But no, that was impossible. He was so rattled he had to be hallucinating.

  When he walked into the living room, though, he really did see Argo. Cutler stood beside him. Both were in uniform. At the same time, he realized the music was no longer blaring downstairs.

  “I understand Matthias Cole is here,” Argo said to Kim.

  “Yes,” Kim answered. “He is. So what?”

  Before Argo could explain, the kids swarmed up the stairs from the basement, chattering. Graham was the first one upstairs, followed by Jordan and then Ozzy. Matthias brought up the rear, with Vaughan at the end of the line.

  “Well, if it isn’t our fearless sheriff,” Vaughan said. “How delightful you stopped by. Or have you come to give me a citation for playing music in my own basement?”

  “No citation. And I’m sorry, but this isn’t a social call. Matthias, I need to talk to you.”

  “About what?” Matthias started to turn away, as though planning to slip out of the room. Instead, he froze in panic.

  “Not here.” Argo crooked beckoning finger. “You’ll have to come with me.”

  Chapter 7

  “Wait a minute. This is my house, in case you didn’t notice. What’s going on here?” Kim shouted. When Argo didn’t answer right away, she pivoted to an embarrassed Cutler. “Well? Explain yourself!”

  Argo finally spoke. “I need to talk to Matthias. In an official setting.”

  “About what?”

  “I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you, since you’re not a parent or legal guardian.”

  “He’s a student at Birchwood and I’m a counselor there, not to mention a trained child advocate. That gives me the right to intervene in his behalf.”

  “I’m afraid not, unless you’re also his lawyer of record.”

  Vaughan crossed the room toward Argo. Unlike Kim, he remained totally calm and surprisingly philosophical about the chaotic scene playing out around him. The three remaining students lingered by the basement door, open-mouthed and clearly fascinated.

  “Let’s dial this down a notch,” Vaughan said. “Why don’t we all sit down and discuss things calmly? Would you like some pizza, gentlemen?”

  “There isn’t any more,” Kim snapped. “I gave Darian the last piece and folded up the boxes.”

  “That’s all right,” Argo said. He hooked one hand under Matthias’s upper arm, gently but firmly guiding him toward the front door. “We don’t have time for any of that. Matthias, come with us, please. No need to panic. This is just routine.”

  “Don’t go, Matthias,” Kim cried.

  Argo sighed. “Mrs. Benedict…”

  “Argo, can we talk?” Darian asked, stepping up beside Vaughan. Argo silenced him with a single steely look.

  “What did he do?” Ozzy piped up from the back of the room.

  Matthias looked terrified, his eyes huge and glassy. “I didn’t do anything! Mrs. Benedict, I promise you!”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about,” Argo told him. “Come on. I don’t want to use cuffs on you. Don’t force my hand, Matthias.”

  Everyone stared, stunned in silence, as Argo and Cutler left with Matthias walking between them. After they drove away with lights flashgun but no siren, Kim erupted in fury.

  “This is an outrage! Barging into our home, interrupting a private gathering, and dragging a child out of here like he’s some kind of hardened criminal! Argo has a lot to answer for this time!” She whirled on Darian as though the whole unfortunate event had been his fault.

  “Well, hardly dragged,” Vaughan pointed out. “Matthias looked like he was walking just fine to me. They weren’t even moving all that fast.”

  Kim shot her husband a death glare.

  “Come on, Darian,” she said, shifting gears. “Let’s take my car and drop the boys back at their dorm and get downtown to the sheriff’s station. Matthias needs us. Hopefully you can talk some sense into Argo. I’ll bring you back here afterward.”

  Graham shrugged. “We can walk. We’re right on the edge of campus. Won’t take us ten minutes.”

  “No,” Darian told him, relieved at taking back at least partial control of the situation. “We’re responsible for you until you’re back on campus.” Normally, he’d be glad to have Kim was with him, since it was always better to have two staffers present. In this case, given what had gone on right before Argo arrived, he felt as though the students were actually there to protect him.

