Panda Puzzle Read online

  Here’s what kids and

  teachers have to say to

  Ron Roy, author of

  the A to Z Mysteries series:

  “Josh is super cool! He is almost as cool as me!”

  —Zack M.-H.

  “I like the way you put a lot of adventure in your books.”—Christie C.

  “The A to Z Mysteries really get me thinking. When I pick up an A to Z Mystery book, it’s hard to put down.”—Erica F.

  “Thank you for your books. I am enjoying them as much as my students.”

  —JoAnn D.

  P is for PUBLIC LIBRARY. The Panda Puzzle

  is dedicated to libraries and librarians, who help

  kids find wonderful books to read. Thank you!

  —R.R.

  To Ron, for writing a great series.

  —J.S.G.

  CHAPTER 1

  “I can’t believe Green Lawn has its own pandas,” Ruth Rose said. She held up her dad’s camcorder. “I hope I can get them on videotape!”

  Ruth Rose always dressed in one color. Today, she wore sky blue from head to toe.

  Ruth Rose, her little brother, Nate, and her friends Dink and Josh were visiting the petting zoo. A mother panda and her baby had arrived just the day before!

  All four kids stood in the middle of a crowd near the panda enclosure. Dink recognized a lot of his friends from school. He waved at Officer Fallon and his grandson, Jimmy.

  Through the skinny rails of the enclosure fence, the kids could see a cave and a pool of water. Bamboo grew beside the cave.

  From his pocket, Dink pulled out a folded paper. It was an issue of The Panda Paper. The front-page story was all about how the pandas, Ping and Winnie, had come to Green Lawn. The headline was PETTING ZOO PERFECT PLACE FOR PANDAS!

  “I’m going to ask the editor if I can write a story about the baby panda,” Dink said.

  Josh was chomping on an apple and holding Pal’s leash. “If you do, I’ll draw its picture for you,” he said.

  “Can I play with the panda?” asked Nate.

  “Sorry, Natie,” Ruth Rose said. “Pandas only like to play with other pandas.”

  Nate was on tiptoes. “I can’t see,” he complained. “There’s too many big people.”

  “There’s a bench over there,” Dink said. “We can see better if we stand on it.”

  The four kids climbed onto a nearby bench. Now they could see over the crowd. Pal flopped on the lawn with a big sigh and closed his eyes.

  The crowd stood just outside the fence. Off to one side, standing near a microphone, were two men and a woman.

  The kids recognized the woman. Her name was Irene Napper, and she worked at the petting zoo. She fed the animals and made sure they were safe and comfortable. She was wearing a green uniform with the words PETTING ZOO stitched onto her shirt pocket.

  Next to Irene was a short man with spiky yellow hair. That was Tom Steele, the editor of The Panda Paper.

  “Who’s the guy wearing the necktie?” Josh asked.

  The man Josh had asked about was very tan. He was whispering something to Irene Napper.

  “That’s Flip Frances,” Dink said. He showed Josh a picture in The Panda Paper. “His grandmother gave the money to Green Lawn to build this park.”

  Just then, Flip Frances spoke into the microphone. “Can you all hear me?” he asked.

  Ruth Rose turned on the camcorder and aimed it toward the microphone.

  “Hi, everyone, I’m Flip Frances,” he said. “As many of you know, it was my grandmother, Winifred Frances, who made Panda Park possible. Granny Win would be happy that you all came to meet little Winnie. And I’m pleased that her money went to such a good cause.”

  He turned to Irene Napper. “Irene is taking good care of our new arrivals,” he said, handing her the microphone.

  “Thanks, Flip,” Irene said into the mike. “I just want to say that I’ve loved getting to know little Winnie. She’s a happy, playful baby.”

  Irene passed the mike to Tom Steele. “Hello, everyone,” the editor said. “As you know, The Panda Paper has a very small staff—me! I could use some help. I’d love to print your stories, poems, or pictures about pandas.”

  Tom Steele grinned. “But I can’t pay you anything!”

  Everyone in the crowd laughed.

  Just then, a black-and-white face appeared inside the cave’s entrance.

