Poison Frog Mystery Read Free

suggested.
    Everyone looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
    “How much water they drank,” he said again. “If you know how much they usually drink during one night, we can figure it out from there. How much did you give them before you left, how much is there now, and how much do they usually drink in a night?”
    Lindsey smiled—probably for the first time all day. “That’s pretty clever.”
    “Good detectives need to be clever!” Benny told her.
    “I’ll have our head mammal keeper work on it,” Lindsey went on. “I’ll be seeing her later.”
    Violet shook her head. “But who would want to steal ferrets? Who would want to steal animals at all? That’s so mean.”
    Lindsey said, “My guess is they stole the ferrets because they’re valuable. Remember that they’re a very rare species. There are only a few thousand black-footed ferrets left in the wild. There was a time, in fact, when scientists thought they were extinct. But then a little group of them was discovered. So they were almost all gone once before. We really can’t afford to lose them again.”
    “But that still doesn’t explain why they’re valuable,” Henry said. “Valuable to whom?”
    Lindsey frowned. “You’re never going to believe this, but ... sometimes people buy rare animals to show them off, just to prove that they have them.”
    “Really?” Jessie asked.
    “I’m afraid so. It doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen.”
    “That’s awful,” Violet said.
    Henry crouched down, looking curiously at some little dents in the otherwise smooth cement floor. “Do these have anything to do with the theft?” He ran his hand over them. The surface of the floor was cold. “Were they here yesterday?”
    “No,” Lindsey answered. “The mammal keeper noticed them, too. She’s sure they weren’t there before. But no one has a clue as to how they got there or why.”
    “The thief could’ve dropped something heavy,” Jessie suggested. “No one would’ve heard it.”
    Lindsey nodded. “I suppose that’s possible.”
    “How many people knew the ferrets were here?” Grandfather asked.
    “Not many,” Lindsey answered quickly. “We were very careful about that. We wanted to advertise the breeding program, but we certainly didn’t want to make a big deal about where exactly the animals were being kept until today. There was no reason to.”

    “I noticed the zoo guards searching people’s bags at the exit when we first came in,” Henry mentioned.
    “Yes, I noticed them, too,” said Grandfather.
    “Actually, they’re not zoo guards,” Lindsey told them. “They’re the local police.”
    “The police!” Violet exclaimed.
    “Uh-huh.” Lindsey let out a long, weary sigh. “Boy, are we ever going to be in trouble if we don’t get those ferrets back. Big trouble.”
    Jessie went over and put her hand on Lindsey’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you find them.”
    “Of course we will,” Violet said.
    “That’s right,” Henry added.
    “Hasn’t been a mystery yet we couldn’t solve!” Benny assured her.
    Lindsey smiled. “I hope this one isn’t any different,” she said.
    Then her smile disappeared again.
    After the hectic day, Lindsey invited the Aldens back to her apartment for dinner. Grandfather Alden politely declined because he wanted to get some rest. He had a busy week of business ahead. Fortunately, Lindsey’s apartment was only a few blocks away from home, so the children were allowed to go without him.
    After dinner Lindsey showed the children her huge collection of nature books and the dozens of colorful paintings and photographs on her living room walls. Some were animal pictures but others showed plants, particularly flowers.
    After talking all day about the stolen ferrets, Lindsey was ready for more cheerful topics. So she told the children stories about funny things that had happened to her at the zoo. She started with one about a koala bear. The keeper had forgotten to