because secrets swirled around Nicky Milano. And no one, not his mother or his father or Nicky himself, was talking.
The strangeness had begun three days ago in the Landon kitchen. Jack had just finished pouring a bowl of Cheerios and Ashley had taken a huge bite of an apple-cinnamon bagel when his parents slipped into the two remaining kitchen chairs, coffee cups in hand. Sunlight caught the blond stubble sprinkled across his father’s chin like grains of sand. Watching him, Jack fingered the pale hairs that had sprouted beneath his own chin, but his were soft, thread-like. Still, those hairs might just grow into something. A goatee, maybe. He took a spoonful of cereal and waited for one of his parents to speak. He could tell they had something to say.
“Kids, we need to talk. There’s a new foster child we’ve decided to accept,” his father began. “His name is Nicky Milano, and he’ll be going with us on our trip to Denali.” Steven held up his hand to silence Jack’s instant stream of objections. “I know it’s last minute, but this is a very special case. Ms. Lopez asked us to take him as a favor, and we can’t turn her down.”
“Dad, we can’t change things now!” Jack had protested. “Mom—” He’d looked to his mother for help. She’d just gotten out of the shower, and her long, black hair was already curling into soft rings that bounced as she shook her head.
“I’m afraid it’s already settled,” Olivia told him.
“But what about the wolverines? The park’s counting on you to help find out why they’re dying!”
“Don’t worry about me. I can manage my job with an extra child in tow.”
“But—”
“Sweetheart, I said I can manage.”
A wildlife veterinarian, Olivia had received an emergency call from Denali National Park. A month earlier, a wolverine had been discovered dead inside the park boundaries. A week later, a second wolverine body had been found, again with no visible signs of trauma, and days later, yet another. Then, less than a week ago, two more wolverine bodies had been discovered in the same general area in the middle of Denali Wilderness. Park officials were mystified and alarmed. Wolverines were mysterious animals, so elusive they haunted the wilderness like ghosts. Most of the rangers had never even seen a wolverine in the wild. Now five had been discovered dead in less than a month! When they’d found no bullet holes, no apparent disease—nothing to explain why the animals had died—they’d turned to Olivia for help, as parks often did when they had a mystery involving animals.
In addition to the phone call from the park staff asking Olivia to investigate the deaths, she’d also heard from Chaz Green, the founder of the Wolverine Rescue Program. “You’re an expert,” he’d told Olivia. “We need you to solve this mystery. Please come, Dr. Landon, and help save the wolverines.”
Now Jack took a breath and said, “I know you can do your job, Mom, but you told me this was the weirdest case you’d ever been called on. This Nicky kid will just get in the way.”
Answering softly, Olivia replied, “Of course I realize it’s bad timing, but the child has nowhere else to go. He used to live with his father but now his dad is…” There was a beat, and then the word, “…gone. His mom died in an accident when Nicky was six. He has no other relatives. He’s alone, Jack.”
Jack placed his feet on the chair rungs and slouched down, his hand pushing the ball of his cheek almost into his eye. Ashley kept chewing on her bagel as if having Nicky join them didn’t bother her in the slightest. That was like her. His sister never seemed to mind when new people burst into their lives and flipped everything upside down, but it drove Jack crazy. Foster kids were always a gamble. Since his dad had been a foster child himself when he was young, Steven welcomed any child in need, wanting to “put something back into the system,” as he put it. Olivia often said she would love to take in kids full-time, but because of her intense schedule she would have to settle for offering temporary care. Temporary was plenty for Jack.
“Don’t worry about our Denali trip, Son, it’ll be just as good,” Steven said, reaching over to touch Jack’s shoulder. “We still get to stay in a ranger’s house near park headquarters, and we’ll still get to see all kinds of cool animals. Nothing will change.”
Jack sighed loudly. “OK, I’m sure it’ll all be great.” Forcing a smile, he tried to look like he meant it. It was selfish not to want to help someone in need. He just required a little time to get used to the idea. He pushed the Cheerios around his bowl until milk splashed on the tabletop and his dad told him to stop before he made a mess.
Ashley, her mouth full of bagel, asked, “So what happened to the dad?”
That was when Jack first sensed that there was something odd about Nicky’s situation. For a moment, neither one of his parents said a word. Olivia picked up a spoon and began stirring her coffee, but she hadn’t put any cream or sugar in it. Clink, clink, clink—the spoon tapped against the sides of the mug. She and Steven exchanged glances.
“What’s wrong?” Ashley asked again, wide eyed. “Is his dad dead, too?”
“Nicky’s father is still alive. I—” Olivia cleared her throat. “Well, actually, we, can’t go into detail. Ms. Lopez and the Department of Social Services said it was essential to keep everything about Nicky quiet. His background is…confidential.”
For a minute, Jack didn’t know what to say. Were his parents refusing to tell them about a foster kid who would be sharing their lives for who knew how long? What was up with that? Jack finally let out a snort, saying, “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m afraid not.” Olivia took another sip of coffee and met his gaze head-on. Her eyes were dark and round, the same as Ashley’s. Jack’s were blue like his father’s.
“Why can’t you say anything? Is Nicky dangerous?”
“Of course not.”
“Is he a nut case?” This from Ashley.
Setting her mug down hard, Olivia said, “No! And I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk like that.”
Ashley tried a different approach. “So…we’re not supposed to bug him, but if he tells us about his life, then that’s OK, right?”
“He can’t,” Steven answered. “I mean, he won’t. Look, it’s a complicated situation. Nicky’ll only be with us a short while, and during that time you are not to pry.” He rubbed the back of his neck while he talked, a sure sign that he was worrying about something. “Of course you can chat with him all you want, just don’t…”
“…poke around in his past,” Olivia finished at a gallop. “Understand?”
“Yep.” Ashley nodded but added, “That’s really strange, though.” Her hair hadn’t been brushed yet, so it stood out from her head in dark, fuzzy corkscrews. A too-big blue terry cloth robe drooped crazily off of one shoulder, and her slippers made her feet seem even bigger than they were, like a puppy’s oversize paws. She looked at Jack and wiggled her eyebrows. “Nicky Milano, man of mystery. I think our trip to Alaska is going to be very interesting.”
Jack thought about that conversation now as Nicky’s eyes flashed in the spangle of the northern lights. Man of mystery was right. They’d been together for more than 24 hours, and Jack still didn’t know a thing about Nicky, not really. Nicky talked, but he didn’t say anything, as if his true thoughts
