164 The Mystery Of The Mother Wolf Page 6

  John sighed. Despite the cold, bracing air, his face was

  pale. “I can't believe someone would come into the

  house and steal all the puppies. Whoever it was must

  have been spying on us, because he obviously knew

  Grover and Icy were away.”

  “Hey, you guys,” Alice shouted.

  Nancy turned and saw Alice and Jenny walking out

  of the woods toward a gate to the yard. The huskies

  strained eagerly on their leashes until Jenny closed the

  gate behind them and set the dogs free. The two

  women smiled as Grover and Icicle bounded happily

  through the snow. Nancy hated the thought that Alice

  and Jenny were about to learn more bad news.

  With one look at John's grim expression, Alice's face

  immediately clouded over. “What's wrong, darling?”

  she asked him as she and Jenny approached the group.

  “The puppies—they've been taken,” John said. As

  Alice and Jenny looked at him in shock, John quickly

  told them all about the puppies' disappearance.

  “This is too terrible,” Jenny moaned, fighting tears.

  “How can we know that whoever has the puppies is

  taking care of them? They're still so little. They need

  their mother's milk or the right kind of formula to

  survive.”

  “We have to hope that whoever has them knows how

  to care for very young puppies,” John said gravely.

  “I'm sure that this person also has Rainbow,” Alice

  said. “So at least the puppies are getting good care

  from their mom.”

  Nancy hoped that Alice was right. It made sense that

  the puppy kidnapper was the same person who had

  stolen Rainbow, but that didn't mean that the person

  was treating the animals right or was even allowing

  them to be together.

  Jenny shivered as the wind began to gust. “Let's go

  inside and talk about this. I'm freezing.”

  In just a few minutes the group had reassembled in

  Alice and John's suite. The sight of Rainbow's empty

  pen made Nancy feel sad as she quickly combed the

  room for clues. Finding nothing, she joined the others

  on a set of sofas surrounding a coffee table that was

  piled high with nature magazines.

  Alice said, “So, Nancy, what do your detective in-

  stincts tell you? Do you have any suspects?”

  “Only Rusty Marconi,” she answered. “I found out

  that the Swiss army knife with the RM initials isn't

  Ross's, and since Rusty obviously has a big grudge

  against you, he seems pretty likely.”

  “I totally agree,” Alice said firmly.

  “Me, too,” John said.

  “I don't know,” Jenny cut in. Her hazel eyes behind

  her glasses looked skeptical. “Rusty is such a crank that

  it's easy to jump to conclusions about him. But I'm

  wondering about the ranchers. A lot of them hate

  wolves, and they might want to steal one just to spite

  people like us who love them.”

  “What do you mean a lot of ranchers hate wolves?”

  George asked. “Is that true?”

  Bess's puzzled expression mirrored George's as she

  said to the Marshalls, “Yeah, you guys are ranchers, and

  you love wolves.”

  “We're not typical,” Jenny said. “Don't you remem-

  ber, Bess, when Mr. Ehret and Mrs. Stevenson came

  over yesterday, all worked up about the wolf sanctuary?

  Many ranchers feel the way they do. They're worried

  about wolves killing their livestock.”

  “But Rainbow is tame,” Bess countered. “She

  wouldn't hurt anyone's animals.”

  Jenny gathered her thoughts. “See, on one side

  there are the wildlife activists who pushed to reintro-

  duce wolves to Yellowstone Park nearby, and on the

  other side there are the ranchers,” she explained. “The

  relationship between the two is really bad. Mr. Ehret

  has had livestock killed by reintroduced wolves that

  have roamed outside the boundaries of Yellowstone, so

  he's really against that program.”

  “What program?” Nancy asked. “Is there a special

  program that relocates the wolves?”

  “Yeah,” Jenny replied. “It's a program that brings

  Canadian wolves to the American states where their

  ancestors lived before they were killed or driven away.

  A bunch of wildlife activists got the government to

  support bringing a few trial wolves back to this country.

  They say that wolves really aren't that dangerous to

  livestock as long as they're given enough room to roam

  and prey on other wild animals.”

  Jenny took a breath and went on. “The wildlife

  people also think it's important for wolves to live in this

  country again because it's part of their original territory

  and they're endangered. They want to try everything

  possible to increase the wolf population so they won't

  be endangered anymore.”

  Alice said, “An organization called the Defenders of

  Wildlife offered to pay ranchers for any livestock killed

  by wolves. That pacified some of the ranchers, but

  others are still upset. They want their animals to graze

  in peace.”

  “But I still don't understand,” Bess said. “Why would

  Mr. Ehret pick on Rainbow and her puppies? They

  wouldn't threaten his livestock.”

  Jenny shrugged. “It's just that he's such a grouch. I

  wouldn't put it past him to take Rainbow and her pup-

  pies out of spite. Paul and I went to a town meeting

  recently to get approval for the wolf sanctuary and Mr.

  Ehret had a fit about the whole idea. He threatened to

  shoot any wolf that came across his path.”

