“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 & 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 ma
n yelled, and Theo said, “Sorry,” over his shoulder. Judge raced ahead, as if he wanted to keep his distance from Theo.
It was lunchtime, and Elsa and Dorothy were eating salads in the kitchen, both talking at the same time. Theo slipped by without being seen. His mother’s office was empty. “Probably tied up in court,” he mumbled to himself. Vince’s door was open but he was gone. He usually left the building for lunch. His desktop was on, as always, with the screen saver visible.
The easiest way to “borrow” the password was to take it from one of the five PCs. Each lawyer had one, plus Vince, Dorothy, and Elsa. If Theo really believed he could go so far as “borrowing” a password, then this was the perfect opportunity. But, he was having a difficult time convincing himself that it was the right thing to do. Ike was convinced, but Theo wasn’t Ike. Theo knew it was wrong, maybe not illegal, but certainly wrong.
The line between right and wrong had always been clear; now, though, nothing was clear. The wrongs were piling on top of him. It was wrong for someone to break into his locker and plant stolen loot with the obvious goal of getting him in serious trouble. It was wrong for someone to stalk him, to slash his tires and throw a rock through his window. Theo had done nothing wrong, yet he was now being treated like a criminal. The police had the wrong suspect. The police were wrong in not believing him, and if Theo were to be charged by the police, another wrong would occur. It was wrong for Theo to jump into the fight, though his father and Vince and Ike seemed to think it was not so wrong. Was it wrong for Theo to break an office rule and steal a password, all in an effort to prevent another, much larger wrong? Could doing something wrong lead to the right result?
It was all so confusing, but Theo trusted Ike, and Ike had no doubt that taking the password was the right thing to do.
Theo led Judge back to his office and told him to take a nap. When the dog was situated, Theo eased down the hallway and listened for voices. Dorothy and Elsa were talking about recipes. No sound from his father upstairs—Woods Boone was known to take his own nap during lunch. Theo slipped into Vince’s office, closed the door, and locked it. He sat in Vince’s chair, and, careful not to disturb anything on his desk, examined his PC. The screen saver was a stock photo of a sunset over the ocean. Theo clicked on Main Menu, then on InfoBrief. A password was demanded, so he exited and went to My Computer. He clicked on Desktop, then Control Panel, then System and Security, then Passwords. Vince had a lot of passwords, and Theo felt like a creep for looking at them. Passwords for online retail accounts, cell phones, two dating sites, a travel site, fantasy football, and at least a dozen others. At the end of the list was InfoBrief, and Theo clicked on it. The password Avalanche88TeeBone33 appeared. Theo quickly wrote it down, then exited to Main Menu. He clicked on InfoBrief, entered the password, and the screen went blank for five seconds until “InfoBrief-Boone & Boone-Account Code: 647R” appeared. Theo wrote down the code and clicked on Enter. A long list of case names appeared, names such as Denise Sneiter versus William B. Sneiter, and Theo knew he had found his mother’s divorce cases. He quickly exited, returned to the screen saver, and stood without touching anything else. He took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, certain that someone was outside just waiting to pounce on him. But the coast was clear, and he hurried back to his little office where his dog was still sleeping and everything was safe.
Theo knew that the InfoBrief account would record an entry at 12:14 p.m., Friday, from Vince’s computer, but he doubted if it would be noticed anytime soon. If anyone questioned him, he would simply deny everything. It was, after all, Friday afternoon and there was a good chance neither Vince nor his mother nor anyone else would use InfoBrief until Monday morning, and, more importantly, the system’s entry record was not something that was routinely pulled up and examined.
Though his little crime so far seemed perfect, Theo felt lousy about it. He debated whether he would actually give Ike the password and code, and as the minutes passed he was inclined not to. It was one thing to sneak around and lift them from Vince’s lightly secured computer, but it was something far more serious for Ike to actually open the files and dig for sensitive information.
His mother arrived just before 1:00 p.m. She had brought lunch and they ate at the conference room table with Mr. Boone. The mood was somber and they talked about things other than Theo’s mess. As he nibbled on a sandwich, he was tempted to bring up the idea that the conspiracy against him could be related to one of his mother’s bad divorce cases, but Ike had told him to wait.
So he waited.
Theo was in his office, plowing through homework and watching the clock move slowly, when Elsa buzzed him through the phone intercom. “Theo, there’s someone here to see you,” she said.
“Who is it?” he asked, startled and then afraid the police were back.
“A friend.”
Theo hurried to the front of the building. Standing awkwardly by Elsa’s desk was Griff, who, when last seen the morning before, was receiving suspension from Mrs. Gladwell just like Theo. They walked into the conference room and Theo closed the door. They sat in the heavy leather chairs and Griff looked around the room. “Pretty cool,” he said. “Is this yours?”
“I use it sometimes,” Theo said. “I have a small office in the back.”
After an awkward pause, Griff asked, “Did your parents yell at you?”
“Not too bad. What about you?”
“They weren’t too happy. I’m grounded for a month, extra work around the house, no allowance for two weeks, but I guess it could’ve been worse.”
“Sounds pretty bad.”
“Look, Theo, the reason I’m here is that my parents want me to apologize for the fight. So, I apologize.”
“No problem,” Theo said. “I apologize, too. It was all pretty stupid, you know?”
“Yep, pretty stupid. Baxter’s got a big mouth and it gets him in trouble.”
“Baxter apologized, too. Let’s forget about it.”
“Done.” Another pause, but Griff had something else on his mind. “Look, Theo, the rumor is that the cops think you broke into Big Mac’s and stole a bunch of stuff and some of it was found in your locker. Is that right?”
Theo nodded.
“Well, I find it hard to believe because I don’t think you would break into a store at night and steal stuff, you know. That’s not like you.”
“Tell that to the police.”
“I will if you want me to.”
“Thanks.”
“Anyway, Big Mac has been telling people in the store that the police have