He reread the list that Gaby had created of all the potential suspects and added a few more names. And then, after a sip of Earl Grey, he got to work.
He figured it out by camera number four.
While most other students walked normally from class to class, Victor Cho kept his head low as he passed each camera. He was a master at minimizing his screen time, as if he knew exactly how each camera was oriented and where to walk to avoid them. He didn’t talk to many people in view of a camera, and when he did, he covered his mouth. And although he never spoke to Rob and Thom, their expressions clearly indicated that they not only knew who Victor was, but that they answered to him.
In retrospect, Jackson thought, he should have immediately made Victor the number one suspect. Victor had more than enough money to pay off Eric Caan and Kayla Hall. He was certainly smart enough — he didn’t win all those chess competitions with his looks — and he had no problem letting others know just how intelligent he was. And he had the motivation. Although Jackson had never publicly said anything about the Election Job, there were plenty of rumors floating around school about Victor’s involvement, and how he had sold the team out to Keith. The Chess Team even kicked him out because of it.
Finally, Victor had been a part of the crew. He knew them better than anyone.
Jackson picked up his phone. A few rings later, Charlie answered.
“Are you looking for Gaby?” he asked. “She’s not —”
“I’m calling for you,” Jackson said. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore,” Charlie said. “Just thinking about walking makes my legs hurt. And you?”
“Less sore. More mad,” Jackson said. “How are those tweaks to the plan coming along?”
“Good, I think. Just need the name of our mastermind.”
Jackson looked back at the image of Victor frozen on his screen. “Well, today’s your lucky day.”
Gaby took in a deep, cold breath of air as she and Charlie walked toward Hashemi’s house. Sunday had seemed to drag on forever — first mass, then a big lunch with her tías, and then hours of homework. But when four o’clock hit, their mother let them leave the house, as long as they promised to be back by dinner.
She rubbed her hands together. She hadn’t seen Jackson since Friday night, and they had plenty to talk about, like that whole boyfriend/girlfriend conversation. But Jackson had been tied up all weekend with Charlie, working on “something big.” The few times she emailed him, he refused to tell her what the plan was. All he would say was that Charlie would be running the crew. She thought that would have made Charlie giddy. Instead, he seemed to grow more and more pale the closer they got to Hashemi’s.
They were the last to arrive at the shed. The others had already crowded around the worktable.
Charlie waved feebly. “Hey, guys.”
“Finally,” Megan said. She turned to Jackson. “Now will you explain what’s going on? You’ve got a new plan, right?”
“We’ve got a new plan,” he replied, nodding toward Charlie. “Charlie’s going to walk us through it.”
The shed seemed deathly quiet as Charlie and Gaby joined the others at the table. Charlie peeled off his coat, exposing his sweat-soaked T-shirt. Jackson raised his eyebrows at Gaby, but she just shrugged.
“Okay, guys, so, as you know, we ran into a few speed bumps on Friday night,” Charlie began. He was looking at his notepad, but Gaby was pretty sure he wasn’t reading it. The page was blank. “But like Jackson said, we have a plan.”
“Please tell me we’re going to get Victor too,” Megan said.
Charlie nodded. “Absolutely. Well, probably. I mean, there are some challenges — nothing serious … A few rocks in the road … A boulder or two at most, but —”
“What Charlie is trying to say is that as long as Victor stays true to character, we’re confident that we’ll get all three of them,” Jackson said.
Megan crossed her arms. “And what about Kayla the Cheat?”
“I think, given the circumstances, that Victor, Rob, and Thom are good enough,” Jackson said.
“And Kayla’s not really a bad guy,” Hashemi said. “At least, I don’t think so.”
Megan leaned toward Jackson. “I’ve been thinking about Kayla’s computer system …”
“Megan …” Jackson began.
“I’m not suggesting that we break into her house. Although, if we did, we could —”
“We’ll discuss this later,” Jackson said. “After the briefing.”
