“You know something that really bothers me?” she went on. “It’s how many of the Amazon rain-forest animals I’ve seen that weren’t in the rain forest. They were in cages.”

  They were nearing the airport. Cody lowered the landing gear and made sure they were locked in place. Then he got on the radio.

  “Control, this is Cessna two-three-one-niner-echo-tango approaching for landing.”

  The radio buzzed with static. Then they all heard the voice of an air traffic controller. “Cessna two-three-one-niner-echo-tango, you are clear for landing on runway one-four.”

  Cody banked the airplane and turned into the runway. He let the wing flaps down twenty degrees. Then he lowered the speed to just under one hundred miles per hour and began the descent.

  As Cody pointed the nose down and headed straight into the middle of the runway, the wheels touched down gently. He glided the plane to a stop.

  Whew, he thought.

  “You did a great job!” One of the air traffic controllers came to greet Cody. “I thought you sounded like a kid. How much flying have you done?”

  “My brother and I have both had lots of lessons,” Cody answered. “We need to speak with a customs agent.”

  When the traffic controller looked puzzled, Cody explained, “We have some evidence about illegally exporting animals.”

  “Look at this,” Rae said. She held up her camera to show him the photos she had taken at the animal warehouse.

  The traffic controller turned pale. “That animal looks sick.”

  “They have a pink dolphin, too,” said Rae. “There are only about twelve hundred left in the wild. And some people kill them because they think their eyes and teeth have magical powers. It’s terrible.”

  “It certainly is,” said the traffic controller, whose name tag read J MARIO SOUZA. He looked at the other photos. “How could someone do this? So many animals—this is a big operation. I think we need the federal police. Come with me.”

  The traffic controller arranged for someone to drive the twins, Rae, and Luis to the office of the Polícia Federal in Manaus. Otis telephoned his dad and told him what had happened. By the time they got there, Mr. Carson and Maxim were waiting.

  “Where is Mr. Estevez?” Cody asked his father. He was surprised that he hadn’t come along.

  Mr. Carson cleared his throat. “Mr. Estevez is at home recuperating from an accident,” he said. “Shortly after you left, he went out to run an errand and was struck by a speeding car. It was a hit and run.”

  Rae and the twins gasped. “Is he all right?” Cody asked.

  Mr. Carson nodded. “He suffered a slight concussion, but the doctors say he’s going to be fine.”

  “Have they caught the person who hit him?” Rae asked.

  “No,” said Maxim. “Mr. Estevez doesn’t even remember being hit, and the police don’t have any leads. Apparently the street was practically deserted. One person said the car was brown, another said it was black, and that’s it. Anyway, we’d better get Luis to a hospital.”

  They arrived at the mansion later to find Mr. Estevez in the study, attended by Carlos Santos. He had a bruise on his left temple but otherwise looked all right.

  Mr. Estevez was lying on a sofa, his head propped up with pillows. When they entered the room, he sat up. “Now, tell me what this is all about,” he said. “Why would anyone beat up Luis?”

  The twins launched into the story. “Luis whispered blackmail,” Otis told him. “He didn’t say anything else, except his name.”

  Mr. Estevez listened as Otis and Cody told him the rest of the story. He looked more and more haggard and disappointed. “How could Pino get involved in such a business?” he asked incredulously, his mouth puckered in disgust.

  “Well—maybe Pino didn’t realize what he was getting into,” said Cody. He told Mr. Estevez about the argument they had overheard in the warehouse.

  “We’re afraid that if Pino tries to back out of this business he could be in danger,” said Otis.

  Carlos was a grayish shade of pale. “This is a horror,” he said. “Luis went to find Pino to tell him about their father’s accident. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. I wish …”

  Before he could say another word, the shrill sound of the doorbell shattered the air. Moments later, the maid appeared. A uniformed man was with her. She introduced him as Captain Ricardo Montez of the police department.

