And was met with the sight of a janitor’s closet.

Cleaning supplies stacked on the shelf. A broom leaning up against the wall. In the corner, still as ever in his web, was King Ferdinand. So you are still alive, he thought.

“You hide in here?” said Ms. Heath, disbelief coating her voice.

He nodded.

She lowered her volume. “Oh,” she said softly. “It’s pretty small.”

“Yeah,” he said.

“And kind of dark,” she added.

“I guess,” he said. “But I don’t mind.”

Then she turned to face Héctor, and she sighed. Her face had softened and she gestured for him to leave the closet. He did, his face flushed with embarrassment, his head ringing from all the adrenaline.

“I need to ask you something,” said Ms. Heath. “And you don’t have to tell me now.”

“Okay,” he said, looking up at her.

She fixed him with a pitiful gaze. “Are you having problems at home, Héctor?”

That . . . was not what he expected her to say. “What do you mean?”

“If things are hard at home, or if someone is making you feel bad . . .” She pressed her lips together. “You can talk to me. If you need a grown-up to talk to, that is.”

Héctor’s anger flared again. The irony was too much. The obvious was right in front of her, but this whole time, she was creating her own story for Héctor instead of seeing the actual one unfolding.

So he shook his head. “I’m okay, Ms. Heath. Really.”

“I’m just concerned about you, Mr. Muñoz,” she said. “Given your tendency to act out.”

Héctor winced. “Yes, Ms. Heath,” he said. “I’m sorry for being such a bother.”

One side of her mouth curled up in a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry about the detention,” she said. “You don’t have to serve it. You told me the truth, and that’s what is most important. Just . . .” She paused. “Just try to behave, okay, Mr. Muñoz?”

“Yes, Ms. Heath.” He nodded at her, tried to seem as sincere as possible. “I will.”

She pulled out a small stack of hall passes and signed one for Héctor so he wouldn’t have a tardy on his record. Then she gave a curt smile and strolled off.

Héctor let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. He leaned back against the wall for support so he wouldn’t collapse. But it wasn’t over; there was a short squeak, and when he looked up, the boys’ room across the hall was open.

And Mike was creeping out of it, fury on his face.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

This was impossible.

Héctor froze. The door to the Room was right there, but there was no way for him to duck inside of it without revealing everything to Mike.