The Cat's Paw

by Kat Shepherd

  The news switched to weather, and Vishal clicked off the television. There was a long silence as the kids stared at the empty screen, stunned at what they had just witnessed. Finally, Vishal spoke. “Did he just say he wants the city to kill B-17?”

  Sophia’s voice was bitter. “Yup.”

  “But she’s innocent!” Vishal protested.

  “Of course she is, but even if they knew that, it probably wouldn’t make any difference,” Sophia said. “This is what always happens with wildlife. We poison their water, take their food supply, and destroy their habitat, and when they manage to find a way to survive anyway, we kill them, too. When people pick a fight with animals, the animals always lose.”

  “But maybe if we bring our suspicions to the city council, we can clear B-17’s name and keep her from being killed for something she didn’t do,” Evie said. “After all, what happened to ‘innocent until proven guilty’?”

  Zach raised an eyebrow at his sister. “Do you really need to ask?” He sighed. “Suspicions aren’t enough. The city isn’t going to listen to us unless we can prove who really took Marvin,” Zach said.

  Vishal stood up. “Let’s see if we can check the security tape again,” he suggested. “Maybe we missed something: someone climbing over a wall or carrying a suspicious package. There has to be some kind of clue we can use.”

  When the kids returned to the security office, Kris was leaning over the back desk, peering intently at a computer monitor and tapping some buttons on the keyboard. “Excuse me, Kris?” Sophia began politely.

  Kris whirled around, startled. Before she could say anything, Zach held up his hand. “Stop right there!” he cried. “If you touch that keyboard again, we’re calling the cops!”

  CHAPTER

  10

  Kris froze.

  “What’s on that security video?” Zach demanded.

  “Nothing!” Kris said quickly.

  “Oh, come on,” Zach said. “Anyone can see that’s you in that video. What were you doing sneaking around in the bushes outside the zoo when you were supposed to be working at the party?”

  Kris rose up to her full height and looked imperiously down her nose. She cleared her throat, and when she spoke, her voice was low and official-sounding. “I received a report of something suspicious in the bushes, so obviously I was investigating it. That’s the only thing this video shows.”

  Zach folded his arms. “Oh, really? Then why are you trying to erase it?”

  Kris’s eyes shifted, and she folded her arms defensively across her chest. “I wasn’t.”

  “Then I guess you won’t mind if we show this to your supervisor,” Vishal said, walking toward the computer.

  “No!” Kris shouted, jumping in front of him.

  Vishal stopped, and all four kids stared her down until she finally broke. “Okay, fine. I wasn’t investigating a strange sound.” She sank down into a nearby chair, and her voice dropped. “I was looking for my keys,” she mumbled.

  “What?” Evie asked.

  Kris dropped her head. “My set of security keys. When I got back to my post at the party I noticed they weren’t on my belt, and I thought they might have come off in the altercation with Ms. Sinclair. I’ve only been on the job for a few days, and if my boss knew my keys had gone missing, I would be fired for sure.”

  “Did you find them?” Vishal asked.

  “Not right away,” Kris admitted. “They weren’t at the entrance. But I found them when I got back to the party.”

  Sophia’s eyes sharpened. “Where were they?”

  “It was a warm night, so I had taken off my jacket and dropped it on the seat of one of the extra carts. I found my keys in the pocket.” She put her head in her hands. “My boss would kill me if he found out I was that careless.” She lifted her head again and looked earnestly at the teens. “The funny thing is, I could have sworn I had them clipped to my belt. That’s where I always put them. I still can’t believe I would have done something so dumb as to leave them in my jacket like that.”

  Evie and Zach looked at each other. “Do you remember the last time you had your keys?”

  Kris picked up a pen and doodled on the yellow message pad near the phone, thinking. Finally, she said, “I know I had them right before I got the vandalism call, because I used them to unlock the bathroom for some guests.” Her pen drew a swirl pattern on the yellow paper. “That was probably eight ten or so.”

  “And when did you find them again?” Evie asked.

  “Just before nine o’clock.” The guard put down the pen. “Listen, you aren’t going to tell my boss or anything about this, are you?” Her voice was pleading. “I love animals, and I really need this job. Besides, nobody even knew the keys were missing. I promise I’ll be more careful next time.”

