Kiana pressed her notebooks to her chest as the bell rang, protecting them like her fragile sense of reality. The once orderly, colorful pages now covered in scrolls of texts. Bent pages were smeared with pencil and poked out under a torn cover. The stickers had peeled off the front and pen markings had been rubbed off, yet Kiana still held them tightly as she approached the teacher. Even if she was as much of a mess as her notebooks, she refused to give up on Jonathan.

"Umm, Mr. Juster?" Kiana's voice warbled as she stood in front of the desk. Images of Jonathan's strange family rippled through her mind. "I uh...I have some questions about our criminology project..."

Mr. Juster looked up at Kiana as the rest of the students filed out of the room, already on their way to classes. She knew she was a mess. Her hair was unwashed and face strewn with fear at the slightest idea of Jonathan. Every ounce of her was a jumpy mess until she was so exhausted, all she could do was stare anxiously at the door and hope that the teacher had all the answers.

"Sure." He responded calmly, leaning back in his chair with a smile. "I've noticed you missed a couple of days. Do you still need a topic to research?"

"Well, actually, I was hoping..." She paused, her mousy voice struggling under the weight of what she was trying to do. Almost a week had passed since the dinner, but it was time she found some answers. "Um, have you ever heard of The Great Disappearing Act?"

"The Great Disappearing Act?" He laughed to himself, drawing close to the computer as he did so. "That's a pretty big topic. I'm surprised you've never heard of it."

"Yeah, but what was it? I couldn't find much online but some vague news articles."

"It was...a rather peculiar set of crimes. Happened when you were probably only an infant." Mr. Juster began to type on the keyboard, eyes drawn to the screen as he found the information. "About 10 years ago, a piece of priceless sheet music was stolen from a sci-fi festival. They thought professional thieves were behind it. There was no trace of them and everyone thought the music was lost."

He paused, studying the screen through his glasses as Kiana waited. Shaking, she clutched the notebooks tighter as if holding them might cure her fear.

"Yet a week later, the music was returned. Perfect condition, no alterations, and a note taped to the surface apologizing for the inconvenience. It was signed 'The Great Disappearing Act', and we all thought that was the end of that."

"But it was just the beginning, wasn't it?" Kiana spoke up, Erica's hint echoing in her ears. Somehow, whatever it was, Jonathan was part of the crime. Juster smiled, soaking up information like a sponge.

"Oh, and it was a great beginning. It had us all fooled." Turning the computer, he gestured to a collection of images across the screen, each one a priceless artifact. Golden rings were followed by ornate paintings and small, marble statues while Kiana stood awestruck.

"Each of these objects were at one point, stolen and returned by The Great Disappearing Act. They stole millions of dollars in art and family heirlooms, then returned them with silly little notes. The police were panicking because the criminals were far too organized to be some thrill seekers. There were copycats everywhere, little kids began to look up to the mystery thief, and I swear there was a fan club."

"Yeah, but who did it?" Kiana rushed, gripping her notebook tightly as her mind whirred, already beginning to piece together the story.

"That's what really made this case." Juster scrolled down the page, adjusting his glasses as he read the fine print. "The police were expecting some professional criminals who got bored, but it was really just a couple of kids."

"Kids?"

"Hunter Jokela. A dark horse if you will. He was flunking out of high school, antisocial, and petrified of just about everything. Hardly a genius." Juster scratched his chin as he leaned closer to the screen, pulling up fact after fact. Trembling with each realization, Kiana stood still. "Four years after the sheet music went missing, he was arrested and charged with several accounts of burglary, forgery, and one account of identity theft -all important for you to research for your project."

"But that's it?" Kiana asked as all of her ideas began to fall away. There was no mention of a strange boy, no glimpse of blue hair or a deep cut on his cheek. Everything she thought she knew began to fall away, replaced only with the desperation and fear from knowing nothing at all.

"Actually, there was another criminal." Juster scrolled down to reveal the image of a boy with paled, freckled skin, blonde hair drooping into his blue eyes, and somehow appearing as innocent as he was guilty. Biting her lip, she tried to toss aside the resemblance, but it was too much to ignore.

"Hunter's brother, Jonathan Jokela. He probably had more influence on the crimes than Hunter did, but was never charged. In fact, most stories treat him like a hero since he was murdered because of the whole thing."