Don Dixon took the covers off the coolers and looked at the baseball fish and turtles inside. “The police will need these, but I’ll make sure they get back to your uncle,” Don said. “He’s the only person who’s been able to breed baseball fish successfully. The Miami Marlins are special, but I think your uncle Oliver’s favorite baseball fish, Marlin, is even more special.”
Kate nodded in agreement. Then she glanced at the time. “Zikes! Come on, Mike,” she said. “We’re late. My mother’s going to be looking for us!”
Late that night, Mike, Kate, Mrs. Hopkins, and Uncle Oliver were standing outside in the warm Miami air.
Out of nowhere, a piercing scream filled the night. Mike and Kate flinched. They turned around to try to find where the scream came from. But it was too dark.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Mrs. Hopkins asked.
Uncle Oliver laughed. “It’s perfectly safe,” he said. “I do this all the time.”
A loud scream filled the night again.
“It sounds like a person,” Kate said.
“It does. But it’s not,” Uncle Oliver said. “It’s just a barn owl. They’re found all over the United States, including in Florida. I love taking walks at night to hear the sounds of our animals!”
Uncle Oliver flipped on a big flashlight. They were standing on the wooden boardwalk at Panther Park.
“Come on, gang,” he said. “Let me show you something else.” Uncle Oliver hadn’t stopped smiling since Mike and Kate had told him how they had caught Ned with the stolen animals.
Earlier that evening, Ned had confessed at the police station. He admitted to catching endangered sea turtles and rare fish near Key Largo and putting them in the Marlins’ tanks. He also admitted to stealing Uncle Oliver’s baseball fish.
To sell the animals, Ned brought his customers to baseball games. They could see the stolen fish and turtles and bid on them. At the end of the games, Ned picked up the fish or turtles and brought them to the buyers. After he confessed, Ned gave the police the names of people who had bought the stolen animals. The police were working on getting the animals back.
The beam from Uncle Oliver’s flashlight played on the wood of the walkway. “Ned was a great worker,” Uncle Oliver said, shaking his head. “It’s too bad he thought he could make money stealing turtles and selling my fish. I’m glad you two are so good at solving mysteries. It’s good to have Marlin safe and sound back here at Panther Park!” He gave Mike and Kate high fives.
“But you said there wasn’t enough money to keep Panther Park open. How will you take care of Marlin and the other animals?” Kate asked.
“That’s the best part!” Uncle Oliver said. “Don Dixon called me a little while ago. He wants to invest in Panther Park. He thinks we can earn enough to keep going if he sells Panther Park tickets at his pet store!”
Mike pretended to swing a baseball bat. “POW!” he said. “That’s what I call a home run!”
The path led straight to the panther area. Uncle Oliver flicked off the flashlight. It was pitch-black again. But Uncle Oliver seemed to know where to go. He led them a little farther through the dark. Then they stopped. Once their eyes got used to the dark, Mike and Kate started to make out the sights. Off in the distance, the barn owl screeched again.
The moon peeked out from behind the clouds. Its silvery light rippled across the clearing. As it did, Kate and Mike found themselves staring straight into the big yellow eyes of Uncle Oliver’s panthers. Mike and Kate stood still until the animals started prowling from one side of their area to the other.
“I’m sure glad nobody tried to kidnap them!” Mike said.
“Shh…,” Uncle Oliver said. “I think I heard one of them say something!”
Mike and Kate listened. But all they heard was chirping and buzzing from the insects in the nearby bushes. In front of them, Uncle Oliver put a hand to his ear. He seemed to be listening to something that they couldn’t hear. Mike and Kate looked at each other. Mike pointed to his head and made circular motions with his finger like Uncle Oliver was cuckoo.
Then they heard it.
Prrrrrr. Prrrrrr.
The panthers were purring! They sounded almost like Kate’s cat, Cooper, back home. Kate stepped closer to the animals to listen.
“Now you hear it,” Uncle Oliver said. “But can you tell what they’re saying?”
“No! Can you?” Kate asked.
“I think I can. It sounds to me like they’re saying thank you,” he said. “Thank you for finding the missing fish, saving the turtles, and rescuing the nature center and all the animals like us!”
Dugout Notes
The Marlins’ Ballpark
Fish tanks. The Miami Marlins’ stadium is unlike any other—it has two large fish tanks behind home plate! The tanks are built into the wall between the first row of seats and the infield. Each one is twenty-two feet long and holds 500 gallons of water.
Bobblehead Museum. Although Mike and Kate didn’t visit it in the book, the Miami Marlins’ stadium has a Bobblehead Museum! Bobbleheads are small figures with big heads held on by springs. The springs allow the head to “bobble” back and forth. Miami’s Bobblehead Museum is a single large display case. It holds close to 700 bobbleheads. The case even jiggles a little bit to keep the bobbleheads bobbling!
Marlins (the fish). A marlin is a type of large fish with a spearlike snout and a tall fin on its back. They can be up to fourteen feet long and weigh 1,800 pounds or more.
Marlins (the team). When it comes to baseball, the Miami Marlins are youngsters. The team started playing in 1993. Back then, they were called the Florida Marlins. When the Marlins moved to a new stadium in 2012, they changed their name to the Miami Marlins.
Florida panthers. Florida panthers are the state animal and an endangered species. They are usually tan with a white underbelly and black tips on their ears and tail. In other parts of the country, these large cats are known as cougars, mountain lions, or pumas. But in Florida they’re called panthers.
Endangered turtles. There are a number of endangered turtles in Florida, including green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles. Baby green sea turtles are tiny, only about two inches long, but they can grow up to about four feet. They live around coral reefs, like the one where Kate and Mike went snorkeling.
Winners. Even though the Marlins are a young team, they’ve done better than some teams that have been around for a long time. The Marlins won the World Series in 1997 and in 2003!
Eephus pitch. There really is a trick pitch called the Eephus pitch. To throw an Eephus pitch, the pitcher tosses the ball high up in the air. The ball arcs up and drops down right over home plate. Only a few pitchers have ever used an Eephus pitch in a major-league game.
Junk balls. An Eephus pitch is a type of “junk” ball. Junk ball pitches are usually slow or move around a lot, so they’re hard for batters to hit. Pitchers who throw lots of junk balls try to get the batters to “go fishing” and swing at bad pitches.
The Missing Marlin Page 4