Read Online The Poisoned Arrow by Simon Cheshire - Free Book Online

course, he always cheated in tests . . .? No, Dr Shroeder said his in-class work was the best he’s ever seen – you couldn’t cheat at that!)
    There was more going on here than I’d first thought. If Nat had owned up to taking that computer, why would he then lie about his reasons for doing it?
    ‘What about these three friends of Nat’s?’ I said. ‘How do they fit into the picture?’
    ‘Matt, Jack and Anil have been his best friends for years.’
    ‘Did they all go to St Egbert’s?’ I asked.
    ‘Oh no, they went to a nice school that was much less rough. Matt and Jack are doing English literature and Anil is doing engineering. They’re also shy and sensitive. I thought they
were such good boys until they started lying about Nat!’
    ‘How did that come about?’
    ‘The police let Nat go late on Monday. They said they needed more evidence before they could do anything.’
    ‘Wasn’t what he’d said enough?’
    Mrs Hardyman shook her head. ‘The police won’t charge someone based on a confession alone and Nat couldn’t produce the computer to prove he’d taken it. I think perhaps
they realised he was making it all up. He wouldn’t talk about it when he got back. I was just glad to have him home. I thought the whole horrible business might blow over and the university
would let him return in a few days, but then the police came to the house and arrested him on Tuesday. Now he’s out on bail, waiting to be taken to court.’
    ‘Because his friends backed up his story?’ I queried.
    ‘Yes,’ said Mrs Hardyman. ‘They went to the police on Tuesday morning. All three of them said they’d seen Nat come out of Dr Shroeder’s room with the laptop. Jack
also said he’d seen Nat an hour later carrying the laptop around campus. Anil said he’d seen Nat at lunchtime using the laptop in the library.’
    Wait a minute. Something else didn’t add up.
    Unless two and two had suddenly started equalling five, there was a strange mismatch here. There was a weird inconsistency between what Nat’s friends had told the police and what the
police had already discovered for themselves on Monday.
    Have you noticed what didn’t quite make sense?

    On Monday, the police had asked questions around the campus. A number of students had said they’d seen Nat but nobody had seen the computer.
    Yet Nat’s three friends had apparently seen him with the computer? At three separate times? On the same day? Although nobody else had seen the stolen laptop? Only Nat’s own buddies could link him to the crime?
    And why hadn’t these friends said anything to the police on Monday? Why wait a day?
    ‘Surely the police spotted the contradiction?’ I frowned.
    ‘Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t,’ sighed Mrs Hardyman sadly. ‘All I know is that on Tuesday they had enough evidence to charge him. I think they just wanted a result.
Something’s got to be done about this situation, and quickly. If Nat’s not allowed back to class, he’ll miss the exam, he’ll fail his course, he’ll have ruined his
whole future! And he’s such a good boy!’
    ‘Never fear,’ I said. ‘Saxby Smart is on the case.’
    A Page From My Notebook
    There are a number of possibilities here:
    POSSIBILITY 1: Mrs Hardyman is right and Nat is being bullied. She said he’s the shy and sensitive type, and this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve come
    across a tactic like that.
    BUT!: Why would someone go to all the trouble of making Nat own up to the crime? The real thief would risk Nat calling his bluff and leading the police to him,
wouldn’t he?
    POSSIBILITY 2: Mrs Hardyman is wrong and Nat is guilty after all. Once again, this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve come across an unlikely robber.
    BUT!: Why would Nat ADMIT to the theft? If he’d kept quiet, he may never have been discovered – the police were on the point of leaving. I’d be
investigating The Mystery of the Nicked Laptop instead!
    There is one giant-sized puzzle