Keller looked at the boy’s father, who pulled at the collar of his dress shirt. His jaw was set. It was the boy’s face thirty years from now, puffier but just as arrogant. She wished the mother had come. If the messages to Maggie Pine wouldn’t faze the mom, there was no hope for this kid.
“You’ve got nothing,” Eric’s father said, aggressively working the gum in his mouth.
It was a day of doing things the hard way, it seemed. “That’s your response? That’s what you want to teach him?”
“What I teach my son is none of your goddamn business.” Mr. Hutchinson glared at the principal. “This is unacceptable, Barbara.”
Keller released a breath. “You’re right. I’ve got no basis to arrest your son. No basis even to hold him. But I do have enough to contact his college. I understand he’s been accepted to Michigan for lacrosse.” The principal had briefed Keller on Eric before his father arrived.
The color drained from Mr. Hutchinson’s face. He looked to the principal, but he’d get no support from her now.
Keller threw out a lifeline. “All I want is for Eric to answer some questions. And to know that you’re taking this situation seriously.”
The man thought about this, then nodded for Keller to continue.
Keller looked at Eric. “Did Maggie say anything to you about her trip, or anything that stands out in your mind?”
Eric shook his head. “I didn’t know her that well. I’d see her in the Center.”
“The Center?”
“The tutoring center after school. I’d flirt with her, you know, and stuff like that.”
“So before spring break you saw her?”
“Yeah. I went to the Center. I asked her to go to the party and stuff like that. I didn’t do anything, and I—”
Keller put up her hand. She feared losing her temper if she let him lie.
“I saw her at the Center before break. She was, like, talking about her brother’s case.”
“Anything in particular?”
“She showed me a video someone had sent her. A tip and stuff like that.”
Keller nodded. If he said “and stuff like that” one more time, she might have to arrest him.
“What did she say?” Keller had watched the video several times, but nothing had caught her eye. She made a mental note to watch it again, and to check on the status of the computer team’s enhancement of the footage.
Eric said, “Maggie was excited. She thought it showed the U.P., you know, from the show.”
“What else did she say?”
“That was it. I asked her to go to the party. I didn’t talk to her again until then.”
“That’s it?”
He nodded.
“And what happened at the party?”
The boy’s father tensed.
“Nothing,” Eric said. “She said she wanted to talk alone and I figured, you know. So we were, like, just kissing and stuff, and then she just got freaked out, kneed me, then took off. I didn’t do anything, I swear. I told some people, and they said she was saying I tried to force her, which isn’t true. If they sent her messages telling her not to lie, it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t tell them to.”
It was a convincing performance. Untrue, but convincing.
“Young man,” Keller said. “Do you know how easy it will be for the FBI to trace who sent the anonymous messages to Maggie Pine? And if just one of those messages was from you—or if any of the kids who sent them say you asked them to do it—then you’ve just lied to me. Do you know the penalty for lying to a federal agent?”
The boy swallowed.
“Five years in federal prison.”
The boy’s father spoke up. “But you said—”
She held up her hand to silence him. “The statute of limitation is five years.” Keller took in their pathetic expressions. “My office has a good relationship with the University of Michigan’s police force. If they get a report—so much as a rumor—that you’ve been anything but a perfect gentleman, I’m going to pay you a visit. And you will find out the consequences of lying to me today.”
The boy started to speak.
“Don’t,” she said. “If I get wind that you were even rude to a girl … Do you understand?”
The boy nodded.
She looked at the father. “He dodged a bullet today. That happens once.”
“Understood,” the father said, looking like a beaten man.
“A perfect gentleman,” Keller said sternly.