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If he hadn’t got such a kick out of the hacking, he wouldn’t have kept doing it. But after that house, there had been others. He became pretty good at getting into people’s computers. He saw their private information, but he never took anything or changed anything. He never did any harm. He never left any sign that he’d been there.
It had been a mistake to tell Mark what he was doing. If only Mark hadn’t sent that stupid text—
Raleigh is startled by the sound of his name being called over the PA system. All eyes turn to him automatically, then shift away. He packs up his books and saunters casually to the door. But he’s painfully self-conscious. He can feel his face flush slightly.
He makes his way down three flights of stairs to the office, the sweat blooming on his skin. He never gets called down to the office. He’s afraid that this has something to do with the break-ins. Are the police here? Were there cameras somewhere and he missed them? Maybe someone saw him coming out of the house and recognized him. He fights the urge to grab his things from his locker and avoid everything by just going home and hiding in his bedroom.
When he gets to the office he’s swept with relief when he sees his mom there waiting for him. No police in sight.
‘We have an appointment,’ she says. ‘Get your things. I’ll wait in the car out front.’
His anxiety spikes again.
As they drive downtown to the lawyer’s office, it is painfully silent in the car. His dad works downtown in the central business district and will meet them there. Raleigh spends the time worrying about what the lawyer will say.
The law office is intimidating. He’s never been in one before. It’s on the top floor of an office building, all glass doors and sleek furnishings. One look and he knows that this must be costing his parents a lot of money.
His dad is already in the reception area and will barely meet his eyes. Raleigh sits miserably, waiting with his parents. They’re obviously embarrassed to be here, pretending to read copies of The New Yorker. Raleigh doesn’t even pick up a magazine; he just stares at his feet, missing his phone.
It’s not long before they’re ushered down a quiet, carpeted hall into a spacious office with an impressive view of the river. The lawyer behind the large desk gets up and shakes hands with each of them. Raleigh knows his hands are clammy with nerves; the lawyer’s hands are cool. Raleigh takes an instant dislike to Emilio Gallo, a heavyset man who stares at him, sizing him up.
‘So. Tell me what this is all about, Raleigh,’ Gallo says.
Raleigh glances at his mom; he doesn’t dare look at his dad. He thought his parents would do all the talking and that he would just sit here and look sorry and do whatever he’s told. But his mom refuses to catch his eye. So he tells the lawyer the same story he told his parents, terrified that Gallo will be able to see through him. He doesn’t want the lawyer to know how many houses he’s broken into, or the extent of his computer expertise, what he’s capable of doing. All he actually did was hack in and look around and get out. That’s the truth. He could have done a lot more.
‘I see,’ the attorney says when he’s finished. He smooths his tie with his fingers. ‘So you haven’t been caught.’
‘No,’ Raleigh says.
‘That’s breaking and entering, and trespassing,’ the attorney says. ‘And the computer stuff is even worse. The state of New York takes these kinds of crimes very seriously. Are you aware of New York Penal Code Section 156?’
Raleigh shakes his head, terrified.
‘I didn’t think so. Let me educate you.’ He leans forward and pins Raleigh with his eyes. ‘Under section 156, “unauthorized use of a computer” – that’s a crime. That’s when you gain access to or use a computer without the permission of the rightful owner. That’s a Class A misdemeanour. People get fines and even a bit of jail time for that. It goes up from there. Are you absolutely sure you haven’t taken or copied anyone’s data, or deleted or changed anything on their computers? Because that’s tampering, and you could go to jail for up to fifteen years for that.’
Raleigh swallows. ‘No, I just looked. That’s all.’
‘And sent those emails. That’s identity theft.’
‘Identity theft?’ his father says sharply.
‘He wrote emails from someone else’s account,’ the lawyer reminds them, ‘pretending to be that person.’
‘Surely a prank email doesn’t constitute identity theft,’ his father says, looking appalled.
‘Well, you wouldn’t want to risk it, would you? People don’t take kindly to having their privacy invaded.’ The lawyer focuses his sharp eyes on Raleigh, who feels himself shrink further down into his chair. ‘And there’s always the possibility of a civil suit. This is America, and people are very litigious. And that can get very expensive.’
There’s a long, horrified pause. Clearly his parents hadn’t thought of that. Raleigh certainly hadn’t.
Finally, his mother says, ‘I thought he should apologize to these people, maybe make reparations, but my husband was against it.’
‘No, your husband is right,’ Gallo says, looking astonished. ‘He definitely should not apologize. That would be tantamount to confession to a crime, or crimes.’
Then she says, ‘What if he sent them a letter, anonymously, to apologize?’
‘Why the hell would he do that?’ his dad says.
The lawyer says, shaking his head, ‘I’m sorry, that’s a lovely gesture, and I’m just a cynical criminal lawyer, but that would be very foolish. Far better that these people don’t know that he was ever there at all.’
Raleigh notices his mom flush a bit at the rebuke.
‘Tell me more about this other boy, Mark,’ Gallo says. ‘Who’s he?’
‘He’s a friend at school.’
‘How much does he know?’
‘Just that I broke into a couple of houses. And that I snooped in the computers.’
‘Is he likely to rat you out?’
‘No way,’ Raleigh says firmly.
‘How can you be so sure?’ the lawyer asks.
Raleigh suddenly isn’t sure. But he says, ‘I just know.’
‘Anything on any social media we need to worry about?’
Raleigh reddens and shakes his head. ‘I’m not a complete idiot.’
The lawyer sits back in his chair and looks as if he disagrees. Then he glances at both of Raleigh’s parents. ‘My advice is to sit tight and do nothing. If no one’s come forward and the police haven’t knocked at your door, consider yourselves lucky. But let me remind you, young man’ – and here he leans forward and pins Raleigh again with his sharp, shrewd eyes – ‘luck always runs out. So I strongly advise you to leave off your life of crime right now, because if you’re caught, you’re definitely looking at juvie.’
Raleigh swallows nervously, and on that note, they get up to leave.
Olivia doesn’t say a word on the way home. Her thoughts are in turmoil. She’s furious at Raleigh, and furious at the situation. She regrets, now, those two anonymous letters. She’s not going to tell anyone about them, but now she’s worried that they may come back to haunt her somehow. She hears the lawyer’s voice in her mind, saying, that would be very foolish.
