Read Online Hawk Moon by Rob MacGregor - Free Book Online Page B

Seven-ten A.M. Before the first class, before almost anyone was in the school. The time element was the first thing she and Baines had discussed when he'd asked for her help. He'd talked to the custodian, who'd claimed that the door to the computer lab had been locked Monday morning, as usual, until 7:45.
    She sat back in her chair and puzzled over the time and the code, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Her thoughts drifted to Will.
    There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she still felt too uncertain of herself to say anything directly. She'd taken the first step in that direction by sending him E-mail, telling him how certain she was that he was innocent. Sure, she'd only used her initials, knowing there were nine other students with the same initials. But it was a step, a baby step, but a step nonetheless.
    She would never have sent the note to him at all if Will hadn't sat at her table yesterday at lunch. They'd actually eaten together and it had been Will's choice. The thought still astonished her. Not that she thought he was interested in her. She knew that his so-called pals were giving him the cold shoulder. But that was their loss. As for her, she'd hardly been able to eat a thing or even look at him. All she'd done was babble to Charlie about programming. Will had probably thought she sounded like a machine, but she couldn't help it.
    She focused again on the screen. There was something wrong with the code. It took her a moment to pinpoint what it was. Too many digits. She counted them. One extra. What did that mean?
    She bit her lower lip. Of course. The E-mail had come from outside the school's computer system. That explained the time it was sent. But how could that be? You couldn't send E-mail from outside the system. The school administration had restricted E-mail usage a couple of years ago after some jerks were caught using the system to buy and sell steroids. Baines had said something about it after she'd started working as a sysop.
    Only someone with her own level of expertise could get into the system from outside. Unless the administration had approved an outside user. There was one way of finding out. She'd hack into the administration's file of E-mail codes. If there was an outside user, she would pinpoint who it was. It might take a while, but she was prepared to stay up all night.

Chapter Thirteen
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    T hat evening Will was trying to concentrate on his chemistry homework when he heard the engine of his mother's Grand Cherokee as it eased into the driveway. He'd been dreading telling her about his encounter with Detective Olsen and especially the reason she'd confronted him.
    He leaned toward the door and listened to the voices in the hallway. He heard his mother and Tom Burke, but there was another voice. A quieter voice that he couldn't place. Yet it was familiar. He pushed away from his desk, then walked out of his room and over to the bottom of the stairs. He listened for the voice again and this time when he heard it, a smile spread across his face.
    He bounded up the steps to the landing and looked past his mother and Burke. "Dad!"        
    Pete Lansa wasn't the type of man who hugged people, so Will stuck out his hand. Lansa smiled, shook his hand, then clasped him on both shoulders.
    His dark eyes stared into Will's and the look of support he saw bolstered his confidence.
    Will and his father were both five-foot-eight and husky. But the elder Lansa outweighed Will by about ten pounds. His shiny ebony hair brushed his shoulders, a contrast to Will's, which was shaved off an inch above his ears. "Good to see you, Son. How are you doing?"
    "Well, things haven't gone too well since the game."
    "Your mother called and told me all about it this morning. I took a plane from Flagstaff as soon as I could."
    "Tom and I just picked him up at the airport," Marion said.
    "You didn't have to come, Dad. I didn't do anything wrong."
    "I know you didn't. But you still