Vol 2 Chapter 12 (1/2)

Chapter 12: The Letter

“Whoa! Mr Murdoch?!”

When Larry chased the mysterious man into the hallway, he spotted the teacher collapsed near the

Mr Murdoch earing brown pants and a blue polo shi+rt Larry had seen hi at the faculty office

“Ugh!”

Mr Murdoch scrambled to his feet and turned When he spotted Larry at the end of the hall, cold sweat began running down his face

“S-stay away from me!”

“Afraid I can’t do that, sir We’d like to have a nice, long talk with you” Larry said, slowlyhis way down the hall

“V-violence against a teacher is grounds for expulsion! Do you understand?” Mr Murdoch threatened

“Probably not Unlikeinto the hallway

Larry stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing

“We need to talk, Jenny”

“Before that, I’ll be helping you nab a bad guy I think I deserve a word of thanks, Larry”

“Right Never thought you actually remembered my name”

“I was just guessing So you really were Larry, huh”

“Nice naet it Now—”

Larry resumed his walk

“Argh…”

Mr Murdoch quickly turned and fled out the wide-open door

“Hold it!”

Larry sprinted after him Jenny followed

Larry ran all the way through the hall, out the door, and down the stairs When he looked around, he spotted Mr Murdoch disappear to the right

“There!” He cried, charging ahead

“When’d you start suspecting him, Seron?”

“Indeed We only really had two suspects to begin with, but I don’t believe there was any concrete evidence that pointed to him”

Natalia and Nick asked in turn

“It e spoke to hilossed over it when Larry asked because I didn’t think it was time to mention it” Seron said “I think… if I were in Mr Murdoch’s shoes, I would have gotten angry at the students”

Natalia and Nick, and Meg—as still sitting on the floor—gave him quizzical looks Seron continued

“Suppose you were napping away in the faculty office when a group of students barged in with a ridiculous photograph and seriously told you that there was a mysterious man in the storehouse basement Hoould you react?”

“Aha… I get it” Natalia nodded

Nick put a hand to his lips

“I see now Norry at the students Not only that, if we suppose that a teacher is behind this ether A teacher would naturally know about the baseular supply of food He must have stolen the film e came to the storehouse to take a look In fact, Mr Murdoch was the one who suggested that we look at the storehouse to begin with”

Seron nodded

“Yeah But that’s only circumstantial evidence That’s exactly why Mr Murdoch went out of his way to steal the filht be our only source of inforh his own actions”

“But why? Why would he do this thing?” Asked Meg

“I’irl he had barely been able to speak to the previous day “We won’t know until we figure out who this et the answers Will you come with us?”

“Yes, I will come with you Please, you must let me question too”

Natalia narrowed her eyes, s as well He noticed her gaze

“You jealous?” Natalia asked

“Not at all” Nick replied

“Hold it!”

Larry was a fast runner; he easily caught up to Mr Murdoch, as desperately trying to cross the grounds

“Sorry, sir!” Larry said, giving hiht shove in the back

“Agh!”

That was enough to throw Mr Murdoch off-balance He narrowly round, finally landing on his backside

“Mr Murdoch… we’ve got a lot of questions for you” Larry said, punching his open palm with his fist

“O-of course Let’s not resort to violence, now” Mr Murdoch replied, breathing heavily with sweat running down his dirt-covered face

Jenny caught up to them and stopped next to Larry

“Mr Murdoch, please give back the film”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Don’tplay du to add up The thief only stole that one piece of film The rest of the room was untouched The thief knew exactly where to look, which raphy”

Mr Murdoch could not argue Larry glanced at him, then at Jenny

“You’re pretty good”

“I-I don’t knohat you’re talking about And the fact that I’eable about ca me, anyway? I went into the storehouse because I saw the door was open I only ran because Larry ca a smile onto his face

“Seriously… man up, Mr Murdoch” Larry frowned

“You can’t arrest ht? I don’t know anything about any film”

“Is that any way an adult should be acting, sir?”

“Who do you think people will believe? An adult, or a teenager?”

Mr Murdoch smiled as he slowly rose He dusted hih

“Unfounded accusations and violence against a teacher is grounds for punishment Secondary school is a strict place, Larry Hepburn You’re as good as expelled Just iine how heartbroken your honorable family will be”

“But…” Larry trailed off He had nothing to say

“Neverto talk to Mr Murdoch Just grab hih” Jenny said, taking out her ca on his face

“Right… but then what?” Larry asked Jenny pressed the shutter and took a picture Then she looked up, shrugging

“Who knows? Either way—”

“Yeah?”

“In the worst-case scenario, you’re the only one getting expelled”

“…We’re gonna have to have a nice, long talk one of these days, Jenny”

“Are you trying to hit on me?”

“In your dreams”

Larry returned his gaze to Mr Murdoch

“Look, sir I don’t know anything about evidence and stuff I just want you to come with us and speak with Seron You know he’s at least a hundred times smarter than I am Just try and talk your way out in front of hi forward

“Wh-what are you saying? I should be patrolling the caames”

“Do you have no shame, Mr Murdoch?”

“Sh-shut up! Don’t you look your nose down at a teacher!”

“Look, sir I may be stupid, but I really enjoyed your classes” Larry said, reaching out to grab Mr Murdoch’s arm

“G-get away fro But Larry easily avoided the attack

“You’re only tiring yourself out, sir”

“Sh-shut up! Get back! Argh!”

