WEDNESDAY

It would take a mega-crime before the police would decide to act on my advice.

The weeks that followed the Criddles’ attack on Mum’s car were the worst in my life. Not a day went by when Shahdan (I couldn’t even say his real name) didn’t torment me, threaten me, hit me, spit at me or take things from my bag. Some days he made me give him money and sandwiches.

Then the worst thing of all happened, when he gripped me in a headlock. He grabbed the cord round my neck and wrenched off my memory stick, then threw it down a drain. I was so upset that I shouted and screamed at him – but he only laughed even more. I couldn’t speak for the rest of the day.

There was no point trying to tell anyone what he did because:

a) no one wanted to know,

b) it made me feel like I couldn’t look after myself, so I was a useless failure, and

c) he told me what he and his brothers would do to me and my Mum if I ever told anyone.

I couldn’t talk to Mum about any of this, because when she gets upset she takes even more tablets and I can’t wake her up. Hannah knew about some of what was going on, but I didn’t feel I could talk to her either, especially as she was in the middle of some extra exams.

No one understood how miserable I was until three things helped to cheer me up.

1) Friday 12th of June arrived (my favourite date) and it was a super scorching sunny summer day. (WRM – that’s alliteration to change the mood and make things brighter.)

2) It was the day before the school fete and I was in charge of selling raffle tickets to Year 7. Mr. Adam said I had to be a genius because I could remember which ticket numbers each person bought. It’s just a memory trick I’ve got, as numbers are my thing.

3) The following week was Year 9 camp, so Victor Criddle would be away for a whole week and I would be free of his bullying. Unfortunately, Mr. Adam was also going on the camp (which is quite amazing as he’s really old – at 44 – to be sleeping outside).

I don’t like it when he’s not at school and someone else takes our class. I like things to stay the same always and I get a bit stressy when stuff or people get changed.

Even though my whole life was pants, that Friday the 12th was the start of something better.

The bus journey to school wasn’t good because Shahdan Criddle was hyper, as he was going off to camp the next day. He and another boy had a bit of a fight on the back seat and Shahdan ended up pushing a tissue up his nose to stop a nosebleed.

As I hadn’t had any breakfast, I took from my bag a nice red shiny apple to munch. But before I could take a bite, Shahdan whipped it from my hand and sunk his teeth into it. He cackled and scoffed the lot. Then, as always, he rummaged through my bag and took a Mars Bar.

There was lots going on that day and Mrs. Harris looked in a bit of a fluster when I went to her office at morning break. Her desk was piled with money bags and bundles of twenty pound notes.

‘Hello Eliot,’ she squeaked. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve got more money for me! I’ve got so much here, what with the raffle money, camp payments and everything else, I could run away and go on a world cruise.’

She gave one of her silly giggles. ‘But wouldn’t that be stealing, Mrs.

Harris?’ I said.

‘Yes, Eliot, it most certainly would. It was a joke, poppet. Now, how much money do you need to hand in?’

I told her I had sold two hundred and forty raffle tickets, so I had £120 to hand in – but she didn’t need to count the money as I had already checked it.

‘It’s just as well you’re such an honest and reliable boy, Eliot,’ she said. ‘I wish more people were like you.’

‘There’s something special I must show you,’ I told her.

I was really excited about a particular twenty pound note because I always look at the serial numbers on banknotes, as they can be quite interesting. It’s very rare to see a palindromic number on a twenty pound note, so I was delighted to see this one: EE33 876678.

I told Mrs. Harris that this was a particularly fascinating number for all sorts of reasons. One of them was the sum total of all the digits, which is one of those numbers I really love (for a start, it’s the smallest number with 10 factors, which I find big-time mega awesome).

Anyway, I’d already explained this to Mr. Adam and Mrs. Eve and shown them the twenty pound note. Miss Milligan in the next office said she ought to keep it, because it was only one number different from her phone number. I told her that was truly cosmic and I was ecstatic.

She just said, ‘That’s nice dear,’ and smiled weirdly.

I left Mrs. Harris surrounded by all that money and I went to the library, as I had an important job to do. I remember the time then was 10.56, so there were fourteen minutes of break-time left. This was information that would later be of use in constructing a timeline of events.

 

 

I went back to see Mrs. Harris at lunchtime to ask her how much money the raffle had collected so far, but I heard her before I got to the door. It wasn’t her silly giggle this time but it sounded like she was crying.

Miss Milligan saw me at the door and said, ‘Not now, Eliot. We’re sorting out a problem.’

