Dinosaur Blackout Read Online Free PDF Page B

imagine being a thief, but moments later Cheryl’s nap waking-up chatter disturbed him. He hurried upstairs to retrieve her.
    From her room, he waved out the window at Mom to let her know that he was taking care of his little sister. Putting her socks and shoes on, he led her downstairs and into the yard where Leanne and Lindsay snagged her and ran to the sandbox to play. Dactyl joined them with happy barks.
    “Has Todd returned yet?” Daniel asked, sitting down at the picnic table beside Mom.
    “No, but that’s okay. None of us feel much like working today anyway.”
    Darn! Daniel would have to be patient until he could talk to Todd.
    “Someone’s in a hurry,” commented Greta, motioning to the vehicle speeding down the gravel road in their general direction.
    “Wonder where they’re headed?” Daniel watched as waves of gravel dust swirled over the fields in the car’s wake.
    All of a sudden, the driver applied the brakes and skidded towards their approach.
    “Who is that maniac?” Greta asked.
    Within seconds, the 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity turned down their drive and screeched to a halt a few yards from where they sat.
    “Adrian McDermott! From the newspaper office,” Mom answered.
    They all stared as the young man emerged and ran over to the passenger side, where he pulled out camera equipment, a tape recorder and a microphone. Flinging the straps on his shoulders, equipment dangling across his chest, Adrian McDermott looked like a pack mule. He hurried towards them in a clatter of banging gear.
    “Good morning, ma’am. I’m here to interview you about your new developments.” Daniel noticed the young man wasn’t much taller than his mom. He was dressed in casual pants, a shirt and a blazer with patches on the elbows. His green eyes glowed with keen interest and he had a friendly smile on his face.
    “I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted trip. There’s nothing we can tell you since the last story you did,” Mom said, with a pleasant smile.
    “I heard something unusual was going on here with your dinosaur operation.” He set his gear on the ground. “I just want to be the first to break the news.” He reached for his tape recorder and swung the microphone towards Mom.
    “Mr. McDermott,” Mom said firmly. “I’m sorry you came all the way out here on a wild goose chase, but...”
    “Can you at least confirm that the rcmp came to your farm early this morning?”
    Daniel felt his pulse racing. He was torn between wanting to give Adrian the story to get help in locating the missing fossils, yet hoping his mom would keep it secret. Mom’s face was flushed and he could see her wrestling with how to be nice yet get him to leave without telling him what was going on. Daniel moved closer to her.
    Mom shook her head. “We don’t have anything that we can tell you at the moment.”
    “Something must have happened.” He stared from one to the other. “I know they were here.”
    Greta shrugged, giving him a quick smile. “Well then, you already know the answer to your question.”
    The reporter picked up his camera bag. “I won’t push it for now, but how about you promise me that when you’re ready to talk that it’ll be my exclusive story.”
    “If and when there is something of interest for the public to know, we’ll be sure to let you know,” said Mom, with an encouraging smile. “In the meantime, you might want to follow the story about the oil spill.”
    McDermott’s face became animated. “When? Where?”
    Daniel gave him quick directions, but before he’d even finished explaining, McDermott scrambled to his car and shoved all his equipment in beside him. Within moments, he gunned the car and whirled off.
    “That certainly is a dedicated young man!” Greta said.
    “I wonder how he got his information about the theft so quickly, though,” Mom said.
    Daniel chewed on his lip as he pondered the question. They’d been very careful to keep their knowledge about the Stygimoloch theft