“Of course.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Ike said. “I’ll discuss it with his parents.”

“I don’t care,” Theo said. “Take them. You won’t find any of my prints on those tablets because I’ve never touched them. And if you want to you can give me a lie detector test, fine. I have nothing to hide.”

“We’ll see,” Vorman said. The detectives were suddenly in a hurry to leave. Hamilton flipped his notepad shut and stuck it in a coat pocket. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Gladwell,” he said, standing. “And thanks, Theo, for your cooperation. Mr. Boone, it’s been a real pleasure.”

After they left, Theo sat down in the chair that Hamilton had used. “There’s something else we need to talk about,” he said, and Ike fell into the other chair. As Mrs. Gladwell listened intently, Theo described his two slashed tires, one of which happened on school property. When Theo recounted the story of the rock crashing into his office the day before, Ike said, “Someone’s after you.”

“No kidding,” Theo said.

Chapter 9

Not surprisingly, the situation changed dramatically when Theo’s mother got involved.

Theo called her during lunch, and fifteen minutes later she was at the school, in Mrs. Gladwell’s office, demanding answers. She was furious that Theo had been interrogated by the police without his parents being present, but Mrs. Gladwell assured her that Theo handled himself well. He was cautious with his answers and gave the officers as little information as possible. The search of his locker was unavoidable because the school had the right to open it for any good reason. School policy required Mrs. Gladwell and all other administrators to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials in all situations.

Mrs. Boone initially wanted to take Theo from school, to her office, and then to the police station. Mrs. Gladwell, though, thought it wiser to wait until classes were over. Theo had already been yanked out of class once that Wednesday, and to do so again would only create even more suspicion. Just keep things as normal as possible, she advised. Then she went on to discuss the rest of Theo’s rather exciting week. Theo had not yet told his parents about his slashed tires and the first locker break-in, and his mother was shocked to learn of these episodes. She was more than a bit irritated that Theo had kept it all quiet.

As she was leaving, she asked Mrs. Gladwell to give Theo strict instructions to go straight to the office after school.

At 3:30, Detective Hamilton was waiting in Mr. Mount’s classroom. He had called Mr. Mount and asked him to “invite” Darren, Woody, Chase, Joey, and Ricardo to hang around after school for a brief meeting. With Mr. Mount present, the detective spoke with each boy separately, and briefly. Darren was first, and after establishing the exact location of his locker in an enlarged photo, the detective asked, “What time did you first go to your locker this morning?”

Darren shrugged and said, “When I got to school, just before homeroom.”

“And homeroom begins when?”

“Eight forty.”

“Why did you go to your locker?”

“To get some books and drop off some books, same as always.”

“Did you see Theo Boone at the locker this morning?”

Darren thought for a second, shrugged again, and said, “I don’t think so. I think Theo was already in homeroom.”

“Who do you remember seeing at your locker this morning?”

Another pause as he pondered the question. “Ricardo, maybe Woody. Just some of the guys. I really didn’t stop and think about who I was seeing at the time. We’re usually in a hurry to get to homeroom.”

“Did you see anyone near the lockers who didn’t belong there?” Hamilton asked slowly.

“Like who?”

“Like anybody who shouldn’t have been hanging around your lockers?”

“Did somebody do something wrong?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out, Darren. Did you see a stranger around the lockers at any time before ten o’clock this morning?”

“A stranger? Like an adult?”

“An adult, another student, anyone who would not normally be hanging around the locker area on this end of the hallway?”

Another, longer pause, then he slowly shook his head. “No, sir, I didn’t see anyone like that.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary?”

“No, sir.”

Similar conversations were had with the other boys. Only Chase remembered bumping into Theo that morning at the lockers, and, no, Chase did not see Theo remove books or other items from his backpack. Detective Hamilton was careful not to reveal what had been found in Theo’s locker, and he was careful not to give the impression that their friend was in hot water.

At 4:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, Theo and his parents, and Ike, too, walked into the police station on Main Street, two blocks east of the courthouse. They were met by Detective Vorman, who led them down a flight of stairs to a small room in the cramped basement. After offering them something to drink—all declined—Vorman got down to business. He and Mrs. Boone had already spoken twice by phone that afternoon, so there would be no surprises.

Theo would voluntarily give a statement, with plenty of legal advice nearby, and Vorman would record it by video camera and audiotape. Theo had assured his parents that he had nothing to hide and knew nothing about the break-in or the stolen goods.

He began with Monday and the first episode with his locker. He covered the two slashed tires and said that Gil at Gil’s Wheels could confirm those details. He explained, again, that he had not told his parents because he simply had not had the time or opportunity. He described the large rock crashing into his office the day before. With Vorman serving up easy questions, Theo finally got around to the stolen tablets in his locker. He had gone to his locker just a few minutes before homeroom, same as always. The hall was crowded, noisy, just like the day before and the day before that. He opened the locker with his code and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He was paying close attention to the contents of his locker because of what happened on Monday. He was certain the Linx Tablets were not in his locker at that time. He did not see anyone unusual hanging around—no strange adults, no students from other classes, grades, or classrooms. He was not aware of any other person with knowledge of his code. He did not know of similar incidents involving unauthorized entry into a locker at the school.

Theo spoke slowly and carefully, and repeated his statements when asked to do so. To his left was his mother, to his right, his father. Ike was at the end of the table, still irritated that the police would dare suspect his nephew. Detective Hamilton sat directly across from Theo and patiently walked him through the process. A video camera on a tripod stood next to Hamilton and recorded it all.

Theo gave an accurate and detailed summary of his brief run-in with Officer Stu Peckinpaw Tuesday night, and explained the circumstances surrounding it. He was certain that he had never been inside Big Mac’s Systems. He suggested they check the store’s sales records to prove he had never bought anything there.

When he finished, the camera and recorder were turned off and everyone relaxed. Detective Hamilton explained that they would postpone the fingerprinting because there was not a single print taken from any of the three tablets. There was nothing to compare with Theo’s prints. “Someone was very careful,” Hamilton said, looking at Theo. “Wiped everything off, probably used gloves.”

Theo was unable to tell if Hamilton still suspected him. Like all good detectives, he revealed little and acted as though anyone could be guilty.

“What about the anonymous caller,” Ike asked. “Any luck tracing his call?”

“Sort of,” Hamilton answered abruptly, and it was obvious he did not want to be pressed by Ike. “It came from a pay phone near the hospital, so it will be difficult to determine who made the call.”