Free Tiger in Trouble by Eric Walters

waving an arm over her head as she came toward us.
    “Vladimir!” she called out again.
    He meekly waved back, then turned to me. “Some animals much more dangerous than others.”

Chapter 5
    “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” the strange woman called out as she tottered unsteadily toward us on high heels. She was clad in a tight leopard-skin outfit. Even her shoes matched, as did the bow in her hair, which was blond, teased and piled high on her head. Even from this distance I could tell she was wearing a lot of makeup.
    The woman stumbled, then regained her balance. I guess high heels and gravel weren’t the best combination in the world. Vladimir muttered something under his breath, and Samantha, Danny and I all turned around. Whatever he’d said, he didn’t repeat it.
    “Who is she?” I asked Vladimir quietly.
    “Owner.”
    “But I thought the new owner was the son of the old owner?”
    “He is. This is wife of the son.”
    We watched as she teetered across the grounds and came to a stop in front of us. “I have some things I need you to carry,” she said.
    I couldn’t help but notice her hands. Each finger had a large gold ring, and the fingernails were impossibly long. How could she do anything with nails that long?
    I was taken aback when I glanced up and realized she was staring directly at me. I looked away.
    “And are these your little campers?” she asked.
    “We’re here for the camp,” Samantha said.
    “Yeah, this is so cool,” Danny added.
    The woman chuckled — a kind of self-satisfied, superior little chuckle — as if she found the whole thing amusing, or as if she were laughing at all of us.
    “So you’ve come to learn about animals.” She turned to Vladimir. “Is this all of them?”
    Vladimir nodded.
    “Four campers. Not exactly the rousing success you expected when you set this whole thing up, is it?”
    So this camp was Vladimir’s idea. That would explain the brochure. He must have written it himself.
    “Sometimes things are a lot more complicated than they appear,” she said, pointing one of her perfect nails at him.
    There was something about this woman. From my first glimpse of her, I didn’t like her. The closer she got, the stronger the feeling became. Now that she was opening her mouth, it got stronger with each word and raised eyebrow.
    “I’m sure there’ll be more campers later on in the summer,” Nick said.
    “Or next year for sure,” I added. I wanted to support Vladimir and deflate her. “Once we tell all our friends how good it was, they’ll want to come next year.”
    “Next year,” she repeated softly. “We’ll just have to see what next year brings now, won’t we?” There was something about the way she said that, or maybe the look on her face, that bothered me. Then again, everything about her seemed to bother me.
    “Regardless, I need some help carrying in my groceries and a few other items I bought. Vladimir, come and bring them into the house.” She paused. “Actually, all of you can come and help,” she added as she turned and we watched her walk away.
    “She wants us to help carry groceries?” Samantha asked, sounding as if it were beneath her.
    “You do not have to come,” Vladimir said. “You go back and unpack and —”
    “I’ll help,” Nick said.
    “You?” I questioned. “You want to help carry groceries?” He never wanted to help with anything at home.
    “No big deal. The sooner the job is done, the sooner Vladimir can get us to the elephant. Let’s all go and help. How long can it take, anyway?”
    I shrugged. “Whatever. We might as well help.”
    We started after her. It was kind of funny walking behind her, watching her move. It wasn’t just that she kept wobbling and tottering on her heels, but she was weaving a strange route, trying to avoid the mud and the puddles that occupied the parts of the path not filled with gravel. Soon we were right beside her.
    “So you four are interested in