Camouflage (4 page)

The siren of an ambulance and a squeal of tires made all three jump with fright.

The guard turned back to the main gates, grunted in confusion, and started running as he saw two paramedics start up the path toward the house.

“Yowzers, that was close!” Bindi whispered to Robert. Robert remained frozen to the spot, and only his mouth moved as he said, “I'm good at this, aren't I? I could be a chameleon. You can't see me, can you?”

Bindi couldn't help laughing. The two kids crawled out from the bushes and could see the guard was busy with the paramedics, so they went the long way around to avoid being seen.

From out of nowhere the kids felt a hand on each of their shoulders. They screamed.

“What are you doing out here?”

The kids turned, scared. Who was it this time?

“You scared the life out of us!” squealed Bindi.

It was Dr. Timothy!

“Spending all that time around reptiles has given me some pointers on how to sneak up on prey,” replied Dr. Timothy, grinning.

Bindi turned to Robert. “If someone's going to win a prize for camouflage skills, little buddy, it's definitely going to be Dr. Timothy.”

Robert nodded. He had to agree.

The smile disappeared from Dr. Timothy's face. “Before you ask, we haven't found Saffron, so I'm here to announce that we're going to have to postpone the opening of the park.” He looked devastated.

“Umm, first we've got something to show you,” said Bindi.

Dr. Timothy looked unsure but the kids grabbed hold of his hands.

“It won't take long,” said Robert, and the three of them headed back to the Magenta Garden.

Bindi pointed out the hole in the hedge. “Take a look in there, Dr. Timothy,” she said grimly.

He really wasn't in the mood for games but thought it best to humor his guests. He pushed his way through the hedge and gasped. “My goodness, it's Saffron!”

The kids nodded to one another. Thought so!

Inside the Yeohs' mansion, mayhem had broken out. There were swarms of guests milling about looking concerned. The paramedics had Jasmine on a stretcher and were taking her straight to the hospital. Photographers were snapping pictures as Bindi and Robert waded through the crowds, looking for their mum.

Mrs. Yeoh was nowhere to be seen, but the kids passed by the gruff man who'd been rude to Karl earlier. He was chatting to a group of women, who seemed to hang on his every word.

“Yes, darlings, this season I will be introducing a brand new skin into my range. Crocodile and snake are so last season. This will wow the fashion world like nothing you've ever known before!”

“Please put me on the wait list for it right this instant, Claudio. I can hardly wait!”

“Sweetie, this is so exclusive there won't even
be
a wait list,” he chortled.

All of a sudden Bindi figured out why Mrs. Yeoh would want to steal a Komodo dragon, and she felt sick to her stomach. She moved over to the designer and glared at him. He ignored her, so she stamped on his foot as hard as she could.

He squealed and hopped around, holding his foot. “Owwww!”

Bindi shouted at him, “I don't know how important you think you are, but if you think for an instant you will be able to kill a Komodo dragon just to make a stupid handbag…”

There were a few gasps from the surrounding guests. Terri had made her way over to Robert and was all ready to launch into a lecture about not disappearing during a gala dinner, when she heard Bindi's outburst and stopped, concerned.

The designer glanced around guiltily and saw the guests looking accusingly at him. “What? What's wrong with trying something new? It
is
fashion, after all.”

“You're talking about a beautiful living creature that deserves to wear the skin she was born in. And she is an endangered reptile, which makes it illegal! What's more, this is supposed to be a dinner to celebrate the opening of a reptile park, which has been set up to protect these extraordinary creatures!” Bindi shook her head in disgust.

The designer realized the crowd had turned against him. “Look, I didn't even want to do it. It was Cynthia. She wanted a new handbag in a skin that no one else had so everyone would be jealous of her.”

At that moment the police entered the building, holding on to a struggling Mrs. Yeoh, with Dr. Timothy following closely behind.

The policeman spoke to Karl. “We caught her sneaking out the back door.”

“How dare you treat me like this in my own home?” she howled. “I've done nothing wrong. When my husband hears about this…”

Camera flashes were going off constantly now, but Mrs. Yeoh seemed oblivious. She was livid. But she stopped short when she saw Claudio. “You keep your trap shut!” she hissed.

Robert couldn't help himself. “Too late. You can hold your press conference…from prison.”

Glaring at Dr. Timothy as she was led away by the police, she screeched, “If you hadn't brought those meddlesome Irwins here, everything would have been fine!”

The sun shone early the next morning as the three Irwins scrambled off the bumboat and raced toward the entrance of the Pulau Ubin Reptile Park.

“Mum, I can't believe you forgot to set the alarm,” Bindi said as she raced ahead of her family.

Robert was trying to eat a bagel and run at the same time. “I can't believe we didn't get a chance to eat breakfast sitting down again!” he groaned as he followed his sister.

A huge crowd was gathered outside the entrance of the park, and Dr. Timothy was already there. A beautiful, big red ribbon had been placed across the width of the gates. When Dr. Timothy saw the Irwins arrive, his smile became even bigger.

“And now, without further ado, I would like to officially open the Pulau Ubin Reptile Park. And to cut the ribbon, I ask my special Australian friend, Bindi Irwin, to do the honors. Come on up, Bindi.”

Bindi raced forward and gave Dr. Timothy a quick hug. An assistant passed her a pair of scissors, and she snipped the ruby-colored ribbon in half.

The crowd cheered, the gates opened, and the Singaporean public raced through the gates, thrilled to be visiting the country's newest tourist attraction.

At 5:30 that evening the gates closed and Timothy and the Irwins sank into their chairs in the park's office, exhausted.

“Well, today has been a total success, and I owe it all to Bindi and Robert!” said Timothy, feeling quite emotional.

Bindi shook her head. “No, that's not right, Dr. Timothy. You set up this amazing reptile park, and we were just here to enjoy it.”

Robert added, “And find a stolen Komodo dragon…”

Terri added, “And make sure a woman who thought fashion was more important than wildlife got sent to prison.”

“And save a little girl's life,” Dr. Timothy said.

“Oh yeah, that too,” grinned Bindi.