Poison Frog Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

mammal house, except for a huge enclosure at one end that had been made by closing off part of the room with long strips of wood and lots of chicken wire.
    “That was where they were,” Lindsey said. “Up until last night.”
    The floor of the cage was bedded with sand, wood chips, and huge rocks. In the center was a small tree. There were no leaves on it, just bare branches. It sort of looked like a giant hand reaching for the ceiling.
    “The same person did it?” Jessie asked.
    Lindsey nodded. She looked as though she were trying to fight back tears.
    “I’m sure,” she said. “We found the lock on the floor, all broken up. It’s on that table over there if you want to look at it. The door to the cage was wide open when the birdkeeper came in. And that window back there ...” she said, pointing toward the other end of the room, “that’s where the thief came and went. The latch is broken. And another bag of food is missing. The right kind this time. I checked.”
    Benny picked up the broken lock and began examining it. It looked pretty much the same as the last one—mangled and beaten. There was some chalky dust on the corners, which he wiped away. This dust made him think of the special dust detectives use to find fingerprints. He wished he had some of that right now.
    Henry went over to the window and pushed it open. The latch, just like Lindsey said, had been broken. Whoever broke it must have been very strong or used a very forceful tool , he thought, because it was made of steel.
    He noticed that the window could be opened, but not by much. Only about eight or nine inches, in fact. Then it sort of got stuck.
    “Lindsey, the thief really came and left through this window? Are you sure?”
    “Positive,” she said. “The lock wasn’t broken yesterday. In fact, Jordan and Mr. Colby issued a strict order after the black-footed ferrets were stolen for everyone to make sure the windows were locked tight before they went home. The head birdkeeper swears he locked that window. If it hadn’t been locked, why would the thief break the latch?”
    Henry frowned. “That’s not what puzzles me. It’s the size of the opening.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Henry pushed the window up as far as it would go. Then he put his hand through the opening.
    “Look at how little room there is here. This window seems to be jammed.” Henry tried opening it all the way, but it wouldn’t budge. “Wouldn’t the person who slipped through it have to be incredibly thin?”
    “Yes, of course. That’s a good point!” Lindsey said. “Some of these windows tend to jam up like that.”
    Benny, still playing with the broken lock, said, “I’m only six years old, and I don’t think I could fit through there!”
    “But someone must have,” Violet added. “Unless ... the thief broke in somewhere else.”
    Lindsey shook her head. “No, we’ve looked. No other signs of forced entry anywhere.”
    Violet also thought maybe the thief had a key, but that couldn’t be possible, could it? Would someone who worked here actually do something like that? Wouldn’t it be too obvious? She tucked the idea in the back of her mind for the time being.
    “What does ‘forced entry’ mean?” Benny asked.
    “This,” Henry answered, pointing to the broken latch, “is forced entry. And so is that,” he continued, pointing to the broken lock in Benny’s hand. “When you have to force your way in, that’s forced entry.”
    “Oh,” Benny nodded. “I get it.”
    “And ,” Henry said, turning back to the window and putting his hands on his hips, “how could anyone fit two California condors through an opening that size? Aren’t they big birds?”
    “Yes, they are, but it can be done. Birds are, unfortunately, very ‘squeezable.’ That’s why magicians use doves in their magic tricks—they can be squished into tiny places.”
    “That doesn’t sound very nice,” Violet said.
    “If it’s done gently it doesn’t really hurt