Maybe the students would come through with something that might affect the jury. Luke wasn’t sure but it felt significant. Like God wanted him to pay particular attention to this part.
Not until the show was over and they were home in Indianapolis did the line finally make sense.
Luke walked into Tommy’s room to say goodnight, but the boy’s bed was empty. Tommy was fourteen that fall, and it was after midnight. But with church in the morning, normally their oldest son would be in bed by now.
A quick check of the other bedrooms didn’t turn up Tommy, either. Luke jogged down the stairs and found Reagan in the kitchen. “Where’s Tommy?”
“In your office.” She pointed to the glass doors on the small room just off the kitchen. “He’s been in there since we got home.”
Strange. Luke headed into the office, closed the door behind him and watched his oldest child. The boy was sitting at Luke’s desk, Wendell’s three presentation folders spread out before him.
Tommy looked up. “Hi, Dad.” A serious look filled his face. “I can’t stop thinking about your case. The one with the principal.”
“Right.” Luke moved slowly to the other chair, the one in the corner of the room. “I feel the same way.” He waited a moment. “So what are you reading?”
“I mean”—Tommy looked at the documents and then back at Luke—“it’s all super interesting. Having Bible study at the school has changed everything. Test scores, crime rates, all of it.”
Tommy sounded like a seasoned lawyer. Luke stifled a smile to keep things serious. The paperwork was private between him and his client. But Tommy’s interest was harmless. Besides, Luke loved that his son was intrigued by the case. “No question Principal Quinn’s plan worked.”
“Exactly.” Tommy pointed to the first folder. The one that contained Wendell’s research from two summers ago. “Wasn’t he just doing his job, Dad? I mean . . . did you read this?”
Suddenly Luke felt embarrassed. He needed precedent, not statistics and historical quotes, not Bible verses and anecdotes. How many times had Wendell asked him the same thing? “No . . . I’m going to, but . . . not yet.”
Tommy seemed unfazed. He opened the cover and read from one of the first few pages. “Listen to this. Here’s the job description Principal Quinn agreed to carry out when he was hired.” Tommy hesitated. “Establish a schoolwide vision of commitment to high standards and ensure the success of all students.” Tommy looked at Luke. “Principal Quinn had tried everything else, right? Isn’t that what he told you?”
Luke smiled. Tommy must’ve been paying attention when Luke and Reagan had talked about the case the other night at dinner. “Yes.” Luke could see where Tommy was headed with this. “He’d tried everything else.”
“So then—if he wanted to do his job—he had to think of something else, right?”
“Right.” Luke’s heart raced. Tommy was only a freshman in high school. His dream of being a lawyer felt pretty solid right about now.
“So he tried a voluntary Bible study, and it worked.” Tommy picked up the second folder, the one with the research from the college student. “Which can only mean one thing.”
Luke waited. Tommy deserved his shot at making the case here.
“Principal Quinn was just doing his job. He was establishing a schoolwide vision of commitment to high standards, and he was offering at least one way to ensure the success of his students.”
Slowly Luke began to nod. “I really wanted precedent for this case. Something that would prove to the jury why this case might be an easy win for Mr. Quinn.”
“But, Dad . . .” Tommy smiled and handed Luke the first folder. “Sometimes you have to set precedent. Right? I mean . . . someone has to blaze the trail for everyone else. Plus, you have God on your side.”
Luke took Wendell’s presentation folder, amazed at the astuteness of his oldest son. “Well . . . you have a point.”
Tommy nodded. “I thought so.” He yawned and stood, pushing the desk chair in before walking over to Luke. “I’m headed to bed. Goodnight, Dad. Love you.”
“Goodnight.” A sense of bewilderment came over Luke. “Love you, Tommy.”
The boy seemed nonchalant as he made his way to the kitchen, kissed his mother and climbed the stairs. Like solving crazy difficult cases was a normal part of his Saturday night.
For a long time, Luke sat there in his office and stared at the folder in his hand. The one Wendell had wanted him to read all those days ago. This was a different take, for sure. Landsford would never expect Luke to come at the case from this angle. But it just might work.
Like Tommy said, Principal Quinn was just doing his job.
And suddenly the scene from the musical came back to Luke, the one that had seemed so profound. The Whos had been in dire need, their town on the dust speck about to be boiled in oil. But in the end, little JoJo had made a single sound. And that one sound had saved the Whos.
Their whole world was saved by the smallest of all.
Dr. Seuss’s message was clear. Every voice counted. Every life mattered. And in this case, no years of legal training and courtroom experience could match the simple understanding of a kid.
Someone like Tommy.
Luke wasn’t sure if he had his answer. He had no idea if this was a trail he could follow to victory for Wendell Quinn. But he had something he didn’t have this morning.
He had the hope of a child.
? ? ?
THAT NIGHT JUST after midnight, Cami agreed to meet Jordy at the park between his house and the Smiths’, the place where she was still living. The trial was set to begin Monday morning.
The meeting was Jordy’s idea. They needed a plan, he had told her. Some way that the kids in the Raise the Bar club could help his dad win the case against him. None of them could imagine what might happen if they were shut down. Cami loved the club. It had become her refuge. If Principal Quinn lost, the club would break up and she would lose the one thing she counted on.
It was cold and windy outside. Not quite winter, but close. Cami put on her down jacket and pulled a woolen beanie over her ears. Slipping out of the house without being noticed, she jogged the three blocks to the park. She spotted Jordy on the bench, right where he’d said he’d be. But he wasn’t alone.
As Cami came closer she saw at least another twenty Hamilton High students gathered around Jordy. It took no time to figure out that everyone was there to help.
“This is our thing.” One of the guys started the meeting. “The club is for us, so we’re the ones who should testify.”
“I agree.” Cami pulled her coat tight around her waist. She shivered, not so much because of the cold but because of the matter at hand. “If we didn’t want a Bible study we wouldn’t go. But since we’re all going, we should be the ones fighting for it.”
Jordy was quiet during the meeting. It was his dad’s career at stake. His father’s reputation was his reputation, in some ways. It made sense that Jordy would let the others do the talking. He only spoke at the very end.
“What you’re saying is true.” He looked at Cami and then the others. “My dad only did this for you. For us. Because our school was falling apart.”
“And now it’s doing so much better.” Another guy stepped up, his voice filled with passion. “Jordy, you find out which day we should be there. Then I say we skip class and show up. As many of us as they’ll allow in the courtroom.”
They agreed on the plan and the kids left for their own homes. Only Cami and Jordy remained. Jordy slid his hands into the pockets of his thick jacket. “Thanks. For being here tonight.”
Only a few feet separated them. The nearby streetlight shone a splash of yellow over the spot where they stood. “Of course.” She had done everything in her power to keep her distance from Jordy. What she felt for him still could go nowhere.
But Jordy was making it difficult.
Cami took a step closer so she could keep her voice quiet. “I still feel like this is my fault.”
“It was never your fault.” Their breath hung in the air between them. “When this is all over, I still want to go to Liberty with you next year.”