Peril at Palm Shores (Kristi Cameron Book 7) Read online

  “That’s great, Gretchen! Thank you! Bye, Grandma! We’ll see you in a little while.” They went their separate ways—Elizabeth to the nursery, and the Camerons and their friends with Jimmy.

  Jimmy had already loaded a number of buckets and crates onto a small trailer that was hitched to the golf cart. “We keep most of the food for the animals right there at their habitats, but most of this stuff in the trailer is special food that the kitchen has to prepare on a day to day basis,” he explained. “Would you ladies like to ride on the cart? Think you can keep up, guys?” Rachel climbed into the front seat next to Jimmy and the girls jumped on the back seat. The golf cart started up and the girls waved at the guys, giggling as they hustled to keep pace with them.

  The first stop was at the Pachyderms Pavilion. An elephant with her calf was in the yard. The baby was playing with her mother’s tail, flicking it with her trunk and shaking her head as if she were laughing. A big grin was on her face. The mother seemed to just ignore her baby, but her ears waved back and forth with each flick of her tail and her wise old eyes seemed to twinkle. On the other side of a fence dividing the yard was a pair of hippos wallowing in a pond. “Come on into the building with me. I can’t take you out into the yard, but you can come back where we keep the food and watch from the doorway as I feed them.”

  Jimmy led the way through a door in the elephant house to an area in the back. “Whew!” Skeeter said as they walked through, wrinkling his nose. “This is one smelly place!”

  Jimmy laughed. “Well, if you ate as much as these gals do, you’d be leaving some pretty big—well, you know—behind, too! Sam, my assistant, will be here in a little while to clean up. Unless, you’d like to do it now, Skeeter?”

  “Uh, no thanks. I’ll pass, and let our friend Sam do it.”

  Large bales of hay were stacked all over. “Elephants eat and drink a lot every day, and they eat many times a day. They like to keep busy, too, so we make them work for their food,” Jimmy said. “You see, I cut open these bales and put their hay in this big steel rack. There are small openings in it so that the elephant reaches in with her trunk and pulls out just a small amount at a time. We also give them trees that they can tear apart with their feet and trunks, sugar cane, which is their very favorite treat, bamboo, oats, fruits and vegetables, and oh yes, these elephant cubes. They’re the same as the vitamin pills you take every day. They have extra nutrients for the elephants in them. Here, I’ll let you feed some of this cane and these cubes to Suki and Bimba.”

  They stood behind the gate that led out into the elephant’s enclosure. Jimmy called Suki and Bimba over, holding out some sugar cane for them. They came shuffling over on the run. Kristi and the others held out their hands, offering the sugar cane and elephant cubes. They laughed as the long trunks snuffled over their hands and daintily picked the food out of them. They chuckled when Bimba, the baby, took a cube from Anna and tossed it over her back. She turned and kicked the cube back and forth for a bit before she finally decided to pick it up and eat it.

  “Elephants love to play with their food,” Jimmy explained. “They need a lot of stimulation and play to be happy, so we provide them with all kinds of toys and activities all day long. You’ll get to see more of that later. We’d better get going right now, though. We’ve got a lot of hungry animals here to feed!”

  They quickly fed the hippos and then set off with the golf cart again. They zipped on past the hoofed animals—the antelope, deer, buffalo, giraffes and zebras. “Sam’s going to feed them, as well as the small mammals, reptiles and birds this morning,” Jimmy called back to them. “We don’t have time to do them all ourselves.”

  Kristi looked with longing at the giraffes as they sped by. She had vague memories of a giraffe leaning over the fence back when she was a preschooler and taking popcorn right out of her bag with its long tongue. She would have liked to feed the giraffes again today. Jimmy must have sensed her disappointment, for he said now, “You can come back and feed the giraffes later if you’d like, or watch the crocs and gators being fed at one of the show times.”

  “Yeah! I’d like to see that show!” Skeeter said, puffing as he hurried to keep up with the golf cart.

  “Well, don’t forget we’re here to work, not be entertained,” Steve reminded him.

