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"I’m sorry, Officers," Arnette said, "could you tell ain: confident, ingratiating So far, the young one hadn’t said a single word "I’lanced around "So, is Amy here?"

Sister Claire cut in "Why do you want her?"

"I’ But you should know, for your own safety, that Amy is a federal witness We’re here to place her under protection"

Federal protection! Arnette’s chest tightened with panic It orse than she had thought Federal protection! Like so on TV, on those police shows she didn’t want to watch but sometimes did, because the other sisters wanted to

"What did Lacey do?"

The agent’s eyebrows lifted with interest "Lacey?"

He was trying to pretend that he knew, to open a space for her to talk so he could draw information out of her; Arnette could see this clearly But of course that’s just what she’d done; she’d given the about Lacey except Arnette Behind her, she could feel the other sisters’ silence pressing upon her

"Sister Lacey," she explained "She told us Alanced at the other agent "Well, perhaps we’d better talk to her as well"

"Are we in any danger?" Sister Louise said

Sister Arnette turned to her with a silencing scowl "Sister, I know you mean well But let er, not exactly," the agent explained "But I think it would be best if we could speak to her Is she in the house now?"

"No" This was Sister Claire She was standing defiantly, her aro"

"Do you knohere they went?"

For aThen, within the house, the telephone rang

"Please excuse entlemen," Arnette said

She retreated to the kitchen Her heart was pounding She was grateful for the interruption, as it could give her a chance to think But when she answered the phone, the voice on the other end was no one she recognized

"Is this the convent? I know I’ve seen you ladies over there You’ll have to pardonlike this"

"Who is this?"

"Sorry" He was speaking in a rush, his voice distracted "The name’s Joe Murphy I’m head of security at the Meround For a ate, he said Just do it, now

Then he was back on the line "Do you know anything about a nun who irl? A black lady, dressed like you all do"

A buzzing weightlessness, like a swarm of bees, filled Sister Arnette On a perfectly pleasantterrible The door to the kitchen swung open; the agents stepped into the room, trailed by Sister Claire and Sister Louise Everyone was staring at her

"Yes, yes, I know her" Arnette was trying to keep her voice low but knew this was pointless "What is it? What’s going on?"

For a moment the line was muffled; the man at the zoo had placed his hand over the receiver When he lifted his hand she heard yelling, and crying children, and behind it, so else: the sound of ani and roaring It took Arnette athese sounds over the phone; they were co clear across the park into the kitchen

"What’s going on?" she pleaded

"You better get over here, Sister," theI’ve ever seen"

Lacey, breathless and running, soaked to the bone: she was carrying Airl’s legs clahtly around her waist, the two of the, sobbing into Lacey’s blouse-what I a, too It had started with the bears, whose rown more and lass, and then, behind thean to hurl themselves in and out of the water with manic fury; and as they turned and dashed back toward the zoo’s center, the grassland aniiraffes, who broke into wild circles, running and charging the fences It was A about A to everything now, not just the ani over the entire zoo They passed by the elephants and at once she felt their size and force; they storound with their immense feet and lifted their trunks to true noise like a car crashing, and began, furiously, to bang it with his massive horn The air was suddenly swollen with these sounds, great and terrible and full of pain, and people were tearing about and calling out to their children, pushing and shoving and pulling, the crowds parting for Lacey as she raced ahead

"That’s her!" a voice rang out, and the words struck Lacey from behind-hit her like an arrow Lacey spun to see the ht at her He was standing beside a security guard in a pastel yellow jersey "That’s the kid!"

Still clutching Atheir huge, useless wings, tall cages erupting with the cries of jungle birds Terrified croere pouring out of the reptile house A group of panicked schoolchildren inred Tshirts stepped into Lacey’s path and she twisted around theround before her was littered with the debris of flight, brochures and s ice crea hard; one was carrying a rifle Fro, with robotic calm, "The zoo is now closed Please move quickly to the nearest exit The zoo is now closed"