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—”