“So what’s the plan, Jackson?” Bradley asked. He shook his head. “I mean, Charlie.”
Charlie flipped the page and focused on his notes. “First we’re going to, um … meet with Victor. And then we’re going to, um …”
“Since Victor and Kayla have a way to control the cameras, maybe you should start by explaining how we’re going to deal with that threat,” Jackson said.
“Yeah, um …” Charlie took a deep breath. “We have to, uh … even the odds….” He licked his lips. “So we’re going to … um …”
“Okay, let’s take a quick time-out,” Jackson said as he rose from the table. He led Charlie away from the group. “Dude, get a grip. Why are you so nervous?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “What if things go wrong?”
“That’s why we plan.”
“But Victor almost caught us.”
“But he didn’t. And he won’t.” Jackson looked back at the group. “It’s a good plan, Charlie. You have to believe that. Because if you don’t, why would you expect them to?” He punched Charlie’s shoulder. “Remember Rule Number Eight: Never let them see you sweat, even if it’s ninety-nine degrees outside.”
Charlie choked. “You read the de la Cruz Rules of Engagement?”
“Bradley emailed them to me yesterday. They’re … interesting.”
“They’re still a work in progress —”
“They’re in beta?” Jackson laughed. “Hash would love that.” Then he stopped smiling. “Look, don’t try to go up there and be me. Just be yourself,” he said. “They’re your crew, but they’re also your friends. Just talk to them like you always do.”
Charlie nodded. “Be myself. Okay. I can do that.”
Jackson and Charlie rejoined the group. “Let’s try this again,” Charlie said, closing the notebook. “We’re going to …” He paused as he stole a quick glance at Jackson. Jackson flashed him a thumbs-up. “We’re going to pull an Isabel Lahiri with a Ben Kenobi, a Mutara Nebula, two Han van Meegerens, a Sue Storm, a White Elephant, a pair of Mr. Magoos, and a Super Bowl Forty-Seven.”
No one spoke for a few seconds. Finally, Megan and Hash turned to each other. “I have no idea what any of that means,” she said. “But at least he used a Star Trek reference.”
Bradley leaned toward Gaby. “Did you know that Han van Meegeren was a famous Dutch painter and art forger?” He patted his chest. “Charlie got that from me.”
“How many silent partners do you think we need?” Jackson asked.
“Two or three,” Charlie said. “I’ve already talked to Carmen about the Environmental Action Team helping out.”
“Are you sure?” Jackson asked. “It’s one thing for them to place a few extra bins in the hallway. It’s another to —”
“Trust me. I know people. They want to help.”
“Fair enough. It’s your call.” Jackson slipped on his coat. “Once the crew has calmed down, you’ll need to give them a little more explanation.”
“Hey, since Charlie is in charge, maybe he’s the one I should be talking to about Kayla,” Megan said.
Charlie shrugged. “Megan does have a point —”
“Charlie!”
“Come on, Jackson. You know we could figure out a way to get Kayla as well.”
Jackson glanced at the box of watches on the worktable. “We’ll see.”
“So where are you off to?” Bradley asked.
“I need to talk to Rob and Thom�
��. Tell them about our hiccups with breaking into the school.” He picked up a screwdriver and shoved it into his pocket. “And then I have to deliver a message to Victor Cho.”
“Do you think he’ll show up?” Charlie asked on Monday morning as he and Jackson stood in front of the toolshed in the school garden.
“He will if he wants his bike pedals back.” Jackson blew on his hands. He’d figured a mile-long walk would be a good way to get Victor’s attention. He just hoped it didn’t make Victor too late.
Finally, at 7:31, they saw Victor walking his bike across the parking lot.
Jackson tapped his watch as Victor leaned his bike against the fence. “A minute late. I guess that’s acceptable, given the circumstances.”
“Want to tell me what this is about?” Victor asked. His glasses had fogged over. “Why are we even meeting here?”
