The Fires Beneath the Sea ebook Read Online Free PDF Page B

dad when they pulled into the parking lot. “I’ll wait here.”
    She wove through the milling crowds in the nature center lobby till she found Jax standing beneath a display on crabs, with a giant pink crab model in the middle. He was typing on his phone.
    Of course, it was more than a phone. It was one of those all-you-can-eat smartphone deals: GPS, video, Internet, blah blah blah. You could point it at a star in the night sky, and it would tell you the name of the constellation.
    Jax was the most teched-out family member by far. He had to be, according to him. Data are key.
    “Hi, Cara. The European green crab, Carcinus maenas , is believed to consume approximately $44 million in New England shellfish per year,” he said, then looked up from the phone and smiled sweetly.
    “Very interesting,” she said, taking his hand. “Want to go see whales?”
    “ Carcinus maenas is among the 100 worst invasive species in the world,” he went on.
    “I need to talk to you in private,” she said, steering him out through the front doors toward the car. “Once we’re on the whale boat. Dad’ll probably get talking to Teddy and then come and find me. OK?”
    “Sure,” said Jax easily, and slid into the backseat.
    “Hello, Jackson,” said their dad. “Did the camping session come to a satisfactory conclusion?”
    “Enh,” said Jax, and shrugged. “I give it a 6.8. High marks for red-tailed hawks, eels, and square-backed marsh crabs. Low marks for food. Too much Chex Mix. Mid-range marks for so-called leadership. I like that guy Robin, he’s nice, but Amy, the other counselor? Everything she says goes up at the end like a question. Even if it’s not an interrogative at all. ‘This is a nature experience? So I’d like you to put away all your portable electronics? That means you Jax?’ Or when I was collecting specimens, she goes, ‘I don’t think picking that up is too appropriate ?’ Like that.”
    “Possibly insecure,” said their dad, nodding sagely.
    “Dim bulb,” said Jax.
    “So we’re going to P-town to see whales,” went on their dad. “Did Cara tell you? Last time we were out on a whale-watching boat, you were five. Do you remember?”
    “There is ample evidence that cetaceans are stressed by whale-watching ecotourism, which can affect their behavior, migration, and breeding,” said Jax.
    “But you’re the guy who brings baby frogs into his bedroom, then leaves them under a cushion,” said Cara. “Doesn’t that affect their behavior, migration, and whatever?”
    “Few frog species participate in seasonal migrations,” said Jax.
    “Argh,” said Cara.
    At the end of the gangplank, her dad was clapped heartily on the back by the captain, an old friend. Like his namesake stuffed bear, Teddy was big, puffy, and comforting.
    “Welcome aboard, Sykes family,” he boomed. “Lemme show you my latest gadgets.” And he toured them around the boat, pointing out computer hardware and fancy seat covers.
    He was trying to be jovial, Cara could tell, but once he leaned close to her dad and said something low. Her dad shook his head, and Teddy gripped his shoulder as though to strengthen him.
    They were talking about her mother, obviously. Her parents’ friends didn’t like to ask about her mother being missing in front of her or Max or Jax, she’d noticed—as if, when they acted like everything was business as usual, that would keep the kids happy….
    Finally the boat motored away from the pier and Cara was able to get Jax alone at the rail while their dad, who barely knew Mac from PC and claimed to believe that cell phones “might well be the Devil’s handiwork,” pretended to be interested in Teddy’s new high-tech gadgets.
    She told Jax about the driftwood message, quickly and half whispering.
    “Max thinks I’m crazy,” she said when she finished, and rolled her eyes, ready for Jax to make fun of her, too.
    But his small face looked serious.
    “Jax? What is it?”
    “I don’t