Theodore Boone: The Accomplice

Chapter 23

The Stratten County Grand Jury met twice a month in the main courtroom to review serious criminal charges. There were eighteen members, all registered voters of the county and all serving six month terms. The grand jury was controlled by Jack Hogan, who presented the cases. Like most grand juries, it almost always did whatever the chief prosecutor wanted. The majority of the cases were slam dunks. The defendants were guilty, and there were plenty of witnesses to prove it.

Unfortunately, each session was busy, each docket was long — there was no shortage of crime in Stratten County. Mr. Hogan presented each case, gave a summary of the facts, occasionally presented a witness or two, and then asked the grand jury to vote to indict the accused. The indictment was the formal charge of wrongdoing.

Drug cases consumed eighty percent of the docket, and after half an hour the grand jurors were usually bored with their work.

The grand jury convened at three p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, an hour after Judge Gantry had finished with some motion hearings. The courtroom was cleared and a deputy made sure the proceedings were private.

Jack Hogan was planning to present the armed robbery case against Garth Tucker. Clem Hamm was waiting to testify for the State. At the last minute, though, Clifford Nance convinced Hogan to delay the case until the following month. Nance assured the prosecutor that he was working on a deal with the three defendants that would be agreeable with everyone. Hogan didn’t really care. He had more serious matters to worry about than an eighteen-year-old kid goofing around with a water pistol.

The case of State versus Garth Tucker was postponed until further notice.

The other case was not. It was officially titled: “In The Matter of Tony and Woodrow Lambert,” and it was set for trial in Youth Court first thing on a Wednesday morning. All necessary parties were summoned, with the exception of Mr. Theodore Boone, who had no role in the case and was banished to his labors at Strattenburg Middle School.

The afternoon before, Theo swung by Ike’s office for an urgent meeting. He called ahead of time, explained to his uncle that things were serious, and told the story. Ike listened intently and found it hard to believe that an eighteen-year-old defendant was offering a cash bribe to a potential witness.

“They cannot take that money!” Ike said. “I don’t care how big the bribe, those boys cannot take the money.”

“They’re thinking about it,” Theo said. “At first they said no way, but then they started thinking about what they could do with the money, how it would help the family and take pressure off their mom, all that stuff.”

“Nonsense, Theo. Here’s a likely scenario. Let’s say Garth has the cash and Tony agrees to accept it on the sly. What if some of the bills are marked? What if Garth is wearing a wire? What if there’s a camera watching everything? Well, then, Tony gets compromised. Garth can’t run to the police and point a finger at Tony because Garth is just as guilty, even guiltier, but he’s got some real leverage over Tony. This could be a trap, Theo. It’s a bad deal because Garth is trying to bribe Tony into lying, and it’s a rotten deal because Garth might be trying to set up Tony. You tell Woody that this is a no-brainer.”

“I thought so. But I’m worried about them. Woody is really upset by this.”

“Tell Woody to trust his gut and say no. Nothing good will happen. Does their mother know about the bribe?”

“No, I don’t think so. Woody says I’m the only other person who knows about it. Should I tell Mom and Dad?”

Ike sipped his beer and scratched his nose. “No. You know how uptight they are. They’re officers of the court and ethically bound to report wrongdoing, especially crimes involving the wheels of justice. If they knew one witness was trying to bribe another, they’d probably freak out and run to the judge. Let’s leave them out of it for now.”

“I agree. They would only complicate matters. Should I tell Judge Gantry? He and I are pretty tight.”

“Right now I say no, but let me think about it.”

They thought about it for a long time, the only sound was Bob Dylan singing softly about lost love. Finally, Theo asked, “Where would Garth get five thousand dollars in cash?”

“Who knows? I doubt if it’s his. I doubt if Clifford Nance knows anything about it. He’s an ethical lawyer. So, the money is probably coming from Garth’s family. His father is a high roller who borrows a lot and takes big risks. Maybe he figures five thousand bucks is nothing to keep his kid out of prison. Who knows? The important thing is for your friends to run away from this kid and his cash. Tell them to go to court, tell the truth, and deal with whatever happens.”

“I’ve told Woody that, more than once.”

“This is troubling, Theo. And it’s dangerous.”

“Does this stuff happen all the time, Ike? I mean, you know how much I love trials and courtrooms and how much I respect the law, and it’s never occurred to me that the witness on the stand might be lying because he took a bribe.”

“I don’t know, Theo. I wasn’t much of a courtroom lawyer. Plus, I got chewed up by the system so I’m probably not the one to ask. But, no, I don’t believe this stuff happens all the time. This is pretty wild. An eighteen-year-old kid offering cash.”

“Kinda makes me sick.”

Unknown to Theo, Woody was at the same time having a similar conversation not far away in the den of Major Ludwig’s bungalow. Not surprisingly, the Major’s reaction was similar to Ike’s. He was shocked at the idea of a bribe and adamant that Woody and Tony stay away from it.

“Did Tony actually see the money, the cash?” the Major asked.

“No, it was in a white envelope. He pulled it out of the pocket of his jacket.”

“So, I suppose this could be a bluff.”

“Maybe,” Woody said, thoroughly bewildered. “I don’t know what to think or what to do. Tony has talked of nothing else but taking the money and using it to help Mom.”

“You, Tony, and your mom are going to survive, one way or the other, and without taking a bribe from Garth. We know he’s not a very bright kid and this is further proof. Trying to bribe a witness is a really dumb idea. Nothing good can happen.”

“I agree. I’m just worried about Tony.”

“I’ll talk to Tony before the trial starts and make things real clear. You guys are sticking to the truth, right, Woody?”

“Yes, sir.”