“So the break-in occurred, according to the police report, at nine fifteen P.M. When they look through the security footage, are they going to see me leaving the circle heading toward the lab?” He flashed the grin. “Or you—by yourself?”

I remembered now that he had been waiting across the street—on the side of the Y. I had wondered why he had done that, but I never . . .

“Second, if they were to check on my alibi, they’d see that I checked into the YMCA for weightlifting at nine o’clock and checked out again a little after ten. You swipe your card to go in and out. It’s all computerized. Oh, they won’t know that I turned off the emergency exit alarm, snuck out a side exit, and met you. They’ll only be able to confirm that I was at the Y the whole time.”

I just looked at him, dumbstruck.

“And, third, there’s this cute little video I made with my camera phone. Don’t worry. I have copies. If need be, I can send it anonymously to the police or even the media.”

It was a short video, just a few seconds—me inside the shed. I remembered now when he came into the room and hit me with the flashlight. I hadn’t realized at the time that his video camera was on.

I sat there, feeling numb.

Troy started up the car and pulled out. Danny Brown and a couple of the other guys walked by. Troy waved at them. I didn’t.

“It will be your word against mine,” Troy said, “and all the physical evidence will back me up. I bet you left fingerprints at the scene, didn’t you? I made sure not to touch anything. I stayed hidden when you ran. The police followed you. They know the suspect was tall. I’m not.”

I tried to strike back. “But I have no motive.”

“Sure you do, Mickey.”

“What?”

“You wanted to be the big hero,” Troy said. “You wanted to get me back on the team. You’re a troubled new kid with no friends and figured this was your way to ingratiate yourself with the popular crowd.”

I shook my head. How could I have not seen this coming? But I knew the answer. Troy, in his own horrible way, had nailed it on the head. I had wanted to fit in. Hadn’t Ema warned me about that? But I wouldn’t listen. I had wanted to be liked. I wanted to be part of the team. I had wanted Troy to be innocent because it would serve my purposes. More than that, I had wanted to be the one to prove him innocent—to be the big hero.

And in the end, Troy was guilty. He had lied and cheated, and now he sat across from me with a big smile on his face.