Chapter 6: The Real Target
Mrs. Carter didn't scream.
That frightened me more.
She just stood there staring at the laptop.
Then she looked at Noah.
"My son's scholarship?""
Detective Alvarez stepped between her and Mr. Daniels.
"We need to preserve these messages.""
"Why?""
"We need the original metadata.""
"No. Why were they trying to take his scholarship?""
Principal Whitmore looked sick.
"I don't know.""
Mrs. Carter turned on him.
"Then start knowing.""
Noah's voice was barely audible.
"Mom.""
She immediately softened.
"What, baby?""
"I told you.""
"Told me what?""
"About the letter.""
Her face changed.
"What letter?""
"The one in my backpack.""
Mrs. Carter knelt and unzipped his schoolbag.
Books.
Pencils.
A crushed granola bar.
Then an envelope.
She opened it.
Her eyes moved across the page.
"What is it?"" Mom asked.
Mrs. Carter read aloud.
"'Notice of scholarship conduct review.''"
Principal Whitmore stepped forward.
"What?""
She kept reading.
"'Due to repeated concerns regarding behavioral compatibility with institutional standards...''"
She stopped.
"Repeated concerns?""
Principal Whitmore reached for the letter.
Mrs. Carter pulled it away.
"Don't touch it.""
"I've never seen that document.""
"Your school's name is on it.""
"But that's not our scholarship-review format.""
Detective Alvarez held out his hand.
"May I?""
Mrs. Carter gave him the letter.
He studied it.
"Who signed this?""
Principal Whitmore leaned closer.
His face went pale.
"I did.""
Mrs. Carter stared at him.
"You just said you've never seen it.""
"I haven't.""
"Your signature is right there.""
"That's not my signature.""
Detective Alvarez looked at him.
"It resembles it.""
"It's scanned.""
Principal Whitmore pointed at the bottom.
"Someone copied it.""
Mr. Daniels began typing.
"Give me the date.""
"January ninth.""
He searched.
"No scholarship-review letter was generated January ninth.""
Mrs. Carter looked toward the school.
"So Parker and Hayes created a fake disciplinary record.""
"Possibly," Alvarez said.
"For what?""
Nobody answered.
Noah did.
"Because of the test.""
I turned toward him.
"What test?""
He looked at me.
"The math test.""
Everyone waited.
Noah rubbed his injured arm.
"Ms. Parker gave me a different one.""
Mrs. Carter frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"Before winter break. Everyone else got twenty questions.""
"And you?""
"Forty.""
My mouth fell open.
I remembered that day.
Noah had still been writing when the rest of us handed our papers in.
Ms. Parker had told us he needed "extra assessment.""
"You finished it?"" I asked.
Noah nodded.
"What grade?""
"One hundred.""
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Of course Noah had gotten one hundred.
Principal Whitmore looked confused.
"Why would that matter?""
Mr. Daniels suddenly stopped typing.
"Because of the academic scholarship rankings.""
Principal Whitmore turned.
"What?""
Mr. Daniels looked at Noah.
"The school submits standardized internal scores for several merit programs.""
Mrs. Carter stood.
"So?""
"Top-ranked students receive priority for donor-funded scholarships.""
Noah already had a scholarship.
But apparently there were bigger ones.
Programs that could pay for middle school.
High school.
Maybe even college someday.
Principal Whitmore understood first.
"The Hamilton Grant.""
Mr. Daniels nodded.
Mrs. Carter looked between them.
"What is that?""
"A private academic grant," Principal Whitmore said.
"One student from our fifth-grade class is nominated each year.""
"How much?""
"Potentially full tuition through graduation.""
Mrs. Carter stared at Noah.
"And Noah was ranked first?""
Nobody answered.
Mr. Daniels checked.
Then he slowly nodded.
"Yes.""
Mrs. Carter's voice became quiet.
"Who was second?""
Mr. Daniels looked at the screen.
His eyebrows pulled together.
"Oh.""
"What?""
He turned the laptop toward Principal Whitmore.
The principal stared.
"No.""
Mrs. Carter stepped closer.
"Whose child?""
Principal Whitmore didn't answer.
Detective Alvarez did.
"Madeline Hayes.""
Mr. Hayes's daughter.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The fake conduct review.
The extra test.
The accusations.
The attempts to create disciplinary problems.
Noah hadn't been randomly targeted.
Someone wanted him gone.
Mrs. Carter sat down heavily.
"They were trying to destroy my son's future so his daughter could take his place.""
Principal Whitmore shook his head.
"If that's what happened, the grant committee needs to know immediately.""
"If?""
Mrs. Carter's eyes flashed.
"We have the emails.""
"We have part of the story.""
"Then let's get the rest.""
Detective Alvarez's phone rang again.
He answered.
"Alvarez.""
We watched his face.
"When did he leave?""
A pause.
"How?""
His jaw tightened.
"Find him.""
He hung up.
"Hayes left the hospital.""
Mrs. Carter stared.
"I thought an officer was there.""
"He left before the officer arrived.""
"Where did he go?""
"We don't know.""
Mr. Daniels suddenly made a sound.
Not quite a gasp.
Everyone turned.
"What?"" Alvarez asked.
Mr. Daniels was staring at his screen.
"The corrupted camera files.""
"What about them?""
"I was wrong.""
"About what?""
"They weren't damaged by the fire.""
His fingers moved quickly.
"They were manually deleted.""
Principal Whitmore stepped closer.
"Can you recover them?""
"Maybe.""
"When were they deleted?""
Mr. Daniels checked the system logs.
Then his face went pale.
"Today.""
"By Parker?""
"No.""
"Hayes?""
"No.""
Detective Alvarez leaned over him.
"Then who?""
Mr. Daniels stared at the login record.
"Principal-level credentials.""
Every eye turned toward Dr. Whitmore.
He stepped backward.
"I didn't delete anything.""
Mr. Daniels shook his head.
"Not your account.""
Principal Whitmore froze.
"There are only two principal-level accounts.""
The courtyard went silent.
Mom whispered, "Who's the other one?""
Principal Whitmore looked toward the darkening school building.
"Our board chair.""
Mrs. Carter frowned.
"Who is that?""
Before Principal Whitmore could answer, Noah made a frightened sound beside me.
I followed his eyes toward the front gate.
A black SUV had stopped outside.
A tall woman in an expensive gray coat stepped out.
She walked through the gate as if she owned the school.
Principal Whitmore's face lost all color.
Noah whispered, "That's her.""
His mother grabbed his hand.
"Who?""
Noah pointed at the woman.
"The lady who came into Ms. Parker's classroom last week.""
"What did she want?""
Noah looked at his mother.
"She asked Ms. Parker if she'd gotten rid of me yet.""
The woman reached us.
She looked at Noah.
Then at Mrs. Carter.
Then at Detective Alvarez.
And smiled.
"Dr. Whitmore," she said calmly.
"I think you've allowed this situation to go far enough.""
Principal Whitmore didn't return her smile.
"Mrs. Hayes.""
Noah's mother went completely still.
Mrs. Hayes.
Mr. Hayes's mother.
May you like
Madeline Hayes's grandmother.
And the chair of the school board.
