“I’ve been working closely with Detective Murray. He’s still interviewing possible witnesses, but we do have a few people we can pin near the scene, and a possible ID on who bought the alcohol.” Jake was doing his best to glide over the fact that they still had very little evidence to connect anyone directly to the party. “As far as charges go, once we identify the organizers, I’m thinking it will run the gamut: criminal trespass, corruption of minors, vandalism, criminal mischief. We might be limited to trespass for some of the kids, but we’re still working on getting the full picture. And of course we’ll recommend restitution payments. Hit these kids—and their parents—where it hurts: the pocketbook.”

Jake had Hal’s full attention now. “Criminal mischief? That’s three and a half to seven. That’s a serious charge.”

Jake frowned. Neither Hal nor Chief Whitman had opened their files yet. “It was some pretty serious destruction,” he said. “Have you seen Murray’s report? We’re talking probably half a million in damage.”

“I spoke with Detective Murray,” Chief Whitman said. “In fact, I’ve asked him to back off a bit. I had an earful from Mike Jeffries, June Jeffries’s father. Does that name ring a bell? He’s an old friend. He called my office and said his daughter had been interrogated at school. Said she was so upset she had to stay at home the next day to deal with the anxiety of being ambushed in the hallway.”

Jake snorted. He couldn’t help it. He had a clear memory of June Jeffries coolly lying to them and then pulling out the my-dad-is-a-lawyer card before they could challenge her on it. The thought of that girl needing a mental health day was rich. But the chief didn’t look happy, and neither did Hal. This was not going how Jake thought it would, and he had a moment of uncertainty, wondering if they’d gone too far by visiting the school.

He leaned back in his chair. “Hey, I was there, and everything was by the book. There was a report at the school that a girl was assaulted at a party—sounds like the same party—so Murray asked a few questions. It was definitely not an interrogation.”

“An assault?” Hal asked, obviously hearing about it for the first time.

Jake winced. This would muddy the waters, and Murray hadn’t turned up any further information. “Just rumors so far. We don’t even have a name to go with the victim, so there’s not much we can do until someone comes forward.”