“Fasten your seat belt.” He drove the truck onto the road and headed for town.
“Are you going to tell her?” Brad asked after a tense pause.
“Don’t you think I should?”
The boy looked down at his tightly entwined hands.
Mac gave him another minute to worry, then said, “I’m not going to tell her. The whole point of this is to keep her from finding out what a moron you almost were.”
Though he obviously resented Mac’s blunt words, Brad was hardly in a position to protest. “What about when she hears about Jimbo and Tommy? If they’re going to jail, everyone will be talking about it.”
“And she knows you started the evening in their company. You’re just going to have to tell her you found out what they were planning and chose to go home rather than get involved with something you knew was wrong. Don’t lie to her, just stick to that story.”
Brad looked out the passenger window as Mac turned onto the street where he lived. He waited until Mac parked in the driveway before saying, “If you hadn’t stopped me, I’d have been in jail right now.”
“Are you just figuring that out?”
“No. I just—well, thanks, okay? I really didn’t want to go to jail. I didn’t have anything to do with those other break-ins, I swear. I didn’t even know Jimbo was involved until he told me tonight. He didn’t think I’d go along with them before, but he thought I might tonight.”
“Because it was my place they were hitting this time.”
“Yeah.”
“They thought you hated me enough to help them. Then once they had you involved, it would have been easy enough for them to continue to control you by threatening to turn you in for this one.”
“I guess.”
“Trust me, that’s how it works. I’ve seen it a hundred times. That’s how Gilbert Dodson was able to get the kids to steal for him. He got them involved, strung them along with money and gifts, then coerced them into staying with him. Not that your buddies tonight seemed to need much coercion.”
“I didn’t know Officer Dodson was crooked. I thought he was a straight-up cop. I knew a lot of the guys liked to hang out with him, but I thought he was just…you know, mentoring them or something.”
Sensing that the boy was still badly shaken from his near brush with the law, Mac kept his voice calm and steady. “He ‘mentored’ them straight into jail. Even cops can go bad when they let greed and stupidity take over. They start feeling superior to everyone else, for one reason or another, and they begin to think the rules that apply to ordinary folks don’t apply to them.”
“Jimbo told me tonight that they only stole from people who were jerks. And everyone had insurance, so nobody really lost anything.”
“Do you agree with that line of reasoning?”
After only a moment, Brad shook his head.
“The insurance companies lose—and so do the people who have to pay higher rates. The crime victims who have to pay deductibles and then scramble to replace their belongings lose. You saw what your sister had to go through to replace her car and the things in it. It cost her quite a bit—and it wasn’t her fault.”
“I don’t need the lecture. I didn’t steal anything. I wouldn’t have gone through with it tonight. Even against you. I’ve been raised better than that. But I probably would have gotten into trouble, anyway, because I’d have run after them and tried to stop them. Nobody would’ve believed me.”
“Probably not.”
Brad sighed wearily. “Jimbo said you wanted me out of the way so I wouldn’t interfere with you chasing after my sister. He said you would do anything you could to come between us. He said if I hassled you enough, you’d decide she wasn’t worth it and you would leave us alone.”
“If I wanted you out of the way, I’d have let Chief Davenport haul you off tonight, now, wouldn’t I?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“Yeah. Go on in now. It’s late. And don’t scare your sister. Ring the bell and let her know who you are.”
“I will.” Brad didn’t seem to know quite what to say at that point. Mac knew the kid still had major issues with him. He was obviously torn between his previous dislike and his gratitude that he’d been spared a traumatic ordeal.
“Go on in, Brad,” Mac repeated quietly.
Brad apparently decided they’d said enough. He opened the door and slid out of the truck.