Mysteries in Our National Parks: Wolf Stalker: A Mystery in Yellowstone National Park

But she had. According to the report given to the Landon family by the Department of Social Services, Troy’s mother had simply disappeared, leaving him all alone, with no food and no money.

“Something bad must have happened to her,” Troy insisted.

“Did you tell the police?” Jack asked.

Troy laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “Yeah—I stayed on my own for two days, then I called the cops. Big mistake. They took down all the stuff I told them, and then they asked who was stayin’ with me and I said ‘No one. I can handle it. You guys just find my mom.’ So instead the cops called the Social Services and they came and got me.”

“Well, when your mom comes back, they’ll let her know where you are and everything’ll work out OK.”

“Don’t you listen?” Anger crackled from his voice and his dark eyes. Jack had never met anyone who seethed the way Troy seemed to, as if emotional lava was roiling just beneath his skin and any second could erupt. “My—mom’s—in—some—kind—of—trouble! I need to be home so I can find her.”

“But you can’t stay all by yourself.”

“Why not? I don’t need anybody.” Leaning back, Troy knit his fingers together and rested his head in them. Suddenly Ashley came bowling into the room and ran smack into Jack’s back.

“Sorry, Jack. Hi, Troy.”

Troy gave Ashley a little wave, but to Jack it looked more like a put-down than a hello.

“Jack, guess what?” Ashley exclaimed. “Something happened! Didn’t you hear the phone?”

“No.”

“Mom got a call, and this guy says wolves came down and ate his dog even though it wasn’t doing anything and it’s been on talk radio and stuff and now they need Mom to figure out what happened.”

“Does she always talk so fast?” Troy asked.

She did, but Jack didn’t like Troy enough to tell him so.

“Ms. Lopez told Mom it’s OK to take Troy with us, but we have to get ready right away. We need to hurry up and pack!”

“Wait a minute, did she just say I’m going somewhere?” Troy demanded. “No way!”

Ashley’s large brown eyes widened even more. “But we’ve got to go! If we don’t, they might kill all the wolves!”

“Hold it!” Jack said, taking her arm. “Just slow down and start again. Where are we going?”

“To save the wolves. We’re leaving tomorrow morning, first thing.”

“What wolves?”

“Didn’t you listen?” Exasperated, looking from Jack to Troy and back, Ashley said, “The wolves they put in the park. They’re saying they’re too wild and mean. They’re saying that the wolves are gonna start killing people next. Mom said that’s not right, so that’s why we’re going there.”

“Going where?” Jack yelled.

“I already told you where. The park! Yellowstone.”

At that minute Olivia and Steven came crowding into the room behind Ashley. Jack knew how to read his mother’s eyes, and he could see that Olivia had become energized by this crisis, whatever it was. “Can you believe it?” she asked. “It’s lucky they called me on a weekend because now we can all go together. Tomorrow’s Saturday—we ought to be back late Sunday so you kids won’t miss any school.”

“We need to be packed and in the car no later than seven tomorrow morning—” Steven began, but Troy broke in.

“I’m outta here right now,” he said, jumping up from the bed. “No way am I gonna leave this town until I find my mom.” He would have rushed out of the room if Steven hadn’t shut the door hard and leaned against it from the inside.

“Outta my way, man!” Troy ordered.

Steven Landon knew how to approach frightened animals without threatening them. As if Troy were a cornered deer, he locked eyes with the boy, then slowly raised his hand, palm up. In a quiet voice Steven told him, “I think I know how you must feel, Troy. But if you leave here right now, the police will pick you up and you’ll spend the weekend in juvenile hall. And what good would that do anyone?”

Steven took a step closer. “Come with us, Troy. We’ll stay in phone contact with your social worker. As soon as there’s any news about your mother, you’ll be the first to find out. I promise.”

Troy no longer looked like a frightened animal, he looked like a caged animal. Coiled in a half-crouch, color staining his cheeks, he shouted, “This is supposed to be my room, right? Why are all of you in here? If I gotta be stuck with you in a car tomorrow, you need to give me some space now.” His voice broke. “OK?”

“Right!” Gesturing for her family to leave, Olivia said, “Let’s get started packing, kids. Tomorrow will begin early.”

Too early. By six that Saturday morning, at the day’s first pale light, Jack was fighting to hang onto his pillow while his father dragged him out of bed.

By seven, as the rosy glow from the sunrise lingered over the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the Grand Teton Mountain Range, all the Landons plus Troy were crowded into their jeep, heading for Yellowstone.

CHAPTER TWO

“Did you get hold of Mike?” Jack asked his mother. Olivia shook her head. Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “I am definitely getting worried. Something must have gone wrong. I think we better drive up to the wolf office.”

It was the weekend after Labor Day. Although Yellowstone still had plenty of visitors, the crowds were skimpy compared with the holiday jam-up a week earlier. Jack had been on this same walkway between Old Faithful and the parking lot when actual human gridlock occurred, and no one could move at all. Those times, he’d kept his eyes focused on his father’s blond head. At six foot three, Steven was pretty easy to follow in a crowd. Olivia got swallowed.

Jack looked like his father: tall, thin, and blond. Ashley was a young version of her mother: short and slightly built, with big dark eyes and dark hair that framed her face in gentle wisps. And right now, Ashley was babbling to strangers, the way she always did. In the stream of visitors heading for their cars, Ashley had picked out a silver-haired couple. Tagging along beside them, she said, “Wasn’t it great?”

“Fantastic,” the woman agreed.

“Have you ever seen it before?”

“No. We live in Minnesota,” the man answered.

Smiling, the woman asked, “So did you come to Yellowstone just to watch Old Faithful?”

“No, we’re here to help the wolves. My mom’s a wildlife veterinarian.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. She works at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, but sometimes she gets a call and she has to help the national parks in emergencies…”

That Ashley! Jack thought. As a baby, she’d always smiled at everyone she saw. Now here she was, almost 11, and still acting as though each person who crossed her path was a new friend just waiting to be discovered.

Jack wasn’t as trusting. Whenever they were out together, he made it his job to keep an eye on his sister, trying to prevent her from spilling the entire life stories of all the Landons into the ears of total strangers. This couple looked harmless enough—the man wore the usual tourist camera slung around his neck, and a floppy-brimmed hat on his head; his wife had on a pink sweatshirt that said Save the Whales. It matched the sun-tinted pink of her cheeks.

“Well, my husband and I love wolves. They have every right to be here in Yellowstone,” the woman told her.

“That’s what my mom thinks. It’s not their fault if a dog tries to mess with them.”

“Ashley—” Olivia began.