  Alice leaned her chin on her palm and said, “Bill

  knows that Paul is very much in favor of reintroducing

  wolves, right, Jen? It's a small world around here, and

  I'm sure Bill learned from Stella Stevenson that her

  grandson went on expeditions to Canada to retrieve

  wolves and bring them to the American wilderness.”

  “Maybe Mr. Ehret took Rainbow and her puppies to

  get revenge against Paul for wanting to bring wild

  wolves back to Wyoming,” Jenny guessed.

  “But Rainbow belongs to you guys,” Bess pointed

  out. “How would stealing her be revenge against Paul?”

  “Because Paul loves Rainbow,” Jenny explained,

  “and he loves me, and he'd see how upset Mom and

  Dad and I would be.”

  “That's sick!” Bess exclaimed, looking disgusted.

  That's for sure, Nancy thought. But she still wasn't

  convinced that Paul himself wasn't guilty. First, he

  claimed he'd been out of the lodge when Rainbow was

  stolen, but no one knew that for sure, and also the

  treads on his boots may have matched the tracks in the

  snow that the thief had left. But why would someone

  who supposedly loves wolves want to steal a mother

  and her puppies? she wondered.

  “By the way, where is Paul?” Nancy asked, trying not

  to sound too suspicious.

  “He's at a meeting with the town council in Mont-

&n
bsp; rose. He's making sure the wolf sanctuary complies

  with zoning laws,” Jenny told her.

  A thought flashed through Nancy's mind: If Paul

  was out, this would be the perfect time to search his

  room.

  Nancy stood up, explaining that since the electricity

  was working again she'd like to take a warm bath to get

  the chill out after her ordeal the night before. Leaving

  Bess and George downstairs talking to the Marshalls,

  she returned to the upstairs hall.

  Nancy peered cautiously around the open door of

  Paul's bedroom to make sure he wasn't there. Finding

  the room empty, she went inside.

  She gave a cursory glance around the messy room,

  then zeroed in on his bureau and desk—the two most

  likely places to find really useful clues like letters or a

  diary, Nancy reasoned. Nothing but a tangle of clean

  laundry rested on his bureau, but his desk immediately

  rewarded Nancy with an open notepad that had words

  scrawled on it.

  It's a letter, Nancy realized excitedly. As she began

  to read it, she saw that it was an unfinished letter to his

  faculty adviser.

  “I want you to be the first to know, Dr. Wei, that I'm

  having second thoughts about building the wolf

  sanctuary,” Paul had written, “because I think it's cruel

  to confine wild animals. Even though I'm engaged to a

  woman whose family keeps a wolf as a pet, I'm

  generally opposed to taming and enclosing wild

  animals, except when zoos provide habitats for en-

  dangered species that have lost their own. Even though

  the wolf sanctuary would be fifty acres, it would still be

  like a very large prison for these animals.”

  The letter ended there.

  Nancy bit her lip, turning Paul's words over in her

  mind. If he feels it's so cruel to confine a wild animal,

  could he have set Rainbow and her puppies free?

  Nancy wondered. She glanced back at the desk. A

  number of books and journals relating to animals and

  wolves were piled on it in no particular order, but

  Nancy didn't see any other obvious clues. She opened

  the top drawer of the desk, hoping for some

  information on Rainbow's whereabouts.

  A gray object shone dully from behind a stack of

  notepads. Nancy pulled out the drawer farther. She

  froze. A tranquilizing gun had been stashed in the back

  of the drawer, along with a dart—exactly like the one

  that had stunned Grover!

  8. The Hermit of Montrose

  Nancy heard footsteps hurrying down the hallway

  toward Paul's room. Quickly she shut the drawer, her

  heart hammering. Could Paul have come back from his

  meeting already? She'd better find some place to hide,

  just in case.

  Nancy scanned the room. There was a closet on the

  opposite side, but the footsteps had almost reached the

  room. She had no time.

  In a flash, Nancy scrambled under the huge antique

  four-poster bed with its unmade bedcovers draping

  over the sides. Thank goodness Paul's a slob, Nancy

  thought. The blankets and sheets should keep me out

  of sight.

  The footsteps pounded into the bedroom and

  stopped by the bureau. Peeking out from under a

  heavy blanket, Nancy could see someone's legs from

  the knees down. Those are definitely Paul's blue jeans

  and boots, she decided.

  Bureau drawers opened and shut in quick succes-

  sion, and Paul's face briefly appeared in Nancy's view

  as he kneeled to open the bottom one. “Where on

  earth are those radio collars?” he muttered peevishly

  before slamming the drawer shut. Nancy barely had

  time to wonder what he meant when he dashed out of

  the room.

  Nancy took a breath. She waited until his footsteps

  thudded down the stairs to the first floor before daring

  to squirm from her hiding place.

  Nancy tiptoed out of Paul's room and quietly re-

  turned to the first floor. Bess was sitting in the living

  room, sipping late morning coffee and chatting with

  Dexter around the fire.