  “May I speak to you, Mr. Carson?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  “I hate to ask you this question,” he said, “but I’ve talked it over with my supervisor and we agree that it’s the only way. May we take Cody with us to show us the way to the warehouse? I really don’t like the idea of taking a kid on a dangerous mission. But I don’t see how we can find that warehouse without him. You’re his father, though, and the decision is up to you.”

  “If Cody goes, I’m going along with him,” said Mr. Carson.

  “But …” Captain Montez began.

  “The only way he is going is if I go along as well,” Mr. Carson said firmly.

  “Why can’t I go, too?” Otis blurted out. Then he winced. That bite still hurt.

  “I should also come along,” announced Maxim. “I have acquired a great variety of knowledge that you’d undoubtedly find useful.”

  Mr. Estevez spoke up from the sofa. “My son is involved—perhaps I should go, too.”

  Captain Montez had been narrowing his eyes more and more. Now he let out an explosive burst of air. “Well, why don’t we all go?” he said, and snorted. “Why don’t we invite the maid along, and everyone else you know. Let’s make it a party.”

  Captain Montez regained his usual dignified manner. “It was Cody who flew the plane, so it’s logical for him to come with us,” said Captain Montez. “But it would be irresponsible to take more civilians than we absolutely have to. We can’t keep track of them, or protect them. We’ll have Cody guide one of our pilots.”

  “I can fly the plane,” Cody protested. “I did it before.”

  Captain Montez shook his head. “You did well in an emergency, son. But remember, you don’t have a pilot’s license. We’ll have an officer fly the plane.” He turned to Mr. Carson. “Well, what do you say, sir? We’ll be careful with him.”

  “As I said before, Captain Montez, if Cody goes, I go,” said Mr. Carson. He turned to Koobi. “Can you remember the way?”

  Koobi shook his head. “If we were walking through the rain forest, I could. But not by air. Cody knows the way to fly.”

  “I know the way through the forest, too,” said Cody. “I paid attention when Koobi led us to the airstrip. I can find our camp. I marked the trees along the trail to the warehouse.”

  Mr. Carson looked at his son. “Do you want to do this, Cody?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Mr. Carson hesitated. “Then let’s go.” He looked Captain Montez in the eye. “I want Cody kept safe.”

  “You have my word,” Captain Montez told him.

  Cody waited while the captain made some phone calls. Captain Montez quickly put together a posse. Then they headed for the airport.

  Cody prayed that he could lead the police back to the warehouse.

  [

  Chapter Fourteen ]

  The Chameleon’s eyes were as small and flat as dimes on the surface of his face. Now they were squeezed shut tightly. He pounded on his computer keyboard with his fist. The e-mail he had just received sent a white-hot flash of anger through his veins.

  Blackmail wasn’t part of his plan. At least, not yet. Someone had tried to do some business on his own. Obviously one of those sneaky, snivelling airstrip guards. The goon had mistaken Luis Estevez for his brother, Pino. Now there was another reason for the police to come nosing around.

  When he found out which guard had roughed up Luis, he was going to punish him. The Chameleon picked up a corner of his leopard-skin robe and twisted it viciously.

  [

  Chapter Fifteen ]

  “The trail looks different in the daylight,” Cody said. He had managed to lead the police to the landing strip.

  “I told you that we shouldn’t have sent a kid,” said one of the officers, whose name was Fernando Bezerra. He had been making remarks from the beginning of the flight.

  Cody was glad that his dad was at the end of the line of officers. Bezerra had been calling Cody “kid” or “kiddo,” and he didn’t want his dad to hear it. From the tone of his voice, Bezerra might as well have called Cody a toddler. Cody didn’t like it, and he knew his father wouldn’t either.

  Bezerra had been quiet for a little while, but soon he spoke up again. “The police department is no place for children. We aren’t here to play. We’re here to do a job. That’s right, isn’t it?”

  If he was waiting for one of the other officers to go along with him, he was wasting his time. They all were silent.