  “Are you kidding?” Sophia asked. “You lost a set of keys that unlocks every enclosure and building in the entire zoo! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have you fired.”

  “OMG, Sophia, she said she was sorry. Chill out!” Evie turned to the security guard. “Don’t worry; your secret’s safe with us.”

  “Wait,” Sophia said. “No it isn’t! I’m telling—” Before she could say any more, Evie and the boys had dragged her by the elbow out of the room and down the hall.

  When they arrived outside, Sophia shook them off. “What was that about?!” she asked angrily.

  “We could ask you the same thing,” Evie said sternly. “You don’t go around threatening to have people fired.”

  “Why not?” Sophia challenged.

  “Well, for one thing, it makes you sound like an obnoxious, spoiled brat,” Evie said.

  Sophia bristled. “No, it doesn’t.”

  Vishal smiled good-naturedly. “Oh, it totally does.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Like you know how in the movies there’s the hero, and then there’s some entitled character that everyone loves to hate? Free advice: The heroes are never the ones running around threatening to have people fired.”

  Sophia waved her hand. “Well, maybe they should be. That guard’s carelessness put the entire zoo in danger. It was probably her keys that Marvin’s kidnapper used to break into his enclosure, you know.”

  “Of course we know,” Zach said, “but did you hear her? She swore she remembered clipping them to her belt. Maybe the kidnapper took them off her belt and snuck them back in her jacket pocket later.”

  “But that means Marvin’s kidnapper would have to be someone at the donor dinner,” Evie said.

  “Exactly,” Vishal agreed. “Does anyone remember who all was there last night?”

  “Mostly,” Sophia said, “but I can’t remember everyone.”

  Zach brightened. “Our gift bags! I’m pretty sure we had souvenir photos in them, didn’t we?”

  “Mine was just of the four of us with Shakti, though,” Evie said. “Anyone have something different?”

  “Mine is a big group photo from the dinner,” Vishal said. “I put it on my bulletin board when I got home last night. Let’s meet at my house after school tomorrow and use it to make a list of suspects.”

  ***

  It was a quiet bus ride to Vishal’s house the next day. Each teen was still deep in thought about which of the zoo’s donors would want to take Marvin and why. Zach rested his head against the bus window. He ran the list of guests through his mind, trying to remember if any of them had acted suspiciously or disappeared for long stretches of time. He had been so excited about seeing all of the animals that the rest of the night’s details were a little fuzzy.

  When they arrived at the Desai family’s duplex, Vishal unlocked the front door and kicked off his sneakers, tossing them in the vague direction of a crammed shoe rack near the door. Sophia watched Evie and Zach do the same, Zach neatly arranging the twins’ shoes before joining his sister on the bright-orange sofa. Sophia paused in the doorway. Finally she bent down and slowly removed her suede sneakers, placing them gently on the floor next to Zach’s. The faded
silk rug felt soft beneath her feet, and she admired its magenta ikat pattern, bright against the dark-wood floor. Vibrant canvases covered the ochre walls, their bold, abstract designs filling the room with light and warmth. “I love your house,” Sophia said. “The artwork is so cool.”

  Vishal shrugged. “They’re my mom’s. She’s a painter.”

  “Is she home?” Zach asked.

  “She’s probably working,” Vishal answered. “Let me check.” He stepped into the kitchen and glanced at the arrangement of wooden magnets on the fridge. One large magnet at the top said MOM IS . . . and an assortment of smaller magnets was clustered beneath, with phrases like RUNNING ERRANDS, NAPPING, and TAKING A WALK. The magnet marked working was pushed to the top. Vishal ducked his head back into the living room. “Yup. She’s at her studio. Why don’t you guys grab a snack while I get the photo?”

  Sophia watched dumbstruck as Zach and Evie hopped off the couch and descended on the kitchen like professionals, finishing each other’s sentences as they opened cabinet doors and rummaged through the fridge. “Do they still have—” Evie asked, pulling out a clear plastic container of papadum from the cabinet.