  The remaining boys groaned in unison, but they clambered into Kim’s green minivan without argument. In the back seat, they carried on a lively conversation while Darian buckled up. Naturally, he couldn’t avoid listening in.

  “It’s about that phone, probably,” Graham told the others. “Cops figured out where he stole it from.”

  “He says he didn’t steal it,” Jordan said.

  Ozzy scoffed. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Actually, I tend to believe him. He’s my roommate, after all. I’ve left all kinds of stuff, even cash, right out in the open and he’s never touched any of it. Why would he suddenly steal a phone?”

  “Of course he wouldn’t steal from you,” Ozzy retorted. “He knows he’d get busted right away. He’s smart enough to be sneaky. Grabbed it from one of the teachers, most likely, or maybe someone visiting the school.”

  Darian considered that theory while Kim backed out of her driveway. She was clearly not prepared to do the same, however. She raised her voice to silence them.

  “It’s unfair to Matthias to jump to any conclusions. We don’t know what the sheriff wanted to ask him about. It could be something else entirely. I’m counting on all three of you to keep this information to yourselves.”

  That was about as likely as a snowstorm in July, Darian thought, but the boys murmured compliantly.

  “I’m serious,” Kim continued, tightening her hands on the steering wheel. “If we get back to school on Monday morning and everyone is talking about this, I’ll know exactly where the information came from. And I won’t be happy, I can tell you that much.”

  “Sure thing, Mrs. Benedict.” Graham answered for all of them. “You have our word.”

  They left the kids at the front entrance of their dorm and waited, not speaking, until they went inside. As soon as they disappeared behind the heavy wooden door, Kim hit the gas.

  “I still can’t believe Argo would do this,” she griped as they sped toward town. “At the restaurant, he seemed so open to mentoring troubled kids. I misjudged him badly.”

  “He is open to helping people. And he’s always fair. Right now he’s just doing his job. Believe me, he wouldn’t show up like that unless he had a really good reason.”

  “I guess. I’m sure you didn’t know his plan ahead of time, or you’d warn me, right?”

  She turned to Darian with a haughty expression. Actually, he was glad Argo hadn’t given him a tip-off, because he couldn’t in good conscience betray that trust to Kim.

  “I promise I had no idea,” he hedged, which satisfied her. “Anyway, despite what we just told the boys, I’m pretty sure this really is about the cell phone. Not a huge deal, right? Let’s say for the sake of argument Matthias—or some other student who passed it along to him—did swipe it from an unattended bag or picked it up after somebody dropped it. I can’t imagine we’re talking life in the federal pen for that. It’s petty theft at most, assuming there’s proof. It might just be a matter of a stern talking-to. Argo would see that as doing Matthias a favor—giving him a chance to make things right and making sure he doesn’t pull the same stunt again.”

  Kim turned onto the main street, which was busy with pedestrians enjoying a Friday night out. A line was forming at Jake and Patricia’s restaurant. “True. You always make me feel better about things, Darian. Thanks.”

  When Darian squirmed, Kim laughed a little under her breath.

  “Don’t worry. I was addressing you strictly as a platonic friend.” After both of them exhaled in relief, she went on. “I just wish Matthias would confide in us so we could be of much more use to him. Still, he’s spent most of his life distrusting adults, especially those in positions of authority. That’s not likely to change now.”

  “What about his mother?” Darian asked. “I assume Argo’s going to call her from the station.”

  “His mother? Ah. You didn’t know. She went to prison eighteen months ago. Matthias was headed for foster care, but someone high-up in the court system turned out to be a Birchwood alum. He recognized Matthias’s potential and arranged for a scholarship and legal emancipation. Matthias doesn’t discuss it, but that’s why he has such a hard time fitting in with the others. Talk about overcoming obstacles to get an education! Matthias has practically climbed Mount Everest barefoot and with a hundred-pound weight around his neck.”

  “Wow,” Darian marveled as they drew up to the sheriff’s station. Kim parallel-parked in a tight spot with brusque efficiency. “I knew he was getting financial aid, but I had no idea about any of that. I’ll keep it to myself, though.”

