Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham Page B

him. She was not.
    “We haven’t accused you of anything,” Hamilton said. “We’re just doing our investigation, and when we find stolen goods in someone’s possession, then we have to ask questions. Doesn’t that make sense?”
    “Theo didn’t steal the computers, okay?” Mrs. Gladwell said firmly.
    Vorman decided to play the nice cop and offered a sappy smile. “So, Theo, if you didn’t place these computers in your locker, then someone else obviously did. Who else has the entry code to your locker?”
    Safe question. Theo replied, “No one that I know of, but someone was in my locker Monday. They stole a Twins baseball cap and some other items. I didn’t report it at that time, but I was planning to.”
    Mrs. Gladwell turned and looked at Theo. “You should have told us, Theo.”
    “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I was going to discuss it with my parents first, then report it to you, but I never got the time.”
    “And the school has a list of all entry codes?” Vorman asked.
    “Yes, but it’s protected in a secure file in our main computer,” Mrs. Gladwell said.
    “Has anyone ever hacked into it?”
    “Not to my knowledge.”
    “Has the school had a problem with people breaking into lockers?”
    “No,” she replied. “Occasionally a student will fail to properly close a locker, and the door will be left slightly open. This might lead to a missing item or two, but I cannot recall a situation where a student obtained an entry code and went into another student’s locker.”
    “How about you, Theo?” Vorman asked. “Do you know of anyone who got somebody else’s code and broke into their locker?”
    “No, sir.”
    Hamilton glanced at his notes, then looked at Theo and said, “During the break-in last night at Big Mac’s Systems, the thief or thieves took ten of these tablets, six fifteen-inch laptops, and about a dozen cell phones. You have any idea where this stuff is now?”
    Theo gritted his teeth and said, “I don’t know anything about the break-in last night because I wasn’t there, and I don’t know how these tablets got into my locker. I said I wanted to talk to a lawyer, and I’m not answering any more questions until my lawyer is present.”
    “Things will go smoother if you cooperate with us, Theo,” Hamilton said.
    “I am cooperating. I allowed you to search my locker, and I’m telling the truth.”

Chapter 8
    Big Mac was a small man, only slightly taller than Theo, and when he entered Mrs. Gladwell’s office he glared at the suspect as if he wanted to shoot him. Theo stood his ground behind the principal’s chair and watched as the detectives offered Big Mac a pair of surgical gloves.
    “Why don’t you two wait outside?” Hamilton said, and Theo and Mrs. Gladwell stepped outside into the reception area. When the door was shut, she said, quietly, “I don’t know why they have to be so rude.”
    “They’re just doing their job,” Theo said.
    “Do you want to call your parents again?”
    “Maybe later. They’re not in the office and they’re busy.”
    The bell rang loudly, and Theo looked for a place to hide. Students would be changing classes, and it was not unusual for several of them to rush into the front office for urgent business. Someone might see him sitting there, looking guilty, detained for some reason. He found a magazine, hid his face behind it, and cowered near the watercooler as the noise from the halls rose through the school.
    Inside Mrs. Gladwell’s office, Big Mac removed a small plate on the back of each tablet and checked the registration numbers. Using gloves to avoid smudging any possible fingerprints, he compared the number to his inventory list. “Yep, these came from my store,” he said. “Looks like you got your man.”
    “We’ll see,” Hamilton said.
    “What do you mean by that? You found these in that kid’s locker, right? Looks to me like you got him nailed, caught red-handed. I want to press charges right now. Let’s