  Cody had been holding his tongue. But he had had enough. He whirled and faced the officer. Although he was angry, he made sure to speak calmly and politely.

  “Excuse me, sir. I’m aware that we aren’t playing childish games. I’m the one leading the police to the warehouse and I’d appreciate some respect,” he said evenly.

  “Woooo!” The other officers sounded approval. Bezerra glared at Cody. “Are you going to let him speak to me like that, Captain Montez?” he asked. Captain Montez stroked his chin. “It seems to me that this boy managed to find the warehouse, get away, fly a plane, and lead us back here. Cody, can you take us to the warehouse?”

  “He’ll get us lost,” Bezerra protested. “He just said everything looks different in the daylight.”

  “Officer Bezerra, I was speaking to Cody. Once again, can you take us to the warehouse, Cody?”

  Cody glanced at Bezerra. Then he said, “Yes, sir, I can do it. I marked the trees on the trail with my Swiss Army knife. All I have to do is follow the marks.”

  He gave Officer Bezerra a hard look. “Things look different in the daylight, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “Okay, then,” said Captain Montez. “Listen to me, everyone. Right now the only chance we have of finding the animal warehouse is this young man. What’s most important about that is we may need his help to rescue Pino Estevez. So for now, any childish remarks about his age will stop. Understood?”

  Most of the officers said yes and a few added an enthusiastic all right, but Officer Bezerra pressed his lips into a thin line. When Captain Montez kept looking at him, he turned his head and stared off into the distance.

  “Is it understood, Officer Bezerra?” Captain Montez prompted finally.

  Officer Bezerra puffed out his cheeks and blew out the air. “Yes, sir,” he said. It was obvious that he didn’t like saying it.

  At the end of the line, Mr. Carson had caught wind of a ruckus. “What’s going on there, Cody?” he called.

  “Nothing, Dad, it’s all taken care of,” Cody called back.

  As he kept on walking, Cody thought about Officer Bezerra. The man’s attitude just didn’t make any sense at all. No matter how he felt about young people, he had to understand that Cody was the only one who could lead Captain Montez to the warehouse. The only other way to locate it would be to spot it from the air, and the trees made that impossible.

  Why did Officer Bezerra hate having him along so much? Then a thought occurred to Cody. Maybe Bezerra didn’t want him along because he didn’t want anyone to find the warehouse. Maybe he was on the wrong side of the law.

  It certainly was possible. Having a police officer working with you when you were trafficking animals couldn’t hurt. And there was a lot of money in the illegal business. Plenty to give some to an officer who was willing to take a bribe.

  Then he wondered … if Bezerra was involved, just how far would he go to stop the men from finding the warehouse?

  They walked on. Cody found the camp. “Now I’ll start looking for the trail marks,” he announced. “We’ll find that warehouse for sure.”

  They all kept walking. Cody found one of his trail marks on a tree. Then he found another and another and another.

  “I know we’re on the right track,” he told the officers. “It shouldn’t be much farther now. Keep walking on this path. I’ve got to go for a minute … y’know … nature calls …”

  “Go ahead, you don’t have to explain, Cody,” said Captain Montez. “We’ll all slow down.”

  Cody left the path and walked a few yards into the dense woods. The moment he stopped, someone grabbed him from behind and clamped a hand over his mouth.

  “Keep quiet,” the man’s voice said harshly.

  Cody recognized Officer Bezerra’s voice. His mind started racing. Why didn’t I hear him? he wondered.

  The officer had crept up behind him without making a sound. Now Cody nodded to let him know that he wouldn’t scream. He could probably have used karate to get free and then run back to the group, but he wanted to hear what Bezerra had to say.

  Slowly, Officer Bezerra took his hand off Cody’s mouth. “Listen to me, kid,” he said. “You don’t want the police to find that warehouse.”

  “I think I do,” said Cody. “I think the police want to find it, too. It seems like you’re the one who doesn’t want it to be found. Why don’t you want to save a lot of animals from being mistreated?”

