John Grisham - Theodore Boone - The Accomplice

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.”

An additional bailiff stood outside the courtroom door to keep away the curious and uninvolved. Judge Pendergrast wanted complete privacy during the trial. It would not last long and there was nothing else on his docket for the day.

The Lambert boys sat at the defense table with their lawyer between them. Their relationship was still tense. As recently as yesterday Rodney Wall had tried to convince them again that they should go along with the Clifford Nance story and take some of the blame. But Woody and Tony were tired of Wall and his lack of decisiveness. He did not know about the bribe. They were certainly not telling anyone else. They knew the truth and they knew far more than their lawyer; thus, they had little respect for him.

Daisy sat on the front row close behind them. She really needed Theo to lean on, but poor Theo was suffering through Spanish and was perfectly miserable. Major Ludwig sat beside her, arms crossed over his chest.

A few feet away, the Youth Court prosecutor, Ms. Bagdell, shuffled her papers and waited to begin. She would go first and she seemed a bit too nervous.

When Judge Pendergrast finished reading a page he peered out over his reading glasses and said, “This matter involves some serious charges against Tony and Woody Lambert. I believe I know most of the facts so I don’t need to hear opening statements. Ms. Bagdell, please call your first witness.”

“Mr. Clem Hamm,” Ms. Bagdell said, sitting. In Youth Court, it was not necessary to stand to address the judge or the witnesses.

Clem Hamm hurried in and was sworn to tell the truth. Judge Pendergrast had reviewed his testimony from Garth’s preliminary hearing, and knew every detail that he repeated. On cross-examination, Rodney Wall made sure that it was clear that neither Clem nor any of the store’s surveillance cameras ever caught sight of the Lambert boys.

When Clem stepped down, Ms. Bagdell offered to call a witness who would play the surveillance tapes from the robbery, but Judge Pendergrast declined. He surprised everyone when he said, “I’ve already reviewed them. They reveal nothing involving these two juveniles.” Thirty minutes into the trial, it was apparent that His Honor had studied the case carefully and knew as much as anyone. This was not unusual.

The next witness was a police officer who described the arrests of the three shortly after they left Kall’s Grocery. He found neither weapons nor cash on the Lambert boys. Garth had cash in one pocket and the pistol in the other. The pistol was produced, introduced into evidence, handled by the witness and the judge, and put away. Judge Pendergrast took endless notes but seemed as though he’d heard it all before.

The next witness was another policeman who planned to testify about the Breathalyzer results. Rodney Wall, though, interrupted matters and said his clients had already agreed to admit that they had been drinking beer.