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 ?
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