Tiger Trap by Eric Walters Read Free Book Online Page B

other zoos and exotic animal parks that operate in the same climate as us, and that was their
average
decline in attendance.”
    “I didn’t know,” my mother said. “I’m sorry.”
    “That’s okay,” I mumbled back. I usually felt bad right after I snapped at her, but it was even worse when she apologized. “It’s just that we have to get financially ahead during the good weather so we have extra money we can use when attendance is down.”
    “And that’s not happening?” my mother asked.
    “We’re just holding even.”
    “You can’t be spending much on food,” Martin said. “Those arrangements I made are sufficient, aren’t they?”
    “I’d hate to think what things would be like without those arrangements,” I said.
    “Then, other than feeding Vladimir — and I bet that costs a fortune — where’s all the money going?” Nick asked.
    “Veterinarian fees, medicine and inoculations are expensive,” I said. “But the real problem is the money that’s going into building supplies to make all the new enclosures.”
    “How many new animals have been added?” Martin asked.
    “Nine in the past three weeks, and judging from the phone calls I know of, there are others that are possibilities. It seems like everybody in the whole country has heard about Tiger Town and figures we can take in any exotic animal that no one else can care for.”
    “Mr. McCurdy can’t take in every animal,” Martin said.
    “Thank you! That’s what I keep saying to him! But does he listen to me? Mr. McCurdy just says it’s a big farm and there’s lots and lots of space left. It’s not the space I’m worried about. It’s the money.”
    “When it comes to animals, I’m afraid Angus thinks with his heart instead of his head,” Martin agreed. “He loves his animals.”
    “He loves other people’s animals as well,” I said. “Even the ones he’s never met. He feels like it’s his job to rescue them, but it can’t keep going on like this. He can’t keep adding more and more animals.”
    “Do you think he’d ever sell off any of his animals?” Martin asked.
    Nick burst into laughter. “Like that’s going to happen.”
    “Actually, there was a guy there today talking about buying Kushna,” I said.
    “There was?” Nick asked, sounding shocked. Both Martin and my mother stared at me open-mouthed.
    “Yeah, he was nosing around most of the day, making notes, and then he started talking about wanting to buy Kushna,” I said.
    “Why would anybody want to buy an old tiger?” my mother asked.
    “There’s only one reason I can think of,” I said.
    “Me, too,” Nick agreed.
    “You think he wanted to do something illegal with the tiger?” my mother asked.
    “Only reason I can think of for wanting to buy him is to sell off the body parts,” I said. “We all know how much a dead tiger’s worth.”
    “It’s still hard to believe somebody would sacrifice a tiger for a few dollars,” my mother said.
    “It’s not a few dollars,” I said. “Kushna’s old, but he’s big. They could get something like seventy-five to a hundred thousand dollars. Between the bones, the organs and the skin, he’s worth a lot more dead than he ever was alive.”
    “That’s just so barbaric,” my mother said.
    “It’s barbaric and it’s brought tigers to the brink of extinction,” I said. “Do you know there are more tigers living in zoos around the world than there are living in the wild?”
    “That’s so sad,” my mother said.
    “It is,” Martin agreed. “Almost as sad as what happened to that man.”
    “Man?” Nick asked. “What man?”
    “The guy who wanted to buy the tiger,” Martin said. “How far did he go when Vladimir threw him off the farm?”
    “I didn’t stay around to find out,” I said.
    “And it’s better that I
never
find out,” Martin said.
    “I warned Vladimir he couldn’t just pound the guy out,” I said. “Even though he’s now legally in the country, he still has to