The Monkey Howled at Midnight (14 page)

“That's right.” Otis nodded as he peered at the newspaper on his computer screen. “That's because it's such big business.”

“Illegal traffic in animals is estimated to bring smugglers about twenty billion dollars every year,” Cody said.

“It's because people buy them,” said Rae.

“It's true.” Otis turned away from his computer. “From what I've read, it's kind of a cult. People want an animal that's bigger, faster, meaner, or rarer. But that's not the only thing that causes the problem.”

“Yeah,” said Cody. “These smugglers pay poor people to catch the animals for them. They need the money for their families.”

“Some people need the money, but some just want it. Like the customs agents that take bribes to look the other way.”

Maxim cleared his throat. “However, a lot of very good agents have been doing an excellent job of finding these smugglers.” He turned a page. “It's a good thing, too. These people have no shame. The things they do are shocking.”

Maxim went on to tell them about some of the recent cases. Many involved the smuggling of birds. “Illegal trafficking of all kinds of parrots has been busy,” he said. “It's horrible. Birds have been smuggled in toothpaste tubes, hair curlers, stockings, and thermos bottles. They aren't fed and they aren't given any water.”

He had to stop reading for a moment. “It's really terrible,” he said.

“I know,” Rae said. “We learned about it in school. Those birds are very fragile. More than half die just from the shock of being captured. And others die while they are being transported. They aren't given food and water, like you said, Maxim. And their wings are clipped to prevent them from flying if they get loose.”

Cody joined in the discussion. “Yeah, it seems like they keep finding out things that are worse and worse. Smugglers know that about seventy-five percent of animals will probably die between being captured and transported. So they make sure to capture four times the number they plan to sell!”

“I read that a pink macaw from the Amazon rain forest can bring as much as a million dollars,” said Otis. “We didn't see any of those.”

“And listen to this,” said Rae. “They just seized orangutans in Thailand. They were being forced to box for entertainment.”

“Disgusting,” said Maxim.

“At least we know that people are being caught, and animals are being saved,” said Otis.

“Sometimes there's a funny side to it, too,” said Cody. “Listen to this: a guy tried to smuggle in eighteen baby parrots in pouches that he had strapped to his legs. The customs agents wouldn't have caught him if they hadn't seen bird droppings splattered all over his shoes!”

Everyone chuckled. “He was in
deep doo-doo
,” said Otis.

“
Har-har, rah-rah
,” Cody smiled.

“Fetch! Fetch!” Pauly shrieked suddenly. He shifted on his perch, waiting for Dude to jump up.

But today Dude was too smart for him … or too lazy. He simply rolled over.

Pauly hung his head with disappointment. All of his feathers seemed to wilt.

“Attaboy, Dude!” Rae said. “Don't let that bird fool you.”

“Let's get back to talking about those endangered animals,” said Otis. “I want to do something for them.”

“I think we should,” Cody agreed.

“We could start a club at school to help endangered animals,” said Rae. “Maybe we could have bake sales every month and send some money to the World Wildlife Federation or another organization that helps endangered animals.”

“That's a great idea, Rae,” said Mr. Carson.

“I know what we could do,” said Cody. “We could make the baked goods in the shape of animals or decorated like animals. Imagine—panda cakes and toucan cookies, bear brownies …”

“Let's make some animal cookies right now,” Rae said as she got to her feet. “It'll be fun.”

“Uh-huh.” Otis smiled. “
More fun than a barrel of monkeys
.”

“You know, I never thought I'd say this,” Maxim said, peering over his newspaper, “but these mysteries we've been involved in are actually pretty exciting. I'm beginning to look forward to running into another.”

Rae, Cody, and Otis were speechless—but not for long. “We love them!” Rae blurted out.

“Yeah,” Cody agreed.

“And you're right—we never thought we'd hear you say that, Maxim.”

“Neither did I,” said Mr. Carson. He stepped back and studied his painting. “I'm warming up to the mysteries myself.” He glanced at Cody, Otis, and Rae. “You three seem to find them wherever we go. Let's see what happens on our next trip.”