“You should know better than anyone,” Jackson said. “The security cameras aren’t aimed this way. It’s one of the only private locations on campus.”
“That is, unless you told Kayla to reorient the camera this morning,” Charlie said.
“I have no idea —”
“Don’t,” Jackson said. “You’ll save us all a lot of time.”
A smile spread across Victor’s face, and his shoulders went back as he straightened his stance. It was almost like he transformed into someone else. Someone with more confidence. Swagger.
“Took you long enough,” he said. “What tipped you off?”
“I saw the video of you dodging all the cameras,” Jackson said. “The only way to avoid them as well as you did was to know exactly where they were pointed.”
Victor rocked back and forth on his heels. “Smart. And I thought it would be Tweedledum and Tweedledee who spilled.”
“So why did you do it?” Charlie asked.
“I have my reasons.”
“You’re a liar and a cheat,” Charlie said.
“Takes one to know one.”
“Look, I don’t care why you did it,” Jackson said. “But this is how it’s going to work in the future. Even though you tried to trick us, we’re going back in to get that test. Then you’re going to hand over the hard drive and the doctored video.”
Victor crossed his arms. He had expected Jackson to say a lot of things, but not that. “You’re … actually going to sneak back in?”
“Yes,” Jackson said. “And you’re going to switch off the cameras for us.”
“Maybe I should turn in the video right now. Save us all the hassle,” Victor said as he adjusted his frames. He didn’t need to wear them — the lenses were just glass — but he liked how they made him look. “I’ve got a solid B-plus going into the final. I don’t need the test answers.”
“But Rob and Thom do,” Charlie said. “They’re not going to be too happy if they hear you’re stopping us from sneaking in. That the whole idea of us stealing the test is a cover to catch Gang Greene on video.”
Victor snorted. “What are they going to do? Squeal? If so, I’ll show Dr. Kelsey the real video of Rob and Thom flooding the school.” He grinned. “I’ve got all the angles covered.”
Jackson knocked on the toolshed. “Hear that, boys?”
The shed door swung open. Rob and Thom stepped out, and Rob tossed the two bike pedals at Victor’s feet. “You trying to double-cross us, Cho?”
Victor took a step back. “Don’t you see what Jackson’s doing? It’s classic divide and conquer.”
Thom shook his head. “So all this was really to catch them on video?”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Victor asked. “Think about it — with a real video of them breaking into the school, we could force them to steal Mrs. Clark’s exam and anything else you want. We could blackmail them until the end of the year.”
“Believe what you want,” Jackson said to Rob and Thom. “But remember, you guys aren’t the first people who Victor tried to burn.”
“But you burnt me first,” Victor said. “It’s an eye for an eye.”
Jackson spun toward Victor. Victor hadn’t been scared before, but he had also never seen Jackson angry. “You know, you’ve gone to a lot of effort and spent a lot of money just to get revenge,” Jackson said. “But you have to realize we didn’t do anything wrong during the Election Job. We didn’t force you to switch sides.”
“But you planned on it,” Victor said. “You set me up to fail.”
“Jackson,” Charlie said softly as he placed his hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “Maybe you should —”
“I’m okay,” he said, shaking Charlie off. “I just want Victor to tell me how we set him up during the Election Job. How we tricked him.”
“You … you forced Keith into —”
“Into what? Talking to you? Offering to spare the Chess Team if you flipped on us?” He shook his head. “No. We hoped you wouldn’t turn, but if you did, we wanted to be prepared to capitalize on it.” He flexed his hands. “We had contingencies in place if you hadn’t sold us out. The plan would have worked either way.”
“But you … you —”
Victor stopped talking as a car pulled into the parking lot. The boys all looked at the car, their eyes wide-open, as Valencia Bianchi and her sister, Serena, cruised past.
“We need to go,” Jackson said. “The last thing we need is Serena coming out here to check on us. Or worse, telling Dr. Kelsey that she saw us.” He frowned at Victor. “This is your fault for being late.”
