Free McKenzie’s Oregon Operation by Shari Barr Page B

the tour? Okay, okay. I’ll show them the tanks.”
    Warren groaned as he hung up the phone. He motioned for the girls to follow him. “Come on. Let’s go.”
    He told his assistant he was leaving and ushered the girls out a side door past the crowd of people lined up for the show. He led them down a long concrete hallway lined with several metal doors. A damp, fishy smell wafted up the empty corridor. The girls’ footsteps echoed as their shoes slapped the cement floor.
    Something is really strange,
McKenzie thought.
No one seems to know anything about this tour.
    McKenzie swallowed and spoke to Warren, “I’m really sorry, but Colby set it all up. We’re doing a video report for public TV, and we go home in a few days.”
    Warren turned and gave a slight smile. “It’s not your fault. Colby and Nina think just because their parents are trainers that they can do anything they want. Actually, I need a break from the souvenir shop anyway.”
    â€œSo Colby and Nina are Mel and Tia Franks’ kids?” McKenzie asked.
    â€œYep,” he said, stopping at a door with a tiny glass window in it. “They sure are. Nina wanted to make sure I showed you the inside of this room. In here you’ll see the tank where we train some of our sea mammals.”
    Warren opened the door. Alex lifted her camcorder and swept the viewfinder across the room. A large tank sat in the center of the room, with ledges built along the sides. At first McKenzie thought the tank was empty, but then she saw dark shadows near the far end.
    She stared at the two shimmering gray bodies beneath the water. Her jaw dropped open, and her heart pumped wildly. The two mammals swimming in the tank looked exactly like Mario and Bianca!

Suspicions!
    McKenzie edged toward the tank for a closer look. The two mammals swam forward and raised their heads out of the water. McKenzie’s heart sank. They weren’t Mario and Bianca, after all. They weren’t even sea lions; they were young seals.
    â€œFor a minute, I thought we’d found the missing sea lion pups,” McKenzie said with disappointment.
    â€œYes, from a distance, seals look a little like sea lions.” Alex stepped forward and stopped recording.
    Warren grabbed a beach ball from a basket on the floor and tossed it into the tank. “Everyone seems concerned about Mario and Bianca. But you won’t find them here, that’s for sure. We get all of our mammals through reputable sources. Supposedly some kid saw the sea lion pups being stolen. If that’s the case, the thief will probably sell them on the black market.”
    â€œWhere?” Alex asked as she watched the seals playing.
    â€œ ‘Black market’ means selling something illegally,” Warren explained as he walked to the far side of the tank and leaned on the edge.
    McKenzie thought about that for a moment. “Why would anyone want to steal a sea lion and sell it?”
    Warren shrugged his shoulders and glanced at his watch. “It’s hard to tell. Maybe some kind of collection. Twin sea lions are rare.”
    â€œWhat happens to the animals that are trained here?” McKenzie asked, watching the seals swim toward the beach ball.
    â€œWe only train animals we’re going to use in our shows,” Warren said. “We’re planning to add these two seals to our main attraction.”
    â€œAre your trainers working with any sea lions right now?” McKenzie asked hopefully.
    â€œNo. We’re concentrating on these two seals,” Warren said. “Training is a lot of hard work.”
    McKenzie frowned. She watched Alex film the seals playing with the ball.
This isn’t what I was hoping to find out. I really thought I would find Mario and Bianca in here. But all they have are seals,
she thought with dismay.
Maybe the Frankses aren’t the thieves, after all.
    The seals flung their upper bodies from the water and