Margaret Thought Ryan’s Red Sneakers Proved He Was the Porch Thief — Then Walter Zoomed In on the Hoodie and Saw the Detail That Cleared His Name
Chapter 3 — Number Seventeen
“His name is Lucas Reed,” Ryan said.
Margaret frowned.
“Who?”
“Lucas.”
Ryan looked at the paused frame.
“He’s on St. Andrew’s junior basketball team.”
“Number seventeen.”
Walter looked toward him.
“Do you know him personally?”
“A little.”
The schools had played each other several times.
Ryan and Lucas also knew some of the same neighborhood teenagers.
“Does he live around here?” Margaret asked.
Ryan nodded.
“Two streets over, I think.”
Margaret looked toward the screen again.
“And he owns red shoes?”
Ryan almost laughed.
“Yes.”
Then his expression became serious.
“Actually…”
He searched his phone.
A photograph from a recent Ridgeway-versus-St. Andrew’s game appeared.
Several players stood near the court.
Lucas was visible at the edge.
St. Andrew’s warm-up hoodie.
Number seventeen.
Bright red sneakers.
Margaret stared.
“Those look exactly like Ryan’s.”
Walter nodded.
“Which is precisely why shoes alone are poor evidence.”
Margaret went quiet.
Ryan looked at the porch footage again.
“The hoodie looks like his too.”
Walter did not jump to the conclusion.
“Looks like isn’t the same as is.”
Ryan nodded.
He understood the point.
Walter saved the footage.
“Do we have recordings from the other package thefts?”
Margaret looked toward him.
“Probably.”
They found the first incident.
Six days earlier.
A small box had been delivered at 2:18 PM.
At 2:51, a hooded teen appeared.
Same general height.
Same dark clothes.
The shoes were harder to see.
But when Walter slowed the video…
the same white falcon appeared briefly on the shoulder.
Margaret sat down.
“So this has been the same person.”
“Looks that way,” Walter said.
Then they opened the footage from the second theft.
This time the camera caught something none of them had noticed before.
The teenager had not approached Margaret’s porch from the sidewalk.
He had stepped out of a dark vehicle parked across the street.
And another person had been driving.
