Theo patted his backpack and said, “Right here.”
“Good. Let’s go online and check the cases filed in Family Court. Make a list of all of the current divorce cases in which your mother is the lawyer. We’ll go through the most active ones and make a list of those in which there are kids involved, kids who go to your school. At that point, the list should be pretty short.”
Theo was already unloading his laptop. “This is a brilliant idea, Ike.”
“We’ll see.”
The Family Court clerk’s docket divided divorces into various categories: Contested-Uncontested; Active- Inactive; Children-No Children; In Discovery-Awaiting Trial. After half an hour, with Theo on his laptop and Ike pecking away at his bulky desktop, they had a list of twenty-one active divorce cases in which Marcella Boone represented the wife. Of those, three were in the No Children category and therefore removed from the list. Five more were in the Uncontested category, and Ike felt as though these could be eliminated, too. Uncontested divorces were much easier and quicker and did not create the raw feelings that would lead someone to slash tires and throw rocks through windows.
“What does ‘Secured’ mean?” Theo asked as they scanned the records.
“It means trouble for us,” Ike said. “I had forgotten about the Secured Docket. There are some divorce cases in which the claims of bad conduct are particularly nasty, and either party can ask the judge to secure the file, which means it’s locked away and is only available to the attorneys involved. Nothing is made public. It could be our dead end, unless, of course, we have access to your mother’s files. But let’s keep going.”
Ike made a list of the client’s last names involved in the thirteen cases on their list, and Theo downloaded the directory of students at Strattenburg Middle School. Cross-checking, the list shrunk to about half, with a possible seven cases involving kids in Theo’s school. Some names were so common, though, that they could not be included or excluded. There was a Smith, a Johnson, a Miller, and a Green. Looking at the names, Theo felt somewhat relieved. He did not know any of the kids with the last names on the list.
Two years earlier, when Theo was in the sixth grade, a girl named Nancy Griffin told him his mother had been her mother’s lawyer in a recent divorce. The divorce was over, final, and Mrs. Griffin was quite pleased with the work Theo’s mother had done. This was the first time Theo realized Mrs. Boone’s job could affect his friends and classmates. He later asked his mother about it and demanded to know why she had not informed him. Mrs. Boone carefully, and sternly, explained that lawyers work with certain ethical rules, and one of the most important is complete secrecy about a client’s business.
Ike scribbled on a legal pad, and said, “So we have a possibility of seven names, or seven divorce cases being handled by your mother with the kids in your school. Recognize anyone?”
“Not really. There’s a kid named Tony Green in the seventh grade, but we don’t know if he’s in the right Green family. Other than that, nothing looks familiar.”
“Let’s go back to the Secured Docket,” Ike said, and Theo was there a good ten seconds before his uncle. There were eight cases under lock and key, and identified only by the last name of the wife or husband who had filed the lawsuit for divorce. The names of the attorneys were not listed.
Ike said, “You gotta figure that the divorce we’re looking for is a nasty one. The parents are fighting for custody, and our mystery kid prefers to live with his father. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be attacking the son of his mother’s lawyer. Make sense?”
“I guess.”
“For a father to gain custody, he must prove the mother is unfit to raise the kids. The law always prefers the mother, and it’s rare that the father gets custody.”
“I know,” Theo said.
“To prove a mother unfit, the father has to come up with all sorts of bad behavior on the part of the mother. Those cases often end up being protected by the Secured Docket, and for obvious reasons.”
“Then we’re out of luck.”
“Yes, unless we could take a peek at your mother’s files.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Yes, Theo, I’m crazy, been that way for some time now. And I’ll do crazy things to find out who’s stalking you, harassing you, and trying to get you convicted of a serious crime. Call me crazy, but maybe it’s time to break some rules. You got in a fight yesterday and broke a rule. But, you really had no choice, right?”
“Right, I guess.”
“I’m not talking about breaking the law, Theo. It would not be illegal to look at Marcella’s files. Might be a bit unethical, but we’re not going to give away sensitive information. And, it might be the only way to solve this little mystery.”
“I don’t know, Ike.”
“What type of digital storage system does the firm use?”
“It’s called InfoBrief, a pretty basic system, just for storage, cataloging, and cutting down on paper.”
“Who has access to it?”
“Not me. My parents, Dorothy and Vince, and Elsa, but my dad and Dorothy rarely use it. My mom and Vince use it as a way to keep everything in order and find stuff without digging through a bunch of paperwork. Plus it has all the legal research built in.”
“Can you get a password?”
Theo thought about this for a long time. If he got the password, and gave it to Ike, then he would be an accomplice to something. Not a crime, maybe, but certainly something he would rather avoid. He was in enough hot water already. The last thing he wanted was his mother yelling at him for violating her clients’ privacy.
“Look, Ike, I’ll just go to my mom and tell her what I think. I’ll lay out our theory, and ask for her help. She is my mother, you know?”
“That’s a great idea, Theo, and it makes good sense. But don’t do it right now. Let’s see if we can crack this case without getting her involved. I don’t want to ask Marcella Boone to give me sensitive information about a client.”
“Is this a long shot, Ike?”
“Maybe, but it’s the best theory so far. The police are not looking at anyone else because they’re convinced you’re the thief. They might show up any day now with a warrant to haul you into Youth Court. If we don’t find the real criminal soon, Theo, this situation will get much worse. Do you understand?”
“Yes, believe me, I understand.”
“Listen to me, Theo. A long time ago, I was a successful lawyer in Strattenburg, had an office just down the hall from your mother, had lots of clients, and life was good. Then the cops showed up and started asking questions. I didn’t have all the answers. They came back with more questions, then more. I couldn’t believe what was happening and I slowly realized I was headed for trouble, but I couldn’t stop it. Once the criminal justice system starts moving against you, it’s hard to stop. Believe me, Theo, I’ve been there. It’s a rotten feeling. The sky is falling and there’s no place to hide.”
It was the first time Ike had ever talked about his troubles, his past, and Theo was fascinated. He decided to ask the question he had always wanted to ask. “Were you guilty, Ike?”
Ike thought about this, and finally said, “I did some things wrong, Theo, things I’ll always regret. You, on the other hand, have done nothing wrong, and that’s why I don’t mind breaking a few little rules to protect you. Let’s get to the bottom of this, now, and get the police off your back.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Can you get me the password?”
“I think so.”
Chapter 17
Again, Theo and Judge avoided the busy streets as they returned to the law offices of Boone amp; Boone. Theo was so deep in thought, and so thoroughly confused, that he ran a stop sign and darted in front of a mail carrier. “Watch it, kid!” the man yelled, and Theo said, “Sorry,” over his shoulder. Judge raced ahead, as if he wanted to keep his distance from Theo.
