Wild Secret

ma’am. My guess is that someone got the kid to swap out the plates. How old is your son?"
"Ben is 12, and I think Jared is either 12 or 13."
“Do you know where Jared lives?”
"He lives in a duplex around the corner, but I'm not sure of the exact address. I can give you his mother's phone number if you need it.”
“That would be helpful.”
She texted it to me after I gave her my number.
“What’s Jared’s last name?"
"Landis."
"Thank you. Do me a favor and keep this between us until we have a chance to talk to Jared. Please don't contact his mother."
She nodded.
I thanked her for the information and headed back down the walkway. We pushed through the gate and stepped onto the sidewalk. I called Denise at the station and asked her to pull up background information on Jared Landis. The kid was a student at the middle school. He didn't have a juvenile record, but his brother did.
Trevor was 17 and had quite an impressive start. He was about to turn 18 in a few days. His budding career included burglary, assault, and possession. Two of his recent arrests were made by Deputy Chuck Atwood.
The dots were starting to connect.
We hopped into the car and zipped around the corner to the duplex.
"Coconut County," I shouted when I banged on the door.
According to the records, Jared and his brother lived with their mother, Janice. The duplex was a small white house with two red doors and red shutters. A white picket fence surrounded the lawn, but oddly there were no trees. It looked barren compared to the surrounding lawns.
Janice pulled open the door with a tight face and annoyed eyes. "Which one are you here for?"
"Both," I said.
She stifled a groan.
Janice had short dark hair, brown eyes, and a narrow face. She was mid to late 30s and had a petite figure.
"What did they do now?"
I showed her the video footage.
She cringed.
"Is that your son?"
I could see the torment in her eyes. "That image is really grainy. It's difficult to say."
I gave her a flat stare. "Come on, Mrs. Landis. It's Jared."
"What's this about?"
"One of our deputies was shot and killed. The suspects were driving a stolen car. We believe the plates of the stolen car were swapped with a vehicle owned by April McGee. We don't think Jared was involved in the shooting. But we want to know why he swapped the plates and who else was involved."
Concern bathed her eyes.
A yellow school bus squealed to a stop nearby. The brakes hissed, and the flashing red lights flickered. School kids flooded off the bus, wearing backpacks and carrying books, eager to indulge in an afternoon of play.
It was a bunch of middle school kids, and it didn't take long for Jared to emerge from the crowd. He marched toward the duplex and hesitated when he caught sight of us at the front door. We all stared in his direction.
He contemplated taking off and running. He knew he was in some kind of trouble. After a moment’s pause, he kept marching forward. Jared stepped onto the porch and gave us a curious look. "Who are you?"
"These two deputies would like to talk to you," Janice said in a stern tone.
Jared's suspicious eyes flicked to us. "You don’t look like cops."
I flashed my badge.
"Am I supposed to be scared?"
"You got something to be scared about?"
"Nope."
"Is this you?" I said, showing him the image on my phone.
He studied it briefly. "Nope."
I lifted an incredulous brow. "Really?"
“Nope.”
I played the full video for him. "That's not you exchanging the plates on the car."
He shook his head. "Nope. That ain't me. Doesn't even look like me."
"It looks an awful lot like you."
"I don't know what to tell you."
"You could tell me who asked you to swap the plates."
"I told you. That ain't me."
"Did your brother ask you to do it?"
Jared shook his head.
"Where is Trevor?" I asked Janice.
She looked at her watch. "He should be getting home from school any minute now. If he bothered to go."
"Jared, you’re not gonna get in any trouble if you cooperate with us,” I said. “We just need to know who asked you to swap the plates."
Maybe I was being naïve, but I didn't figure a 12-year-old kid would gun down a deputy sheriff. Then again, we were living in strange times.
"I want to talk to my attorney," Jared said.
"You're not under arrest," I said.
A car full of kids pulled to the curb in front of the duplex. I recognized Trevor from his mug shot as he hopped out of the backseat. The car drove away, and he walked to the door with caution.
"Don't say anything, Trevor,” Jared shouted. “They’re cops."
His eyes rounded, and his face tensed. He froze in his tracks.
"We just need to have a few words with you,” I said.

14
"You better not have done anything!” Janice snapped. "I'm still trying to pay off the last trouble you got into."
"I didn't do nothing," Trevor said.
"Did you have your little brother swap license plates on April McGee's car?" I asked.
His face crinkled. "No. I don't know what you’re talking about."
"Where were you last night around 10 PM?" I asked.
"He was here with me," Janice said. “It was a school night. I don't let the boys out on a school night."
I knew she didn't want to see her kids get in trouble. I wasn't sure if she was just covering for them or if they really were at home like she said.
“I think we’ve said all we’re going to say,” Janice said. “You need anything else, come back with a warrant.” Her stern gaze snapped to her kids. “Get inside now! Both of you.”
They slumped and shuffled into the duplex.
Janice frowned at us and slammed the door. She yelled at both of them once they were inside. “What the hell did you get into this time?”
We stood on the porch and eavesdropped as she berated them.
"I didn't do nothing," Trevor protested.
"You’re both grounded."
The kids groaned.
“What for?" Trevor