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until we know if we’re dealing with anything at all. Who knows?” I forced a smile. “Maybe Eric’s right and this is all in my head.”
    But I don’t think even Eric believed that anymore.

5
SPACE CASE
    THE NEXT DAY, BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED, ERIC AND I MET SAVANNAH IN front of the doors. “So where’s Howard?”
    Eric pointed at a kid sitting on the stoop, his face buried in a book even thicker than most of the ones in Dad’s office. Our school wasn’t that big, but I don’t think I’d ever talked to this kid before—or even seen him. I guess he didn’t rate among Savannah’s lunchtime companions. Howard Noland had unruly black hair and wore a faded green T-shirt with frayed edges. As I watched, he sneezed, then rubbed the back of his hand across his nose.
    Savannah pursed her lips. “This is a terrible idea.”
    â€œYou have a better one?” Eric asked her.
    â€œNo, but let’s do it quick, before anyone catches us talking to him.”
    I was already striding toward Howard, the printouts clutched firmly in my hands.
    Savannah and Eric trotted along behind me, still arguing.
    â€œYou might have had PE with Howard for a few months,” Savannah was saying, “but I’ve known him for years. And I’m telling you, this is not going to go well.”
    â€œWhat makes you think that?” he shot back.
    I reached him. “Hi,” I said, but he didn’t look up from his book. “Are you Howard? I’m Gillian Seagret—”
    â€œI know who you are,” he said, eyes still on the book. “You’re the one who doesn’t believe in the moon landing.”
    Savannah turned to Eric, her eyes flashing in triumph. “See?”
    â€œPoint taken,” said Eric.
    â€œNo,” I corrected Howard. Dad and I might like conspiracies, but we weren’t crackpots . “I think Apollo 11 landed on the moon. I just don’t think NASA did a live broadcast of it.” What, did this kid keep tabs of every time NASA was mentioned at school? I’d made one comment at lunch one day. . . . “They claimed there were problems with the cameras that kept Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong in the lander for a full hour after—”
    Now Howard looked up from his book, but his gazetraveled no farther than my knees. “Actually, the truth is that NASA wanted them to take a five-hour sleep period but they were too excited and wanted to go down right away—”
    â€œWhich also doesn’t make sense if they were planning a live broadcast for prime time!” I argued. “That would have put the broadcast at four a.m. Remember, this is the America that accidentally caught Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed President Kennedy, getting shot on live TV earlier in the decade. Do you really think NASA wanted to risk the world watching Neil Armstrong get eaten by green moon monsters, too?”
    â€œWait. There aren’t green moon monsters,” said Savannah. “Are there?”
    â€œThey delayed the broadcast,” I stated firmly. “It’s the only rational explanation.”
    â€œRational!” Howard blurted. “Do you even know the definition of that word?”
    Eric cleared his throat and stepped between us. “Anyway,” he said, glaring at me. “We were wondering, Howard, if you could help us out with a little puzzle. Gillian?” he prompted.
    I thrust the papers at Howard.
    â€œWhat is this?” he asked, drawing back from them like they might bite. “More NASA conspiracy theories?”
    â€œMaybe,” Eric admitted.
    â€œIt’s a riddle,” said Savannah. “Something to do with space—stars, planets, stuff like that. Anyway, it was written by a NASA scientist and we thought if anyone in this town could figure it out, it would be you.” She batted her eyelashes at him.
    He didn’t seem to notice, probably because he