  “My dad went off skiing at the crack of dawn,”

  Dexter was telling Bess. “He never gets tired, even

  when he doesn't get much sleep, like last night. I'm

  glad I slept late, though,” he added, a blush stealing

  across his boyish features, “because it's nice hanging

  around here with you.”

  Bess shot Dexter a sideways grin. “Ditto,” she

  murmured. “But I hope I didn't spoil your morning by

  giving you the bad news about the puppies.”

  “You? Spoil my morning?” Dexter exclaimed, staring

  at Bess incredulously. “No way!”

  Nancy cleared her throat, and Dexter and Bess spun

  around.

  “Sorry to interrupt you guys,” Nancy said. “But did

  you see Paul come downstairs?”

  “Yeah, he went out the front door in a major rush,”

  Dexter said, blushing again when he realized that he

  and Bess had been overheard.

  “Are the Marshalls still in their suite?” Nancy asked.

  “All three are in the kitchen making lunch,” Bess

  said, “and George went upstairs to put on ski clothes.”

  “Okay, thanks, guys.” Nancy headed toward the

  kitchen and pushed open the swinging door. “Hi,” she

  said to the Marshalls, who were hurrying around the

  kitchen putting lunch together. “I hope you don't mind

  if I barge in here, but I have a question.”

  “Feel free to barge in wherever you want, Nancy,”

  Alice said, laying out freshly sliced turkey and French

  bread on a platter. “After all, you're helping us find

  Rainbow and the pups, and you'll need to ask us

  questions sometimes. No matter how busy John and I

  get, this case comes first. So what's your question?”

  “I just wondered what a radio collar is,” Nancy said.

  John frowned. “A radio collar? Why do you want to

  know that?”

  “Uh, I was flipping through a magazine on wolves,

  and it mentioned one,” Nancy fudged, wanting to keep

  her encounter with Paul secret for now.

  “Oh,” John said. “Well, when wolves are reintro-

  duced to a territory, scientists keep tabs on them by

  using radio collars. Those are collars with a tracking

  device in them. If you put one on a tranquilized wolf

  and set the animal free, scientists can track where the

  wolf is as it roams in the wild. The scientists can tell if

  the wolf is still alive and whether it's staying within its

  territory.”

  Hmm, Nancy thought, could Paul want to put a

  radio collar on Rainbow and the puppies so he can

  track them in the wild? If so, then he must still be

  holding them somewhere.

  Nancy suddenly felt hopeful. As long as the wolves

  were still alive and in captivity, there was a chance

  she'd be able to find them.

  Alice poured oil and vinegar over a large green

  salad, then glanced at Nancy. “I encouraged George

&nbs
p; and Bess to go skiing this afternoon, and I think you

  should go with them, Nancy. The sun is out, and

  there's lots of fresh powder on the slopes. The condi-

  tions at Elk Mountain will be perfect. And please don't

  worry about the case. Taking a break from it might

  refresh your mind and help you think about it more

  clearly.”

  “You came to Wyoming to do winter sports, so go for

  it, Nancy,” Jenny chimed in.

  Nancy smiled appreciatively. Jenny and Alice are

  right, she thought. I could definitely use a break.

  After lunch John helped Nancy, George, and Bess

  pack their ski equipment in one of his Jeeps. “This is an

  extra vehicle that I lend to guests,” he explained. “For

  your information, the roads have been plowed since

  eight this morning. Snowstorms are no big deal in these

  parts—we mountain folk are always ready for them.”

  The girls thanked John, then hopped into the Jeep

  with Nancy driving. Alice had already given them

  directions to Elk Mountain, which was just on the

  other side of Montrose.

  Heading back toward town on the same road they'd

  driven on yesterday, Nancy drew in a deep, relaxing

  breath. It's awesome to be in these mountains after a

  big snow, she thought—I can't wait to get out on the

  slopes.

  Nancy slowed the Jeep as she came to a curve. Half-

  way around it, piles of snow-covered junk suddenly

  replaced the beautiful landscape. “Rusty's place!” she

  exclaimed. “I'd forgotten what a shock the sight of it

  is.”

  “You're not kidding, Nan,” George said, shaking her

  head as she sat beside Nancy in the front seat. “Total

  gross-out is more like it.”

  “That guy must spend every moment of his life

  collecting junk,” Bess declared in an awed tone.

  As soon as Rusty's place was out of sight behind the

  curve, Nancy pulled onto the shoulder of the road and

  stopped the Jeep. “What are you doing, Nancy?” Bess

  and George asked in unison.

  She arched a brow at her friends. “Who feels like

  helping me search Rusty's property for Rainbow?” she

  asked, unsnapping her seat belt.

  “You've got to be kidding, Nancy!” Bess exclaimed,

  horrified. “Rusty's the craziest person I've ever seen.

  He'll shoot us for sure if he catches us snooping. Plus,

  my turquoise parka will stand out against the snow—

  and so will your dark one, Nan. We'll be like sitting