Theodore Boone: The Scandal

Chapter 24

Dinner was quiet. The Boones ate Chinese take-out in the den, and no one seemed interested in talking, which was unusual. Mr. and Mrs. Boone were thinking about the hearing tomorrow. Neither did much in the field of criminal law, and Theo sensed an uneasiness on their part. Mrs. Boone spent a lot of time in court, but almost always with divorce clients. Mr. Boone appeared before judges only once or twice a year. Theo was waiting for the right moment to bring up the subject of him missing study hall and hustling over to the courthouse at 2:30 to sit and watch it all. But, it was impossible to mention this when no one was talking. It had to be discussed, though, because Theo knew it was a bad idea to just show up without telling his parents why.

His first challenge would be to convince Mr. Mount that he was needed in court at 2:30, but he wasn’t too worried about that.

Finally, he said, “Why is everyone so quiet?”

His mother said, “Oh, sorry, Theo, I was just thinking about something else.”

Mr. Boone said, “I was just eating.”

“Well, don’t we always talk and eat at the same time?”

“Sure,” his mother said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, we could talk about the conflict in the Middle East or that typhoon in the Philippines, but that’s not what you’re thinking about. I suspect you’re both worrying about tomorrow and the five clients that might be facing criminal trials and possibly going to jail. Right?”

Both of his parents smiled. His mother said, “Judge Gantry moved the hearing back to two thirty.”

“Oh really? Wonder why he did that.”

“It’s not that unusual. He’s a very busy judge with a crowded docket. I suppose you’ll hurry over after school and watch things.”

“If that’s okay?”

“I’m not so sure about that,” his father said. “It might not be a good idea for you to be in the courtroom.”

“The courtroom is open to the public, Dad. There will be a lot of people there — family members, school folks, reporters, maybe even some parents of eighth graders. It doesn’t seem fair to keep me away.”

“He’s right, Woods,” Mrs. Boone said. “There’s nothing private about the hearing. It will be splashed all over the newspaper Friday morning.”

“I agree,” Theo said. “So it’s okay if I show up?”

Both parents took a bite of rice at the exact same moment. His mother sort of nodded okay. His father sort of didn’t, but Theo knew he was home free.

When the 8:40 bell rang for homeroom, Theo had been talking to Mr. Mount for the past ten minutes. Mr. Mount said, “I don’t know, Theo. If I excuse you from study hall I’ll have to inform Mrs. Gladwell. Any student leaving early must check out at the front office, you know that. She might still be a bit ticked off because you skipped a few days ago.”

“She’s always ticked off about something. That’s her job.”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, Mr. Mount, I had a chat with Judge Gantry yesterday in his office, and he thinks it’s important for me to be in the courtroom.”

“Seriously?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. In fact, and you can’t tell anyone this, but it was my idea to postpone the hearing for a few hours. You know how it is in court — stuff is always getting delayed and postponed. He has a few matters first thing in the morning, and I sort of convinced him to bump the hearing to the afternoon so I can be there. He wants me there, Mr. Mount. I can send him an e-mail if you’d like.”

“No, no that’s okay. I’ll send a note to Mrs. Gladwell.”

“Thanks.”

By lunchtime, April was complaining of an upset stomach and seemed deathly ill. She called her mother who promptly called Miss Gloria and arranged for her to leave school as soon as possible.

When the bell rang at 2:20, Theo sprinted to his bike and sped off to court.