The Fugitive by John Grisham

he explained to me and Jack Hogan the following morning that a surprise witness had come forward and had information that was crucial to finding the truth. He would not tell us the name of this witness, nor would he tell us what the witness might say. He left us completely in the dark. We were preparing for the retrial, and at some point Jack Hogan would have been required to disclose the names of all of his witnesses. Before this happened, of course, our dear client skipped town.”
    â€œSo we still have no clue about this witness?” Breeland asked.
    â€œNone whatsoever. Now, though, I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”
    â€œAnd what do we do?”
    â€œDepends on who he is and what he’ll say.”
    â€œSounds like a job for Omar.”
    â€œNot yet. But remind me to remind him that threatening a witness for the prosecution is a serious crime.”
    â€œOmar knows that.”
    Breeland’s cell phone vibrated. He glanced at it and said, “Well, speaking of the devil. Omar is downstairs and wants to talk.”
    â€œSend him up.”
    Omar entered the office and took a seat next to Breeland. Nance said rudely, “I have a meeting in ten minutes, so talk fast.”
    â€œOkay,” Omar said. “I was just at the jail talking to Duffy. That little Boone kid was in the courtroom this afternoon—don’t know how he manages to skip so much school—but he was there with his crazy uncle. I saw them. Pete saw them, and Pete swears he saw them last Saturday at the airport in DC when the Feds snatched him. He can’t figure that one out. But if you’ll remember, the night before Judge Gantry declared a mistrial, we saw him walk to the Boone & Boone law firm and meet with the family, including the kid and the crazy uncle. Next day—Bam! A mistrial. Something strange is going on here.”
    â€œBut the Boones are not criminal lawyers,” Mr. Nance said. “I know them pretty well.”
    â€œMaybe it’s not them. Maybe it’s just the kid,” Omar said. “The kid has his nose stuck in the middle of Pete’s case, and his parents are just trying to protect him.”
    â€œYou can’t follow a kid around town, Omar,” Breeland said.
    â€œThe kid knows who the mysterious witness is,” Omar said. “I’ll bet good money on it.”
    Nance and Breeland studied each other for a moment.
    Omar continued, “And, I’ll bet the kid had something to do with the Feds finding Pete. They were in DC the week before he got nailed.”
    â€œWho?” Nance asked.
    â€œThe entire eighth grade at Strattenburg Middle School. Their annual field trip. A mob of kids roaming around DC. Maybe somebody saw something.”
    â€œWhich brings up the obvious question,” Breeland said. “Why was Pete Duffy in DC?”
    â€œToo late to worry about that,” Mr. Nance said. “Don’t follow this kid and don’t approach him. But keep an eye on him.”

Chapter 14
    T heo was leaving school on a Wednesday afternoon when his pal Woody stopped him at the bike rack. Woody was obviously worried about something. He said, “Say, Theo, you know the judge in Animal Court, don’t you?”
    It was a loaded question, and Theo immediately wondered what mischief Woody had been up to. He was a good kid and Theo liked and trusted him, but his family was a bit on the rough side and Woody was always either in trouble or close to it. “Sure. What’s up?”
    â€œWell,” Woody said, glancing around as if the police might be listening, “I have to be in court tomorrow afternoon. My brother Evan and I are being accused of something.”
    Theo slowly got off his bike, hit the kickstand, and said, “Okay, what are you accused of?”
    â€œMy mom and stepdad don’t know about this, Theo, and I’d like to keep it quiet.” Woody’s home life was unsettled. His mother