Skipper and Private's first stop was Marlene's. The otter was fast asleep, and Skipper would rather not wake her. Then it was the lemurs, also asleep. None of them were dead.

Soon it was time to go to the Zoovineaurs shop.

Skipper sensed something was up.

"Stay out here Private. And if I say run, do as I say."

Private nodded and didn't object his leaders orders.

Skipper crept in. He heard breathing in the darkness. He flipped on the light.

"Kowalski." he whispered.

The tall penguin was strapped to a chair. Skipper went to untie him when he realized what was wrong. There was a bomb tied to the bottom of the chair.

"Skipper," Kowalski said. "Get out."

"Who did this?" Skipper asked.

"This entire place is going to explode in exactly 25.2 seconds." Kowalski's voice was deathly serious. "Run while you can."

Skipper didn't want to leave his friend, but Private was outside waiting for him. And someone needed to avenge Rico's death.

Skipper gave a shaky salute to his soldier. Kowalski nodded, and with that, Skipper belly slid out.

"Hit the deck, Private!" Skipper jumped and pushed Private to the ground.

The entire place exploded.

For a second Sipper felt like sobbing, but hatred boiled up inside him replaced every other feeling.

"What happened in there, Skipper?" asked Private.

"K-kowalski is dead." Skipper's voice was like poison. "He's gone too far. Two penguins? One strike more and he's out."

"Rico and Kowalski? T-they're both…" Private started sobbing.

Skipper patted him on the back. "They are not important right now. The remaining animals are. We need suspects."

Private wiped a tear off his beak. "Yeah. Suspects."

***

"Attention!" yelled Skipper.

Some of the animals began to wake. The lemurs sleepily trudged to the penguin HQ.

"Heck in the what is going on here?" Julian asked. "Even I, kingly and handsomest as I am, am needing my beauty sleep.

Soon Joey the kangaroo, Ted the polar bear, Marlene, the elephant, Phil and Mason, and the chameleons. The dolphins watched from their tank.

"Someone in this zoo has killed two of my men. And none of you are leaving this spot until I learn who."

Panic rose in the crowd.

"The killer would have needed to be fast. Able to slink in and out of small areas quickly. He would have had to be a decent fighter and able to beat Rico and Kowalski."

"It sounds like you're describing yourself. If I were you, little penguin, I'd be careful." Maurice said, eying Skipper.

"And why would I murder my own soldiers? Give me one good reason."

No one answered.

"How do 'e know it wasn't him?" Joey asked, motioning towards Private.

"It wasn't me! I swear!" Tears welled in Private's eyes.

Skipper stepped in front of Private. "Wait. He's just a boy. How could he possibly-"

"So you admit you're the killer." The elephant said.

Marlene jumped up next to Private. "Look, I've known Skipper since I got here, and he may seem all tough and… killery, but he's really quite a softie."

"Thanks, Mar- What did you say?" Skipper said.

"Look," whispered Marlene. "I'm saving your tail here."

Then Minerva, the dark grey she wolf from the new wolf exhibit, rushed in. "Guys!" she yelled. "I just found a dead body!"

***

There it is. The long awaited third chapter. I hope it wasn't too short. And by the way, you will be pretty surprised who the killer is. It's not a lemur and it's not Private. Here's the clue: this story was originally going to be called "The Math Behind Murder" but I changed it to fit the plot better.

I also own Minerva, my OC.

~Lukos