  The crowd quieted. Slowly, the mother panda moved into the sunlight. Her head swiveled around and she lifted her nose into the air. Suddenly she charged the fence and threw her body against the metal rails.

  Tom Steele, Irene Napper, and Flip Frances leaped back. People at the front of the crowd jumped back, too.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Ruth Rose asked, catching it all on videotape.

  Ping stared through the bars of the fence. After a minute, she waddled back into her cave.

  A man in a green uniform hurried over to Irene Napper. Irene handed him her keys, and the man unlocked the fence gate. Carefully, he crossed over to the cave, knelt down, and looked inside.

  Then he reached in and pulled something out. To Dink, it looked like a round alarm clock. A small piece of paper was tied around it with a string. The man relocked the gate and handed the object to Irene. She removed the paper and silently read what was written on it.

  “This is so weird!” Josh whispered. “What’s going on?”

  Irene stepped back to the microphone. Dink noticed her hand was shaking.

  “This is a ransom note,” Irene told the crowd. “Winnie has been kidnapped!”

  CHAPTER 2

  “KIDNAPPED!” Ruth Rose gasped.

  Everyone in the crowd began talking at once. Officer Fallon ran to talk to Irene.

  “Where’s Winnie?’ Nate asked. “I want to see Winnie!”

  “Winnie has gone away for a little while,” Ruth Rose told her little brother.

  “Where?” the four-year-old insisted.

  Ruth Rose put her arm around Nate’s shoulders. “We don’t know yet,” she said.

  Officer Fallon stepped up to the microphone. “Folks, you might as well go home,” he said. “We have every reason to believe that Winnie is safe. We’ll do our best to get her back.”

  Tom Steele, Flip Frances, and Irene Napper left Panda Park together.

  Officer Fallon and Jimmy began walking around the outside of the panda enclosure.

  The crowd slowly wandered away.

  “What a lousy thing to do!” Josh said, helping Nate down from the bench.

  “What’s going to happen to Winnie?” Ruth Rose asked. “Doesn’t she need her mother to feed her?”

  Dink glanced at the story in The Panda Paper. “It says Winnie’s almost six months old,” he said. “She’s eating by herself now.”

  “Come on,” said Ruth Rose. “Let’s go talk to Officer Fallon.”

  The kids caught up with the police chief and his grandson outside the fence behind the bamboo forest. Pal flopped on his belly and stuck his nose through the fence rails. Nate sat next to him and patted the dog’s head.

  “Hey, kids,” Officer Fallon said. “Some situation, eh?”

  “The kidnappers want a million bucks for Winnie!” Jimmy Fallon blurted out.

  “Jimmy!” his grandfather said.

  “Is it true?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Officer Fallon nodded. “I’m afraid that’s what this says,” he said. Holding the note by its edges, he let the kids inspect it.

  Josh read the note aloud:

  “Leave one million dollars in the hollow tree on Goose Island by midnight tonight. No tricks, or you’ll never see Winnie again.”

  “A MILLION DOLLARS!” Ruth Rose cried. “Where would Green Lawn get all that money?”

  “As
I recall,” Officer Fallon said, “there’s still over a million left from the money Winifred Frances left. The kidnapper must know that.”

  Dink examined the note. “What does the kidnapper mean by ‘tricks’?” he asked.

  “He means we shouldn’t put any police officers on the island to catch him when he comes for the money,” Officer Fallon said. “Or tamper with the bills so we can trace them.”

  Ruth Rose studied the ransom note. “These letters were cut out of a newspaper,” she said.

  “Yes,” Officer Fallon said. “Which means we can’t trace the note.”

  Suddenly Pal let out a woof. He stuck a paw through the fence and began scratching.

  Josh bent down to see what Pal was doing. “Guys, look!” he said.

  Partly hidden among the bamboo stalks was something shiny.

  “It’s a knife!” Jimmy Fallon said.

  Officer Fallon got down on his knees. “It sure is,” he said. He scratched Pal behind the ears. “Good dog!”

  Officer Fallon stuck a long arm through the fence and picked up the knife. He brought it out, being careful not to cut himself.

  The knife had a thin blade and a fat handle made of cork.

