couldnât think why anyone would want to get him into trouble. He was sure he hadnât upset anyone.
âI donât know why, but weâll find out. We are going to set a trap,â replied Jacky. âWe need to get the Gang-Stars to help.â
Everyone wanted to help Zeke prove he was innocent. âWhat can we do?â they asked.
âI need you all to leave something easy to steal in your locker,â said Jacky. âThen Iâm going to hide my dadâs video camera on top of the lockers. It can record whoever takes the stuff.â
âGreat plan, Jacky,â said Zeke. âWeâll get to see who the real thief is.â
On Monday, Claireâs scarf went missing. But Jackyâs camera ran out of battery power. They couldnât see who stole the scarf.
âLook, I can see a hand,â said Jacky. âBut then the battery died. I canât see their face.â
âIt could be anyoneâs hand,â grumbled Zeke. âEven mine. That means we have no proof.â
On Tuesday, Callumâs headphones went missing. This time, someone had slammed the lockers so hard that the camera had fallen over on to its side.
âGreat shot of the ceiling,â said Zeke when he played back the videotape.
âWell, itâs not my fault that someone slammed the lockers,â replied Jacky.
âIt means we still canât prove Iâm innocent,â said Zeke.
On Wednesday, Jacky taped the camera down. It couldnât move now. So, when Natalieâs CDs went missing, the camera worked perfectly. It showed someone stealing the CDs. The thief had opened Zekeâs locker with a key and put the scarf, headphones and CDs inside.
âHow did they get my locker key?â asked Zeke.
âDidnât you lose it last week? You had to bring in your spare key,â said Jacky.
âYouâre right, but it looks like I didnât lose it. Someone stole it. But why?â Zeke wanted to know.
Jacky and Zeke watched the rest of the video. They waited to see the thiefâs face. When they did see the face they were confused.
âI donât believe it. We finally film the thief but we canât work out who they are. He or she is wearing a mask!â said Jacky.
âIt could be anyone,â said Zeke. âThere are three dancers wearing exactly the same mask for the concert.â
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.
âWell, have you got any proof?â he asked.
They explained about the thief in the mask. âThatâs not enough,â said the Principal. âThe stolen things were found in your locker, Zeke, so you canât blame this on other people without proof.â
They asked Principal Blake for more time to find out who the real thief was.
âIâll give you twenty-four hours,â said Principal Blake. âThen if you still canât give me any proof, I will have to call the police. We may have to expel you, Zeke.â
Zeke had always known he could get expelled if he got into trouble again. He couldnât let that happen when he hadnât 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.
Zekeâs street dancing was rubbish for the whole rehearsal. He couldnât focus because he was thinking about finding the thief. Mr Newman gave Zeke a warning.
âIâll give your role to another dancer if you donât do better than