The Mystery at Monkey House Read Free Page A

they made. Then she closed her eyes and said, “Click.” She said “click” again.
    Cam opened her eyes and told Eric, “I know just where those monkeys are. And they’re not inside an ice-cream cart.”

Chapter Six
     
     
     
     
    “T he honking sounds those geese made helped me solve the mystery,” Cam told Eric, as they quickly walked along the main road. Then Cam saw that a crowd had gathered at the main entrance to the zoo. She ran ahead.
    Eric took one last big bite and finished his ice-cream cone. Then he ran to catch up with Cam.
    “Where have you been?” Billy asked, as he came out to meet Cam and Eric. “You missed everything. The zoo director and lots more guards came. Five monkeys were stolen.”
    “I know where they are. I know who took them,” Cam said.
    Cam found Senior Guard Wally Russell and told him, “I know who stole the monkeys.”
    A short, fat man with a beard and thick eyeglasses was talking to a few of the guards. He turned and asked Cam, “How do you know who took them?”

    “This is the girl I told you about,” Wally Russell told the man. “She’s the one who found the lock.”
    “I’m Don Cooper. I’m the director of the zoo,” the man said, as he shook hands with Cam and Eric. “Now what can you tell me about the monkeys?”
    “Some people drove in here with a truck. The back of the truck was filled with dirt. I thought they were doing some planting. But the truck passed us later. It was leaving the zoo and the back was still filled with dirt.”
    “We’re not doing any planting. That truck didn’t belong here,” Mr. Cooper said. He walked quickly to the entrance and asked the guard if the truck rode past.
    “About fifteen minutes ago,” the guard said.
    Cam described the truck. Mr. Cooper called the police. He told them about the monkeys and the truck.
    Mr. Cooper stood by the telephone. He folded and unfolded his arms. He put his hands into his jacket pockets and took them out. Then he clapped his hands and said, “Come on. I can’t just wait here. Maybe we can find that truck.”
    Cam, Eric, Billy, and Wally Russell followed Mr. Cooper to the parking lot. Mr. Cooper opened the doors to an old green car. The backseat was filled with baby toys, balls, and dolls.
    “Just push those aside,” Mr. Cooper said. “I use them when I play with the baby animals.”
    Cam and Wally Russell sat on the front seat next to Mr. Cooper. Eric and Billy sat in the back.
    As the car went through the gate, Cam said, “When the geese honked they reminded me of the truck. It honked at us twice.”
    Billy said, “Did you know that some people keep geese as pets?”
    “And I thought it was strange,” Cam went on, “for that truck to bring dirt into the zoo and take it out again.”
    Mr. Cooper stopped just outside the zoo. There was a long line of cars ahead of him. Mr. Cooper waited. The traffic light at the end of the road was red. But when the light turned to green, the cars still didn’t move. Mr. Cooper honked his car horn.

    “It happens every time,” Mr. Cooper said. “When I’m in a rush, there’s a traffic jam.”
    The light turned red. Then it turned green again, but no cars moved.
    “What’s going on up there?” Mr. Cooper asked, as he got out of his car and walked down the road. Cam and Eric followed him. And right behind them were Billy and Wally Russell.
    There had been an accident. A small blue car had crashed into a large truck. The drivers were standing in the middle of the road and arguing.
    “That’s it,” Cam said. “That’s the truck I saw in the zoo!”

Chapter Seven
     
     
     
     
    A police siren sounded. The siren got louder and louder. Then two police cars turned the corner. Mr. Cooper waved his arms and the second car stopped.
    “We can’t help you,” the officer said as he rolled down his window. “Some zoo animals have been stolen.”
    “I know. I called you. I’m Don Cooper, the director of the zoo. And I think we’ve found the