Gloria Skurzynski - Mysteries in Our National Parks - Over The Edge - A Mystery in Grand Canyon National Park

“Go on,” Jack’s father said.

Ms. Lopez rushed ahead, “Not that he’s completely innocent in all of this—”

“Who says I’m guilty?” Morgan countered, an expression Jack couldn’t quite read curling the edge of his lip. “Hey, I investigated the law before I started, and I’m telling you those intellectual pygmies will never make it stick! The problem is that the whole town’s filled with freaking morons. There’s not a person in Dry Creek who even knows how to spell First Amendment, let alone—”

“Morgan—be—quiet!” Ms. Lopez shot each syllable into the air in a way that made Ashley jump and Morgan clamp his mouth tight. In all the time he’d known Ms. Lopez, Jack had never once heard her raise her voice, but now he watched as she planted her round, five-foot-three-inch frame directly in front of Morgan, who stared back at her with an inscrutable expression. “Young man, I want you to consider that the people in this room—the Landons—are the ones who can keep you out of juvenile detention. They are your only chance. Do you understand what I am saying to you?”

“Yeah,” Morgan answered. “You’re telling me to keep my mouth shut.”

Ms. Lopez nodded.

“That’s censorship.”

“No, that’s wisdom. Look, I’m already out on a limb here. Don’t cut it out from under me. If I fall, so do you.” The room was suddenly so quiet that Jack could hear the hum of the kitchen refrigerator droning a long, drawn-out note against the living room clock’s rhythmic ticking. Olivia shifted uncomfortably while Ms. Lopez kept Morgan locked in an unflinching gaze. When Ashley’s eyes met Jack’s, questions passed between them. What had Morgan done that would send him to detention? Was he dangerous?

Steven cleared his throat loudly. “Well, why don’t we all sit down,” he said, sweeping his arm toward the couch. “You can fill us in on what this is about. Before we get started, would anyone like a glass of water? Or soda?”

“No, thank you,” Ms. Lopez said, while Morgan just shook his head. In an odd way, mentioning something as common as a drink seemed to break the tension. The two made their way to the couch and sank into the plump cushions, while Olivia and Steven took the remaining chairs. Ms. Lopez unbuttoned her gray wool coat as Morgan unzipped his parka. Jack and Ashley dropped to the floor, legs crossed, watching expectantly.

“All right. I’m sure you have a thousand questions. Let me start with the incident itself,” Ms. Lopez began. “As I mentioned, Morgan lives in the little town of Dry Creek, Wyoming, about 70 miles from Jackson Hole.”

“Yes, I know where it is,” Steven said.

“Well, if you’ve seen it, Steven, you know it’s a ranch town, small, quiet, and…traditional.”

“Populated by a bunch of lemmings,” Morgan broke in scornfully. “My mom and dad got scared of the big city of San Francisco—that’s where we used to live—and decided we’d all get back to basics in the cow town of Dry Creek. I didn’t want to go, but hey, I’m only a minor. I have zero rights.” He made an O shape with his thumb and index finger and punched it into the air. “I found out fast that the only way to fit into Cow Town was to turn into another stupid lemming. I refused. That’s why they’re after me.”

A frown passed over Olivia’s face. “After you?”

“Yeah,” Morgan answered coolly. “They’re after me, all right. I’m a man on the run.”

Except for his hair and his black shirt and jeans, everything about Morgan was pale. His skin looked translucent, like wax, while his fingers seemed long and white like bones. Jack could imagine how a kid like Morgan would stick out in a town like Dry Creek.

“Morgan, you’re not helping. Why don’t you hold on and let me explain to them why you’re here,” Ms. Lopez urged.

Throwing his back into the sofa, Morgan squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re right, I shouldn’t talk, even though I am the principal player.”

Ms. Lopez went on, trying, it seemed, to ignore him. “As Morgan said, he didn’t exactly fit into Dry Creek. There was some…trouble.”

“Trouble?” Olivia asked. “What kind of trouble?”

“Unpleasant things were said and done to Morgan in the high school. In retaliation, he created a Web site to deal with his feelings. He…he wrote about the townspeople. In less than flattering terms.”

Steven’s pale brows crunched together. “What does making a Web site have to do with getting Morgan out of town?”

“You’ve got to understand, this was a pretty strong Web site. Morgan wrote about his principal, his teachers, and a lot of the students who’d given him a hard time.”

With his eyes still closed, Morgan muttered, “So? Everything I wrote was true. Armed only with facts, I flamed Cow Town!”

“Which of course made the people of Dry Creek hopping mad,” Ms. Lopez rushed on. “Look, I can understand their anger, but not what happened next. The sheriff got a warrant and broke into Morgan’s house. Deputies confiscated his computer and placed Morgan—who is only 15 years old—under arrest.”

“Arrest? For what?” Olivia sounded alarmed.

“For slandering the townspeople. It got so out-of-hand the deputies decided Morgan had to leave town and stay in detention in Jackson Hole. That’s no place for a kid like Morgan, Olivia. They’ll eat him alive in there! If he leaves with you, I buy time to fight this thing.”

His voice grim, Steven said, ““Detention can be pretty rough.”

“Exactly. It should be the very last resort.” For a moment, Ms. Lopez seemed to look past them, as though she were picturing a space totally different from the one she was in, a place where windows were barred and doors were locked. “You know, in my job, I see a lot of hardened souls,” she said softly. “But that’s not Morgan. No matter how wrong he was, he never threatened anyone. Being obnoxious should not be a crime.”

Steven nodded, while Olivia looked less certain. Jack knew his mother, knew how she demanded that everyone in the Landon family show respect for others. Morgan did sound as though he had a first-class attitude, and yet Jack couldn’t help being intrigued by a kid who would unapologetically break rules, going so far as to use his own Web site for an in-your-face payback. Ever since he could remember, Jack had always colored between life’s lines, pretty much doing what his parents told him to do while racking up rows of straight A’s next to a rainbow of merit badges. How would it be to have real enemies? How would it be to do exactly what you wanted, no matter what?

Morgan scowled deeply. “I just hope those idiot bozos in the crime lab don’t start messing with my computer and screw it up.”

This time there was no mistaking Olivia Landon’s reaction. She sat back in her chair stiffly, asking, “Crime lab? Why would they take your computer to a crime lab?”

“I’ve been charged with criminal libel. They took my computer as evidence. Aren’t you tracking this?”

For a moment it looked as though Olivia were going to reply, but then she thought better of it. Ashley whispered into Jack’s ear, “What a jerk!”

After a quick glance at her watch, Ms. Lopez rose to her feet, telling Morgan to come with her as she made her way to the front door. “So now you know the situation,” she said, shrugging her coat back onto her shoulders. “I realize it’s a lot to throw at you all at once, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’ll take Morgan back to my car while the four of you talk. Olivia, I don’t want you to feel pressured. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll understand. Just open the door when you have your answer, and we’ll take it from there.”

Morgan shoved his hands into his pockets and followed her through the front door, which shut behind them. The four Landons sat staring at one another, unsure, it seemed, as to what to do next. Olivia was the first to speak.