Read Online Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham - Free Book Online Page A

and Theo is my nephew.”
    “And I’m Mrs. Gladwell, the principal. Welcome to my office.”
    Ike nodded slightly and said, “A pleasure. I think we’ve met before. Now what’s going on?”
    “Are you a lawyer?” Vorman asked.
    Ike replied, “Former lawyer. Right now I’m Theo’s uncle, adviser, consultant, guardian, and anything else I need to be. If you want lawyers, just give me an hour or so and I’ll have them lined up.” Ike was wearing his usual attire: faded jeans, sandals with no socks, an ancient Red Stripe Beer T-shirt under a ragged brown-plaid sports coat, and his long, gray hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. He was highly agitated and looking for a fight, and Theo realized at that moment that he could have no better protector.
    Detective Hamilton read the situation perfectly and took over. In a calm voice he said, “Fine, Mr. Boone. A computer store on Main Street was broken into last night. This morning we received an anonymous tip that some of the loot could be found in the locker of one Theodore Boone, here at the school. Theo consented to a search of his locker, and we found these three Linx 0-4 Tablets, valued at about four hundred dollars each. The owner of the store has checked the serial numbers and identified his goods.”
    “Perfect!” Ike said loudly. “Then we know exactly who robbed the store. The punk who gave you the anonymous tip. Why aren’t you chasing him down instead of harassing Theo?”
    “No harassment, Mr. Boone,” Hamilton said. “We are merely conducting an investigation, part of which is an effort to track down the anonymous caller. We’re trying to cover everything right now, okay?”
    Ike took a breath and looked at his nephew. “Are you okay, Theo?”
    “I guess,” he replied, but he was not. Two slashed bike tires, a rock through his window with broken glass all over him and his dog, the first invasion into his locker and the stolen cap, and now this. Someone was tormenting him, and doing a fine job of it.
    Mrs. Gladwell said, “Well if you want my opinion, and we are in my office so I’ll just go ahead and give it anyway, the police have every right to pursue an investigation, as long as it does not disrupt my school. It’s also my opinion that Theodore Boone didn’t steal anything.”
    The three men nodded. Theo agreed completely but didn’t move a muscle.
    “What’s next?” Ike snarled at the detectives.
    Detective Hamilton replied, “Well, we would like Theo to come down to the police station so we can take a formal statement from him. Just a routine matter. Then we’d like to talk to some of the other students.”
    Theo had watched enough television to know that a trip downtown usually meant handcuffs and a ride in the back of the patrol car, and for a split second he was amused by the idea. He had never been handcuffed before, nor had he seen the backseat of a police car, and the entire adventure would be fun to talk about later, long after he was cleared. But any amusement soon faded when he realized that the gossip would race through the school and the town and soon the whole world would know that Theo was the prime suspect.
    “School’s out at three thirty, right?” Ike asked Mrs. Gladwell.
    “That’s correct.”
    “Good. I’ll have Theo at the police station at four o’clock this afternoon, if that suits you. I’m sure his parents will be with him.”
    The detectives exchanged glances, and it was obvious neither wanted to argue with Ike about this. “When can we have a chat with the other students?” Vorman asked.
    “Well, I suppose at three thirty,” Mrs. Gladwell said.
    “Whose lockers are next to yours, Theo?” Hamilton asked.
    “Woody, Chase, Joey, Ricardo, most of the guys in my homeroom,” Theo replied. “Darren is directly below me.”
    Vorman looked at Hamilton and said, “We’ll need to check with the lab and see if they can dust the area for fingerprints.”
    “Right,” Hamilton replied. “And