Lizzie! by Maxine Kumin Page A

were deep in conversation about a community action project to provide activities for the immigrant children whose parents were fruit pickers not far from Woodvale, so I had a chance to talk to Digger sort of alone. I took a deep breath and began. “Digger, I have to tell you something only my friends Trippy and Josh and I know, and even Josh hasn’t seen it firsthand.”
    â€œYour secret is safe with me, angelita, ” and he sort of crossed his eyes in a joking way.
    â€œNo, this is really something dangerous. Something I saw at Wilderwood last time while Mom went into Henry’s house to check on his mom because she never comes out.”
    â€œWhoa. Slow down, chiquita . Wildwood? What is it?”
    â€œWilderwood. It’s where there’s a petting zoo. Mom drives me there once a week. Henry, who owns it—well I think he owns it, but he may be giving it to this other rich man we met—he has two orphan bear cubs and I get to go in their space and play with them. I get to carry them around with me in my chair, or I used to, but now they’re too big to cuddle and he’s going to take them off somewhere and probably shoot them to get rid of them. But that’s not the secret part.”
    Right about then Teresa and Mom finished their conversation. The food came and we all started to eat. Everybody had ordered something different so we’d all have a chance to taste all the dishes. Luckily, Thai people use forks and spoons and not chopsticks or I would have been in a pickle. There was a ton of rice and almost too much food to finish. I did taste everything, though I probably wouldn’t have, except we were in a restaurant with our sort of still-new friends who were now my honorary grandparents, and I was the only kid. I would have been embarrassed not to but frankly, I wish I could have had a slice of pizza instead.
    But Teresa hadn’t forgotten what I was telling Digger. “What’s this about who’s shooting what?”
    So then I had to start over about Henry.Mom says he has country ways and she doesn’t think he would shoot the bear cubs. It’s just part of his act, his bluster, she calls it.
    â€œHe’s not really running a zoo. There’s hardly anybody else who comes there except Mom and me. Does this mean he’ll get into trouble about the cubs?”
    The grown-ups agreed it was a shame. Fish and Wildlife would have to be alerted. My mom said, “Henry needs guidance, but he’s somewhat limited mentally.” And the three of them agreed they would make an effort to deal with this matter without Henry being taken to court.
    I caught hold of Digger’s shirtsleeve and pinched him hard enough so he flinched and turned toward me. “I have to talk to you.” He caught on. “I’m taking Lizzie into the kitchen to meet Arun and his wife,” he told Teresa. After he wheeled me in and introduced me, we shook hands all around. They smiled and made little bows with their hands folded pointing up in a churchly way and went back to the stove where several pans were sizzling. “Okay. Now tell me.”
    â€œBut what about—?”
    â€œArun and Siriket? They won’t be able to follow what we say.”
    So then I told him about the big warehouse and the tamarins I saw in cages. I barely mentioned the big skinny kid who told us to go back the way we came.
    He whistled. “ ¡Madre mía! Are you sure?”
    â€œCross my heart and hope to die.”
    â€œHow many would you guess?”
    I tried to think. Their little golden heads flashed and blurred in my brain. “Maybe thirty or forty?”
    Digger frowned. “Lizzie, this is too big to keep secret. We need to notify the police.”
    â€œBut wait! Henry is friends with this rich guy. I think they’re friends, though maybe Henry just works for him. His name is Jeb Blanco and Josh and I Googled him and found out—”
    â€œSlow