Half-delirious, Mr Murdoch swung his left arm at Larry

He was much slower than the man in the basement

“Phew…”

With a sigh, Larry made to lean back and avoid the blow—

“Freeze!”

“Huh?”

—but he reacted reflexively at a sudden command

And was decked hard in the face

“Ugh!”

Mr Murdoch’s fist ht cheek and the tip of his nose Larry staggered back several steps before losing his balance and falling on his backside Jenny snapped up photographs

“da Jenny pressed the shutter again

Mr Murdoch froze h he could not believe that his attack had connected But he quickly recovered and grinned

“S-serves you right! That’s what happens when you try to assault a teacher!”

Larry shot Mr Murdoch a glare, ignoring the blood strea down his chin Then—

“What’s going on?” Asked a male voice

Mr Murdoch flinched and turned Larry slowly stood

Jenny also turned And the moment she spotted the owner of the voice, she cried out

“It’s him!”

Outside the door to the nearest building stood a man in blue ear

It was Hartnett He strode over to the three people on the grounds

“What happened here, Mr Murdoch?”

“…Just ato see here”

“Is that so?”

The adults could not sound any more businesslike

“Hey! This is not a minor issue!” Jenny cut in loudly “The man in the basement does exist, Mr Hartnett We saw hiet the man to kill us I’d also like to accuse Mr Murdoch of stealing my film”

Hartnett turned to Murdoch

“Is this true, sir?”

“I-I have no idea what she’s going on about! You kno teenagers are; they’re just spouting nonsense And this student is also infamous for her fabricated newspapers!”

“Oh?”

Hartnett’s gaze returned to Jenny

Then he looked at Larry, who stood 3

“If you’ll excuseon his heels—

“Why is that student bleeding?” Asked Hartnett

“Well… er…”

Mr Murdoch trailed off Larry spoke up in his stead, blood dribbling down his face

“Because Mr Murdoch just punched me”

Larry slowly approached Mr Murdoch, ready to grab him if he tried to run

“Is this true, Mr Murdoch?”

“What? I—”

“I suppose it must be Someone had to have hit the boy, and the only people here are you and the cairl here And I’h for an injury like this”

“You never know until you try” Jenny chimed in

“Let’s not do that” Larry replied from behind Mr Murdoch

Jenny held up her camera

“I have evidence right here, Mr Hartnett I’ll sub them”

Mr Murdoch paled visibly Hartnett shot hilare

“This is unacceptable, sir What kind of teacher hits one of his precious students?”

“He’s not really a precious kind of guy, actually”

“Could you be quiet for a bit, Jenny?” Larry complained

“I’ to have to ask you a few questions about this use of force against a student, Mr Murdoch Come with me You’ll have to postpone your business for later”

“What has gotten into you, Hartnett? You’re an outsider! This is school business!”

“Mr Murdoch, you hit this student hard enough to bleed This is a clear case of assault”

Hartnett reached into his shi+rt and pulled out an ID card he had been hiding on a lanyard under his top

He pulled open the folded case and flashed it to Mr Murdoch with a practiced hand

“Wha…?”

“Considering my job, I’m afraid I can’t let this slide You’ll have to come with me, Mr Murdoch We’ll listen to your side of the story in detail somewhere else”

Mr Murdoch was frozen; several seconds passed before he finally roan

“Ah… argh… it can’t be…”

He fell to his knees, cradling his head in his hands

And Larry (nursing his bloody nose with a handkerchief) was finally given a clear view of the object in Hartnett’s hand

In the ID was a photo of Hartnett in a black uniform Over the photo were the words ‘Confederation Police’

“Oh”

Larry stood in a daze

And as Hartnett put away his ID—

Larry tightened his grip on his bloody handkerchief, a thin strea down his face

“You let et hit on purpose, didn’t you!”

“Are you all still in there?” Asked a male voice

“Yes, we are” Seron replied

Seron, Natalia, and Nick were leaning against the wall in the basement room

In the center of the roo like an exhausted child

And next to hi over the man

“I’ into the room It was Hartnett

“Huh?” Natalia gasped Nick and Meg seemed surprised as well

“Where are Larry and Jenny?” Asked Nick

“We’re co”

“Right here”

Larry and Jenny replied froe They soon appeared next to Hartnett

Larry’s T-shi+rt was stained with drops of blood His nosebleed had stopped

“You all right, Larry?” Asked Seron

“Got socked in the face by a fat guy, but I’uys waiting down here”

“So it really was Mr Murdoch”

“Sure was! That was a great guess, Seron Did you suspect him from the start?”

“Yeah Sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier”

“It’s fine All’s well that ends well”

“What happened up there?” Asked Natalia

“So much …I can’t really explain, so ask Mr Hartnett” Larry said, avoiding responsibility

“Hm”

Hartnett looked around the basement, his eyes fully adjusted to the darkness He spotted the s bound by jackets The girl sitting next to hilared at Hartnett

“Where do I begin…?” Hartnett sighed, when Seron went up to him

“Where did you take Mr Murdoch?”

“He’s witha close eye on him”

“Wait, your team nabbed him? Who are you supposed to be?” Asked Natalia

“People who’re used to this kind of work” Seron said plainly “You’re going to take hiht?”

“What?”

“Pardon?”

“…”

Natalia, Nick, and Meg reacted

Hartnett blinked, then spoke “You’re a bright one That’s exactly e’re doing”

“What’s going on here?” Asked Natalia Larry replied brusquely

“Mr Hartnett and his team are all from the police force The Confederation Police, in fact”

“No way”

“Astounding”