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 6 — The Car Belonged to Ryan’s Teammate’s Brother
The registered owner was nineteen-year-old Andrew Cole.
Ryan stared when Margaret told him.
“Andrew?”
Walter frowned.
“You know him?”
“His younger brother Mason is on my team.”
Andrew had graduated from Ridgeway the previous year.
He occasionally picked Mason up after basketball practice.
Ryan had been in Andrew’s car twice.
Margaret looked confused.
“Then why would a St. Andrew’s student be riding with him?”
Ryan thought.
“Andrew knows everybody.”
The connection did not identify the hooded teenager.
But it gave the investigation a second person to ask.
That evening, Walter reviewed the footage again.
“Look at the first theft.”
Margaret leaned closer.
The teenager approached alone.
No visible vehicle.
Second theft:
Blue sedan.
Third theft:
The teenager came from outside camera range.
Then Walter noticed the hoodie was slightly different during the first incident.
Same St. Andrew’s emblem.
But no visible number.
“Could be a team hoodie and a general school hoodie,” Ryan said.
Walter nodded.
Margaret looked uneasy.
“What if more than one student is doing this?”
“Possible.”
The following day, the officer spoke with Andrew.
He admitted driving the blue sedan.
He admitted stopping near Margaret’s house.
But he denied knowing the passenger intended to steal a package.
According to Andrew, the teenager told him he needed to pick up something a friend had left outside.
Andrew gave the officer the passenger’s name.
It was not Lucas Reed.
It was seventeen-year-old Tyler Bennett.
Ryan stared when he heard it.
“Tyler?”
Margaret looked toward him.
“Who’s Tyler?”
Ryan answered slowly.
“Lucas’s cousin.”
Then another detail clicked into place.
Tyler did not play basketball.
But Ryan had seen him wearing Lucas’s old team hoodie before.
