Mr. Lewis looked at him sharply.
Mercer noticed.
“Something to add, sir?”
The custodian hesitated.
Halloway’s gaze settled on him.
“No,” Lewis said at last. “Not here.”
I recognized fear when I saw it. It did not make him weak. It meant he believed the consequences of speaking could reach beyond his job.
Sergeant Mercer gave him her card.
“You can call me privately.”
Halloway insisted that the security system had malfunctioned that morning and no footage was available. Officer Diaz requested a written statement from the technology contractor confirming the outage.
“That may take several days,” Halloway said.
“Then the system itself should not be touched until our investigator examines it,” Mercer replied.
The principal’s polite expression became strained.
Emma and I were finally allowed to leave shortly before five.
Outside, the air smelled of cut grass and approaching rain. Parents’ cars were gone, and the school’s stone buildings looked peaceful in the fading light.
Appearances had protected the place for a long time.
I buckled Emma into the back seat.
She stared through the window while I walked around the car. When I sat behind the wheel, she spoke before I could start the engine.
“Are they going to expel me?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you did not do anything that deserves punishment.”
“That doesn’t mean they won’t.”
Her answer was too perceptive for a child her age.
I turned in my seat.
