Page 28 of The Catcher

Porter made his way around the desk, his focus unwavering. “The drawers are locked. Do you have a key for these?” he inquired, directing his question to Wright.

“I can get into it,” the janitor said.

“No need, I have it,” a voice said from behind. Noah turned to see a teacher enter.

“Ah, Mr. Emerson,” Wright said.

“What are these people doing here?” Emerson asked, eyeing the group with suspicion.

“They’re here about the disappearance of Landry and Matthews,” Wright explained.

“And my desk has something to do with that?” Emerson’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“It seems so, laddie,” McKenzie said, sizing him up as he passed him.

“Would you mind opening it?” Noah interjected. Emerson eyed them before working his way through their midst and taking a set of keys out of his pocket. He approached his desk and unlocked it, stepping back to allow Porter to investigate.

“You always lock your desk?” McKenzie asked.

“You do when you have teens with light fingers,” Emerson replied dryly.

As Porter reached into the desk, Noah turned to Wright. “We’re going to need some time alone with Mr. Emerson. Would you mind?” he asked, gesturing toward the doorway, indicating they needed privacy to conduct their investigation.

“You want to tell us how Pete Landry’s phone ended up in your desk?”

“I confiscated it two days ago.”

“And you’re only telling us now?” McKenzie asked.

Emerson’s gaze bounced between them. “It slipped my mind.”

“But you knew Landry was missing.”

“I found out today. I was off yesterday.”

“Would have been helpful to know sooner.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about it. Detective, you have to understand that confiscating cell phones is practically a daily occurrence for teachers. I probably have another three in my other drawer. I don’t know about you, but we didn’t have them when I was at school. Now, they have them 24/7 — texting and videoing. I’m constantly having to tell students to turn off their phones. And sometimes, I take them away until the end of the day and then return them.”

“So why didn’t you return his phone?”

Emerson leaned back on his desk and rocked his head back. “Because there was evidence on the phone that I needed to show Principal Wright so he could decide the best course of action.”

“And that would be?”

He motioned for them to give him the phone so he could show them.

Porter gave it to him, and he accessed the phone using a swiping method.

“You know the kid’s unlock code?”

“Yes, I watched him open it,” Emerson replied without looking at them. He tapped the photo and video icon and then clicked on a video before turning it and showing it. What Noah saw next was, at first, messy. Kids laughing. There was a lot of movement. Tables and chairs screeching back. “Hold him down. Someone grab his legs. Give me that marker pen.” The laughter continued. A teenager appeared on the screen, telling them to get off. A hand came into view, grabbing the kid’s face tightly and squeezing while he began to write words on the kid’s face.

LOSER

DUMB

STUPID