Page 53 of Wired Strong

“You are absolutely right.” Ka`ula reached for his phone, pressed a button, and briskly directed his receptionist to contact Jana Kanekoa at her workplace.

Leede patted the boy’s shoulder. “I’m sure your mother will be very concerned.”

Conrad hunched forward, covering his face with his hands, clearly mortified at the prospect of his mother’s arrival. Ka`ula looked to both Leede and Raveaux. “I think we can take it from here. Once the parent gets here, she can help us get to the bottom of this. If not, we’ll call the police.”

“Respectfully, I disagree with calling the authorities just yet,” Raveaux said. “We would like to get to the bottom of it ourselves, without law enforcement involvement at the moment.”

“But you are right, Doctor Ka`ula, that we need his mother present. He is a minor, and thus, unable to make his own decisions.” Leede said it gently, but the effect on Conrad was electric.

“Bullshit!” The boy sat up suddenly, throwing open his arms in an expansive gesture. “Don’t you dare say I can’t make my own decisions. I could steal you blind, and you wouldn’t even know it. You idiots have no idea what’s been going on. You’re never going to have any idea what happened to that money, or why I did it.”

“Tell us more about that,” Leede led him like a lamb to slaughter with her admiring smile. “I’d like to understand how a student as brilliant as you, did what you did, and why.”

Conrad flexed his skinny arms. “I can’t explain that part to you, I’m sure it’s too technical for you to follow,” he said patronizingly. “But I did it because this school is racist. That money was going to places where it could make a difference for kids who weren’t going to have the kind of opportunity I did, coming here.”

“Thank you for your confession, Mr. Kanekoa,” Ka`ula said. “This is all being recorded, which you were informed of at the beginning of our interview.”

The color drained from Conrad’s face as he realized he had been baited. “I’d like a lawyer now.”

“Again, this is not a court or a police matter at this point,” Ka`ula said. “You have no rights in this office. But we do need all the information so that we can make an informed decision about consequences for the crime that you’ve committed. You might as well tell us everything.”

Just then, the door banged open. “Tell us what?” A tall, plump woman wearing a tropical print shirt and leggings with a pair of high heels strode into the room. Mrs. Kanekoa put her hands on her hips, and she was an intimidating sight as she glared at the headmaster. “How dare you interview my son without my presence. He’s a minor!”

“You were called as soon as was appropriate, Mrs. Kanekoa.” Ka`ula bit down on his lower lip, clearly needing a moment to deal with his irritation.

Leede stood up. She extended a hand toward Jana Kanekoa. “I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Hermione Leede, and I’m a private investigator. This is my associate, Pierre Raveaux, with Security Solutions.” Raveaux waved from where he was seated—one more adult outnumbering her child would only provoke the woman’s protective parental instincts.

Leede went on. “We have been retained by Kama`aina Schools to investigate a situation of missing funds embezzled through an ingenious computer programming scheme. Your son has admitted that he is involved in this crime.”

Kanekoa swiveled to stare at the boy. “Conrad! I taught you better than that!” Conrad lowered his gaze, but his mouth was set mulishly.

The headmaster stood up. “Mrs. Kanekoa, let me get you a chair.”

Raveaux stood up and gestured for the woman to take his. “Please. Have a seat, madame.”

Kanekoa sat down beside her son. “Why wasn’t I called immediately?”

“You were called as soon as we realized the seriousness of Conrad’s involvement,” Dr. Ka`ula said. “I must remind you that this is a private school and a private matter, not yet a police investigation. But it could become that, if we don’t know and understand everything that Conrad has been up to. Also, we are recording this interview for our records.”

Raveaux went over to the stack of chairs and quietly removed another one. He seated himself in the corner, out of the view of the video camera and the drama taking place in front of the desk. Mrs. Kanekoa shouldn’t feel like she was so outnumbered that it prompted her to remove the boy. Should she attempt to do so, they would be unable to do anything but call the police, and he could tell that Leede was hoping that they could still resolve the whole thing right here, right now.

Leede opened her mouth and said just that. “We have identified the money trail, and it ends at a private account in the Cayman Islands. We have had the FBI offer to provide us information about the owner of that account. But, for that to happen, we need to open a formal FBI case. So far, Dr. Ka`ula and the Board of Kama`aina Schools would like to handle this matter privately. Conrad, if you will give us a full confession, and return the money that you stole, I’m sure that would go a long way to assuaging the concern that the school has about this security breach.”

Conrad licked his lips. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face Ka`ula behind his massive desk. “Screw you,” the boy said, and flipped the headmaster the bird.

Mrs. Kanekoa reacted in rage; she grabbed Conrad’s arm and yanked him up from his chair. “We’ll be in touch with you when my son has come to his right mind,” she said through gritted teeth. “Please hold off on calling the police or the FBI until I can talk some sense into him. You have my word that I’ll get him to tell you what you need to know and give the money back.”

The boy still refused to get up, so his mother grabbed him by the ear. Conrad yelped as she pulled him out of the chair, and marched him out of the room, all the way out through the door.

Ka`ula turned to the video recording the entire thing. “This concludes our interview with Conrad Kanekoa and his mother, Jana,” he said, and pressed off.

The three of them stared at each other for a moment. Ka`ula dropped his face into his hands and made a moaning noise. “This is a nightmare.”

Leede stood up. “I disagree. As I’m sure Monsieur Raveaux told you, it’s much better from a PR standpoint, to have it be a brilliant student rip off the school than one of the adults on your staff. The boy is also doing something with the money that sends it to charities. There’s a story here—we just need to understand what it is.”

“Ms. Leede is correct,” Raveaux said. “Let’s give them a day or so.”

“Yes. And before you come down too hard on him, or get the police involved, let my partner and me go out to their house and see what we can get him to tell us voluntarily. In the meantime, you can notify the board of the progress we’ve made. I’m sure that will go a long way to establishing a positive outcome.” Leede smiled, and came around the desk to pat the man’s shoulder comfortingly. “We know our way out.”

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