Woods Boone was in his office meeting with another lawyer. Marcella Boone was in her office with a divorce client. Elsa was on the phone when Theo arrived, and Dorothy and Vince were running errands. Only Judge was waiting for Theo, and the two made their way to his tiny office in the back of the building. Theo unloaded his backpack, and his desk-an old card table-was soon covered with books, notepads, and his laptop. He was daydreaming, though, and unable to concentrate on homework.
Why would anyone slash his tires and vandalize his locker? He had no known enemies, at that point in his life, unless he considered Omar Cheepe and Paco, and he was convinced they had more important things to worry about. They were career thugs, real pros, not exactly the types to do their dirty work around a middle school. How could they possibly sneak through the hallways of the school without being noticed? There was no way. And, why would they be interested in stealing a three-pack of inhalers and a Twins cap? He could not imagine them loitering around the bike racks by the front flagpole, watching for the right moment to cut his tire, or following him to the VFW for a Boy Scout meeting.
Theo suspected the vandal was another student. But who, and why? Theo was lost in these thoughts when, literally, his world was shattered.
There was a door that led from his office to the rear parking lot of Boone amp; Boone, and the top half of the door was comprised of four panes of glass. A large rock suddenly burst through the glass, crashing loudly and sending shards of broken glass everywhere-onto the bookshelves, over his desk, across the floor. Judge jumped and barked loudly. Theo instinctively threw both arms over his head in case there was another rock on the way. He waited for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath, then bolted to his feet. He yanked open the door but saw no one outside. Judge, growling and barking, jumped down the steps and raced around the small parking lot, but found nothing.
The rock was the size of a softball and came to rest next to Judge’s bed. Elsa rushed in and exclaimed, “Theo, what in the world!” Then she saw the shattered windowpanes and broken glass. “Are you okay!?”
“I think so,” Theo said, still in shock.
“What happened?”
“Someone threw a rock,” Theo said as he picked it up. They examined it. Mrs. Boone appeared and asked, “What’s going on back here?” Then Mr. Boone walked in behind her and asked the same thing. For a few minutes they inspected the damage and scratched their heads. Elsa found a piece of glass in Theo’s hair, but there were no wounds.
“I’ll call the police,” Mr. Boone said.
“Good idea,” said Mrs. Boone.
“Any idea who did this?” Elsa asked.
“No,” Theo replied.
Chapter 6
It was proving to be an eventful afternoon. Because Mrs. Boone handled a lot of divorces, and always on the side of the wife, the office was occasionally the scene of some bad family drama. Just as the dust had settled in Theo’s office, and as Mr. Boone was heading toward the conference room to call the police, there were loud voices near the front door. An angry man and a shrieking woman were having a spat, and it quickly led to a confrontation. The woman was Mrs. Treen, a new Boone amp; Boone divorce client, and the man was her husband, Mr. Treen. They had a house full of kids and a world of problems, and Mrs. Boone had been trying to convince them to undergo marriage counseling instead of going the divorce route. According to Mrs. Treen, her husband had become violent and abusive and impossible to be around.
He certainly appeared to be violent as he stood by Elsa’s desk and growled at his wife. “You are not filing for divorce! Over my dead body.” He was a thick, stout man with a beard and eyes that flashed when he spoke. Mrs. Boone, Elsa, and Theo entered the reception area and stopped to watch.
Mr. Boone took a step forward and said, “Let’s take a deep breath here and try to be civilized.” Mrs. Treen eased away and stood close to Mrs. Boone. Elsa and Theo stayed in the background, all eyes and ears.
“I can’t live with you,” Mrs. Treen said. “I’m tired of getting punched and slapped around. I’m taking the kids and leaving, Roger, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I’ve never hit you,” he replied, though no one believed this. Mr. Treen had the look of a brawler who might slap just about anyone.
“Stop the lying, Roger,” she said.
“Perhaps we should step into my office,” Mrs. Boone said calmly.
“He’s got a gun,” Mrs. Treen said, and all spines stiffened. “It’s in his pocket.” All eyes went straight to the pockets of Mr. Treen’s pants, and, sure enough, there appeared to be something dangerous there.
“Get in the car, Karen,” Mr. Treen said with eyes glowing and jaw muscles clenching. No one with any sense would get in the car with this guy.
“No,” she replied. “I’m not taking orders from you anymore.”
“I’ll ask you to leave,” Mr. Boone said firmly.
Mr. Treen smiled, touched his right pocket, and said, “Maybe I don’t want to leave.”
“Then I’ll call the police,” Mr. Boone said.
There was a long pause. No one moved. Finally, Mrs. Boone said, “I have an idea. Let’s step into the conference room, just the four of us, get some coffee, and have a conversation.” Because she negotiated divorce settlements and spent a lot of time in the courtroom, Mrs. Boone understood the need for compromise. Her soft voice and even temper drained some of the tension.
It was a standoff. Mr. Treen was not leaving. Mrs. Treen was not leaving with him. And no one wanted to provoke the guy with the gun. Mr. Treen blinked first, and in doing so kept the situation from getting worse. He said, “Okay, let’s talk.”
Elsa quickly added, “I’ll get the coffee.”
The Treens and the Boones stepped into the conference room and closed the doors. At first Theo and Elsa were not sure if they should call the police or wait on Mr. Boone. Theo was worried about his parents being in there with a somewhat agitated and emotional man who was unstable enough to carry a pistol in his pocket. What if things took a turn for the worse? What if they suddenly heard gunfire popping in the conference room? Theo wanted to call the police immediately.
Elsa, though, had a different approach. Mr. Treen had agreed to talk peacefully about their problems. If the police showed up and arrested him on some weapons charge, then he might crack, go off the deep end, and do something crazier the next time. Elsa was confident her bosses could defuse the situation and perhaps make progress in settling some of the Treens’ issues.
Elsa called a glass repairman who advertised 24-hour service.
Minutes passed with no gunfire from the conference room. Nor were there loud, angry voices. Theo settled down somewhat, though given the events of the day, he was still unnerved. He and Elsa decided to take photos of the office and show the police later. They swept up the glass and saved the rock for evidence. The repairman arrived after dark and began replacing the broken panes.
Usually, on Tuesday nights, the Boones left their offices and walked a few blocks to the Highland Street Shelter where they served food to the homeless and helped in other ways. Mrs. Boone, along with three other female attorneys in Strattenburg, had started a small, free legal clinic for abused women, several of whom were homeless and stayed at the shelter. Mr. Boone saw clients there, too, typically folks who had been wrongfully evicted from their homes and apartments, and people who had been denied benefits. Theo’s job was to help the homeless children with their studies.
The meeting with the Treens gave every indication of lasting forever, so Theo decided to go to the shelter alone. His parents would catch up later, if for no other reason than to have dinner. After they served the homeless, they always had a quick bowl of soup or a sandwich before dispensing legal advice. Theo was starving and tired of the office. He said good-bye to Elsa and rode his bike to the shelter. He was too late for dinner but found leftovers in the kitchen.
His current project was teaching Math to the Koback boys. Russ was eight and Ben was seven, and they had
