Chapter 9 - The Apartment
Malik’s mother, Renee Thompson, refused to leave her apartment.
“I’m not running,” she said.
Two police officers stood in the living room while Ms. Price examined the damaged lock.
Caleb, Nora, and their parents waited in the hallway.
Malik sat on the stairs with his arms around his knees.
He had not spoken since they arrived.
Caleb sat beside him.
“Your mother is brave.”
“She’s scared.”
“Brave people can be scared.”
Malik looked toward the apartment door.
“Why did she tell them?”
“Tell them what?”
“That money was missing.”
“Because it was wrong.”
“She said she thought people would fix it.”
Caleb looked down at his hands.
“Sometimes adults make mistakes.”
“Mrs. Baxter said that too.”
The words stayed with Caleb.
Inside the apartment, Renee handed Ms. Price a small notebook.
“I wrote down every transfer number,” she said. “I knew they would say I made it up.”
“Where did you get the numbers?”
“From the maintenance logs. Whenever money was moved, someone had to sign for the delivery.”
“Did you tell anyone before?”
“I told Mr. Whitaker.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me I misunderstood accounting.”
Ms. Price looked at the notebook.
“Who else knew?”
Renee hesitated.
“Mrs. Baxter.”
“Did she help you?”
“No.”
“She warned me to stop.”
Outside, Malik lowered his head.
Caleb could hear every word through the thin door.
“She said if I kept asking questions, she would make sure Malik lost his place in the advanced program.”
The boy beside Caleb stiffened.
Nora joined them on the stairs.
“Malik,” she said gently, “none of this is your fault.”
He did not answer.
Later that evening, Mrs. Baxter requested a meeting with Ms. Price.
Caleb was not supposed to attend, but Ms. Price allowed him to sit in the corner because the investigation involved his records.
Mrs. Baxter entered wearing a plain gray sweater.
Without her suit and sharp makeup, she looked less like a powerful teacher and more like someone who had not slept in weeks.
She sat across from Ms. Price.
“I want to cooperate,” she said.
“Cooperation requires honesty.”
“I understand.”
“Did you know money was being transferred to Daniel Baxter’s company?”
“Yes.”
“Did you benefit from it?”
“No.”
“Did you approve any transfers?”
Mrs. Baxter lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Twenty-six.”
Caleb stared at her.
“Why?”
“Whitaker told me they were emergency educational contracts. He said the foundation needed a private vendor to process purchases.”
“Did you verify the company?”
“No.”
“You signed forms.”
“Yes.”
“Then you knowingly approved them.”
Mrs. Baxter’s face tightened.
“I knew the forms were unusual. I did not know the money was being stolen.”
Ms. Price opened a folder.
“You also altered student records.”
Mrs. Baxter nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Whitaker gave me names.”
“And you followed his instructions.”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone threaten you?”
“My brother.”
“Daniel?”
“He was facing fraud charges from another business. Whitaker told me he could make the case disappear. He said if I stopped cooperating, Daniel would go to prison and my elderly mother would lose her home.”
Caleb spoke from the corner.
“So you sacrificed students to protect your family.”
Mrs. Baxter looked at him.
“Yes.”
The answer was so direct that Caleb had no response.
Mrs. Baxter continued.
“That is not an excuse. It is only the truth.”
“What made you finally change?” Ms. Price asked.
Mrs. Baxter’s eyes moved to Caleb.
“The recording. When I heard my own voice threatening Malik, I realized I had become the person I once feared.”
“You were afraid before?”
“My father used to hit my brother when he failed at school. He believed fear created discipline.”
Caleb thought of the ruler.
“Then why did you keep one?”
Mrs. Baxter looked at her hands.
“Because I told myself it was only a symbol. I told myself I would never use it. But symbols become permission when no one challenges them.”
The room was silent.
Ms. Price closed the folder.
“If you testify against Whitaker and Daniel, the district will consider your cooperation.”
“Will I keep my job?”
“No.”
Mrs. Baxter nodded.
“I expected that.”
“You may also face criminal charges.”
“I understand.”
Caleb watched her carefully.
“Why didn’t you tell the truth when Ava complained?”
Mrs. Baxter looked toward the floor.
“Because I believed I could fix everything later.”
“When?”
“After Daniel was safe. After the next review. After the next semester.”
She gave a bitter smile.
“There was always a later.”
That night, the student forum was flooded with another post.
This time, it was a scanned copy of the targeted support list.
Every student name was visible.
Some students cried when they saw it.
Others called Caleb a hero.
He did not feel like one.
The list had been leaked without permission, and private information was now public.
Nora read the comments with growing anger.
“Someone is trying to make us look responsible.”
Caleb looked at the scan.
At the bottom, hidden beneath a black line, was a small code.
B-204.
“Room 204,” he said.
Ava Morgan.
They hurried to the library.
Ava was standing beside the printer, pale and shaking.
“I didn’t post it,” she said immediately.
“We know.”
“But I know who did.”
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a second memory card.
“Whitaker had a backup system. Every confidential file was copied to a server in Room 204.”
Nora stared at the card.
“How did you get this?”
Ava looked toward the locked library doors.
“Because someone told me to take it.”
“Who?”
May you like
Ava swallowed.
“Daniel Baxter.”
