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escape—do we? If I don’t capture it, it may harm innocent people tonight.”
    “ But we’re not werewolves! ” Ray screamed.
    “Prove it,” Mr. Moon replied. “Go ahead. Prove it. Let’s hear you howl.”
    Ray let out a disgusted sigh. Then he opened his mouth and howled at the top of his lungs.
    Mr. Moon nodded thoughtfully. “Very good.” He turned to Rosa. “Now you.”
    Rosa shook her head. “This is crazy.”
    “You’re going to be in major trouble when we get out of this house,” Tristan said to the teacher.
    “I don’t think so,” Mr. Moon replied. “The police will thank me when I capture a werewolf.” He pointed to the pile of skins on the floor. “The police always thank me.”
    “Come on, everyone,” Angela chimed in. “Let’s get into it. Let’s get in a party spirit.”
    “They’re both sick ,” Rosa muttered to Tristan.
    “Everybody, howl,” Mr. Moon ordered. “At the count of three. Everyone!”
    They had no choice. They tossed back their heads and howled like wolves.
    The high wails rang out through the house. The windows rattled against the metal bars. Tristan covered his ears over the shrill sounds.
    Maybe some neighbors will hear, he thought.
    Maybe neighbors will hear our cries and wonder what is going on. Maybe they’ll call the police or come over to check it out.
    “Very good! Very good!” Angela snapped a few more photos.
    She turned to her husband. “What do you think?”
    He rubbed his chin. “I think I know who the werewolf is,” he said.

15
    “I still have my eye on Tristan,” Mr. Moon said. He narrowed his eyes at Tristan, studying him hard.
    Tristan shuddered.
    This can’t be happening, he thought.
    He glanced out the window. The moon hung high in the black sky, bright and full.
    It’s getting late, Tristan realized.
    Mr. Moon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But Bella could also be the one,” he said.
    Bella uttered a startled cry. “Huh? Me?”
    “She howled as if she had done it before,” Mr. Moon told his wife.
    “I agree,” Angela said.
    Mr. Moon nodded, his eyes on Bella. “As I listened,I could picture her covered in wolf fur. Running on all fours. Howling at the moon. And then—pouncing. Pouncing on an innocent victim. Attacking…attacking.”
    “ No way! ” Bella screamed.
    Rosa put an arm around her trembling shoulders. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “Don’t let him frighten you.”
    Bella let out a sob. “This is a bad joke,” she cried. “It’s all a bad joke.”
    “It isn’t a joke!” Mr. Moon screamed. “It’s serious. You wouldn’t call it a joke if you were a werewolf’s victim! You wouldn’t call it a joke if you were torn to pieces by a raging wolf creature!”
    “Take it easy, dear,” Angela said. “Take a deep breath. You know how you get.”
    Mr. Moon glanced at the clock on the mantel. “Ten-fifteen,” he said. “Our werewolf will soon start to change. Once it is captured, the rest of you can all go home.”
    “Let us go home now!” Ray cried. “This is a total waste of time.”
    “You won’t get away with it,” Bella said in a trembling voice.
    Once again Mr. Moon pointed to the pile of skins on the floor. “That’s what they said!” He started toward the door. “I think it’s time for the next test.”
    He returned a few seconds later carrying a largewooden crate. The crate had FRAGILE stenciled all over it in big black letters. A yellow label on the side read: ISLAND OF BORNEO .
    Mr. Moon dropped the carton to the floor with a heavy thud . He pulled a claw hammer from his back pocket and began to pry open the lid.
    “I think you will find these little guys interesting,” he said, struggling with the lid. “They come all the way from the South Seas.”
    Tristan heard soft squeaking sounds from inside the carton. What does he have in there? he wondered. Some kind of animal?
    Mr. Moon gave a hard tug with the hammer. Wood cracked as the lid pulled back.
    “Hey—no!” he screamed