  “Matthias would appreciate that. Jeanette knows, of course, but very few others do. I always suggest he open up to people, but for obvious reasons he prefer to remain secretive.”

  “Right. Makes sense.” They got out and walked up to the public entrance together. “Uh…Kim? Do you know why his mother went to prison?”

  “Yes, though again it’s not public knowledge and Matthias prefers to keep it that way.” Kim opened the glass front door and stepped into the lobby. “She was convicted of murder.”

  They found Argo alone in his office, scrolling through something on his computer.

  “Where’s Matthias?” Kim demanded.

  “Don’t worry, I haven’t dusted off the thumbscrews yet. He’s right down the hall in an interview room, sipping a soda with Deputy Cutler.”

  “I assume you’ve discovered by now that he’s an emancipated minor. Therefore he can visit with anyone he likes without parental permission. And I want to talk to him.”

  “I verified that, yes.” Argo shrugged and grabbed his phone. “Young Mr. Cole has invoked his right to remain silent until he can consult a lawyer, and I respect that. I hope you will, too. But I’ll ask Cutler if he’ll see you.”

  “Good for him. As you probably guessed, Birchwood offers excellent civics classes. All our students know their rights. Your usual strong-arm techniques won’t fool them, and especially not Matthias.”

  “No surprise.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything a public defender would object to. I just need to make sure he’s all right.” Kim wore a smug smile as Argo pressed a few buttons and relayed her request to whoever picked up on the other end.

  “Okay, he’s agreed to talk to you. One of my deputies will be here in a minute to take you through. And Cutler will have to be present during your conversation. Standard safety precaution.”

  “Fine.” Kim spoke through clenched teeth.

  As promised, the same uniformed woman Darian had seen before arrived moments later. She escorted Kim out of the office and shut the door behind her.

  Argo leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back in exhaustion. “Guess I’m at the top of her hit list. Still, it’s always good to come in first.”

  “She understands you’re doing your job. At least, I tried to convince her.”

  “Thanks. But it won’t help. I deal with her type all the time.” He motioned for Darian to sit. “I’m sorry if I’ve made things tough for you at your job.”

  “Well, they do call it work and not a social club. Anyhow, why would it? Jeanette begged me to put you on the case.”

  “She wanted me to look into a possible theft, yeah. But I’m afraid I’ve uncovered something way more serious. Something Jeanette won’t appreciate.”

  Darian scowled. “All this over a cell phone? Why, did he steal it from the head trustee’s glove compartment?” Such behavior could get Matthias’s scholarship revoked, even if Patricia didn’t recommend expulsion. In his case, losing funding amounted to the same thing. “Look, Argo, I know he’s a troubled kid. I assume you found out about his mother?”

  “I did. He’s had some tough breaks, no doubt about it.”

  “But what his mother did doesn’t necessarily reflect on him, right? And I agree with Kim that he’s probably desperate to fit in with his dorm-mates. Therapy would be more effective than jail time, don’t you think?”

  Argo glanced up at the door as if making sure it was firmly shut. “What I’m investigating involves the cell phone. But there’s more to it. A lot more.”

  “Oh? Like what? What’s going on?”

  Argo made a circular motion with his hand. “This doesn’t leave my office. Cutler went through the phone. He was able to restore some deleted numbers and contacts. Guess whose information came up?”

  Darian tried but came up empty. “I give up. Whose?”

  “Our missing guy. Your librarian, Chet.”

  “Ah. Well, there could be an explanation for that. Maybe he was helping Matthias with some research, or even tutoring him or whatever.”

  “Sure. That was my first thought, too, even though it was his home number and his private email. Not the school one.”

  “Mmm. Inappropriate, depending on the circumstances. But again, there could be a reason. Chet was a staff member, not faculty. The rules are a little more relaxed in his case.”

  “Right. I was with you all the way on that one. It was my second thought, though, that Jeanette will likely find problematic. See, Chet didn’t just give Matthias his phone number and presumably invite him to call him at home. He bought him the phone, too.”

