Chapter 3: The Man Marcus Trusted
Officer Reynolds turned the phone toward Marcus.
The sender’s name glowed above the message: DR.
ADRIAN COLE.
Marcus stopped rubbing his shoulder.
“Dr.
Cole is my science mentor.”
“He is also chairman of the fair committee,” Reynolds said.
“And Ethan Cole’s father.”
Mrs.
Vance reached for the phone.
“That message is being taken out of context.”
“What context makes it acceptable?” Marcus asked.
“Why did Dr.
Cole want my trophy?”
“The award was issued before a discrepancy was reviewed,” she said.
“I was securing school property.”
“You pulled it out of my hands.”
“You refused a direct instruction.”
Leo stepped closer.
“You pushed him after he asked for it back.”
Mrs.
Vance pointed at him.
“You were hiding where you had no permission to be.”
“I was returning a watering key.”
“Enough,” Reynolds said.
“Nobody leaves until Principal Daugherty arrives.”
The greenhouse door opened before he could use his radio.
Dr.
Adrian Cole entered with Principal Helen Daugherty beside him, his silver fair badge still pinned to his jacket.
“Marcus,” Dr.
Cole said, “I heard there was an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
Marcus stared at him.
“Did you send that message?”
Dr.
Cole looked at Mrs.
Vance’s phone in Reynolds’s hand.
“I asked her to secure the trophy until the scores could be verified.”
“You wrote that your son couldn’t find out they were changed.”
“Because Ethan would blame himself for an administrative correction.”
“What correction?”
Dr.
Cole placed both hands on the worktable.
“Your final score was entered incorrectly.”
“My name was announced in front of everyone.”
“And announcements can be corrected.”
Mrs.
Vance lifted her chin.
“That is what I was trying to explain before Marcus lost his temper.”
“You never explained anything,” Marcus said.
“You said the trophy didn’t belong to me.”
Principal Daugherty raised one hand.
“We will settle this in my office.”
“The camera may have already settled part of it,” Reynolds said.
Dr.
Cole glanced at the control panel.
“That unit provides a live safety feed.
It does not continuously record.”
Leo’s mouth fell open.
“The screen said LIVE VIEW ACTIVE.”
“Live view is not the same as stored footage,” Dr.
Cole replied.
Reynolds removed the trophy from the table.
“The security console may have cached the alert.”
“Then retrieve it,” Principal Daugherty said.
“Until then, nobody makes accusations.”
Mrs.
Vance bent to pick up Marcus’s backpack.
An envelope slipped from the front pocket and landed near Dr.
Cole’s shoe.
“What is that?” Marcus asked.
Dr.
Cole opened it before Reynolds could stop him.
Inside were photocopied judging sheets with handwritten scores and the words CONFIDENTIAL—JUDGES ONLY across the top.
Mrs.
Vance covered her mouth.
“Those papers were missing from the committee room.”
“I’ve never seen them before,” Marcus said.
Dr.
Cole held up a page.
“They were found in your bag.”
“You just saw Mrs.
Vance pick it up.”
“And you expect us to believe she placed them there?”
Leo moved beside Marcus.
“I believe him.”
Principal Daugherty took the papers.
“Marcus, you are suspended from the greenhouse and all fair activities while this is investigated.”
“You’re suspending me?”
“You were found with confidential documents.”
“But she took my trophy!”
Mrs.
Vance folded her arms.
“Perhaps now you understand why I intervened.”
Marcus looked at Dr.
Cole.
“You taught me that evidence matters.”
“It does,” Dr.
Cole said.
“And right now, the evidence is in your backpack.”
Officer Reynolds quietly sealed Mrs.
Vance’s phone inside a clear security pouch.
Dr.
Cole’s eyes followed it all the way into his pocket.
As Principal Daugherty led the others out, Dr.
Cole caught Marcus by the greenhouse door.
May you like
“You should have accepted second place,” he whispered.
“Now you may leave with nothing.”
