I let them inside.
Emma stayed in the kitchen while we spoke in the living room. Mercer explained that Lewis had contacted her before dawn and requested to give a formal statement away from campus.
“I should have spoken yesterday,” Lewis said. “But my wife works in the school office. Halloway has threatened both our jobs before.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because we noticed things.”
He placed the envelope on the coffee table.
Inside were printed maintenance requests dating back six years. Several concerned the storage room lock. Teachers had repeatedly reported that the door could trap someone inside.
Each repair request had been marked completed.
Lewis shook his head.
“I never repaired it because the principal kept canceling the work order.”
“Why would he do that?” Mercer asked.
“He said the room needed to remain secure.”
“Were other students placed inside?”
Lewis looked toward the kitchen, making sure Emma could not hear.
“I know of three.”
The room seemed to narrow around us.
“Did you report it?” I asked.
“To Halloway. He said the teachers were using a supervised reflection space. I believed him at first.”
“What changed?”
“A boy had an asthma attack in there two years ago.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“Was emergency care called?”
“No. His parents were told he became ill during recess.”
“Do you know his name?”
Lewis nodded.
“Owen Price.”
The name was familiar. Owen had left Westbridge abruptly in second grade. Parents were told his family had moved.
