Free The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

but here they stared down at him with an intensity that was almost frightening.
    He listened to Knife and Fist kick dirt over the coals. "We're in it up to our necks," said Knife in a low voice.
    "I don't like dealing with gangs, especially the Masks. I've heard stories . . .," Fist said.
    "Who hasn't? Help me shift this pot." Tendai heard water slosh and scatter a few hissing drops over the coals. Then he began drifting off again.
    He tried to remember Mazoe and couldn't. All his life seemed pale and distant compared to what he was experiencing now. Tendai was frightened by this sudden lack of memory, but his exhaustion would not let him dwell on it long. He fell into a deep dream that he would not remember when he awoke.

 
     
    Nine
     
     
     
    In the Cow's Guts, Eye fed General Matsika's credit card into the computer. He almost fainted when he saw how big their expense account was.
    "Beautiful, beautiful money," sang Ear, looking over his shoulder.
    "We'll have to work for it. I wouldn't like to have the General after me if I made him angry," Arm said, which sobered up the other detectives at once.
    Eye withdrew a hundred dollars from the expense account. The computer hummed and clicked. A hundred dollars slowly creaked out the money slot at the side. It had been so long since it had been used, the slot was clogged with dust. "Let's think about this logically," said Eye, sniffing the green ink on the dollars. "The children went to Mbare Musika and were headed for Beatrice, in the south."
    "Maybe they took a subway," Ear said.
    "Surely they wouldn't be that foolish."
    "They don't know that much about the outside world," said Arm. "However, the police have checked all the obvious possibilities. Our job is to think of something unusual. If you were a child and had just escaped from a boring, oppressive house —"
    "It was a beautiful house," Eye objected.
    "It looked beautiful. Excuse me, my friend. I know seeing is your specialty, but I could feel the unhappiness. It was a home full of machines rather than people, with parents who are always busy and a father who wants everything so perfect no one can relax."
    "You could tell all that?" asked Eye.
    "That's my specialty." Arm unfolded a map of Harare and studied it carefully. "If I were one of those children, I'd want some fun. I'd eat all the food I wasn't allowed at home — chili-bites, for example. I wouldn't go straight to Beatrice either. I'd take a side trip to the Bird Garden or the Lion Park or the Mile-High Macllwaine to ride the elevators."
    The detectives spent the afternoon calling all the places that looked like fun, with no results. Finally, as night fell, it was clear to everyone the General's fears had been correct. He called to report that the children had not come home.
    "They might have been kidnapped at Mbare Musika. It's an excellent place for it," said Arm, draping his long limbs over the threadbare sofa. He watched Ear feed synth-food into the microwave. A moment later, a sickly smell floated through the office. "I hate bacteria burgers."
    "Be thankful your special abilities don't include taste," said Ear, fanning the hot plates with his ears. They sat around a rickety card table and ate, with many helpings of ketchup and mustard.
    "We'll have to visit Mbare Musika," Arm said as he jammed the plates into the overloaded sink. "We don't know what we're looking for, but maybe something will come looking for us."
    A few minutes later, the detectives were seated at the back of a bus. The other passengers had moved to the front, but Ear, Eye and Arm were so used to this reaction, they didn't notice. Eye sat between the other two with his eyes closed because he was afraid of heights.
    The bus took the long way around, stopping at the Mile-High Macllwaine — once at the two hundredth floor and once two floors below the Starlight Room Restaurant. A pair of dishwashers got off. The bus had to veer sharply to avoid a collection of diplomatic limos. They flew