064 Endangered Species by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hbfiles
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Frank and Joe walked back down the street to the warehouse and arrived just as the Phoenix truck finally drove up. A short, elderly man sat behind the wheel.

“Come on,” said Frank. “Let’s help load the animals.”

There were only three cages. Two baboons were suffering from a flu, while a baby ostrich had injured one of its long, powerful legs. Joe helped load Rosalyn’s truck while Frank worked with Sammy. When they placed the last cage onto the truck, Joe saw Rashid wave Dr. Bodine over to the entrance of the warehouse.

Casually Joe followed the veterinarian over and stood next to her. Another cigarette dangled from the corner of the warehouse manager’s mouth. Joe wrinkled his nose against the strong smell.

“Please sign here for the animals.” Rashid exhaled a cloud of foul smoke. “As usual, the government of Kenya must receive many copies of the health certificate for their records.” He handed Rosalyn a clipboard and a pen.

Joe noticed that the form on the clipboard contained many multi-colored sheets layered with carbon paper. He watched as Dr. Bodine scrawled her name across the bottom line after barely glancing at the top sheet.

“I don’t have time for all this paperwork,” she said with annoyance. “But without this form, those animals can’t go anywhere, can they?”

The veterinarian handed the clipboard back to Rashid. “I want to examine one of those baboons before we leave. It looks more ill than I was told.”

Dr. Bodine turned and strode back to the truck. Joe hung back, standing just outside the door of the warehouse. He watched Rashid flip through the layers of the form and saw a tiny smile play across the warehouse manager’s swarthy face. Unaware of Joe’s presence, Rashid set the clipboard down on a desk just inside the door and retreated into the warehouse. Joe watched him disappear behind a long row of crates.

Joe eased into the warehouse and stood over the desk, scanning the Veterinary Health Certificate. It documented that two baboons and an ostrich had been shipped and listed the owners and the health condition of the animals. Dr. Bo-dine’s signature was at the bottom beside an official seal.

Joe shot a quick glance around the loading area. Rashid was nowhere to be seen, and the other workers were busy securing the animals in the trucks. Cautiously he lifted the first page of the certificate and the carbon paper underneath it.

The second page appeared identical to the first and was dated for the same day. But it wasn’t an exact duplicate. Instead of two baboons and an ostrich, it listed several leopards and exotic birds. The carbon impression of Dr. Bodine’s signature made it look completely official.

Joe flipped through the rest of the duplicate papers. All had copies of Dr. Bodine’s signature—and a different list of animals. He heard footsteps in the warehouse. Rashid was returning. Quickly Joe headed back outside.

He walked over to the second truck, where Dr. Bodine and Oyamo were examining a sickly baboon. “This animal will make it,” she said.

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