“Excell SmartPhones?”
“I have no idea. The police do not release that type of information.”
“It gets better. On Friday, they were in the library and Jonah was studying in a cubicle, one of those on the second floor by the computer lab. He was at a desk, all hunched over, as if he was trying to hide whatever he was doing. Rodney saw him and was curious. He managed to ease behind him, and he saw Jonah playing a video game on an eight-inch screen tablet.”
“The Linx 0-4 has an eight-inch screen.”
“Exactly. And there’s no way Jonah can afford one.”
Theo took a small bite but could taste nothing. “We have to get that tablet. Somehow.”
“Any ideas?”
“No, not right now. Do you think Rodney would help?”
“I doubt it. He’s not the type of kid who’ll rat out a friend. He likes Jonah, says he’s strange and all, but he also feels sorry for the kid. I didn’t seem too interested in all of this because I didn’t want to appear too eager.”
“This is good stuff, April.”
“Can’t you just go to the police and tell them?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. Let me think about it.”
They discussed various plans, none of which seemed to work. As they were leaving, Theo thanked her again. April said she would do anything to help, legal or otherwise.
Theo headed home, but suddenly changed direction and went to see Ike.
Chapter 22
Pursuant to instructions from Mrs. Gladwell, Theo arrived at her office at 8:15 sharp on Monday morning. He sat across from her desk as she flipped through a file. She had yet to smile, as if still ticked off about the fight. “How was your weekend?” she asked, without the slightest hint of real interest.
“Okay, I guess,” Theo said. He was not there to talk about his weekend; they had other business. His weekend had been fairly lousy, and he now realized that his life would not return to normal until his good name was cleared. He was still the accused, which was a dark cloud hanging over his head.
“Let’s change the entry code to your locker,” she said. This was why she wanted to meet early, before classes started. “Do you have a new code?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s 529937.” (Lawyer.)
She wrote it down, then compared it to the other codes. “I guess this will work.”
Theo cleared his throat and said, “Mrs. Gladwell, I would like to say again how sorry I am for what happened last Thursday, you know, the fight and all. I broke the rules and I apologize.”
“I expect better behavior out of you, Theo. I’m really disappointed and I want you to avoid any more trouble.”
“I will.”
She closed the file and managed a slight smile. “Did you talk to the police over the weekend?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“Have they finished their investigation?”
“I don’t think so. As far as I know, they haven’t caught the right people.”
“Do they still suspect you, Theo?”
“As of last Friday, I was their main suspect.”
She shook her head in disbelief.
Theo thought about Ike’s advice, readjusted himself in the chair, cleared his throat, emitted an “Uh,” and gave the clear impression that what he was about to say was not easy. “Mrs. Gladwell, if you knew a student here, a seventh grader, had a cell phone on campus, what would you do?”
She leaned back in her chair and chewed the end of her pen. “Well, I would talk to his or her homeroom teacher, ask her to approach the student, and if he or she had a phone, then we would confiscate it. The normal punishment is a half-day suspension, in school. Why do you ask this, Theo?”
“Just curious.”
“No, you’re not just curious. You know a seventh grader who brings a cell phone to school, don’t you, Theo?”
“Maybe.”
She stared at him for a long time, then began to figure it out. “Could this cell phone be stolen?” she asked.
Theo nodded and said, “Could be. Not sure, but it could be.”
“I see. And could this stolen phone be linked to the break-in at Big Mac’s last week?”
Theo nodded slightly and said, “Could be. I don’t know for sure, and I’m not accusing anyone of the theft.”
“The break-in is one thing, Theo, and it’s really none of my business. The police are in charge of that. But the possession of a cell phone by a seventh grader is a violation of the rules here, on my turf. Let’s deal with that first.”
Theo stared at her but said nothing.
Another long pause. Mrs. Gladwell waited, and waited. She finally looked at her watch and said, “Okay, if you want me to help you, give me the name. If not, it’s Monday morning and I have a thousand things to do.”
“I feel like a snitch,” Theo said.
“First of all, Theo, he or she will never know you told me. Second, and much more important, you’re the prime suspect in a crime that someone else committed. If I were you, I would do everything I could to find the real criminal. Now give me the name or go to homeroom.”
Trying to appear reluctant, Theo said, “Jonah Finn.”
Ike had said he had no choice but to deliver the criminal.
The 8:50 bell rang for first period, and Mr. Krauthammer dismissed his seventh-grade homeroom. As the boys were filing out of the room, he took a few steps toward the desks, placed his hands on the shoulder of Jonah Finn, and said, “Could I see you a minute?”
When the room was empty, Mr. Krauthammer closed the door, and said, “Did I see you with a cell phone in the hall about ten minutes ago?” He, in fact, did not, but this was part of the strategy.
“No,” Jonah snapped. He took a step back and looked thoroughly guilty.
“What’s in your pockets?” Mr. Krauthammer asked, stepping toward him.
Jonah reluctantly removed a cell phone and handed it over. A half-day suspension would not bother him. He had seen worse. Mr. Krauthammer looked at the phone, an Excell 7 SmartPhone, and said, “Very nice. Come with me.”
After a brief meeting with Mrs. Gladwell, Jonah was taken to a small study room in the library where he would be confined for the next four hours, under the watchful eyes of Mrs. Dunleavy, the librarian. His books were placed on a study table as if he were expected to plow through some extra homework as part of his punishment. Instead, Jonah put his head on the table and promptly went to sleep.
Mrs. Gladwell called Detective Vorman and gave him the registration number of the cell phone.
At Strattenburg High School, second period ended at 10:30 and was followed by a twenty-minute break. Tony Lambert, Woody’s brother, tracked Jessie Finn from a distance and watched as he left the main building and walked into the large open courtyard where many of the students killed time on break and during lunch. Jessie sat by himself at a picnic table and was about to check his cell phone when Tony came out of nowhere.
“Hey, man, I hear you got some 0-4 Tablets for a good price,” Tony said, glancing around as if a drug deal was in process.
Jessie eyed him suspiciously and said, “Who are you?”
“Tony Lambert, tenth grade,” he replied, shoving a hand forward. Jessie shook it reluctantly and asked, “Oh yeah, where did you hear that?”
“Word gets around. How much are you asking?”
“For what?”
“For an 0-4. I got fifty bucks.”
“Who told you I was selling something?”
“Come on, Jessie, word gets around. I really want that tablet.”
“I don’t have anything, man. I’ve already sold it.”
“Can you get another one?”
“Maybe, but the price has gone up. Seventy-five bucks.”
“I can get seventy-five. When can you get the tablet?”
“Here, tomorrow. Same time, same place.”
“You got it.”
They shook hands and Tony left. He walked inside the main building and sent a text to Woody. No deal, maybe tomorrow.
Theo’s Monday morning had been uneventful. During homeroom, Mr. Mount made a big deal out of welcoming him and Woody back to school, and there were some smart comments from his classmates. Most, though, seemed to be proud of their two buddies for not being afraid to take a stand. In first period Spanish, Madame Monique asked Theo how he was doing and seemed a little too concerned about him. He brushed it off and said everything was fine. In second period Geometry, Mrs. Garman acted as though nothing had happened, which suited Theo just fine. During the morning break, April informed Theo that Rodney had passed along the news that Jonah Finn had been in homeroom, but then disappeared. Rodney did not know where he was.