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In the fifth book of a 26-book story arc, Pete is shocked when he stumbles upon what he thinks is a wildlife-smuggling operation right there in Rocky Beach. During a visit to Veronica's Exotic Birds, Pete meets Rafael Solares, a man with ties to both the Chumash people and the local Hispanic community, and a scarlet macaw named Rojo who speaks in strange, cryptic phrases. Rafael, who has just purchased Rojo from a mysterious Mexican seller at a farmer's market, is determined to get to the bottom of why the bird was sold for so little.
When Rafael shows up at The Salvage Yard with a troubling tale, The Three Investigators are drawn into a complicated tangle involving the band Existential Evil. The band's lead singer is the son of Rafael's old high school English teacher, Wally, who has recently adopted a group of capybaras found wandering near Santa Barbara. Adding to the mystery, endangered hyacinth macaws have appeared in Wally's barn, and the connections between the animals and the strange events deepen.
The investigation takes The Three Investigators to Isla Vista. But when a routine reconnaissance mission ends in disaster, Jupiter, Pete, Bob, and Mallory are split into two teams - one held captive on a speeding sailboat and the other engaged in a high-speed chase on Rafael's boat The Rainbow Bridge.
What is the true story behind the capybaras and the macaws? Why did the Mexican man sell Rojo for so little? What is the clue hiding in a carillon's electronic music? What role is being played in all this by Veronica's Exotic Birds? How are Wally Tate's son and his band-mate Slade DeMarco involved, and what are they hiding?
Join Jupiter, Pete, Bob, and Mallory as they unravel a mystery involving wildlife smuggling and a deadly chase on the high seas. You'll want to be part of the action as the two halves of the team work together, miles apart, in the darkness of night.
