Theodore Boone: The Scandal by John Grisham Page B

to the jail. At the moment, though, that didn’t matter.
    “Officer Brock.”
    As they headed toward the jail area, Officer Stu Peckinpaw came around a corner, saw Theo, smiled, and said, “Well, hello, Theo. You can’t stay away from this place, can you?” Mrs. Boone and Vince stopped and stared.
    “It’s a long story,” Theo said, then quickly had an idea. “Say, look, Officer, this is my mother, and we need some help.” Introductions were quickly made, and the officer volunteered to help. He led them down the hall to the jailer’s desk. As they walked, Mrs. Boone said, “What was that all about?”
    Theo replied, “I’ll tell you later. Another long story.”
    Officer Brock was very helpful and informed them that Geneva Hull and the other four teachers were being “processed,” which meant they were being mug-shot, fingerprinted, and would soon be placed in cells. Each had a bond of ten thousand dollars.
    “Ten thousand dollars!” Mrs. Boone practically yelled. “That’s outrageous. These are schoolteachers, not criminals.”
    Officer Brock said, “Maybe so, ma’am, but they were arrested under a warrant, and that warrant says the bond is ten thousand dollars. I can’t change that.”
    “Well I can,” she said. She looked at Vince and said, “Get Judge Gantry on the phone.” Vince grabbed his phone and made the call. Mrs. Boone demanded, “When can I see my client?”
    “Uh, well, I’m not sure.”
    “I demand to see my client as soon as possible.”
    “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do what I can.”
    Vince handed over his phone and said, “He’s on the line.”
    She grabbed it and said, “Henry, this is Marcella. I’m sorry, Judge Gantry. They’ve arrested the five teachers and are holding them on ten-thousand-dollars bond each. That’s an outrageous sum of money, and I want it reduced.” She listened for a moment, then asked, “Are you in your office? Fine, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
    She gave the phone back to Vince and said to Officer Brock, “We’ll be back.” Vince and Theo followed her out of the building, onto the sidewalk, and down Main Street. She walked fast, her heels clicking away, and Theo had to practically jog to keep up. They entered the courthouse, took the elevator to the second floor, and sprinted to Judge Gantry’s office. His secretary, Mrs. Hardy, was Theo’s favorite in the entire courthouse, and she was waiting. She led them into his chambers and closed the door behind them. Everyone said hello, how you doing, and so on, and then Judge Gantry looked at Theo. “What are you doing here?”
    “That’s a good question,” his mother said.
    “I’m a paralegal today,” Theo said with a smile.
    Mrs. Boone wasted no time. “Judge, I represent one of the teachers. All five have been arrested and are currently at the jail posing for their mug shots and being fingerprinted like common criminals. This is an outrage, and I want them released immediately.”
    Theo watched the judge’s face, and at that moment there was no doubt his mother would get exactly what she wanted. His parents and Henry Gantry had been friends for many years. She was angry, upset, and she was right.
    Judge Gantry said, “This case has not been assigned to me, and I know very little about it, only what I’ve read in the newspaper.”
    Mrs. Boone said, “Well, it’s some sort of crazy conspiracy charge that Jack Hogan has cooked up. The teachers have been suspended and will probably be fired. But they are not criminals.”
    Vince had picked up some paperwork at the jail. He flipped through it and said, “The bond was set by the city court judge, Your Honor, but the case will be assigned to your court. We can make an oral motion to reduce the bond.”
    “I know that,” Judge Gantry said politely. Theo had never seen him ruffled or upset.
    “Then I make an oral motion to reduce the bond for all five,” Mrs. Boone said.
    “What do you have in mind?”
    “Why not a simple