Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham Page A

not tolerate fighting at this school, and you’ve known this since you arrived here in the fifth grade. Fighting carries an automatic suspension. A suspension goes into your file and becomes part of your permanent record.”
    Not exactly, Theo said to himself. Sure, it might be a permanent record, but it would never leave the middle school. No college or law school or potential employer would ever know that a student got suspended for fighting in the eighth grade.
    “Theo,” she said sternly, “I want to know what happened. Look at me, Theo.”
    Theo slowly turned and looked at the rather frightening face of his principal. “Tell me what happened,” she demanded. Theo, unable to maintain eye contact, focused his attention at a spot on the wall and clenched his jaws.
    Of the four, Theo was a leader; Griff was a follower; Woody and Baxter generally moved with the pack. If Theo kept his mouth shut, then the other three would, too. This was Mrs. Gladwell’s first mistake.
    The way to crack a case with multiple defendants is to separate them. Theo, if in charge, would isolate Griff in a small room with several grim-faced adults—administrators, coaches, people with clout and authority. They would explain to Griff that the other three boys were talking and pointing the finger at him. “Griff, Baxter is saying that you were taunting Theo.” And, “Griff, they’re saying you threw the first punch.” And so on. Griff wouldn’t believe this at first, but after a few minutes of getting hammered at, he would eventually start talking. Once he gave his version, he would be told that it didn’t jive with the other three; so, obviously, Griff was lying. Lying would only compound his troubles. Lying, plus fighting, would lead to an even longer suspension and probation. Griff would then become desperate to make it known that his version was indeed truthful and accurate. Once this strategy was used on all four boys, they would be singing like birds and the truth about the fight would become clear.
    This, of course, would require deception on the part of the authorities, but such tactics are permissible under the law. On the other hand, Mrs. Gladwell’s strategy involved no deception, and she would learn nothing from the boys. Theo was happy that she did not understand basic police interrogation tactics.
    Theo said nothing and returned his gaze to the table in front of him. His refusal to speak, to rat, meant all four would go down together.
    She continued, “Baxter, who punched you in the eye?”
    Baxter lowered the ice pack and set it on the table. The ice was working and the swelling had gone down a little. He almost said, “I don’t know,” but caught himself. He, of course, did know. There was no benefit in lying at this point. Just clam up like Theo and suffer through this.
    There was a long pause as she waited. The air was thick with tension and looming trouble. None of the boys had ever been suspended, though Woody and Baxter had been on probation a couple of times.
    Mrs. Gladwell had been informed early that morning  the Internet was buzzing with the rumors that Theo had been arrested for the theft and was going to court. She had been shown the photo posted on GashMail. She had planned to meet with Theo at some point during the day and offer her support. Now, she was faced with the unpleasant task of suspending him and the other three.
    Finally, she said, “I suspect that either Baxter or Griff said something about Theo getting into trouble with the law, maybe getting arrested or something like that. Since Woody and Theo are classmates and good friends, I suspect that Woody intervened and this started the fight. Am I right about this, Griff?”
    Griff jerked as though he’d been slapped, but he quickly composed himself so he could say nothing. Not a word. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth and gave her nothing.
    She waited and waited and her frown disappeared. The boys were playing games, so she would play