Theodore Boone The Accused

Chapter 25


Theo was in the middle of his homework when his father’s voice came across the office phone intercom. “Hey, Theo.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Could you please step into the conference room?”

“Sure.”

Both parents were there, and his mother had been crying. “What’s the matter?” Theo asked.

“We have some good news,” his father said.

“Then why is Mom crying?”

“I’m not crying, Theo,” she said. “Not now.”

His father said, “I just talked to Detective Vorman. They’ve arrested two boys, brothers, Jonah and Jessie Finn, for the break-in at Big Mac’s. The police found most of the stolen goods in the boys’ home.”

“Their mother is my client, Theo,” Mrs. Boone said sadly.

No kidding, Theo thought, but said nothing.

Mr. Boone continued, “The boys have confessed to everything, including their little campaign of terror against you. Seems they were carrying a pretty substantial grudge because of the divorce.”

“I’m so sorry, Theo,” Mrs. Boone said. “I should have realized this.”

Theo took a deep breath and smiled and thought about Ike. His crazy uncle had solved the mystery long before anyone else had a clue. “This is great,” Theo said. “The flat tires, the rock, the Internet stuff, everything?”

“Everything,” his father said. “The break came when someone at school reported that the younger boy, the seventh grader, had a cell phone in his pocket. As you know, that’s against the rules, and the cell phone turned out to be one that was stolen from the store. One thing led to another, more stolen goods were found in the boys’ lockers, and then the police got a search warrant.”

Theo felt as though someone was reading secrets he’d written about himself. He managed to smile and nod happily along, and he wasn’t really faking it. Theo was delighted this little nightmare was over. “What’s gonna happen to them?” he asked.

“That will be determined in Youth Court,” Mrs. Boone said. “The older one, Jessie, has a record and I suspect he’ll be sent away. Jonah will probably get probation.”

“What does this do to you and your client, their mother?” Theo asked.

“I can’t represent her, Theo. I’ll withdraw tomorrow as her lawyer. Her boys attacked you because of me, and I should have realized it. I’m so sorry.”

“Please, Mom, you had no idea.”

“It’s the right thing to do, Theo,” Mr. Boone added. “We may have to appear in Youth Court and talk about what these two guys did. Your mother cannot represent Mrs. Finn when we may have to testify against her sons. I know it’s sticky, but there’s no other choice.”

Theo shrugged, secretly delighted that all Finns would be gone from Boone & Boone.

Theo was thrilled. His parents were relieved. Even Judge looked happier.

“It’s Monday,” Theo said. “I’m going to run over and see Ike.”

Bob Dylan was playing softly on the stereo. Ike was smoking a pipe and a cloud of blue fog hung over the room. Theo had sent Ike a dozen text messages throughout the day to keep him posted. His last one read: Finns arrested. Full confessions. Whoopee.

“Congratulations, Ike,” Theo said as he dropped the fifty dollars on Ike’s insanely cluttered desk. “You did it.”

Ike grinned because it was not the right moment for modesty. “What can I say? I’m a genius.”

“Beautiful, Ike. Just beautiful.”

“What kind of mood is Marcella in?”

“Not too good. She’s blaming herself.”

“She should have realized, Theo. Marcella is too smart not to have suspected something from one of her cases.”

“Don’t blame her, Ike. She feels lousy enough.”

“Okay, but if I thought about it, then she should have thought about it, too.”

“Agreed. Are we going to tell her about snooping through her files?”

Ike kicked back and put his feet onto his desk, knocking off a few files in the process. “You know, Theo, I’ve been thinking about that. Now is not the time to come clean.”

“So when?”

“Don’t know. Let some time pass. Everybody’s kinda edgy right now. Your parents have been worried sick. Let things cool down, and then we’ll discuss the matter, just the two of us.”

“I’d feel better if we told my parents everything.”

“Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn’t. Look, Theo, honesty is a great virtue. You should always strive to be honest and trustworthy, and if your mother asked you tonight if you stole the password, gave it to me, and thus allowed me access to her divorce files, you would say Yes. That would be the honest thing to do. Right?”

“Right.”

“But she doesn’t know, and she may never know. Therefore, is it dishonest not to tell her?”

“It feels dishonest.”

“You’re thirteen years old. Have you told your mother every bad thing you’ve gotten away with in your life?”

“No.”

“Of course not. No one does, Theo. We all have our little secrets, and as long as they’re harmless, who really cares? With time, the secrets often go away and things don’t matter anymore.”

“What if someone checks the entry record to the firm’s InfoBrief and sees that it was accessed off-site?”

“Well, if you are confronted, then you tell the truth. And, I’ll step in, tell the truth, too, and take all the blame.”

“You can’t take all the blame, Ike, because I stole the password.”

“Under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do. I’ll have a little chat with your parents and explain that I insisted on looking at the files. We’ll fight and all that, but we’ve been fighting for a long time. Sometimes you gotta fight, Theo. Remember?”

“I guess, but I still don’t feel good about it.”

“Let’s do this, Theo. Let’s not mention this issue again for one full month. I’m writing this down. One month from today we’ll discuss it again.”

Theo thought about it for a moment, then reluctantly said, “Okay.” Theo knew, though, that it was not okay, and he knew it would bug him until he told his mother everything.

“Mom says you’re invited to dinner tonight at Robilio’s.”

“Tell her I said thanks.”

“I need to go. I don’t know what to say, Ike. You’re the greatest.”

“Not the greatest, Theo, but maybe in the top five.”

Theo bounded down the steps, hopped on his bike, and headed for the office. He pedaled furiously as he flew down the street. Everything seemed lighter—the air, the mood, the bike.

Theodore Boone, no longer the accused.