The Clue at the Zoo Read Free

you got here.” Dawn ducked down. “Sorry.”
    A voice was telling everyone about alligators. “The female lays her eggs in the grass,” it said.
    “I’m never going to take my shoes off again,” said Jill.
    “Ssh,” said the woman in back of them.
    “About fifty eggs are laid,” said the voice. “The young alligators are about nine inches long when they hatch.”
    “I can’t look anymore,” said Dawn.
    Just then a hand tapped her on the shoulder.
    She jumped.
    It was Candy, in the aisle. She had a bottle of soda in one hand. She had a chocolate bar in the other. “Want a sip?” she asked.
    Dawn shook her head. “No, thanks. Too many bubbles.”
    “Good grief,” said the woman behind them.
    “I have your book,” Dawn whispered. “The poison one.”
    The girl looked down at the book.
    She dropped the bottle of soda on the floor.
    Soda sprayed over the seat. It spilled onto the carpet.
    “Get me out of here,” Candy said. She began to scream.

CHAPTER FIVE
    D AWN LOOKED DOWN.
    Soda was running all over the floor.
    The book was a soggy mess.
    She wrapped the movie paper around it again, scooped it up, and dashed outside after Candy.
    The woman with the rose in her hair was kneeling in front of a bush.
    Dawn hoped she wasn’t cutting any flowers. She’d be in a lot of trouble.
    “Wait for me,” Jill yelled.
    They looked around. Candy wasn’t in front of the movie house. She wasn’t on the path either.
    “Where did she go?” Dawn asked.
    Jill’s lip was quivering. “Don’t worry about her,” she said. “Worry about us.”
    Dawn glanced down at the book in her hand. The poison was soaking through the wet paper.
    Detectives had to face danger, she thought.
    That’s what her detective book said.
    That’s what she was doing.
    Maybe the soda had drowned the poison.
    She spotted Candy. She was bent over a drinking fountain.
    She was scooping water and splashing it over her feet.
    At the same time she was hopping up and down.
    “I’ve been poisoned,” she yelled.
    “Let’s go,” Dawn told Jill. “We’ve got to find out what’s going on.”
    At that moment the door of the movie house burst open.
    Something flashed by.
    It crashed into the bushes.
    Jill grabbed her arm. “What was that?”
    Dawn looked back over her shoulder. “Something yellow. Arno?”
    Jill raised her shoulders in the air. “I guess so.”
    “Never mind him now,” Dawn said.
    She raced over to Candy and grabbed her arm. “Stop jumping for a minute, will you?” she asked.
    “Don’t touch me,” Candy said.
    Dawn tried to be calm.
    Detectives are always calm.
    “Tell me about your book,” she said. “Why is it poisoned?”
    “ My book?” Candy screeched. “ My book?”
    Dawn nodded. “Your book.”
    Candy backed away from her. “It’s not mine. I never saw it before.”
    Dawn shook her head. “I don’t understand.” She blinked. “You said you lost—”
    “My purse.” Candy held it up. “I left it on a bench.”
    She took another quick step away from Dawn. “Don’t come near me. Crazy kid. Trying to give me a poison book. Trying to poison me! I ought to call the police.”
    Dawn stood there looking as she dashed away. “Ridiculous,” she said.
    Then she grinned at Jill. “Good. The mystery’s still not solved.”
    “Do you hear what I hear?” Jill asked. She looked as if she were going to cry.
    Then Dawn heard it too.
    Horrible noises. Grunts. Snuffles.
    “What’s that?”
    “It sounds like an animal. A horrible . . .” Jill began.
    They started to run.
    They didn’t stop until they had passed the snake house.
    They stopped for a quick breath.
    “Something’s gotten loose,” said Jill.
    Dawn looked around.
    People were wandering around all over the place.
    No one else seemed to be worried.
    “Maybe it was something in a cage,” she said.
    “Maybe it wasn’t,” said Jill.
    “I think we should go sit with Noni,” Dawn said. “Just in case. I think we should look at this book