timing’s a little suspicious. And the location — it’s across the sound from the spot where we found your life raft. Maybe you’ve heard of this town — Cedarville.”
Cedarville!
All Aboard Animals
bookedhundreds of school visits. But that name sounded familiar.
“Thanks, Detective. Please keep me posted.” As soon as he was off the phone, the zookeeper went to the office and took out the appointment log for school tours.
There it was — Cedarville Public School District. They’d sent several groups the week before the robbery. It rang an unpleasant bell. That girl — Sabrina, Susanna, something like that. The one who’d accused him of stealing her monkey! The family had even gone so far as to have their lawyer call.
He began flipping through the register, searching for his notes on the incident.
Klaus ducked in through the hatchway. “Find something, boss?”
“That girl — the one who insisted Eleanor was hers.” He slapped the page. “Here it is — Savannah Drysdale from Cedarville, New York. The same town where owl sightings are happening right now.”
“Great news!” Klaus exclaimed. “Call that cop and tell him what we know.”
Mr. Nastase looked thoughtful. “I don’t think we should involve the police just yet. I want to handle this — quietly.”
The security man was mystified. “What for?” He frowned. “Wait a minute. You’re not telling me we really
did
steal that monkey?”
“Of course not!” the zookeeper replied in a wounded tone. “It’s just that things can get complicated when you’re dealing with false accusations.”
Klaus fixed him with a piercing stare. “But we definitely didn’t steal the monkey, right?”
“Do I look like a thief?”
Klaus’s eyes fell on the desk lamp. The sticker on the shade read: PROPERTY OF HOLIDAY INN .
23
“ B en, are you all right?”
Ben opened his eyes to find Nurse Savage leaning over the cot where he took his special nap every day. He moved his arm across his chest to make sure she didn’t notice the bump in his sweatshirt that represented Ferret Face’s hiding place of the moment.
“Uh, I’m fine,” he answered. “I just can’t sleep.”
She raised her eyebrows. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it? You’re supposed to sleep. You’ve always slept before. Has anything changed in your medical condition?”
“I don’t think so,” Ben said carefully. Being saddled with a ferret 24/7 was definitely a condition, but it wasn’t medical. The truth was painfully obvious to him. Narcolepsyor not, he was no longer in danger of falling asleep during the day. Any time he showed signs of nodding off, Ferret Face would grab hold of his skin and bite down just hard enough to keep him awake.
How could he explain
that
to the school nurse?
She had a theory. “It’s almost as if you’re trying to sleep, but something is preventing you from letting go. Are you having bad dreams? I distinctly heard you say ‘ouch.’ ”
“Well, I’m definitely not sleeping, so it can’t be dreams.”
The nurse probed further. “How is your sleep at night?”
Ben shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m asleep at the time.” But the truth was, the nights were okay, since Ferret Face slept then, too. The ferret liked to crawl all the way to the end of the bed and sleep under Ben’s feet. It was actually pretty comfortable —
“We found a few webcams we believe were used to case the boat,” Harrigan replied. “Their server seems to be overseas — ultra-secure, dead end. But we’ve got something else that might turn into a lead. There have been reports of an aggressive owl terrorizing cats and dogs in a Long Island town not far from you. You lost an owl, didn’t you?”
“Yes, a very valuable one,” Nastase confirmed. “But surely there are a lot of owls on Long Island.”
“The timing’s a little suspicious. And the location — it’s across the sound from the spot where we found your life raft. Maybe you’ve heard of this town — Cedarville.”
Cedarville!
All Aboard Animals
bookedhundreds of school visits. But that name sounded familiar.
“Thanks, Detective. Please keep me posted.” As soon as he was off the phone, the zookeeper went to the office and took out the appointment log for school tours.
There it was — Cedarville Public School District. They’d sent several groups the week before the robbery. It rang an unpleasant bell. That girl — Sabrina, Susanna, something like that. The one who’d accused him of stealing her monkey! The family had even gone so far as to have their lawyer call.
He began flipping through the register, searching for his notes on the incident.
Klaus ducked in through the hatchway. “Find something, boss?”
“That girl — the one who insisted Eleanor was hers.” He slapped the page. “Here it is — Savannah Drysdale from Cedarville, New York. The same town where owl sightings are happening right now.”
“Great news!” Klaus exclaimed. “Call that cop and tell him what we know.”
Mr. Nastase looked thoughtful. “I don’t think we should involve the police just yet. I want to handle this — quietly.”
The security man was mystified. “What for?” He frowned. “Wait a minute. You’re not telling me we really
did
steal that monkey?”
“Of course not!” the zookeeper replied in a wounded tone. “It’s just that things can get complicated when you’re dealing with false accusations.”
Klaus fixed him with a piercing stare. “But we definitely didn’t steal the monkey, right?”
“Do I look like a thief?”
Klaus’s eyes fell on the desk lamp. The sticker on the shade read: PROPERTY OF HOLIDAY INN .
23
“ B en, are you all right?”
Ben opened his eyes to find Nurse Savage leaning over the cot where he took his special nap every day. He moved his arm across his chest to make sure she didn’t notice the bump in his sweatshirt that represented Ferret Face’s hiding place of the moment.
“Uh, I’m fine,” he answered. “I just can’t sleep.”
She raised her eyebrows. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it? You’re supposed to sleep. You’ve always slept before. Has anything changed in your medical condition?”
“I don’t think so,” Ben said carefully. Being saddled with a ferret 24/7 was definitely a condition, but it wasn’t medical. The truth was painfully obvious to him. Narcolepsyor not, he was no longer in danger of falling asleep during the day. Any time he showed signs of nodding off, Ferret Face would grab hold of his skin and bite down just hard enough to keep him awake.
How could he explain
that
to the school nurse?
She had a theory. “It’s almost as if you’re trying to sleep, but something is preventing you from letting go. Are you having bad dreams? I distinctly heard you say ‘ouch.’ ”
“Well, I’m definitely not sleeping, so it can’t be dreams.”
The nurse probed further. “How is your sleep at night?”
Ben shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m asleep at the time.” But the truth was, the nights were okay, since Ferret Face slept then, too. The ferret liked to crawl all the way to the end of the bed and sleep under Ben’s feet. It was actually pretty comfortable —
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