  The next stop was in the wooded area where wolves, bears, and coyotes roamed their enclosures. Jimmy left meat at their feeding stations. They watched as the bears and coyotes came over looking for their food right away. The wolves hung back a bit, hiding in a stand of trees and eyeing the humans who lingered nearby. Finally, as they moved on, the wolves came forward, eager for their breakfast, too.

  They helped Jimmy unload the buckets of raw meat for the lions, tigers, leopards and cougars at the Cat House. A number of large animals lounged on the rocks in the sun, or slept in the shade of a tree. Thick glass separated them from the huge cats, but even so, the stare of those feline eyes was enough to send chills down their backs. “I feel like I’m being stalked,” Kristi whispered nervously to Robyn. “That tiger hasn’t blinked or taken his eyes off of me since we walked in here. His head is lowered and his tail is twitching. He looks like he’s ready to pounce! Are we sure this glass is thick enough?”

  Jimmy laughed. “He’s not staring at you, Kristi. He’s looking at that bucket of meat! Here, hand it to me. And yes, the glass is plenty thick enough! The days of cages with bars are pretty much behind us now. The glass and moat allow us to have an open view of the animals in an environment that is very much like that of their native lands.

  “Well, let’s get out of here, anyway! Ewww! The stink of this place, plus the smell from these buckets is enough to make me pass out!” Robyn said. She passed her bucket over to Jimmy, as well, and watched as he shoved the meat through a small opening in the wall. The girls hurried back to the golf cart and waited while the guys took a few more minutes to enjoy the sight of the cats tearing apart the raw meat in a feeding frenzy with one another. Their loud roars seemed to shake the ground, and they covered their ears and ducked their heads. Kristi had to admit, she was glad when they finally left the Cat House.

  The Arctic display was another story. The coolness of the domed building was a welcome relief after the Florida heat. They laughed in delight at the antics of the penguins as they seemed to fly through the water and then came waddling over to beg for their food. Jimmy let the teens toss fish to them for several minutes, and then led them back outside to the sea lions. A cool mist blew over the rocks around the pool where several seals played. They would slide over the rocks down into the pool, take a couple quick spins around the pool and then climb out, only to slide down the rocks again and back into the pool. As soon as they saw Jimmy coming, though, they began barking loudly and clapping their flippers. The teens laughed at the merry mayhem and gathered around Jimmy, eager to toss fish to these playful fellows, as well.

  They were reluctant to leave until Jimmy told them their last stop was the Monkey Jamboree. “Yes!” Skeeter yelled. “Let’s go! And not a word out of you!” he warned, turning to Robyn and pointing his finger at her. Robyn giggled.

  The Monkey Jamboree was in full swing when they got there. There were apes, monkeys and other primates of every size, shape and color in the large exhibit. The great apes were outside in a large play yard surrounded by a deep moat. Tires, ropes, balls and other toys lay scattered around the yard or hung from the rocks and trees. Huge gorillas stared solemnly as they approached. Chimpanzees came running, banging on the ground and chattering in excitement at the sight of the food buckets. Bright orange orangutans looked sad one moment, and started laughing the next. Everyone was happy to see Jimmy, that was for sure!

  “We have to go inside,” Jimmy said. “The access panels to feed them are in the building. Come on.” They started toward the building, still laughing at the antics of the apes, when suddenly Jimmy stopped and said, “Oh for Pete’s sake! Will you look at that!”

  They looked where he was
pointing. Across the whole front of the building was spray-painted words and symbols—graffiti. Orange, black, blue, red—it was scrawled across the walls, the door, even the windows. Jimmy’s face was red. “That’s the second time this month,” he growled. “We just finished cleaning up the last mess. What I want to know is how they’re getting away with this? They’re obviously getting in during the night, but how? It makes me so mad! And it costs the zoo a lot of money to fix it—money we don’t have. Gretchen is not going to be happy about this—especially with that anniversary shebang coming up this weekend.”

  “Who would want to do such a thing? And why?” Kristi asked. The rest of the teens were just as indignant. What a crummy thing to happen!