“Don’t blame this on me,” Victor said. “And I’m not worried about Serena. But then again, I’m not the one suspected of flooding the school.” He picked up his bike pedals. “I promise not to try to record you again. But you’d better get us that test. If not, Kelsey gets the video.” He walked to the gate but paused before opening it. “Time’s ticking, Jackson. Get to it.”
Usually when the last bell of the day rang, Serena remained in class a few extra minutes until the hallways emptied. But today she was the first person out of the room, bumping and elbowing the other students as she fought her way to the library.
Lincoln was waiting at the door. “You sure about this?”
“Positive,” she said. “I told you — I saw them all in the garden. Jackson’s up to something, and he’s somehow got Victor, Rob, and Thom involved. Why else would they be meeting there that early in the morning?”
“Maybe they like flowers.”
“I’m being serious,” she said. “I also asked Mr. James if he noticed anything strange. Turns out, there are a couple of gaps in the videos from Friday night. It’s like the security cameras switched off and on a few times. His master keys to the teachers’ rooms were lying on his desk this morning, not on the pegboard like usual. And the security room door was unlocked.”
“It’s wintertime, Serena. The power always goes out in spurts in January.”
“But what about the keys and the door?”
“This is Mr. James we’re talking about, remember?”
“Okay, fine.” She pulled a folded sheet of paper from her purse. “I called in a favor from one of the student helpers in the guidance office. All those guys have one teacher in common. Mrs. Clark. They must be planning to cheat on her semester exam.”
“How do you know about the exam?” he asked, taking the printouts from her.
“My sister,” she said. “It was the one class that she got a B in.” Serena was probably the only student at Maplewood who hoped Mrs. Clark wouldn’t retire after the school year. She wanted as many chances as she could get to one-up her sister.
Lincoln flipped through the schedules. “You got these from James Brightwell, didn’t you?”
“What? He was happy to print out a few schedules —”
“In return for the Honor Board looking the other way when he ‘accidentally’ writes on the bathroom wall again?”
“I only told him I’d consider his helpfulness the next time he’s in trouble,” she said. “And police use informants all the time. Why can’t we?”
“Um, because we’re not the police.” He passed the printouts back to her. “You really think this is about Mrs. Clark’s exam?”
“It has to be. Remember how they were meeting in the newsroom last week? It’s right down the hallway from Mrs. Clark’s room. They were probably scoping out her classroom and the hallway. Trying to figure out a way past the cameras.”
“Wait — you think they’re going to steal the exam? Like, from her room?”
“I wouldn’t put it past Jackson,” Serena said. “Would you?”
Lincoln let out a long sigh. “If you really think that’s what he’s trying to do — and that’s a big if — we have to go to Dr. Kelsey.”
“No way. Dr. Kelsey could have ended this a long time ago if he’d just brought them before the Honor Board.”
“He didn’t have proof.”
“That’s why I’m going to get it for him,” Serena said. “I didn’t spend all those hours reviewing video just to let Dr. Kelsey swoop in and get all the glory. If Jackson’s really going to steal Mrs. Clark’s exam, I want to be the one to catch him.”
And if I catch Jackson, I’ll be a shoo-in for Honor Board chair next year.
Lincoln frowned at her, then opened the library door. “Okay. Let’s go. He’s already inside.”
He and Serena crossed the library, then stopped at a table in the corner of the room. Keith Sinclair took a bite of his candy bar but didn’t speak. He was sitting right below a sign that read NO EATING.
“Thanks for agreeing to meet,” Lincoln said.
Keith took another bite of the candy bar. “Make it quick, Miller.”
Lincoln and Serena sat down at the table. Last year, when Serena was a sixth grader, she had been enamored with Keith Sinclair. He was a starter on the basketball team and president of the Gamer Club. He seemed like such a leader. Some of her friends had even tried to flirt with him, though all that usually meant was that they went into giggle fits whenever he passed.
To Catch a Cheat Page 11
