The theme of the book is Mrs.Scratch went missing on a field trip. The day of the field trip there was a aronson. This means that someone set the fire and it was not a wild fire. The red diamond company set the fire which the blamed Scrod Jr. for. When the police came to arrest Scrod. He ran away and told Nick that he didn't do it.
At the beginning of the book Nick went to school and when him and Martha got to Mrs.Scratches class Scrod at a pencil and he had to do a essay over pimples. The next day was the field trip and Scrod didn't show up for the trip. In the middle of the book the police officers come to the school to talk to the students about the field trip. When Nick was called to see the officer he said that Scrod didn't do it