I jumped onto the clay bricks that encircled Taweret’s enclosure, resting my paws by the cage bars. “He called himself Dedi? Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes,” Taweret said. “He said hi to Sobek Junior, and I heard him plain as plain. He was taller than the boy who lives here—”
“You mean Ahmose?” Miu asked. She had her paws up next to mine.
“Yes, Ahmose,” Taweret confirmed. “This Dedi had a lighter voice, too. And he had great eyesight and balance, at least for a human. There was only the moon to see by, and he didn’t trip once.”
“That sounds like Dedi,” I said. “He might be a prince, but he has the eyes of a cat.”
“He was royal?” Taweret said in surprise. “Well, that explains why he wanted to groove with the crocodile prince. He went from cage to cage until he found him.”
“And he helped the crocodile escape?” Khepri prompted.
“Oh, yes. That boy squeezed him through the bars and said he was going to take him back to the Nile. I guess he could see that Sobek Junior needed his mom and dad.” She chuckled. “Of course, as soon as he got Sobek Junior out of his cage, things got more complicated.”
“Complicated how?” Miu asked.
“Well, Sobek Junior was a little overexcited,” Taweret said. “And when baby crocodiles get overexcited, they start nipping. They don’t mean any harm by it. It’s instinct.”
I gaped at her, horrified. “Are you saying Sobek Junior ate Dedi?”
“Oh, he was far too small for that. But he kept snapping, and the boy was struggling to keep his mouth closed when they left here. I hope they made it to the Nile without any bad bites.”
“It doesn’t look like they made it there at all,” I told her.
“Or if they did, something went wrong,” Khepri said. “The crocodiles haven’t seen Sobek Junior, and Dedi is missing, too.”
“That’s a real bummer.” Taweret’s small eyes widened. “That sweet boy, and the little crocodile—no one knows where they are?”
“Not us, anyway,” Khepri said. “We’re stumped.”
“But I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” I told Taweret. “Nobody stumps the Great Detectives for long.”
At least, I hoped nobody could. Truthfully, I was starting to get the teensiest bit discouraged. The sun was high in the sky, and we’d been searching for hours with no results.
“Well, I’ll leave it in your capable paws, then,” Taweret said. Her vast body began to quiver and shake as she retreated from us. “You know, this has been a bit intense. It’s time I settled back into my mud pond.”
“Our capable paws,” I repeated. “Right.” What would the crocodiles say when they heard that Dedi had kidnapped their crown prince and then disappeared?
“Though I do wonder,” Taweret mused, “if maybe…No. That’s just silly.”
“You wonder what?” Khepri chirped.
Taweret’s legs were vanishing rapidly into the mud, and her belly was following. “No, no, it really is too silly. Besides, I wouldn’t want to make her life more complicated than it already is.”
I poked my head through the bars of the cage. With a difficult witness, it’s best to maintain eye contact. But that’s a tall order when your witness is a submerging hippo. By now only Taweret’s head and the ridge of her back were showing.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “Tell us right now, or I’ll—”
Hmmmm…How exactly do you threaten a hippo?
“I’ll…I’ll…er…”
“Shhh, Ra,” Khepri whispered in my ear. “Let Miu do the talking.”
“Please, Taweret.” Miu squeezed her head through the bars. “Whatever happened, we need to know about it, no matter how silly it seems. You have such a big heart—”
“Of course she does,” I muttered to Khepri. “She’s a hippo. If she had a small heart, it would conk out.”
“Shhh,” Khepri said again.
“—and you’re so sensible and responsible,” Miu went on to Taweret. “I know you wouldn’t want to do anything that might put two crown princes in danger.”
Taweret rose slightly in the water. “You think it’s that important?”
“Yes,” Miu said. “I do. The fate of two kingdoms rests on your back.”
“Wow.” Taweret swiveled both ears as she considered this. “That’s heavy, you guys.”
“It’s true,” Miu told her.
Taweret let out a big hippo sigh. “Then I guess I’d better tell you that someone else was in the zoo that night.”
“Who?” I demanded. She hesitated. “Yaba.”
What kind of answer was that? “Yeah but what?” I asked.
“She didn’t say yeah, but,” Khepri murmured in my ear. “She said Yaba.”
I twitched my whiskers. “And who’s that?”
“The other wife,” Miu reminded me. “The one that Pharaoh married to seal an alliance.”
“She comes here most nights,” Taweret said. “She sits by the gazelle’s cage, and sometimes she talks to her.”
“She knows the gazelle?” Khepri said.
“Not personally,” Taweret said. “But she says there are gazelles where she comes from, and she misses them. And she says she and the gazelle are like sisters because they both have to live in cages. Deep stuff like that.” More cautiously, she added, “Not that I’ve seen Yaba’s cage, mind you. She seems to walk around freely.”
“So how did she get into the zoo?” Khepri asked. “Is it locked up at night?”
Taweret chuckled at the thought. “Oh, no. The gate has a simple latch, that’s all. You must have seen it when you came in. It’s impossible for us to open, without fingers and thumbs, but it’s easy for humans like Yaba. Ahmose visits sometimes, too, and the tutor comes to fetch him. And other people visit when they can’t sleep. The Keeper tells them they shouldn’t, but he’s a sound sleeper himself, and he’s the only guard around here at night. His bunk is by the storeroom, but he snores through everything.”
“So who visited the zoo last night?” Miu asked.
“Just Yaba and the boy Dedi,” Taweret said.
“And Yaba was here when Dedi came?” Khepri asked.
“Yes. She was sitting by the gazelle’s cage when he crept in. I don’t think he even noticed she was there. But when Dedi walked away with the crocodile, she followed him out.”
I sat up fast, startled. “You think she was the kidnapper?”
“Of course not.” Taweret’s ears twiddled worriedly. “Don’t you understand what I’ve been telling you? Yaba is a gentle soul. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. All she did was leave a minute or two after the boy. So I thought maybe she might have seen something that would help you. But she’s not guilty.”
Leaning up against my ear, Khepri clicked thoughtfully. “But—”
“Aha!” The Keeper jumped out at us. “I knew you cats were around here somewhere. No wonder my animals are so upset this morning.” His broom flew down, headed straight for me. “Out, out, out!”
“He needs to chill,” Taweret said reproachfully.
“Don’t worry,” I told her, dodging the broom easily. “This is playtime.”
“Come on, Ra. We should go.” Miu was already darting for the gate.
When I followed her, Khepri swooned as he caught a whiff of the dung pit. “Ooooooooh! Can’t we stop, Ra? Just to let it soak in?”
“Some other time,” I panted. “Miu’s getting ahead of us.” I trotted on, but before I could catch up with her, I saw something ahead that froze my fur.
It was Lady Satiah, looking angrier than ever.