A Case of Revenge

At the school science fair, Dwayne displays a working model city, Cody presents a moving solar system, and Mandy demonstrates how her cat Simpson has learned to expect food whenever he hears a bell. Jared is proudest of his own entry, a radio-controlled model fighter plane that he has spent six weeks building from scratch. It can fly at high speed and even fire tiny pellets from its wings.

Rodney Rathbone grabs the controls and sends the plane diving around the room. He shoots toward Simpson, smashes through the model solar system and city, and finally crashes Jared’s plane. The principal suspends Rodney, but Jared thinks that punishment is far too mild. He promises to make Rodney pay.

While helping Whit with yard work, Jared complains that Rodney deserves revenge. Whit reminds him that Jesus teaches people to love their enemies and pray for those who mistreat them. Jared is in no mood to listen. When Mandy arrives in a panic because Simpson has disappeared, Jared immediately suspects Rodney. He points out that Rodney dislikes the cat and had fired at him with the model plane. Whit insists that suspicion is not proof and organizes a search of McAlister Park while Mandy waits at home in case Simpson returns.

At the park, Jared and Whit meet Dwayne and Cody, whose unlocked bicycles have vanished from beside the stream. Jared again blames Rodney, imagining that he sells stolen bicycles. Near the spot where the bikes disappeared, Jared finds a pocketknife marked with Rodney’s initials. To him, the knife proves everything, but Whit warns that its presence does not prove Rodney has stolen anything.

On their way back, Jared and Whit see smoke coming from the school. Jared calls emergency services while Whit finds a hose, and together they keep the fire from becoming much worse. Investigators discover a gas can but do not yet know how the blaze began. Jared tells Officer McCoy that Rodney must be responsible, exaggerating the science-fair accident and calling Rodney a fire starter. Although Whit stresses that the evidence is only circumstantial, McCoy agrees to question him.

At the Rathbone home, Rodney appears to be climbing over a fence to escape. Jared confronts him about the missing cat, the bicycles, and the fire. Rodney denies everything and says he lost his pocketknife several days earlier. Officer McCoy then discovers gasoline-soaked rags. Rodney explains that he used them to clean a minibike he had taken from a friend without permission. That separate wrongdoing makes his denials even harder to trust, and McCoy takes him downtown for questioning while Rodney pleads for someone to believe him.

The next morning, Jared’s case against Rodney collapses piece by piece. Simpson has already returned home on his own. Dwayne and Cody’s parents have taken the unlocked bicycles to teach the boys a lesson, and Rodney’s knife could easily have fallen from his pocket during an earlier visit to the pond. Finally, fire-department tests show that faulty electrical wiring ignited a gas can the school janitor had forgotten in a storeroom. Rodney has not caused the fire at all.

Jared admits to Whit that he has been wrong about everything. His anger over the destroyed plane has made him see guilt in every coincidence. Whit explains that revenge blinds people to the truth and reminds him that judgment belongs to God. Horrified that Rodney might be punished for something he did not do, Jared wants to clear his name. Whit has already notified the police, and they drive toward the juvenile detention center to collect Rodney and give Jared a chance to apologize.

Along the road, they find Officer McCoy’s car in a ditch. A cow has crossed in front of him, causing him to swerve and briefly lose consciousness. During the accident, a rear door has opened and Rodney has fled. Whit and Jared follow a trail of crushed grass across a field until it ends at a concealed abandoned well. Rodney has fallen inside and is stranded on a weak board with an injured arm.

Whit goes for his car and a rope while Jared stays beside the well. He tells Rodney that the investigation has proved him innocent, admits that his accusations came from anger, and apologizes. Rodney agrees to call them even once Jared gets him out. Because the well opening is too small for Whit, Jared must descend on the rope, secure it beneath Rodney’s arms, and trust Whit to pull them both up with the car. As the board gives way beneath them, Jared prays for help, and Whit hauls both boys safely to the surface.

Afterward, Rodney awkwardly compliments Jared’s plane, and Jared accepts the gesture as an apology. He tells Whit that he has learned not to seek revenge or accuse anyone without the facts. Almost at once, he angrily claims that someone has stolen his cap. Whit has him stand up and reveals it beneath him on the floor, leaving Jared with one more reminder to investigate before blaming anyone.