Free The Clue at the Zoo by Blanche Sims Page A

it.”
    Arno didn’t answer. He raced downstairs again.
    “Can we go to the zoo?” he asked Noni.
    Noni thought for a minute. “Why not?” she said.
    “Good,” said Arno. He stuck out his tongue at Dawn. “They’ll probably put you in the alligator swamp.”
    Dawn gritted her teeth. “I’d like to put you in a lizard tank.”
    “I think we’re ready to go,” said Noni.
    “Don’t forget your private eye box,” said Jill.
    “You’re right.” Dawn started for the stairs.
    With Arno around, there probably would be trouble.

CHAPTER TWO
    N ONI PARKED IN THE zoo lot. “Don’t forget anything,” she said.
    Arno climbed out over Dawn.
    His knapsack strap hit her in the nose.
    “Ouch,” Dawn said. “Why don’t you close that thing?”
    He crossed his eyes. “I’m going to look for alligators.” He started across the lot.
    Another car pulled in.
    A woman got out with a dog.
    She had a rose pinned to her hair.
    So did the dog.
    Dawn and Jill began to laugh.
    The dog growled.
    The girls ran to catch up with Arno.
    “Wait,” said Noni. She sank down on a bench under the trees. “My big toes are squished in these shoes. I think I’ll sit here.”
    Dawn dropped her private eye box on the bench next to Noni. “Whew, that’s heavy.”
    She opened it and grabbed her private eye hat. “I’ll put this on, just in case.”
    “Let’s go, let’s go,” said Arno. He ran halfway up the path, then back again. “Hurry.”
    Noni took a breath. “Tell you what. The three of you go together.” She took out a crossword puzzle and a pencil. “You can leave your things here, Arno.”
    Arno thought about it.
    He shook his head. “Someone might steal my stuff while you’re not looking. My dollars too.”
    “Why don’t you stay with Noni?” Dawn said. “You can watch everything yourself.”
    Noni lowered one eyebrow. She stared at Dawn.
    “I guess not,” Dawn said. She raised her shoulders in the air.
    She and Jill started up the path.
    Arno stopped to make faces at the monkeys. Then he dashed in front of them.
    The path curved ahead of them.
    Arno disappeared around the curve.
    “Yeow,” yelled a voice.
    Dawn and Jill looked at each other. “What now?”
    They raced to look.
    A girl was rubbing her knee.
    Two boys were sprawled on the ground. They looked like twins. Red balloons were tied to their wrists.
    The woman with the rose was dashing up the path.

    “Sorry.” Arno raised his shoulders in the air. “Now I need a drink,” he said.
    He went back to the water fountain.
    He straightened up. He looked at Dawn.
    His cheeks were puffed with water.
    “Don’t try it,” Dawn told him. “Don’t even think about it.”
    Arno stared at her for another minute.
    Then he spit the water onto a rosebush.
    “Gross,” said Jill.
    “Double gross,” said Dawn.
    “Plants need water,” said Arno.
    He danced around them, then ran ahead again.
    He kept yelling something back over his shoulder . . . something about alligators.
    Dawn didn’t pay attention.
    She was looking for a mystery . . . looking hard.
    At first everything seemed ordinary.
    A green hill stretched up on one side of her. It was covered with shady trees.
    On the other side was a stone house with a picture of a snake. Its tongue was darting out.
    Dawn shivered a little.
    She looked up the path toward the seal pool.
    A seal with whiskers stared back at her.
    Dawn smiled. Seals were fun.
    “Hey,” said Jill. “What’s that?”
    Dawn twirled around. A notebook was lying in the middle of the path.
    “I don’t think it was here a minute ago,” Jill said. She bent down and picked it up.
    Dawn looked over Jill’s shoulder.
    On the front, in yellow, it said:
FROM A TO Z
    IT’S ME
    Underneath, someone had written in crayon: R.L.
    Jill ran her fingers over the cover. “What’s all this white stuff?”
    She handed the book to Dawn.
    Dawn could feel lumps stuck to the book. Small white lumps.
    Jill opened to the first page.
    There was no