  “Oh, you’re worried about animals being mistreated, are you?” Bezerra said with a sneer in his voice. “What’s wrong with living in a zoo—or being a pet?”

  “They aren’t free. They’re wild animals. They’re supposed to be free.”

  Officer Bezerra snorted. “Free to be eaten by another animal? The animals are kept in clean cages. They’re fed well and given water. What’s wrong with that?”

  “What happens to them after they leave the place? Why don’t you want them to be freed?”

  “You’re all mixed up, kid. This is a breeding farm. The only animals for sale are animals bred in captivity. They only sell the offspring.”

  “That’s a lie,” said Cody. “Even if it were true, it would still mean that wild animals are caged up. It’s a lot easier to just poach wild animals than breed them. That’s what’s going on.”

  Officer Bezerra stamped his foot. “Why can’t you understand, kid? This thing makes a lot of money. These animals are worth big bucks.”

  “So what?”

  “Um—I’ll tell you so what,” he said. “Do you want to make a lot of money? Want to buy you and your brother a couple of ponies? Want to take some trips to Disney World? How about if you could take your dad on a trip to Europe? Wouldn’t you like to buy all the games you want?”

  Cody was getting angrier and angrier. Who did this guy think he was? He was acting like he was talking to a toddler. What kind of a police officer was he to offer someone a bribe?

  He gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down. He was going to let Captain Montez take care of this. He played along.

  “Okay. How much money are we talking about? Enough for lots of vacations and a racecar?”

  “Ha! Yeah, kid. Enough for lots of vacations. Enough for a racecar. Now you’re getting smart. I’ll tell you what. I’m going to talk to the guy I work for and explain what you’ve done for us. I know he’ll give you lots of money. All you have to do is get lost. All of a sudden you can’t remember where you’re going anymore, okay? Nobody will blame you. After all, you’re just a kid.”

  There was that word again—and that annoying tone. Cody gritted his teeth. “Great. Can I be alone for a minute now?” he said.

  “Oh—sure, kid. I’ll go on ahead. Just hurry up.” Then Officer Bezerra was gone.

  Moments later, Cody caught up with the officers. He saw Bezerra turn green as he marched right up to Captain Montez.

  “Officer Bezerra just tried to bribe me,” he whispered. “He promised me a lot of money if I’d lose the way to the animal warehouse.”

  Captain Montez clenched his jaw. “I’ve been afraid of something like this. We’ve been watching Officer Bezerra for months now. We’ve followed him and seen him meeting people suspected of being involved in animal trafficking. We’ve seen him taking money from them. We just needed one more piece of evidence.”

  “Are you going to arrest him?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if he isn’t the only one?” Cody asked.

  “You’re using your head, young man. However, I’m glad to say that I trust my men. There are more good officers than bad apples.”

  Captain Montez stopped walking. “Halt!” he ordered the men. “I’m sorry to say that one of the officers in this group is not on our side. Officer Bezerra, you are under arrest.”

  “On what charge?” Bezerra protested.

  “This boy says you tried to bribe him,” replied Captain Montez.

  “Then it’s his word against mine,” Bezerra protested. “You can’t arrest me based on what that boy says.”

  “I’m sorry, Bezerra,” said Captain Montez. “I already have surveillance photos of you taking money from people suspected of animal trafficking. I’m arresting you on suspicion of transporting endangered animals. I should have arrested you before…. I just wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’ve always trusted my men—but this time I was wrong.”

  Captain Montez walked toward Officer Bezerra. He snapped handcuffs on his wrists.

  By then Mr. Carson and the other officers had caught up with the group. Mr. Carson caught Cody’s eye and gave him a thumbs up.

  [

  Chapter Sixteen ]

  Cody stayed away from Officer Bezerra for the rest of the way. Bezerra was taken to the back of the line, where Mr. Carson had returned. Cody’s father kept glaring at him.

  Cody walked up front with Captain Montez. But he could almost feel the heat of Bezerra’s anger at his back.

 

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