  “Looks like a fishing knife,” Officer Fallon said. “If the knife gets dropped in the water, the handle will float.”

  “Can I have it, Grandpa?” Jimmy asked.

  “Afraid not, Jimmy,” Officer Fallon said. “This is evidence.” He drew a clean handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wrapped the knife.

  “Hey, look at this,” Josh said. He reached through the fence and pulled back a stalk of bamboo. The top had been sliced neatly off.

  “There’s more,” Josh said, pointing through the fence. “Someone cut a bunch of this stuff.”

  “Maybe the kidnapper took some bamboo to feed Winnie,” Ruth Rose said.

  “At least she won’t be hungry,” Josh said.

  “That explains the knife,” Officer Fallon said. “With a struggling panda in his arms, the kidnapper probably never knew he dropped it.”

  Officer Fallon reached into his pocket. He pulled out the object that had been found in Ping’s cave. “Know what this is?” he asked.

  “It looks like an alarm clock,” Dink said.

  “It is,” Officer Fallon said. “It’s an alarm clock with the volume set on loud. I’m guessing the kidnapper tossed it into Ping’s cave, knowing the pandas would run out when the thing went off. He probably grabbed Winnie as she came out of the cave.”

  “And if we want her back,” Dink said, “Green Lawn has to pay a million dollars!”

  “You’re right,” Officer Fallon said, “unless we find the bad guy first.”

  “But we only have till midnight,” Ruth Rose said. She looked at her watch. “That’s only twelve hours from now!”

  CHAPTER 3

  “I’m hungry,” Nate announced. “Can we go home?”

  “Okay,” said Ruth Rose. “I’ll make us some sandwiches.”

  “And I’ve got to get to my office and check these things for fingerprints,” Officer Fallon said. “But unless this guy was stupid, he’d have worn gloves.”

  They separated at the police station. Dink, Josh, Ruth Rose, and Nate headed for Woody Street.

  At Ruth Rose’s house, the kids made lunch. Nate took his sandwich to the living room to watch a dinosaur video.

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose ate theirs at the kitchen table. Pal snoozed at Josh’s feet.

  “It’s almost one o’clock,” Dink said. “Eleven hours till midnight.”

  “So where do we start looking for a panda kidnapper?” asked Josh.

  “It could be anyone!” Dink said.

  Ruth Rose chewed slowly. “Not anyone,” she said after a minute. “If that knife really was the kidnapper’s, maybe he’s a fisherman.”

  “Or a fisherwoman,” said Josh.

  Ruth Rose nodded. “Good point.”

  “Whoever it was either has a key to the gate or can climb over tall fences,” Josh went on. He reached for another sandwich. “So who does that narrow it down to?”

  “Anyone,” Ruth Rose said glumly.

  Nate screeched from the living room. “Dinosaur fight! Come see, you guys!”

  Josh ran to the living room, with Dink and Ruth Rose following.

  On the TV screen, a Tyrannosaurus and a Stegosaurus were circling each other. Their tails lashed back and forth. The Tyrannosaurus roared and snapped his enormous teeth.

  Then the dinosaurs were gone, and the scene switched to a museum. A man’s face appeared on the screen. “Hello, I’m Dr. Paleo,” he said, “and I’d like to talk to you about what you just saw in this video.”

  An idea popped into Dink’s head. “Ruth Rose, didn’t you tape what happened at Panda Park this morning? Why don’t we watch your video? Maybe we’ll see some clues.”

  “Good idea,” Ruth Rose said. “Do you mind, Natie?”

  Can I have a cookie? Nate asked, grinning at his sister.

  “Sure. Bring the box in here so we can all have some, okay?”

  “O-kay!” Nate said, racing toward the kitchen.

  Ruth Rose ejected the dinosaur video, then plugged the camcorder into the VCR.

  Nate came back with the cookie box. Josh reached for one as Ruth Rose hit the Play button.

  The kids watched as Tom Steele, Irene Napper, and Flip Frances came on the screen. Seconds later, Ping emerged from her cave.

  Ping looked around, froze, then turned her head sharply. Suddenly she rushed forward and began throwing herself against the fence.

