“Well, hello, Theo,” Mrs. Hardy said as he interrupted her work. “To what do we owe this honor?”
“I need to see the judge.”
“Of course. And shouldn’t you be in school?”
“Everyone seems to think so. I’m excused by the principal. You see, one of my friends got arrested last night and I’m trying to help him.”
“How old is he?”
“Only thirteen. I know, it’s a Youth Court matter, but I still need to see the judge.”
“Well, he’s tied up right now. We’re in the middle of a big trial and he’s meeting with the lawyers.”
“What kind of trial?”
Mrs. Hardy glanced around as if someone else might be listening, as if the trial were a big secret. “It’s a drug case. Some men from out in the county were caught manufacturing drugs.”
“Is Mr. Monk defending the guys?”
“How’d you know?”
“I just left his office. I don’t suppose I could watch the trial, could I? I’m excused from school until noon.”
“That’s up to you, Theo. The courtroom is open to the public, but if Judge Gantry sees you he might not like it.”
“Good point. Thanks, Mrs. Hardy.” Theo walked to the door but stopped when he thought of something else. “Say, Mrs. Hardy, when does Judge Gantry set bail for new defendants, for guys who’ve just been arrested?”
“Usually, it’s the first thing he does in the morning. Doesn’t take long.”
“A guy got arrested last night for armed robbery, name’s Garth Tucker, eighteen years old. Have you seen his paperwork?”
Without looking for a file, she said, “Sure. Judge Gantry set his bail at fifty thousand dollars.”
“Fifty thousand dollars?”
“Yes. It’s a serious crime.”
“Of course it is, but bail wouldn’t be that high for a juvenile, would it?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Theo. Bail is usually lower for juveniles, but that’s another court.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thanks. See you later.”
“Get to school.”
Mr. Tucker had arrived at the jail at eight a.m., after a sleepless night, and his lawyer was not far behind. When the jailer received the confirmation that bail had been set, a bail bondsman was quickly called and hustled over from his shabby office across the street. The arrangement was typical. For a 10 percent fee, the bondsman produced a written guarantee that Garth would remain in the county and show up for court when required. Mr. Tucker wrote a check for $5,000 and left the jail with his son. They went to the city pound, paid another fee of $250, and Garth drove his Mustang home. An hour later, after a shower and change of clothes, he was at school bragging about his big adventure.
By then, Woody and Tony were back in their cell playing checkers, the only game available, and killing time. Daisy was at work, cutting hair in a salon. Theo was watching the clock and trying to keep out of sight. If one more adult mentioned school he might explode.
At 11:30, he swallowed hard and reentered the PD’s office, certain that the grouchy secretary would yell at him. She did not. She quietly informed him that attorney Rodney Wall had called and was investigating a case over in Masseyville, a small town half an hour away. He wasn’t sure when he would make it to the courthouse, if at all.
The office had only three lawyers. Monk, Rodney Wall, and a guy named Udall, who was assisting Monk in the drug trial. So there were no lawyers left behind in the office, and no one for Theo to plead with. Defeated, he said thanks to the secretary and rode back to school.
During lunch, he met with Mr. Mount and Mrs. Gladwell and explained the situation. The charges against Woody and Tony would probably be reduced or dismissed, at least the armed robbery, but they would stay in jail until their lawyer could convince Judge Pendergrast to set a reasonable bail.
“It’s pretty outrageous,” Theo said.
“But it’s not that unusual,” Mr. Mount said. “Our juvenile system is overloaded and there are never enough lawyers and counselors. It’s not unusual for kids to get chewed up by the system. Woody will be lucky if he doesn’t spend time in a detention center, which are not good places.”
“But he didn’t do anything,” Theo said.
“He’s an accomplice to a crime,” Mr. Mount said. He had once been a lawyer and gave up that profession to teach.
“Can you explain that?” Mrs. Gladwell asked.
“It’s the law everywhere,” Mr. Mount said. “Pretty basic stuff, really. Three guys are together. One has a gun. He goes in, pulls the gun, grabs the loot or whatever, and all three make their getaway. The two who waited in the car will always be charged with being accomplices to the robbery and will face the same punishment.”
“That’s not right,” Theo said.
“Well, not in this case. But Woody is in serious trouble. I doubt if he’ll get off free on this one. It’s pretty heavy stuff, Theo.”
“With a water pistol?”
“I’m assuming the guy who got robbed didn’t know it was just a water pistol. I’ll bet his story is that he thought it was a real gun. That’s all that matters. What a stupid move.”
“Do you know this guy, Garth Tucker?” Mrs. Gladwell asked Theo.
“I don’t know him but I’ve heard of him. He’s one of Tony’s friends, though Tony claims they didn’t hang out that much. Woody told me and his mother that he has never liked Garth, said he always thought the guy was trouble. Woody thinks Garth was probably drunker than they realized.”
“He must not be very smart,” Mr. Mount said.
“And Woody was drinking, too?” Mrs. Gladwell asked.
“He had a couple of beers.”
“Does he do this a lot?”
Theo didn’t know how much beer Woody was drinking, and that didn’t matter at the moment. He wasn’t about to squeal on his buddy. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I’ve never seen him do it. But he and Tony are alone a good bit. Their stepfather works out of town and their mother has two or three jobs. Things are not going too well around their house.”
“That poor kid,” she said. “Sitting in jail with no one to help him.”
Theo suffered through the afternoon, watching the clocks in his classrooms and thinking of nothing but Woody in jail. When the final bell rang, he sprinted to the small auditorium where the Debate Team was gathering for a practice session. Mr. Mount coached them. Theo was the captain, but he was in no mood to practice. He whispered to Mr. Mount that he had an idea to help Woody and needed to skip the session.
“I’m going straight to my mom and insist that she go to court to see the judge,” he said.
“But she doesn’t work in Youth Court,” Mr. Mount said quietly.
“I know, but I can beg
her for a favor. And it’s getting late in the day. If we don’t do something fast, Woody will spend another night in jail.”
“Take off,” Mr. Mount said, and Theo disappeared. Ten minutes later he slid to a stop in the gravel lot behind Boone & Boone. He burst through the rear door and into the small room he called his office. Judge was nowhere in sight. Vince, the paralegal, and Dorothy, the real estate secretary, were not in their offices. The door to his mother’s office was closed, which of course meant she was meeting with a client. Theo walked to Elsa’s desk and braced himself for the daily ritual of hugs and questions. But she was on the phone and couldn’t grab him. She smiled, indicated that the call might take some time, and sort of waved him off. Judge aroused from his slumbers and stumbled forth for a good head-scratching. But Theo was too busy. He bounded up the stairs to confront his father, but Woods Boone was gone, too.
At times the place was packed, with meetings everywhere and clients waiting in chairs. At other times, it was deserted. Theo, with Judge close behind, went downstairs where Elsa was hanging up. “I need to see my mother right now,” he demanded.
Elsa could tell he was in no mood for small talk. “She’s with a client. What’s going on?”
Theo gave her the quick version of Woody’s troubles and ended with, “I want my mom to go to Youth Court right now and help Woody.”
“Well, your mother is with a client who’s having a bad day.”
All of her clients had bad days. Almost all were women struggling through divorces. Most of them arrived stressed and left in tears. Theo had learned to avoid the front section of the firm when his mother was with a client. He had actually heard them in her office crying.
“I’m not going to interrupt them,” Elsa said, somewhat sternly. She was the sweetest person Theo knew, but he also knew that when she dug in, she was not going to budge.
“Then I’m going in there.”
“No you’re not. I suggest you wait until four o’clock when the meeting is over.”