They were crossing the empty gym and had almost reached the weight room when Mr. Berg suddenly grabbed his cell phone and checked his messages. “Oh, dear, I’ve got to go,” he said. “Let me just introduce you to our athletes.”

He pulled the door open, revealing a rather scruffy, unventilated room that smelled to high heaven of sweat. This was nothing like the well-equipped gyms with Nautilus machines that Lucy saw advertised on TV. It was simply an empty storage closet with a few weight benches and a set of free weights. The three team members who were working out dropped their weights and stared at the intruders.

“Boys, this is Mrs. Stone, from the paper. She’s here to interview you about the team and I want you to cooperate,” said Mr. Berg. “I have to go see to a problem with the septic system.”

Then he was gone and Lucy was left alone with the three boys. She gave them a little smile. “Like he said, I’m Lucy Stone. And you guys are…?”

The tallest, a muscular kid with a fuzz of black hair who was well over six feet, was the first to speak. “I’m Matt Engelhardt,” he said, resuming his bicep curls. The weight which he seemed to be raising and lowering so effortlessly looked enormous to Lucy. It had to be at least twenty pounds.

Following his lead, the other two players resumed their workouts, too. “I’m Justin Crane,” said a shorter, stockier fellow, who was grunting with the effort of lifting an enormous dumbbell.

“And I’m Will Worthington,” said the last, a tall, freckled kid. He was lying on his stomach on the bench, lifting weights with his legs.

“I guess you’re all seniors?” asked Lucy, producing her notebook.

There was a round of grunts which she took to mean yes.

“Well, the reason I’m doing this story is that there have been some allegations of hazing on the football team. In particular, the rumor goes, the varsity players have been humiliating the JV players and physically abusing them.”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the small room, as the boys continued to work out.

“Do you have anything to say, Will?” asked Lucy, sensing he might be the weak link.

He wasn’t. “No,” he said, glaring at her.

“Does hazing take place, Justin?”

“Not that I know of.”

“What about you, Matt? Have you seen any hazing? Say, making the new players line up and throwing soccer balls at them?”

“We’re football players,” said Matt, getting a laugh from the other guys.

Lucy, who was standing next to the water cooler, was obliged to get out of his way as he strode over to get a drink. She found herself boxed in a corner, between the cooler and the wall, while he stood in front of her, downing one cupful after another.