  “She sure looks angry,” Dink said.

  “You’d be mad, too, if someone stole your baby,” Josh said. “It looks like she’s trying to attack someone outside the fence.”

  “Someone in the crowd?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “She’s not looking at the crowd,” Dink said. He put his finger on the TV screen. “Remember, the microphone was there, off to the side. That’s where she’s looking.”

  “She’s mad at the microphone?” Josh asked, grabbing two more cookies.

  “Dink’s right!” Ruth Rose said. “Ping is looking at the people standing at the microphone.”

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose stared at the TV screen.

  Finally, Ruth Rose unplugged the camcorder and put Nate’s dinosaur tape back into the VCR.

  “I think one of those three people kidnapped Winnie,” she said, “and Ping knows which one.”

  CHAPTER 4

  “You think Winnie’s kidnapper was standing right there at the microphone?” Dink asked.

  Ruth Rose nodded. “Yes, and I think Ping recognized him or her. That’s why she charged the fence!”

  “But the guy probably stole Winnie at night,” Dink said, “so how could Ping have seen him?”

  “Maybe she didn’t see him,” Ruth Rose said, “but she might have smelled him.”

  “Right,” Josh said. “Most animals can smell a lot better than humans.”

  Dink stared at the TV screen. “So how do we figure out who Ping was growling at?” he asked.

  “Too bad pandas can’t talk,” Josh said. “We could just ask her!”

  “Pandas can’t talk,” Ruth Rose said, “but people can. I say we interview the three people who were standing at the microphone, starting with Irene Napper.”

  “You think she did it?” Dink asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ruth Rose said. “But she does have a key to the gate.”

  “If she thinks we suspect her, she might clam up,” Josh said.

  Ruth Rose pointed at Dink’s notebook. “We’ll tell her we’re writing a story for The Panda Paper.”

  “Good idea,” Dink said.

  Josh stood up and patted his stomach. “I have to be home by four to watch the twins for an hour,” he said.

  Ruth Rose grabbed the cookie box. It was empty! “Joshua, I didn’t get a single cookie!” she said.

  Josh grinned. “Detective work makes me hungry!”


  Josh woke up Pal, and the kids left Ruth Rose’s house. They took a shortcut through the rose garden in Center Park. Pal barked at a swan being trailed by three cygnets.

  They passed the Book Nook and waved at Mr. Paskey in his window.

  At the petting zoo, they passed under a wooden arch. A honeysuckle vine climbed the arch, filling the air with a sweet smell. A hummingbird darted away.

  They found Irene Napper surrounded by ducks. She was feeding them pellets that she pulled from one of her uniform pockets.

  “Hi, Ms. Napper,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Well, hi,” Irene said. “Say, weren’t you kids at Panda Park this morning?”

  “Yeah. We’re sorry about the kidnapping,” Josh said.

  Irene’s smile disappeared. “I’m so angry I don’t know what to do!” she said. “Who would steal a baby panda?”

  No one knew what to say. “Good thing Winnie’s old enough to eat bamboo,” Irene said. “If she still needed her mother’s milk, I don’t think she’d make it.”

  Ruth Rose nudged Dink.

  “Um, we’re writing a story for The Panda Paper,” Dink said. “Could we ask you some questions?”

  The woman looked at Dink for a moment. “Yeah, I guess,” she said finally.

  Just then, Pal barked, and the ducks scattered.

  “But first let’s move your dog away from my ducks,” Irene said.

  The kids followed Irene to a shady bench. She sat and stretched out her long legs.

  “Shoot,” Irene said.

  Pal sighed and dropped to the ground. Irene started stroking his ears. Dink noticed that Irene’s hands were large and strong-looking.

  Everyone was waiting for Dink to ask a question. But Dink’s mind was suddenly blank.

  “Who takes care of Ping and Winnie?” Ruth Rose asked, coming to Dink’s rescue.

  “I do,” Irene said. “I feed them, clean out their area, all that stuff. Ping even let me hold her baby.”

  Dink wrote down what Irene said. Then he asked, “When did you last see Winnie?”