Stacey was right about the fire alarm. It’s just a drill. Even so, the university staff is taking it seriously. A woman outside the sports complex is timing how long it takes for everyone to get out. The guy from building services—the one we met at the cafeteria the other day—is directing us away from the building and onto the lawn. “Leave room for the fire truck,” he bellows, even though we all know no fire truck is coming.
We all head for our usual picnic table. I wonder why people are so quick to form habits. Maybe it’s because the world around us is always changing, and habits are a way to hang on to things we’re familiar with. Maybe even grownups have trouble with change. Maybe that’s why Mom is so fixated on security, and Dad can’t handle mess.
Today is the second-to-last day of forensics camp, and when it is over, I am going to miss it and the friends I have made here. Nico and Muriel will fly home to Vancouver on Saturday. But they will be back next summer, and I hope I will still see Stacey and Nathaniel around. I bet Patti will like them. Even Mason is not as bad as I thought. Maybe I just resented being forced to hang out with him all these years, and I couldn’t see that he has some good qualities—though I’d rather not admit that to him. Besides, I’ve spent so many years giving Mason a hard time, I can’t really imagine treating him any differently. Another example of a habit.
Lloyd and Samantha debate what to do with us for the next half hour. Lloyd thinks there is no point going to the pool, since by the time they let us back into the building and we get changed, there will be hardly any time left for swimming. Why am I not surprised when Samantha suggests we do jumping jacks? I think she likes keeping us busy.
Mason groans when he hears about the jumping jacks. “It’s much too hot for vigorous exercise,” he says. “Jumping jacks could cause heat stroke.”
In the end, Lloyd wins and we get half an hour of free time. Muriel checks her cell phone to see if there are any new emails from the dog guy, but there aren’t. Stacey goes to talk to the manager of the coffee shop, who is having a cigarette under a birch tree.
Mason and Nathaniel are sitting across from each other at the picnic table. “What made him so special?” I hear Mason ask.
At first I think they are talking about the Pomeranian, but then I hear Nathaniel say, “I guess it’s that he really got me. Like nobody else.”
Mason does not say anything—he just nods and takes in what Nathaniel has said. Which is when I have another realization: Mason may not be a scintillating conversationalist, but he knows how to listen.
“It’s different with my dad,” Nathaniel says. “Sometimes I get the feeling he’s evaluating me. Wondering if I’m tough enough to be a cop like him. Grandpa never made me feel like that. Not even once.”
“Do you really want to be a cop?” Mason asks.
“I dunno. I think so. I thought so.” Nathaniel kicks at the grass underneath the picnic table. “My grandpa was a science teacher. He would’ve thought forensics camp was cool.”
When a cop car turns up outside the Life Sciences Building, I figure it has something to do with the fire drill. So I’m surprised when Nathaniel’s dad comes striding out. When he stops to survey the scene, I notice he has perfect posture. Maybe they teach that at police academy. His eyes land on Nathaniel and Mason, and he curls his index finger to signal that he wants to talk to Nathaniel.
“Crap,” Nathaniel mutters. “What’s my dad doing here?”
I am wondering that too, only I am too far away to hear their conversation. I have to settle for observing from a distance. Nathaniel’s dad appears to be asking Nathaniel something, and Nathaniel is shaking his head. Now his dad is wagging his finger. I can tell he is upset.
Samantha goes over to them and shakes Nathaniel’s dad’s hand. It looks like she is asking if there is something she can do to help. She does not seem intimidated about talking to a cop. Maybe forensics students take courses about dealing with the police.
Nathaniel’s dad puts his hands on his hips. Now it looks like he is upset with Samantha too. And then he is raising his voice, and I can make out a few words. Willy. Wedding. Grandpa.
Nathaniel keeps shaking his head. When he tries to speak, his dad jabs his finger in Nathaniel’s face. I don’t think I would like having a cop for a father. Or this particular cop anyway.
Nathaniel’s dad points at the police cruiser. Samantha says something, but Nathaniel’s dad ignores her.
When Nathaniel comes back to the picnic table, we are all hoping that whatever the problem is, it’s fixed. But Nathaniel hangs his head in a way I have never seen him do before. Like he is defeated. This is not the Nathaniel I am used to.
“Everything okay?” Mason asks.
“No.” Nathaniel grabs his backpack from under the bench. He does not look at us when he speaks. “My dad thinks I had something to do with Willy’s disappearance. He’s taking me home. He says he won’t let me leave until I tell him where Willy is.”
“On the double now!” Nathaniel’s dad calls out. “You know how I feel about waiting!”
Nathaniel runs back to his dad. His shoulders are slumped.
“That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard,” I say. “Why would someone dognap their own dog?”
“Technically, at least, it’s not his dog. It was his grandfather’s dog,” Muriel says when Nathaniel is out of earshot.
“You don’t really think he did it, do you?” I ask Muriel.
“He might’ve.”
“Anything is possible,” Nico adds.
“But why?” I ask.
Stacey picks up a plastic wrapper from underneath the picnic table. “He told us he’s upset with his grandmother for falling in love with that guy from the bereavement group. This could be his way of getting back at her.”
“I honestly don’t know what to think,” Mason says.
I turn to look at Mason. “I thought you two were buds.”
Samantha and Lloyd come to sit down at the picnic table. “It’s too bad Nathaniel had to leave,” Samantha says.
“You don’t honestly think he’s a dognapper, do you?” I ask Samantha.
Samantha tucks some red hair behind her ear. Nathaniel’s dad was rude to her, and I wonder if for once she is going to show some emotion.
“I haven’t seen any evidence. But I will say Nathaniel’s dad seems pretty certain Nathaniel did something with his grandmother’s dog.”