‘Can I help?’ I said, looking into the office, where I could see the safe was open.

‘Thank you, Eliot, but this is a matter for the police. There’s been a burglary in here, I’m afraid.’

I took out my phone. ‘In that case, you can use my camera if you like. You ought to take a photo of the crime scene and you must make sure you don’t touch or move anything. Shall I take a picture for you?’

She didn’t say anything because she went to give Mrs. Harris another tissue – so I just pointed my camera and clicked.

They were too concerned about whatever had happened to bother with me, so I went to the library to upload my crime-scene image on the computer. I could soon see all sorts of interesting clues, so I was ready if the police wanted my advice. Sherlock Holmes would have solved this in minutes.

Instead of form-time at the end of the afternoon, the whole school had to go into the sports hall for a special assembly. A man in a stripy suit and a yellow tie stood at the front, with two policemen just behind him.

‘Some of you may have heard,’ he began, ‘that a burglary has occurred on these school premises. A substantial amount of money has been stolen and this is a very serious matter. I am in charge of the investigation and I need your help. The thief or thieves, whoever he, she or they happen to be, struck in broad daylight, so there are bound to be witnesses amongst you in here. Indeed, the culprit may also be sitting in front of me right now.

‘We are already pursuing various lines of enquiry and it will only be a matter of time before we shall be making an arrest. We are asking for your cooperation, particularly as it is your money, stolen from your school.

We shall be searching all bags as a routine procedure as you leave school this afternoon.

‘I want you all to reflect over this weekend and ask yourself two questions. First, have you seen anything or anyone suspicious today? Anything at all.

‘Second, if you happen to hear or know any information about this crime – or indeed, if you were part of it – I would like to hear from you. If anyone’s conscience is telling them to speak to one of our officers in confidence, I would urge you to tell us as soon as possible.’

 

 

Everyone was talking about the burglary on the bus home. Thankfully, as Year 9 were going off to camp early next morning, a certain person was in an unusually good mood and giving everyone sweets.

Someone asked him how much money he was taking to camp and he shouted for all to hear, ‘Millions ‘cos I’m loaded.’ He took a twenty pound note from inside his sock and waved it in the air.

I sat quietly and tidied my bag, as the police had gone through it and left it in a mess. Then I sat back and looked out of the bus window all the way home. It gave me important time to think and plan my letter. I was going to write to the police to tell them about all the clues I had seen and other likely evidence. But most of all, I had to tell them the name they needed to know.

This is a copy of the letter I later printed and sent to the police. It took me ages to write because of all the long words (to make it the sort of letter Sherlock Holmes would send).

 

Dear Criminal Investigation Department,

This is an anonymous letter because if the person I am about to name ever discovers I have written it, I will be at serious risk of major violence.

I have examined the evidence relating to the theft of thousands of pounds in cash from the safe in Castle Priory School’s finance office. There can be no doubt that the criminal you must arrest is a Year 9 boy by the name of Victor Criddle. The evidence from the crime scene is as follows.

1. Fingerprints. Victor Criddle’s fingerprints are likely to be on items on the office desk, but also inside the safe itself. Try looking on some of the empty plastic money bags he left behind.
2. DNA. Victor Criddle’s blood is probably on a discarded tissue in the corner of the office. If so, this would place him at the crime scene on the day of the theft.
3. DNA and/or dental impression. If you examine the apple core under the desk at the crime scene, you may obtain the criminal’s DNA from traces of saliva, as well as teeth marks that will probably match the dental records of Victor Criddle.
4. A faint purple shoeprint on a carpet tile just inside the office door is likely to match exactly the pattern on Victor Criddle’s shoe. As you know, all shoeprints are unique.

There will also be two other pieces of incriminating evidence:

1. The crime, as you have probably already calculated, must have taken place between 11.10 and 11.35, while the finance office was left unattended. If you examine CCTV images between those times from the camera at the reception area, you will see that Victor Criddle was out of his lesson and in close proximity to the crime scene at the exact time of the crime. This must make him a prime suspect.
2. I would advise you to examine Victor Criddle’s bedroom at 24 Rutland Drive, where you are bound to find indisputable evidence linking him to the crime. Your searches at school did not find the stolen money in his bag because he hid it inside his clothes.

I trust this gives you enough information to make a speedy arrest and to lock away Victor Criddle for a very long time.

Yours faithfully,

An Amateur Detective (similar to Sherlock Holmes)