  “Chutneys? Right here. Green and tamarind,” Zach answered. “There’s also some hummus. Maybe we could have that with—”

  “Red pepper? Is there a fresh one we can cut up?” Evie asked.

  Zach tossed the pepper to his sister, who had already pulled out a cutting board and knife. Evie rinsed the pepper in the sink and laid it flat on the wooden surface.

  “You two are really twinning out in here. How do you know where everything is?” Sophia asked.

  “Vishal’s our best friend,” Evie said. She expertly sliced the pepper, tossing the core and seeds into the compost bin under the sink. “We’ve known one another since we were babies. Don’t you do the same with your best friends?” She arranged the pepper slices on the plate with the hummus and handed it to Sophia.

  Sophia blushed. “I guess not.” She put the plate on the kitchen island and looked timidly at the floor. “I kinda thought that, you know, you guys were my best friends.”

  Zach and Evie looked at each other in surprise. They liked hanging out with Sophia, but they hadn’t really considered her a best friend, at least not like Vishal. Vishal’s friendship was solid; his life was thoroughly woven in with theirs, like three trees whose roots had grown together. Sophia flitted in and out of their lives like a butterfly. They texted with her a lot, and they sometimes saw her on weekends, but she usually seemed to be busy with ballet classes, Mandarin lessons, or some charity project or another. She was a good friend, but they had always imagined she had closer friends from outside of school that she spent time with.

  Vishal appeared in the doorway, souvenir photo in hand. His spiky hair was mussed, and a dust bunny hung from his sleeve. “Sorry. It fell behind my bed.” His forehead wrinkled. “Ooh. Weird energy in here. What’s up?”

  “Nothing!” Sophia said quickly. She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I think the snack’s almost ready.”

  “Sweet!” Vishal’s lanky arm made a beeline for the papadum, but Evie blocked him.

  “Eww! Wash your hands first! You look like you’ve been rolling around the inside of a vacuum cleaner.”

  Vishal ineffectively brushed at the lint that covered his dark hoodie and swiped his hands across his pant legs. “There! Good as new!” Evie wordlessly pointed at the sink, and Vishal sighed, slouched over, and began to wash his hands.

  “With soap,” Evie commanded. Another loud sigh came from the vicinity of the sink, and the water turned back on again.

  Vishal returned to the kitchen island, his hands leaving a trail of dripping water in his wake.

  “Dude, seriously?” Zach asked. “Now even I’m offended.” He tossed a dish towel to Vishal. “You’re gonna get the papadums all soggy.” He pulled a pen and paper out of the kitchen junk drawer. “Okay. Time to make our list of suspects. We just have to research every person from the party and figure out who would have a motive to steal Marvin.”

  “Don’t forget opportunity,” Evie said. “Every table was full during dinner, so Marvin could only have been taken either before dinner or afterward, when everyone broke into groups to see Shakti.”

  “We didn’t get up to the elephant pavilion until about six fifty or so, and dinner was at seven fifteen. That leaves a pretty short window, but it’s possible,” Sophia said.

  Vishal shook his head. “It couldn’t have happened then. Remember, Nikki checked on Marvin just after seven thirty, and he was still in his enclosure. He had to have been kidnapped after dinner, sometime between eight and nine fifteen.”

  The group bent over the souvenir photo from the donor dinner. It was already wrinkled and a little wilted from the short time it had been in Vishal’s possession. Smiling guests crowded around Councilman Brown as he held up his Golden Gorilla Award.

  Zach studied the faces carefully. Did anyone look preoccupied or nervous, like someone who was about to commit a crime? He clicked the pen and started writing down names. “Okay. There’s that old couple. I remember his striped sweatband and her big purse.”

  “The Forshentskys,” Sophia added. “They come to every event. I’m always worried that Lloyd is going to fall down and break his hip; he’s so frail, he looks like he’s made of dead leaves or something. But Jackie says they still love getting out and coming to the zoo.” She pointed to the round-faced city councilman holding up his Golden Gorilla Award. “And there’s Big Tommy Brown, with Dr. Chang standing next to him.” Dr. Chang had his hand on the councilman’s shoulder like they were old friends.

