Terror at the Zoo by Peg Kehret Read Free Book Online

keep her occupied until he and the baby were safely outside the cage.
    And once he had the baby monkey? Then what? He would put the monkey inside his overalls and zip his jacket. He would take a cab—tell the driver his infant son was asleep. That would explain the lump in his coat. He would rent a motel room, one of those places where they don’t ask for license numbers, just cash on the line. He had the cash, from the snack-shop box.
    Tomorrow he would call the director of the zoo and tell him where and when to bring the $20,000. He wouldleave the monkey in the motel room, go get the money, and be on his way to Mexico.
    Yes! Tony thought. It would work! Later, he could figure out exactly how to word the ransom call and arrange the pickup. Right now he needed to get the baby monkey in his jacket and get away from the zoo.
    His heart thumped rapidly in his chest and little beads of moisture stood on his upper lip as he opened the “Employees Only” door and slipped silently into the area behind the monkey cages.

    COREY paused outside the rest rooms, debating which way to go. He was tempted to head north, past the bison and wolves. He bet those wolves would be howling tonight, with the moon almost full. The thought made him shiver with excitement.
    He wasn’t scared. After all, what could happen to him? Still, it was odd to be here like this, in the middle of the night, with only the zoo animals.
    He turned toward the lion area. The lion had roared earlier; maybe it would do so again. If not, he would keep walking, down past the orangutans and gorillas, all the way to the monkey house.
    The monkey exhibits were Corey’s favorite part of the zoo. Ellen liked the Nocturnal House but all those bats gave him the creeps. He’d take the monkeys any day. Monkeys were silly; they made him laugh. And it was easy to make up stories about what they did because they always did something unexpected.
    He wondered if monkeys lie down to sleep at night or if they sit in the trees. Maybe they make little beds in the leaves and lie down and use each other’s tails for pillows. Do monkeys dream? Do they sing monkey lullabies to their young?
    Corey didn’t know anything about how monkeys act at night. Well, he thought happily, this is my chance to find out.
    He paused for only a moment near the lion area. When none of them roared, he decided to go on. Even with the flashlight, it wasn’t as easy to find his way in the dark as he had thought it would be. He started walking toward where he thought the monkey house was.
    Here I come, monkeys, he thought. You’re going to have midnight company.

6

    T HE LION roared again.
    Ellen’s eyes flew open. For a moment she didn’t know where she was or what she had heard. Then she remembered. She sat up, pulled the flap of the tent open, and looked out.
    She wondered where her parents were. Something must have gone terribly wrong or they would be here. They would never let her and Corey spend the night here alone. Heck, she and Corey weren’t even allowed to spend the night alone at home, in their own house with Prince to protect them. Grandma and Grandpa always came and stayed with them if Mom and Dad had to be gone.
    “Corey?” she whispered. “Are you awake?”
    There was no answer. He must be asleep. She kept still, listening for animal noises again. She heard nothing. Not even the rhythmic breathing of someone who’s asleep.
    She reached over toward Corey’s sleeping bag. It was empty.
    “Corey?”
    She groped for her flashlight and shined it frantically around the tent. She was alone.
    Stay calm, she told herself. Maybe he went to the bathroom. That’s where he must be. She probably heard him leave without knowing it and that’s why she woke up.
    Ellen stretched and moved her head from side to side, working the kinks out of her neck. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the ground.
    She wondered if the zoo security man had gone past yet. She had meant to stay awake and watch for