meeting was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. sharp, but the Major expected his scouts to arrive at least five minutes early. He despised tardiness and was known to bark and growl if you showed up late for anything. Theo arrived at 3:57. Brian and Edward, two friends from Mr. Mount’s homeroom, were there, along with Sam, Isaac, and Bart, three seventh graders. All six Scouts had signed on for the Aviation merit badge, and Major Ludwig would be their counselor. He had flown fighter jets in the Marines and now worked part-time as a flight instructor at the city airport.
At first, Theo was a little awkward around Brian and Edward, his classmates. He wasn’t sure if he should feel embarrassed, or proud. How much gossip was making the rounds at school in his absence? Plenty, he figured. The Major sensed the unease and wasted no time in discussing his plans.
“This is going to be very exciting,” he began. “I’ve been flying for almost forty years, and I have loved every minute of it. We are going to study airplanes-piston engines, turboprops, and jets. We’re going to build a model airplane, powered by batteries and able to climb to an altitude of two hundred feet. This will teach you the principles of flight-airspeed, lift, drag, aerodynamics-as well as the control surfaces-the ailerons, elevators, and rudder. You will learn how to read an aeronautical chart and plot a course for a real flight, a flight you will make using some really cool simulator software. We will visit the airport here in Strattenburg, look at various airplanes, then climb up into the tower and watch the air traffic controller as he directs traffic. There’s not a lot of traffic here, but it will still be interesting to see how a controller handles things. Then, last but not least, when you’ve learned all the basics, we’ll go for a real flight. With your parents’ permission, I’ll take you up two at a time in my little Cessna. We’ll climb to about five thousand feet, and I’ll let you handle the airplane. I’ll keep my hands on the controls at all times, but you’ll get a real good feel for the airplane. We’ll do turns, climbs, and descents. We’ll pick a beautiful day so you’ll have a perfect bird’s-eye view of where we live and the land around us. How about it, men? Sound like fun?”
The six boys were in a trance, thoroughly engrossed in their upcoming adventure. All six nodded eagerly. For the moment, Theo forgot about his problems. The Major handed out Aviation merit badge booklets and outlined the assignment for their meeting next Friday, then he picked up a large model airplane, the same one he used for real instruction, and began describing its various parts.
Theo, ever the dreamer, began thinking of how cool it would be to fly airplanes-fighter jets and 747s. What a great life-first the adventure of dogfights high above the battlefield, then traveling the world as the captain of a luxury commercial airliner. He had always wanted to be a lawyer, but right now the law had lost some of its appeal. Being a pilot seemed far more exciting.
At 5:00 p.m. sharp, the Major said the meeting was over. When they gathered for the next meeting, he expected all assignments to be in perfect order. As the Scouts said their good-byes, he waited until they were almost out of the door when he said, “Say, Theo, could I have a word with you?”
“Sure, Major,” Theo said. The other Scouts got on their bikes and left. Theo and the Major stood near the door.
“None of my business,” the Major said, “but I hear things are not going too well, some kind of problem with the police involving a burglary. I’m not being nosy, Theo, I’m just concerned.”
Theo nodded and for a second thought it would be wiser to reveal nothing. However, with his face plastered all over the Internet, his name linked to the crime, and his guilt already determined, it seemed silly acting as though he couldn’t talk about it. “Yes, sir,” he said. “It looks like I’m the number one suspect.”
“So you’ve met with the police?”
“Several times.” In fact, Theo could not remember how many times. “They don’t believe me, and they seem determined to charge me with the crime.”
“That’s absurd, Theo.”
“I sure think so.”
“Look, Theo, I do some volunteer work in Youth Court. If a kid in trouble needs a volunteer, someone to listen to him and give him advice, the Court will appoint me to lend a hand. The kid has a lawyer, of course, but you know how busy lawyers are. I work with the lawyer to do what’s best for the kid. My point is that I know both of the Youth Court judges very well. I’ll be happy to get involved on your behalf if you would like, not as a volunteer because you don’t need one, but as someone who can talk to the judges off the record. The idea of accusing you of a burglary is ridiculous.”
Theo felt himself getting choked up, but managed to say, “Thanks, Major.”
“I know you’re innocent, Theo, and I’ll do everything I can to help.”
“Thanks,” Theo said, trying to hide his emotions.
Chapter 18
The Major shook hands with Theo, gave him a pat on the back, and closed the door behind him. When Theo was outside he walked to his bike and got on it. He pushed off, felt something strange, and realized his front tire was flat.
A sharp pain hit low in his stomach, and Theo wasn’t sure if it was anger or fear, or both. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he stared at the tire and thought about what he should do next. Nothing came to mind. He was so angry and confused his brain was a jumbled mess. Slowly, he got off his bike and looked at the front tire. The small gash looked familiar.
He decided not to bother the Major, so he began pushing his bike through the parking lot of the VFW and onto the sidewalk. The more he walked, the clearer he could think. How many people knew he would be at a merit badge meeting on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.? He suddenly had five suspects-the other Scouts. Brian and Edward from his homeroom, and Bart, Isaac, and Sam from the seventh grade. They had parked their bikes in the same rack Theo had parked his, and when his departure was delayed by the Major, there was the split-second opportunity for one of them to stick a knife in his front tire.
The law office was about ten blocks away, and Theo was tired. He called his father’s cell phone, and, surprisingly, he answered. Woods Boone despised his cell phone and usually ignored it.
“Dad, it’s me,” Theo said.
“Yes, Theo, I can read the words on my little screen here. What’s up?”
“My front tire has been slashed again. Flat as a pancake. It happened outside the VFW while I was meeting with the Major.”
“Where are you?”
“On Bennington Street, near Fourteenth.”
“Stay where you are. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Theo sat on a bus bench with his disabled bike nearby, and thought about Brian and Edward. Both were nice kids from good families. Both had lockers very close to Theo’s, and neither had a reason to slash his tires, throw rocks through his window, break into a computer store, or plant stolen loot in his locker. Theo considered both of them to be friends. He did not know the seventh graders as well, though every Scout in the troop got along just fine. The Major insisted on it. Sam’s father was a doctor and his mother was a dentist. Theo could not imagine him behaving like a hoodlum. Bart was a straight A student and perhaps the nicest kid in the world. Of the five, the only real suspect could be Isaac Scheer, a quiet kid who seemed moody, often troubled, and who wore his hair a bit too long and listened to heavy metal. The Scheer family had issues. An older sister had been arrested for drugs. The father was usually unemployed and rumored to prefer living off his wife’s income.
Most importantly, Isaac had an older brother in high school. Since the Boone detective team believed the attacks on Theo were the work of at least two people, Isaac and his brother fit in nicely. As always, though, when picking suspects, Theo was stopped cold by the question of motive. Why would Isaac and his brother, or anyone else for that matter, go to such trouble to ruin his life? It made no sense.
Mr. Boone arrived in his SUV. He opened the rear hatch, lifted Theo’s bike, and shoved it inside, on top of his golf clubs. Judge, who had arrived riding shotgun, was demoted to the backseat. Theo sat in the front, arms crossed, eyes fixed straight ahead as they drove away. Nothing was said until Theo realized they were not headed in the direction of the Boone home. “Where are we going, Dad?” he asked.
“To the police station.”
