Free Criminal by Helen Chapman Page B

couldn’t think why anyone would want to get him into trouble. He was sure he hadn’t upset anyone.
    â€˜I don’t know why, but we’ll find out. We are going to set a trap,’ replied Jacky. ‘We need to get the Gang-Stars to help.’
    Everyone wanted to help Zeke prove he was innocent. ‘What can we do?’ they asked.
    â€˜I need you all to leave something easy to steal in your locker,’ said Jacky. ‘Then I’m going to hide my dad’s video camera on top of the lockers. It can record whoever takes the stuff.’
    â€˜Great plan, Jacky,’ said Zeke. ‘We’ll get to see who the real thief is.’
    On Monday, Claire’s scarf went missing. But Jacky’s camera ran out of battery power. They couldn’t see who stole the scarf.
    â€˜Look, I can see a hand,’ said Jacky. ‘But then the battery died. I can’t see their face.’
    â€˜It could be anyone’s hand,’ grumbled Zeke. ‘Even mine. That means we have no proof.’
    On Tuesday, Callum’s headphones went missing. This time, someone had slammed the lockers so hard that the camera had fallen over on to its side.
    â€˜Great shot of the ceiling,’ said Zeke when he played back the videotape.
    â€˜Well, it’s not my fault that someone slammed the lockers,’ replied Jacky.
    â€˜It means we still can’t prove I’m innocent,’ said Zeke.
    On Wednesday, Jacky taped the camera down. It couldn’t move now. So, when Natalie’s CDs went missing, the camera worked perfectly. It showed someone stealing the CDs. The thief had opened Zeke’s locker with a key and put the scarf, headphones and CDs inside.
    â€˜How did they get my locker key?’ asked Zeke.
    â€˜Didn’t you lose it last week? You had to bring in your spare key,’ said Jacky.
    â€˜You’re right, but it looks like I didn’t lose it. Someone stole it. But why?’ Zeke wanted to know.
    Jacky and Zeke watched the rest of the video. They waited to see the thief’s face. When they did see the face they were confused.
    â€˜I don’t believe it. We finally film the thief but we can’t work out who they are. He or she is wearing a mask!’ said Jacky.
    â€˜It could be anyone,’ said Zeke. ‘There are three dancers wearing exactly the same mask for the concert.’
    Zeke and Jacky were one step closer to finding the thief. It looked like it had to be one of the dancers who was performing with Zeke in the Concert in the Park: Ziggy, Florence or Simon. But which one?
    Principal Blake called Zeke and Jacky to the office again.
    â€˜Well, have you got any proof?’ he asked.
    They explained about the thief in the mask. ‘That’s not enough,’ said the Principal. ‘The stolen things were found in your locker, Zeke, so you can’t blame this on other people without proof.’
    They asked Principal Blake for more time to find out who the real thief was.
    â€˜I’ll give you twenty-four hours,’ said Principal Blake. ‘Then if you still can’t give me any proof, I will have to call the police. We may have to expel you, Zeke.’
    Zeke had always known he could get expelled if he got into trouble again. He couldn’t let that happen when he hadn’t done anything wrong. He just had to find the real thief.

Zeke and Jacky went to the dress rehearsal. They wanted to have a good look at all the other dancers but one of them was late. When everyone had arrived, Zeke and Jacky looked closely at the three dancers wearing masks. But they all looked alike. Zeke and Jacky were never going to work out who the thief was just by looking at them.
    Zeke’s street dancing was rubbish for the whole rehearsal. He couldn’t focus because he was thinking about finding the thief. Mr Newman gave Zeke a warning.
    â€˜I’ll give your role to another dancer if you don’t do better than