Mysteries in Our National Parks: Night of the Black Bear: A Mystery in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

An outbreak of rabies could threaten the public’s health and safety.”

“No. In the other incidents the tests all came back negative,” Blue replied as he frowned at Greta. His right hand twitched as though he wanted to brush away the microphone that kept inching closer to his face.

“Well, then, Ranger Firekiller, do you have any explanation as to why the black bears are behaving in such an unusual manner?” Greta signaled the cameraman to focus on her, rather than on Blue. “Our viewers will want to know, just how far will Great Smoky Mountains National Park go to protect the visitors who come here? After all, this is the most visited national park in the entire United States National Park System.”

“We have no evidence whatsoever that the bears are infected with any disease,” Blue told her, holding himself stiffly. “But we’re taking the situation very seriously. We’ve asked Dr. Landon, an expert on animal behavior who just happens to be visiting the park, to help us study every possible scenario.”

Suddenly the bald man, who’d been standing quietly through all this, stepped forward to announce, “I saw the whole thing. I’m the guy who saved the girl.” He pushed in front of Blue to be in line with the camera while he added, “That bear was acting crazy. I heard the girl yell, and I knew I had to save her. My name is William F. Jordan. That’s spelled J-o-r-d-a-n.”

“Are you the bear expert?” Greta asked him.

“Me? No.” He shook his head. “That lady over there—she’s the bear expert. Anyway, like I told the lady and Ranger Firekiller here, I heard the girl screaming, and I ran over to her. I’d just come out of the church ’cause my wife left her scarf there this morning, and—”

“The bear,” Greta prompted him, “tell us about the bear.”

“Well, I ran over there, and I yelled and clapped my hands, then I picked up a rock and threw it. My pitching arm is still pretty good. The rock hit the bear right on his head. Bonk! He kind of roared, like he was gonna come after me, but then he ran into the trees behind the cemetery. Seems like all the bears in this park have gone crazy. Three maulings already—”

“Two!” Yonah spoke up.

“They need to shut down this park to protect the American people,” Jordan insisted.

“Will that be the official park position?” Greta asked, ignoring both Yonah and Mr. Jordan as she turned back toward Blue. “To close the park?”

Olivia had begun to inch away from the camera while Greta’s attention focused on Blue, who pulled himself up to his imposing six-foot height before he answered, “We have no further comment. If you have any more questions, Miss, you’ll need to talk to the park superintendent.”

“But did you see the girl who was attacked?” Greta persisted. “I heard the bear ripped a whole pound of flesh out of her leg.”

“No comment!”

“Dr. Landon? What’s your opinion?”

“I can’t even begin to speculate until I go over the data,” Olivia said, signaling Jack and Ashley to head toward the Landons’ rental car. Ashley, fascinated by the television news team, barely moved, so Jack jerked her by the elbow to get her going. Steven followed, pulling out the car keys as he herded the kids forward, their feet scuffing against the asphalt. As if by magic, the car doors flew open, all four at once.

The camera zoomed in as Greta cried, “Dr. Landon, do you think it’s in the public’s best interest to shut down Great Smoky Mountains National Park?”

“Ranger Firekiller has already told you that you’ll need to discuss that with the park superintendent,” Olivia answered.

Steven had started the car and was easing it toward the TV crew, with the front passenger door still wide open. Suddenly, Olivia sprinted across the last ten feet that separated her from the car and jumped inside without saying another word. The engine roared as Steven shifted into reverse, spun in a curve and swung back onto the road, leaving Greta standing there, frustrated.

“Wow! That was a real cool escape, Mom!” Jack exclaimed.

Olivia swept her fingers through her hair, squeezed her eyes shut, and took a deep breath before she answered, “That Greta person kept clamoring about closing the park, and I bet it’ll be all over the television news tonight. We have to solve this mystery so that we can keep the park open. What I really need is to interview that girl, Heather McDonald. And I need to get to her now!”

CHAPTER TWO

Blue and Yonah managed to slide into their own car and race after the Landons. As they caught up, Blue honked his horn to signal that he was passing, then swung ahead on the left as Yonah yelled through his passenger-side window, “Follow us to the hospital.”

“Thank heavens for Blue!” Olivia exclaimed. “I never got a chance to find out where the hospital’s located.”

Both cars slowed down to head out on the long drive. As their parents talked quietly in the front seat, Jack and Ashley stared out the rear windows at the sights. And there were a lot of sights to see, especially when they reached the town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Streets that looked like an amusement park were lined with tourist attractions, one after the other, competing for the attention of passersby. Jack sat up straight when he realized that there actually was an amusement park, a real one, hardly more than a stone’s throw beyond the main highway.

Ashley beat him to it. She shouted out, “Dollywood! Look, there’s a sign for Dollywood. It says rides and a water park. Mom, can we go there?”

