Officer Riley’s face reddened. “Nicholas, does it look like we’re here to play games?”
Nicholas peered at Officer Riley and then at another policeman peeking inside a closet door and another—on all fours—looking under his bed and then back at Riley. “No, sir—it doesn’t.”
“Then tell us where your ‘sister’ went,” Officer Riley said. “We saw her dash into this room and slam the door behind.”
“But officer, I told you where she went.” Nicholas looked at a full-length mirror, and Officer Riley sighed.
“Come now, boy,” Officer Riley said. “Do you really take me for a fool?”
“But it’s the truth!”
“No, it’s impossible! Now then, you said you were on your bed reading when she darted into the room, correct? Okay, so start there—what happened, what did she say?”
“She didn’t do any explaining.” Nicholas glanced at a comic book on his nightstand. “I was lying on the bed when she raced into the room, told me to tell mom and dad that she’d be at a friend’s house all day today, and—” Nicholas turned toward the mirror. “Jumped into that mirror.”
Officer Riley stared at Nicholas, gnashed his teeth, and plodded to the mirror, swinging it into a horizontal position and back vertical, and then knocked on its glass. “Seems solid to me, yet she passed into it, correct?”
Nicholas nodded.
“Care to show me how she did it?”
“I can’t, sir.”
“So, you mean to tell me you ‘sister’ can walk through this mirror and not you?”
“Yes.”
“And why’s that? What makes her so special?”
“A ring she’s wearing.”
Officer Riley clapped his hands together. “So, you confirm you saw her wearing a ring!”
Nicholas bowed his head.
“Oh, don’t be shy now, boy. You knew she’d planned to visit Metro Square Museum’s traveling jewelry exhibit to steal.”
“She’s not a jewel thief!”
Office Riley chuckled. “Then what do you call a someone who steals jewels?”
Nicholas sighed.