  “I don’t know. Probably just some kids out for kicks—no offense to you kids, of course. We’ve had a rash of vandalism lately. That’s one reason we were so glad you all were coming to help us repair some of the damage, as well as give us a hand in sprucing up some of the areas that are a little the worse for wear from just ordinary use.”

  “Well, listen, Jimmy,” Steve said. Why don’t you let my wife and me take care of this mess while the kids get on with some of the other projects you had lined up for them. We’ll pay for the paint ourselves, and do the painting. Just tell us what paint and color to buy and Rachel can go get it. I’ll start while she’s gone by scraping this spray paint off the windows.”

  “Well, thanks, Mr. Cameron. That’s great! But hey, let’s get in there and get the rest of the noisy crew fed first. You hear that racket? They know we’re out here and they want their breakfast!”

  The inside of Monkey Jamboree was filled with screeching, howling, banging monkeys and other primates. One whole side of the building was a large habitat area that looked like a jungle. It opened through a door to an outdoor play yard. Lemurs, tamarins, gibbons and macaques were housed in the smaller habitats on the other side of the building. They all came running now at the sight of Jimmy. The uproar was almost deafening. “You’re a really popular fellow, Jimmy!” Rachel laughed as she covered her ears.

  “Yeah, they’re hungry, alright. They could be a little upset about the vandalism last night, too. They’re smart. They know when something isn’t right. Anyway, we’re feeding these guys vegetables this morning. They’ll get more veggies and fruit tonight, along with primate chow which is a lot like dog chow, but especially formulated for them. They also get little treats hidden in their play area and in their hay for them to find on their own, and once a week they get stewed beef or baked fish.”

  The kids helped distribute the food and then stood for a few minutes watching the animals enjoying their breakfast. “It reminds me a lot of the cafeteria at school,” Pete said. “Look—there’s a food fight going on!” They laughed at the sight of several young monkeys playing with their food and obviously enjoying their meal together.

  “Hmm, I’m looking… Ah, there!” Robyn said. “Looks just like you, Skeeter!” Robyn giggled. “He’s gotta be your cousin, Skeeter! I mean, you both have the same red hair and freckles and everything!” She pointed to an orangutan that was standing there staring at them. He was scratching his belly with one hand and picking his nose with the other one.

  “Robyn!” Skeeter’s face turned red, but he couldn’t help it—he started laughing, too. The hairy ape did have the exact same shade of hair as he did—and freckles all over his nose and neck.

  They finally turned away and headed back outdoors again. “We need to get back,” Jimmy said. “It’s already after nine thirty and the zoo will be opening at ten. You’re supposed to take a tour of the nursery and hospital with your grandmother next, right? When you’re done with that, come next door to the maintenance shed and Randy will get you started on your jobs.” They zipped along on the golf cart, with the guys hustling to keep up. Jimmy took a short cut straight across the park.

  They had just pulled up in front of the zoo hospital and nursery when Sam and Randy came hurrying out to meet them. “Jimmy!” Sam said. “Bad news! We’ve got more vandalism over by the Small Mammal exhibit and at the Reptile House. Spray-painted graffiti, eggs thrown against the buildings, some of the flower beds destroyed and signs knocked over.”

  “Aw, man!” Jimmy said in anger and disgust. “Monkey Jamboree got it, too. “What’s the matter with those people? Our animals behave better than they do!”

  “That’s not the worst of it, though, Jimmy,” Randy said. “They tried to cut the wires of the eagles’ pen. They must have been interrupted, or got tired of it or something, because they didn’t finish the job, and the birds are all safe, but it scares me that they were trying to either steal the eagles or just release them.”

  Jimmy was really mad now. “They’ve gone too far! Damaging property is one thing, but endangering our animals is something else! Have you called in the police yet? Well, get them on the phone and have them send a squad car over. Randy, you get going on repairing the eagles’ pen. Check around very carefully and make sure there isn’t more damage, and make sure all the animals are safe. Sam, get a list together of all the supplies—paint and stuff—we need and give it to Mrs. Cameron. The Cameron’s have offered to help us out, and she’ll go get whatever we need. We need to get going. Everyone, keep your eyes open for anyone or anything suspicious. This is ridiculous!” Jimmy stomped off.