“Probably. Eventually. After we’ve taken care of the bear problem.” Jack noticed his mother biting the edge of her thumbnail and figured she must be seriously worried. He’d never seen her bite her nails before. “At the hospital, kids,” she added, “we’ll be meeting a ranger named Kip Delaney. Kip is the park’s expert on the elk restoration program, but he’s also a black bear expert. I’ve talked to him on the phone in the past hour, and we’re both thinking there could be some remote tie-in between the bear attacks and the elk. I mean, that’s really just a guess, but Kip and I want to investigate it.”

Kip Delaney. These park guys have funny names, Jack thought. Blue, Yonah, Kip….

Fifteen minutes later they pulled into the hospital parking lot in a town called Sevierville. Kip Delaney was outside waiting for them, motioning them into a space he’d saved. Like Blue Firekiller, Kip Delaney was tall and dark-haired, but Kip had fair skin, and his shoulders were so broad that when he reached out to shake hands, his gray, park ranger shirt pulled tight across his chest.

“Looks like everyone’s here,” Kip said.

Yonah and Blue had arrived just ahead of the Landons, and Blue was saying, “We need gas. The gauge is nearly on empty.” Holding out the car keys, he told Yonah, “Here, take Jack and Ashley with you, gas up the car, and then buy yourselves some burgers if you’re hungry. Come back in about half an hour.”

Hearing that, it was Steven, not Olivia, who began to look worried. “Yonah has his license?” he asked, as if he didn’t really want to trust his kids to a 16-year-old he’d just met that afternoon.

“Sure. I’ve been legal for a whole month,” Yonah told him confidently. “Don’t worry, Mr. Landon, I’m a very careful driver. I promise I won’t go over 80. Just joking. Anyway, the gas station and burger place are only two blocks from here.”

Ashley giggled a little at Yonah’s joke, but Jack shook his head and said, “I’m not hungry.”

“Well, I’m starving!” Ashley declared, shooting a look at Jack.

“Since when are you not hungry?” Steven asked him. “The last time you weren’t hungry, you were eight years old and had chickenpox.”

The truth was, Jack already didn’t like Yonah very much and would rather not be stuck with him for half an hour. Besides, if he stayed around the hospital, he might learn more about Heather McDonald and the bear encounter. That would really be interesting.

“If you stay, you’ll have to wait in the hall,” Olivia told him. “You can’t go into the room.”

“Fine. No problem.” Jack didn’t bother to wave as Yonah and Ashley took off.

“Let’s go, then,” Kip said, and led the rest of them toward Heather McDonald’s hospital room. Blue entered first, followed by Olivia, Steven, and Kip. As they went in, Jack tried to get a glimpse inside, but with all those adults filling the door frame, he couldn’t see a thing. Then Kip shut the door tightly behind him.

“Perfect!” Jack grumbled sarcastically. He glanced around the hall and saw some empty chairs. A small square table held a few magazines, but he had no desire to read Quilter’s Digest or Healthy Aging or Cooking for Vegans. He sprawled on one of the chairs, resting the back of his head against the wall. A nurse who happened to come out of Heather’s room did not shut the door tightly. After she disappeared down the hall, Jack jumped to his feet and moved toward the door, which had swung open a couple of inches. That was enough.

Staying back a little so he wouldn’t be quite up against the opening, Jack peered first at the girl in the hospital bed. Heather’s eyes looked wide and shadowed, her face pasty pale, and her colorless lips quivered as the adults questioned her.

“…with our church group,” she was saying. “I went out to the cemetery because my dad told me some of our ancestors are supposed to be buried there. I wanted to find the tombstones.”

“Were your parents with the church group?” Olivia asked gently.

“No, they stayed home. In Morganton. That’s where we’re from—Morganton, North Carolina. It’s about 150 miles from here. But my mom’s here now.” Heather’s lips trembled even more as two tears slid down her cheeks.

Heather’s mother, sitting somewhere Jack couldn’t see, said, “I came as soon as they called me this morning.”

The sad-looking girl in the hospital bed was about 16, Jack guessed, the same age as Yonah. Her bandaged leg lay on top of the bedding, but the rest of her thin body stayed beneath the white hospital sheets. Greta, the TV newswoman, had claimed that a pound of flesh had been torn from Heather’s thigh, yet there was no way to tell how deep the wound was because of those thick bandages covering Heather’s leg from her hip to below the knee.

Jack’s father must have been standing in a corner behind the door. Jack couldn’t see him but heard him ask Heather’s mother, “Do I have your permission to take a few photos for the park reports?”

Mrs. McDonald murmured, “Yes,” and there was a sudden flash from Steven’s camera. Heather blanched as the camera flashed two more times.