“Is it here, Jonah?” she demanded. He glanced at her, another guilty look.

“At this point, it’s important to cooperate,” Vorman said helpfully. “The judge will take it into consideration.”

“If it’s here, tell them,” she said angrily to Jonah. “There’s no sense in making the police dig through our home.”

After a long pause, Vorman said, “Look, I don’t have all afternoon and all night. I’m going to call for some extra men and we’ll start by digging through the boys’ bedrooms.”

“Tell me, Jonah!” Mrs. Finn growled.

Jonah crossed his arms, bit his bottom lip, and finally said, “In the crawl space above the garage.”

Sitting in the unmarked car, Jessie watched with horror as the policemen walked out of the garage with armloads of laptops, tablets, and cell phones. “Well, well, I guess they found everything,” Hamilton said. “Stay here.” He got out of the car to go have a look. Jessie wiped a tear off his cheek.

Linda Finn quickly got dressed and followed the police downtown. Jessie was riding in the car in front of her. Jonah was with Detective Vorman in another car. She cried all the way, asking herself—How could this happen? What had she done wrong as a mother? What would they do with her boys? How would this affect her divorce and her battle to win custody of Jonah and Jessie? Would custody be an issue if they were sent away? A hundred questions raced through her mind as the little caravan moved through the streets of Strattenburg.

At the police station, they gathered in a small room in the basement, and for the first time since that morning Jonah and Jessie were face-to-face. Jessie looked as though he wanted to punch his little brother. Jonah was thinking what a rat his big brother was. But they could say nothing.

Detective Hamilton took charge by saying, “This crime has been solved and you boys are in some serious trouble, no sense in beating around the bush. You’re not going home tonight, and you may not be home for quite a while.”

Linda started crying again. After a few sobs, she managed to ask, “Where are you taking them?

“There’s a juvenile detention center down the street. They will appear in Youth Court the day after tomorrow and the judge will decide what to do with them at that point. A formal hearing will be held in about a month. Any questions?”

A thousand questions, but none spoken.

Detective Hamilton said, “I’m going to ask Detective Vorman to explain your Miranda Rights. Listen carefully.”

Vorman slid across two sheets of paper, one for each boy. “These are the same. Number one: You have the right to remain silent. Number two: Anything you say in this meeting may be used against you in court. Number three: You have the right to an attorney, and if you can’t afford one, the court will provide you with one.”

“Just like on television,” Jessie said, the wise guy.

“You got it,” Vorman said. “Any questions? Okay, sign those forms at the bottom. Mrs. Finn, as their mother, you sign just under their names.”

The Finns reluctantly signed their names. Vorman collected the sheets of paper. Hamilton looked at Jonah and Jessie, and said, “I’ve been through this a thousand times, and I can promise you that the most important thing you can do right now to help yourselves is to cooperate. You’re guilty. We know you’re guilty. We can prove you’re guilty. So none of this pointing fingers at everybody else. The judge, the same guy who decides if you’re gonna be sent away to juvenile detention, and for how long, will ask me in court if you boys cooperated. If I say yes, he likes that. If I say no, then he frowns and doesn’t like that. Understand?”

“I want a lawyer,” Jessie said.

“We can sure get you one,” Hamilton shot back. “Scott, take him to jail.”

Vorman jumped to his feet, snapped a pair of handcuffs off his belt, grabbed Jessie by the neck, pulled him up, and cuffed his hands behind his back. He opened the door and was about to take him away when Linda slapped the table and said, “Wait a minute! I want the truth! I want you two boys to tell me the truth. Sit down, Jessie. Sit down right here and tell me what happened.”

Vorman released Jessie, who was stunned at the speed with which he got himself handcuffed. Carefully, he sat on the edge of his chair, his hands still cuffed behind his back.

When everyone took a deep breath, Jonah said, “We did it because we needed the money.”

Chapter 25

Theo was in the middle of his homework when his father’s voice came across the office phone intercom. “Hey, Theo.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Could you please step into the conference room?”

“Sure.”

Both parents were there, and his mother had been crying. “What’s the matter?” Theo asked.

“We have some good news,” his father said.

“Then why is Mom crying?”

“I’m not crying, Theo,” she said. “Not now.”

His father said, “I just talked to Detective Vorman. They’ve arrested two boys, brothers, Jonah and Jessie Finn, for the break-in at Big Mac’s. The police found most of the stolen goods in the boys’ home.”

“Their mother is my client, Theo,” Mrs. Boone said sadly.

No kidding, Theo thought, but said nothing.

Mr. Boone continued, “The boys have confessed to everything, including their little campaign of terror against you. Seems they were carrying a pretty substantial grudge because of the divorce.”

“I’m so sorry, Theo,” Mrs. Boone said. “I should have realized this.”

Theo took a deep breath and smiled and thought about Ike. His crazy uncle had solved the mystery long before anyone else had a clue. “This is great,” Theo said. “The flat tires, the rock, the Internet stuff, everything?”

“Everything,” his father said. “The break came when someone at school reported that the younger boy, the seventh grader, had a cell phone in his pocket. As you know, that’s against the rules, and the cell phone turned out to be one that was stolen from the store. One thing led to another, more stolen goods were found in the boys’ lockers, and then the police got a search warrant.”

Theo felt as though someone was reading secrets he’d written about himself. He managed to smile and nod happily along, and he wasn’t really faking it. Theo was delighted this little nightmare was over. “What’s gonna happen to them?” he asked.

“That will be determined in Youth Court,” Mrs. Boone said. “The older one, Jessie, has a record and I suspect he’ll be sent away. Jonah will probably get probation.”

“What does this do to you and your client, their mother?” Theo asked.

“I can’t represent her, Theo. I’ll withdraw tomorrow as her lawyer. Her boys attacked you because of me, and I should have realized it. I’m so sorry.”

“Please, Mom, you had no idea.”

“It’s the right thing to do, Theo,” Mr. Boone added. “We may have to appear in Youth Court and talk about what these two guys did. Your mother cannot represent Mrs. Finn when we may have to testify against her sons. I know it’s sticky, but there’s no other choice.”

Theo shrugged, secretly delighted that all Finns would be gone from Boone & Boone.

Theo was thrilled. His parents were relieved. Even Judge looked happier.

“It’s Monday,” Theo said. “I’m going to run over and see Ike.”

Bob Dylan was playing softly on the stereo. Ike was smoking a pipe and a cloud of blue fog hung over the room. Theo had sent Ike a dozen text messages throughout the day to keep him posted. His last one read: Finns arrested. Full confessions. Whoopee.

“Congratulations, Ike,” Theo said as he dropped the fifty dollars on Ike’s insanely cluttered desk. “You did it.”

Ike grinned because it was not the right moment for modesty. “What can I say? I’m a genius.”

“Beautiful, Ike. Just beautiful.”

“What kind of mood is Marcella in?”

“Not too good. She’s blaming herself.”

“She should have realized, Theo. Marcella is too smart not to have suspected something from one of her cases.”