“You’re really into this, aren’t you?” Theo asked, amused.

“Sure. And you’re not?”

“Of course, but I haven’t given it as much thought as you. Where is he right now?”

“Far away. The cops have no idea what kind of vehicle they’re driving, so they’re home free until more clues pop up. He could be anywhere.”

“You think they’ll catch him?”

“Something tells me they will not. This might be the perfect escape, especially if he has an accomplice.”

Mr. Mount was in his midthirties and, at least in Theo’s opinion, was by far the coolest teacher at the school. His father was a judge and his older brother was a lawyer, and he often talked of leaving the classroom and going to law school. He sponsored the Eighth-Grade Debate Team. Theo was his star, and so the two had developed a close friendship. As they watched the news on the laptop, both minds were spinning wild scenarios about what had happened to Pete Duffy. How had he really managed to disappear?

“I guess we’ll discuss this in Government tomorrow,” Theo said.

“Are you kidding? This town will talk of nothing else for the next two days.”

The bell rang and Theo was suddenly ready to leave. Lunch was only a twenty-minute break and there was no time to waste. The halls were instantly crowded as five sections of eighth graders hurried from their classrooms, to their lockers, and to the cafeteria.

The Strattenburg Middle School had been modernized a few years earlier, and one of the more popular improvements was the new lockers. They were wide and deep, and made of wood instead of the old noisy metal boxes that had lined the halls for decades. Keys were not needed because each locker had an entry panel similar to the keypad of a phone. Punch in your five- or six-digit secret code, and the door clicked open.

Theo’s pass code was Judge (58343), in honor of his beloved dog.