[1] Jason Dorrant is a lonely twelve-year-old boy who is a suspect in the brutal murder of Alicia Bartlett, the seven-year-old sister of a classmate.

Trent discovers that Jason had few friends prior to the crime save for Alicia, with whom he would regularly visit and complete jigsaw puzzles with.

Trent makes Jason look like a violent maniac simply because he reads and watches science fiction (accusing him of being unable to discern between fantasy and reality), gaslighting him until the boy begins to doubt his own statements and innocence.

The result is that Trent has successfully killed his own career; he is not demoted in actual rank, but faces permanent reassignment to overnight shifts and will never be called on to conduct interrogations again.

In the final twist, Jason fulfills the role that Trent assigned him, grabbing a butcher knife and heading to the local YMCA, where bully Bobo Kelton is.