  “What? Why do you think that?”

  “The search warrant for Chet’s place came through late this afternoon. I went over personally and picked up his computer. We’ve been going through his emails, his expense accounts, his online dating profiles. You were right that he deleted most of them when he got hooked up with this military dude Osmond Krell told us about. From then on, it was constant—text messages, emails, and phone calls. And money, Darian—lots and lot of money, much of it in the form of online gift cards. I’m still checking, but some of those cards were exchanged for a high-end cell phone. Matthias’s phone, as it turns out. Matthias had it shipped from the vendor right to your school mailroom.”

  Darian almost fell of his chair. “You’re saying Matthias was the military guy Chet fell in love with? That’s insane! Why would Chet risk his career, or even face charges, by starting a relationship with a Birchwood student?”

  “Wait, wait.” Argo held up both hand to stop him. “No, that’s actually not what I’m saying. Not exactly, anyway. It’s going to take me a little longer to pull up more of Chet’s files, since he moved some of them into the trash on his desktop. But let’s just say I’ve recovered some evidence that suggests he had no idea at all who was on the other end of those romantic digital conversations.”

  “Whew.” The last thing Birchwood needed was another scandal involving inappropriate contact with a member of the student population. Jeanette would be relieved to hear that, too. Still, Darian couldn’t quite follow Argo’s logic. “But how could he not know? I don’t get it.”

  “Darian, I think Matthias has been running a romance scam from your campus. You’ve heard of these things?”

  Darian felt another shock wave roll through his body. Again his balance on the chair grew precarious. “Uh…I think so. It’s where people pretend to be a different gender or age so they can string some lonely person along.”

  “Correct. There are different variations on the theme, but basically it works like this. The scammer targets someone through social media and pretends to be looking for love. They ask a lot of questions, testing the mark to make sure he’s gullible and solvent enough to make the con worthwhile. They draw the guy in and then start asking for favors and gifts. Years ago, they got the victims to wire cash—lots of it, in some cases, but nowadays they favor gift cards. They’re easily purchased online, almost impossible to trace once the numbers reach the vendor, and the poor sap has no control over what they’re being used for or where the stuff is being shipped. Perfect for a student who can have it all delivered right to campus, don’t you think?”

  “You…you believe this scam is going on at my school? And Matthias masterminded it? Argo, come on. That’s pretty farfetched.”

  “Is it? Kids these days are pretty tech savvy. Older guys, maybe deep in the closet or inexperienced with modern dating, trolling for lovers on the computer…they’re ripe for the picking. I’ve investigated these cases before, Darian. Scammers feel they’re almost asking to be taken advantage of. The army connection is perfect, since it gives them an excuse to avoid meeting the victim in person. It doesn’t take a criminal genius to set this up. From what I’ve seen, the so-called soldier complains about the conditions in the place where he’s deployed. Then he asks the mark for money to pay for leave, medical care, even food and boots. The most expensive item is a plane ticket. They make plans to meet, and then bam! The soldier gets mugged at the airport, or he has to bribe a customs official to let him on the plane, or whatever.”

  “And people fall for it.” Darian shook his head in amazement. “In particular, Chet fell for it?”

  “It’s all in his computer. One tale of woe after another. Every time, he ponied up the money and the cycle would start all over again. When I retrieve all the data, I’m convinced I’ll find all those gift card numbers went straight to Matthias via emails. All Chet had to do is type out the codes and press send. Thousands of dollars, gone in a puff of smoke.”

  Darian’s stomach hurt, and not just because he’d scarfed down too much greasy pizza. “Argo, I need to tell you something. Matthias didn’t only have the cell phone. I also caught him playing with a fancy handheld video game. It looked brand new. I assumed another kid had loaned it to him, but hearing this…”

  “It fits.” If Argo was disappointed that Darian hadn’t confided in him earlier, he didn’t show it. “I’ll have to search his dorm room. Electronics were most likely the motive. Not unusual for guys his age, though usually I catch them shoplifting. Should have known your Birchwood boys would find a way to take it to the next level.”