  Steve turned to the kids and said, “I know you’ve all been looking forward to your tour of the nursery, but I think maybe we ought to postpone that for a bit and get busy helping to repair the damage. Girls, would you run over and tell Grandma we’ll take the tour later? Maybe at the end of the day, okay?” The girls looked disappointed, but they nodded their heads and ran off to speak with Kristi’s grandma. Steve turned back to Sam. “When you’re done with that list for my wife, could you tell the kids what you want them to do? If you’ll give me some razor blades, I’ll start scraping the paint off windows right away.”

  Within thirty minutes they were all busy. Grandma had called a couple of her lady friends from church who were avid gardeners and asked if they could come and help out with the flower beds. The teens worked on scrubbing egg off the buildings and sweeping up the messes that were left on the sidewalks until Rachel got back with the paint. Then they all pitched in and started painting.

  The day got hotter and more humid as it went on, but they worked steadily and as swiftly as they could. Time was short, they knew, before the anniversary party, and now with all this extra work on top of the long list they had had before, they would be hard-pressed to get everything done in time.

  Kristi was conscious of visitors to the zoo walking by and staring curiously at them as they worked. Now and then they heard remarks about the damage that had been done, or someone would ask them a question or two about what had happened. She glanced up as people walked by. Most of them were moms and dads with little ones in strollers, or with small children skipping ahead, but there were plenty of teenagers and other adults, as well. She wondered about these strangers. Were some of them the culprits behind this ugliness? It made her feel sick to think about it.

  __________

  CHAPTER FOUR

  __________

  Three Snakes in a Bush

  The hours passed by quickly, and the teens worked hard, stopping only briefly for lunch. They met Rachel and Steve at the refreshment stand near the Monkey Jamboree. They were all dripping with sweat, and looked a little the worse for wear. “Whew!” Skeeter said. “Man, am I glad to take a break! I’m starving. I’m not used to waiting for lunch until one o’clock—especially after eating breakfast at six!”

  “Well, eat quickly, kids,” Steve said, “because there’s a lot more to do this afternoon. Jimmy said to order whatever you want. They want to treat us for all your hard work today.” They got in line to order their food.

  A few minutes later they were back at one of the tables, sheltered from the sun by a big colorful umbrella. The girls were almost too tired to eat. They picked at their food. The three guys
, on the other hand, gulped theirs down, and then were eyeing the girls’ food. “Uh-uh,” Rachel said. “If you’re still hungry, go get something else, but hurry. We need to get back to work. Girls, eat! And all of you, drink plenty of water or something while you’re working. You don’t want to get dehydrated. How’s the work going, by the way?”

  “Well, Robyn and Anna and I just finished painting the Small Mammal exhibit. We’re ready to start the next project,” Kristi said.

  “And we’re done with the Reptile House, too,” Dan said. “What should we do next?”

  “Good work, kids! Wow, that was fast! I’m almost done scraping all the windows,” Steve said. “They sprayed them in all three buildings, and it’s slow, tedious work. Your mom could use some help painting at Monkey Jamboree, Kristi, if you girls want to help her finish that. Guys, check with Randy to see what he has on his list for you to do. I know he’s been working on the eagles’ pen, and I think he plans to fix all those signs that were knocked down himself, so I’m not sure what he has in store for you.”

  “Grandma’s friends did a nice job with the flower beds,” Rachel added. “I think they’re having lunch with her right now over in the air-conditioned nursery.”

  “Air-conditioning! Why didn’t we think of that?” Kristi groaned. “This heat and humidity is killing me!”

  “Well, just think of your grandma’s nice cool pool when we get back at the end of the day!” Robyn encouraged her.

  “Oooh, that makes it worse! I could sure go for a dip in that pool right now!”

  “Aww, Kristi, quit your bellyachin’!” Skeeter growled. He stood up. “It’s time to get back to work, anyway. Hey, are you going to eat the rest of those fries, Kristi? Robyn, do you want that pickle, or can I have it? And I’ll take your chips if you’re not going to eat them, Anna!” Skeeter gathered up the leftover food and wandered off, still stuffing his face.