Free Out of the Deep by Gloria Skurzynski Page B

the comforter.
    â€œTook you long enough. I was out ten minutes ago, and I’m a girl.”
    â€œI didn’t know we were racing.”
    â€œDoesn’t matter,” she said, grinning. “I still won.”
    â€œYeah, right.”
    â€œJack?”
    Jack sat on the other bed, looking at his sister. “What?”
    â€œI have an idea, but I don’t know if it’s an OK thing to do. Remember how I went through Lucky’s stuff in Mesa Verde and everybody yelled at me for doing it? You said her things were private, and I was totally wrong for going through them.”
    Jack nodded. He remembered. Lucky was one foster child he would always remember.
    Winding a lock of hair around her finger, Ashley asked, “I was wondering if this time, with Bindy, I mean, if this time is different enough to check out her things.
    We might be able to figure out where she’s gone. It’s just, Mom and Dad are totally freaking out, and—”
    â€œI think it’s a great idea,” Jack jumped in, mad that he hadn’t thought of it first. “You look in her dresser drawer, and I’ll see if there’s anything in her suitcase.”
    Ashley bounded off the bed, hurrying into the room she’d shared with Bindy, while Jack went to the corner where the suitcases were stacked. Bindy’s battered blue one was at the very bottom of the pile. Pulling it free, he snapped open the locks and opened it. Nothing. Even the pockets were empty.
    â€œJack, come here!” Ashley cried. “Wait’ll you see this!”
    Rushing through the connecting door, Jack saw Ashley standing in the middle of the room, holding up a crumpled towel and rolled-up clothes. Bindy’s clothes.
    â€œThese were in the bottom drawer. She was really here, Jack.”
    â€œHow? When?” Jack stammered.
    â€œI don’t know. But I’m positive this is the outfit she had on when we were with Spud. The clothes are wet, and they smell like seawater. So she got back here to the room somehow to change.” She held up the towel, as wilted as a lettuce leaf. “Looks like she showered, too.
    I didn’t see any of it before because I didn’t look in her drawer. What a little sneak!”
    â€œIs the rest of her stuff still here? Her other clothes? Toothbrush?”
    Nodding vigorously, she said, “Yep, all of it—well, I don’t actually know about her toothbrush.” She went to their bathroom and pushed open the door. “Her toothbrush’s here, and her earrings, too. I don’t get it—if she was actually running away, wouldn’t she have packed up her stuff?”
    â€œYou’d think so,” Jack agreed.
    â€œWe need to call Mom.”
    Jack crossed the room to the square table that held the phone. Once he had an outside line, he punched in the numbers and waited. After three rings, a message kicked in:
    You have reached Dr. Olivia Landon at the Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole. If this is an emergency, please call the Jackson Hole Veterinary Hospital. Or, if you’d like to leave a message, please….
    â€œShe must be on the phone,” Jack mouthed to Ashley. When he heard the beep, he said, “Mom, it’s me. Bindy was here, at the motel. We found her wet clothes and a towel stuffed into a drawer. Call me when you get this.”
    He dropped the receiver into the cradle, then sat on the edge of Ashley’s bed. So, Bindy had been here. What on Earth was she up to? If she’d been running away, it stood to reason she would have wanted her things—it would have taken only minutes to pack. Was she trying to fool them, keep them all off balance? Or was there something worse going on?
    Ashley looked as confused as Jack felt. Sliding into one of the green corner chairs, she stared out the glass door that led to their balcony. Her fist rested on her cheek so that Jack could not see her face. “I don’t get it,” she