John Grisham - Theodore Boone - The Accomplice

“Thanks. I need some help. Me and Tony.”

“Now, about this drinking. I don’t like it one bit. You’re much too young and it will only lead to more trouble.”

“It’s no big deal, really. Sometimes Tony and I will sneak a beer out of the fridge, but we really don’t have the money for it.”

“Are you smoking pot?”

“No, sir.”

“Is Tony?”

“Probably, but never around me.”

“Your parents are divorced?”

“Yes, sir. My dad lives in the county but we don’t see much of him. My mom is remarried to a guy who’s okay, but he does construction out of town and we don’t see much of him. She works two jobs, sometimes three.”

“So there’s not much supervision at home.”

“No, sir.”

The Major slowly got to his feet and paced around, deep in thought. He said, “Let’s deal with the drinking first. It’s against the law and I want it stopped. Okay?”

“Yes, sir. No problem. I don’t even like the taste of it.”

“Beer and alcohol can only lead to trouble, especially for a teenager. You’re promising me right now that it won’t happen again?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. I’ll make sure the judge understands this. And no more missing school, okay?”

“Okay.”

“No drinking, no skipping, and hit the books hard. I’ll check with your teachers and monitor your progress. Judge Pendergrast will want to know how you’re doing. If I’m on the case, Woody, I expect a lot of improvement. You’re too young and too smart to fall through the cracks. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll speak to your mother. Mind if I have a little chat with Tony? I suspect he’s not a positive influence these days.”

“He’s a good guy, Major. We’ve seen the inside of the jail and we don’t want to go back there.”

“Good. Maybe this little brush with the law will be a good thing.”

“You ever been arrested, Major?”

“No.”

“It’s no fun. I can still feel the handcuffs clamping on my wrists. I can still see the cops frowning at me, still see their angry faces, still smell the nasty jail. The whole thing was scary because you have no control over anything and you don’t know what will happen next.” Woody bit his lip as his eyes watered and he began shaking.

The Major walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Woody.”

The troop returned to civilization late Sunday afternoon. As the bus entered Strattenburg, the boys were silent. They were exhausted but also in a somber mood. The returns were always like that. The planning, the anticipation, the sheer fun of being in the woods for the weekend — it all came crashing down as they reentered the real world and life returned to normal. Tomorrow meant school! It was hard to believe. It seemed cruel.

Of Mr. Mount’s sixteen boys in homeroom, seven were Scouts who had gone camping. As soon as the bell rang Monday morning and he took roll — all sixteen were present — he asked Woody to stand before the class and describe the weekend. Being thirteen years old, most of the boys preferred not to speak before a group, though Theo loved to do so. To overcome this shyness, Mr. Mount often selected one at random and asked him to walk to the front of the room and talk. He expected them to have good posture, speak slowly, and be as confident as possible. A few were naturals but most struggled for five long minutes.

Woody began by telling a funny story about a prank they played on the youngest Scout. He got a few laughs, seemed to warm up, and as he was describing the Midnight Hike there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Gladwell interrupted things as she walked in. She nodded at Mr. Mount, then at Woody, and asked them to step into the hall.

Mr. Bob Hawley from Action Bail Bonds was waiting. He introduced himself to Mr. Mount and asked Woody, “Did you leave town last weekend?”

Woody glanced nervously at Mrs. Gladwell and said, “Yes, sir. I went camping with the Scouts to Lake Marlo.”

“That’s what I heard,” Mr. Hawley growled. “You’re not supposed to leave Stratten County, son. You violated the terms of your bail bond.” He whipped out a pair of handcuffs and grabbed Woody’s arm. “You’re coming with me.”

Mr. Mount took a step forward and said, “You can’t do that!”

“Sure I can, do it all the time when the criminals skip bail.”

“Don’t call him a criminal!” Mrs. Gladwell said.

Woody jerked his arm away, but Hawley managed to grab the other arm tightly and slap the cuffs on his right wrist. “Let him go!” Mr. Mount said.

The door was partially open and Theo and the others heard every word.

Hawley was a tough guy who knew his business. “You got no choice, kid, and don’t start trouble.” He poked Mr. Mount in the chest and said, “And if you get in the way I have the authority to arrest you as well. Now back off.”

He grabbed Woody’s left wrist and cuffed it. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Woody asked loudly.

“To jail, son. That’s where we take all the bail jumpers.”

“He didn’t jump bail,” Mr. Mount said, though he wasn’t sure.

“Knock it off,” Hawley said angrily and seemed ready to throw a punch. Mrs. Gladwell backed away, speechless. Hawley grabbed Woody by the elbow and marched him down the hall. Fortunately, it was empty. The students were still in homeroom and waiting for the bell for first period.

The remaining fifteen boys raced to the windows and watched in disbelief as Woody was led out of the building. Another tough-looking guy was waiting beside a car and opened a rear door. Hawley shoved Woody into the back seat.

Mr. Mount looked dazed when he reentered the classroom. The boys scrambled back to their seats. For a moment, nothing was said. The unbelievable moment spoke for itself. Finally Mr. Mount said, “Theo, did you know Woody was not supposed to leave the county?”

“Of course not. It never crossed my mind, or his, or anyone else’s for that matter. I can’t believe this.”

“I can’t either.”

“How can they do that?” Aaron asked. “That guy’s not a cop is he?”

“No, he’s not,” Mr. Mount said, rubbing his jaw. “But a bail bondsman does have the authority to arrest his own client if the terms of the bond are violated.”

Mrs. Gladwell stepped through the door and said, “Mr. Mount, would you and Theo come to my office?”

As if on cue, the bell for first period rang and the boys slowly picked up their backpacks. Theo and Mr. Mount followed Mrs. Gladwell to her office where she closed the door. She stood beside her desk and looked at them. None of the three knew what to say.

After a pause she said, “Okay, what do we do now? I assume that guy has the right to go virtually anywhere to grab one of his clients, but it does seem as though a school should be off-limits.”

“It’s not,” Mr. Mount said. “The law gives bail bondsmen a lot of power. But the whole idea of Woody jumping bail is just plain stupid. So he left town. He wasn’t trying to run away or skip out. He left, he came back, he showed up here today for school just like he was supposed to. That guy probably hopes the judge will set a new bail so he can write another bond, make another buck off Woody.”

“Woody doesn’t have another buck,” Theo said. “We had to beg and borrow the first time. He’ll be stuck in jail forever.”

“What should we do?” she asked.

Mr. Mount said, “Well, the first thing is to notify his lawyer, Mr. Wall. They’ll take Woody before the judge real soon, I suppose, and his lawyer needs to be there.”

“We should be there, too,” Theo said, always eager to go to court and avoid class.