4 Mr. Peterson was true to his word . From that day on , he didn't just read his newspaper . He brought a small notepad and would ask me questions . " Tricia , do you remember exactly when Joshua ' became a star ' ? " I tilted my head , thinking . " When the balloons in the shop windows started to droop . " 7/11 11:19 11.19 Chapter 1 " And who gave you his phone that day ? " " A man in a uniform . He said his name was Davis . " Mr. Peterson jotted it all down . He asked me about Vivian , too . " When did she start being ' extra nice ' to you ? " I thought hard . " Right after Joshua left . " " What kind of things would she do for you ? " " She'd help me pay the bills , buy my groceries ... She even took my bank card and said she'd help me manage my money . " Mr. Peterson's brow furrowed . " Your bank card ? Which one ? " " The one Joshua gave me . He said it had lots and lots of money in it . ' His pen flew across the page . " Tricia , you're doing great , " he said . " These are very important clues . " I didn't know what clues were . I just knew that I was playing a game of " Find the Bad Kids " with Mr. Peterson , and we were on the same team . Besides talking to him , I started a new task . I began to go through all of Joshua's things . His closet , his desk , every box he'd left behind . I used to be afraid to touch them , scared I'd disturb the lingering scent of him . I wasn't scared anymore . The smell of lies needed to be aired out . Tucked away in the lining of an old suitcase , I found something . It was a movie ticket stub , dated from last winter . On that day , Joshua had told me he was attending a very important medical conference and would be back in three days . I remembered it perfectly , because it was snowing heavily and I missed him so much . But next to the ticket stub was a small receipt . A receipt for two hot chocolates . I stared at that receipt , and a memory sparked . That same night , Vivian had posted a photo to her social media . It was a picture of a hand holding a cup of hot chocolate , with the caption : Snowy nights are better with a friend . I had even ' liked ' the post at the time . I scrolled back through Vivian's feed , back , back , back for what felt like forever . And there it was . The picture . I laid my phone , the movie ticket , and the receipt for two hot chocolates side by side on the table . Evidence . Mr. Peterson said that's what this was called . Evidence . I carefully placed all of it inside my Bad Kid Record Book . 8/11 11.19 11:19 139 Chapter 1 The thief's trail was getting clearer .