  Evie tapped another face in the photo. “And we have Gideon and his game show host smile giving the thumbs-up right here. There’s Abby next to him with that huge engagement ring on her finger. She always looks like she’d rather be at home with her dogs or out hiking somewhere, doesn’t she?”

  Vishal pointed at the curly-haired, olive-skinned man wearing shiny loafers with no socks. “And there’s Dante Fishman, the Monkeyfart guy. What’s his girlfriend’s name? The one with the fox-fur coat?”

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “Bitsy. I still can’t believe she would wear fur to an animal event! It’s beyond tacky. I mean, the zoo actually has a fox exhibit! I hate fur. It’s just cruel and unnecessary.”

  “Huh,” Evie said.

  “What?” Sophia asked.

  “It just sounds like something Jersey would say.”

  “Well, Jersey’s not the only one who cares about animals.” Suddenly Sophia’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Jersey said that she and her group were planning an action at the donor dinner. What if the spray-painting was only a distraction? What if the real action was taking Marvin?”

  “Yeah, but then we’re back to the keys again,” Vishal said. “No outside person could have gotten Kris’s keys.”

  Sophia’s eyes sparkled. “I’m not saying it was an outside person. I think someone in this photo is secretly a member of SCAT!”

  CHAPTER

  11

  A short time later, the four friends snacked silently, each hunched over a laptop as they researched the guests.

  “I don’t even know why I’m bothering with the Forshentskys,” Sophia said. “They obviously didn’t do it. After all, they’ve been major donors to the zoo for years, and SCAT hates zoos. Besides, Lloyd’s arms would probably break off if he tried to lift up a red panda. He can barely even hold Jackie’s purse for her!”

  “I don’t even think I could hold Jackie’s purse,” Zach said. “That thing is massive!”

  “Massive enough to hold a red panda?” Evie asked.

  “Doubtful,” Sophia answered. “Even if it could, Marvin would be scratching at it, trying to get out. It would be pretty obvious. He must have been hidden in a carrier crate somewhere and retrieved later. There are a million good hiding spots in the zoo, especially for carrier crates. The zoo uses them all the time to transport anima
ls, so you could practically hide it in plain sight.”

  “Okay, so the Forshentskys are out,” Evie said. “What about Dante or his girlfriend?”

  “The one in the fur coat?” Sophia asked. “I don’t think so. Jersey’s such a hardcore vegan, she wouldn’t feed meat to a starving tiger. There’s no way anyone from SCAT would wear fur.”

  “Sure, fine, but what about Dante? He could have done it,” Evie said. “What have you found out about him so far, Vish?”

  “It says here that he went to Dartmouth.” Vishal clicked through Dante’s various social media pages. “Let’s see if it lists what clubs he was in.” He tapped the mouse a few times. “He was in an a capella group called the Sharp Fellas. Unexpected. Annnnd . . . here’s some photos of him on a deer-hunting trip for his friend’s bachelor party.” Vishal turned the screen to show a grinning Dante and his friends proudly crouched around a dead stag.

  Sophia curled her lip in disgust. “Ugh. No thanks.”

  “You eat meat, Sophia,” Evie said. “What’s wrong with hunting?”

  “I’m not saying something’s wrong with it,” Sophia said. “I just don’t want to do it.”

  “Me neither,” Zach said. “I prefer imagining that my meat comes straight from the supermarket.”

  “Not me,” Evie said. “I’d rather eat a normal animal that had a normal life than some poor creature crammed into a tiny cage where it couldn’t even turn around.”

  “We only eat organic, grass-fed, and cage-free, so I don’t have to worry about that,” Sophia said.

  “Must be nice,” Evie muttered. “That stuff is expensive.”

  Zach scratched Dante’s name off the list. “We’ve already eliminated four people; we’re running out of suspects.” He looked at the scattering of remaining names. “I mean, the zoo director’s hardly going to be a member of SCAT, so he’s out.” He pushed the list away in frustration. “I can’t find ties between any of these people and animal rights groups.” He leaned back and folded his arms. “I don’t know. Maybe we should start looking for another motive.”