Gloria Skurzynski - Mysteries in Our National Parks - Out of the Deep - A Mystery in Acadia National Park

A MYSTERY IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Text copyright © 2002 Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson

Cover illustration copyright © 2008 Jeffrey Mangiat

All rights reserved.

Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents is prohibited without written permission from the National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

Map by Carl Mehler, Director of Maps. Map research and production by Joseph F. Ochlak and Martin S. Walz Humpback whale art by Joan Wolbier

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to living persons or events other than descriptions of natural phenomena is purely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Skurzynski, Gloria.

Out of the deep / by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson.

p. cm.—(Mysteries in our national parks; #10)

Summary: Jack, Ashley, and their unreliable new foster sister set out to solve the mystery of why whales are beaching themselves at Acadia National Park.

ISBN: 978-1-4263-0973-1

[1. Whales—Fiction. 2. Acadia National Park (Me.)—Fiction. 3. Foster home care—Fiction. 4. National parks and reserves—Fiction. 5. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Ferguson, Alane. II. Title. III. Series.

PZ7.S6287 Ou 2002

[Fic]—dc21

2002005547

Version: 2017-07-07

For Stephanie Alm,

a rising star

The authors want to thank the following people for their wonderful help. At Acadia National Park: David A. Manski, Biologist and Chief of Resources Management; David Buccello, Chief Park Ranger; Deborah Wade, Interpretive Ranger. At Allied Whale, we’re extremely grateful to Sean Todd, Senior Researcher. Sean is also Professor of Science Resource at College of the Atlantic. Many thanks also to Rosemary Seton, Whale Biologist, Director of Stranding Response Program. We’re grateful to District Court Judge Kevin Sidel for his suggestions and to GenAnn Keller, Librarian. Very special appreciation goes to Vicki Lockard, editor of Canku Ota (Many Paths), an online newsletter celebrating Native America, for granting us permission to use the legend about the Great Spirit and the bowhead whale. Visit Canku Ota at http://www.turtletrack.org/

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

AFTERWORD

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

“Of course I know what’s at stake,” the man said gruffly, pressing the receiver against his ear. “Millions. A huge international deal. Don’t worry, I won’t screw up. I’ll do whatever it takes. You know that.”

He took a drag from his cigarette and looked around to make sure his conversation had gone unnoticed. Through the haze, he saw a couple huddled over a small table, while a grizzled man stared vacantly into his glass.

It was then that he noticed the top of a head rising from a nearby booth and two round eyes staring at him. Anger surged through him. What was a kid doing in a place like this? How much had she heard?

“Something just came up. I’ll call you back,” he said, slamming the pay phone into its cradle. He couldn’t let some kid ruin his plan. Not now—not when they were about to cash in!

He turned quickly to make his way toward the girl. Whatever it takes, he told himself. Whatever it takes….

When Jack saw his mother’s face, he knew the news on the other end of the phone was bad.

“Two more are dead?” Olivia cried into the receiver. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let out a long sigh. “This is nothing short of bizarre. I truly don’t understand why they’re dying this way. Where did you find the bodies? Uh-huh,” she nodded, peering at a map she’d laid out on her desk, tracing it lightly with her fingertip. “Yes, I can see where that is—right at the edge of the peninsula. How badly decomposed?” Another pause, and then, “I’m sure that will make your job harder. The stench can be overpowering.”

“What’s up?” Jack’s 11-year-old sister, Ashley, asked as she walked into the Landons’ study. Their newest temporary foster child, Bindy Callister, trailed behind, a bowl of popcorn perched on her round hip. Munching noisily, she shoveled another fistful into her mouth, her cheeks bulging out like a chipmunk’s. Although Bindy had been at the Landons’ home for only three days, she already knew where all the food was kept and didn’t seem the least bit shy about foraging through the cupboards, helping herself to whatever she found. The strangest foster kid we’ve ever taken in, Jack decided the day Bindy arrived.

It wasn’t about the way she looked, although that had been odd enough. Bindy’s tie-dyed T-shirt was wildly bright, with fluorescent swirls that splashed across her in neon constellations. Mousy brown hair had been pulled into a limp ponytail, and her too-tight jeans looked as though they’d fused onto her skin. Loud and boisterous, Bindy seemed to think she knew something about absolutely everything. When Ms. Lopez, the social worker, tried to speak, Bindy talked right over her, waving her arms as though she were on stage.

“Be patient with her,” Jack’s father, Steven, had told him later. “I know she can be a bit—overpowering—but she’s been through a lot.”

“’Cause her own parents don’t want her,” Ashley told Jack. “I heard Ms. Lopez tell Mom about it.”

“Please don’t say anything about that to Bindy!” Steven urged.

“Oh, I won’t. It’s just really sad. I don’t know what I’d do if you and Mom didn’t want me.”

Now, as Bindy settled into a chair next to Jack, he tried to imagine what it would be like to be 14 years old and dumped into a foster home, waiting to hear what the judge ruled about your life. How would it be to have your family reject you? How would it be to have your whole future decided by someone you’d never even met before? No matter how annoying she was, Jack knew he’d have to give Bindy some space. It was the least he could do.

“Ashley, sit there,” Bindy directed, pointing to a spot on the floor. “I get the chair because I’m older than you. Age before beauty!”

Ashley shot Jack a look, shrugged her shoulders, then dropped onto the carpet.

“OK. But we have to be quiet, Bindy,” Ashley whispered. “Mom’s on the phone.”

Though Olivia Landon normally worked at the Elk Refuge at Jackson Hole, she’d converted a corner room into a home office. The large oak desk was piled high with papers stacked into a double helix. A tall coffee mug and a glass of water sat next to the computer keyboard, something their father said was dangerous, but Olivia insisted she was careful enough to handle things in her own space. Books wrapped in every color of the rainbow filled an oversize bookshelf, all of them bearing scientific titles that twisted Jack’s tongue when he tried to read them out loud. The pale blue walls had been peppered with pictures of every kind of wildlife, from soaring eagles to bright-eyed foxes to coiled snakes, all photographed by their father, who dreamed of becoming a full-time photographer. Jack loved the clutter of it all. “Ideas ferment in here,” Olivia always told them.

“So there’s no sign of disease?” she was asking into the phone. She twisted her chair from side to side, paused, then asked, “When will the results be in?”