AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know that’s not what this was.”
“—against a child! You should know better, God damn it! You were married to a fucking police officer!”
Theo shook his head, lip curling.
“Do you have something to say?”
It was like watching something fall away: a mask or a disguise, like one of those dramatic Shakespearian moments of unveiling, when you realize a boy was a girl, or a statue was a woman, the kind of thing that seemed both true and real and, somehow, at the same time, so silly—because of course she was a woman, and not a statue. The real Theo sat there now, hands wrapped around the arms of the chair so tightly that his knuckles popped out, and he didn’t look like a teacher, and he didn’t look like the guy who wore those horrifying red shorts to cut the lawn, and he didn’t look like the guy who had once tried to leave the house in two different shoes because he’d been so caught up in parsing a sonnet. This man was muscle and fury and barely leashed violence, and Auggie felt that same disbelief-yet-belief, that of course this was Theo, this had been Theo the whole time.
“You didn’t have a problem when we helped you at the summer camp,” Theo said. His voice was still even. A stranger, maybe, might have said he sounded calm. “You didn’t have a problem when we bailed you out last weekend.”
“That was different.”
“Sure.”
“We didn’t have another choice.”
Theo laughed, and the sound was darkly hollow. “You and Emery really are a match, you know that?”
John-Henry’s features tightened.
Auggie spoke first. “We all need to calm down. Right now. We’re friends, right? John-Henry, you know we weren’t trying to scare or hurt Keelan. We didn’t ask those kids to do what they did, and we didn’t like it. But we did need to talk to him, and we took the opportunity when we had it. Theo, you need to take it down by a magnitude of ten. Right now.”
John-Henry opened his mouth. He closed it again. Color filled his cheeks under the perfect gold of his tan, but he rubbed his forehead, and, after a moment, closed his eyes. Theo shook himself once, like a dog. He unwrapped his hands from around the arms of the chair. His fingertips, Auggie noticed now, were bloodless.
“Ok,” John-Henry said. “Ok.” He opened his eyes. “Keelan’s parents are not happy. To say the least. You’re lucky, though, that Keelan isn’t saying anything. All they know is that you guys were talking to him, and he seemed freaked out.”
“He’s not saying anything,” Theo said, the words sounding like they were coming from somebody else, “because he doesn’t want to get busted for possession.”
John-Henry let out a breath and nodded.
In the distance, the fax machine screeched.
“Let’s try this again,” John-Henry said. “What’s going on? I got the message you sent me, but I want to hear it from you.”
So, they told him: Shaniyah’s planned TikTok investigation into Leon’s disappearance, the videos they’d found in the cloud, the fight between Keelan and Leon.
When they’d finished, John-Henry said, “All right.”
“What do you mean, all right?” Theo said. “Did you hear what we just told you?”
“I heard you, Theo. I’m trying to figure out what to make of it.” He was quiet for a moment, running one hand along the edge of the desk. “You told Ree that you’re not sure if this has something to do with the Cottonmouth Club.”
“We can’t prove there’s a connection,” Auggie said.
“But that’s what’s going on here; we found that class ring, and then a kid doesn’t show up for school. I’m not stupid.” John-Henry flashed them a tired smile. “Don’t hold me to that.”
“It’s a strange coincidence, though.” Auggie moved forward in his seat. “You see it.”
In the lull that followed, a man’s voice echoed clearly from the bullpen: “What got your Jockeys in a wad?”
Theo let out an amused noise. “Was that Foley?”
“He doesn’t grow up,” John-Henry said. “He just gets older.” He was silent again, and then he said, “I understand that you’re worried about a missing student.”
“Two missing kids,” Theo said and held up two fingers.
“But that’s the problem, Theo. I’m not trying to be difficult or a hard-ass, but can you see it from my side? You want me to investigate; I understand that. But I’ve got nothing to prove that these kids are missing. Leon Purdue is emancipated. He can go where he wants, do what he wants. If he wants to pick up and leave without saying goodbye to anyone, he can. That’s his right. I’ll ask around—and I’ll have a chat with this teacher, see what he says. But if I’m being honest, I’ve got to tell you that I think you’re overreacting. The same thing goes for this girl. Shaniyah’s aunt and uncle said she’s fine. Why would they lie?”
