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“Things will be fine, Theo,” Mrs. Boone said, patting his arm, then Theo saw her glance at his father. They held each other’s gaze for a second or so, and it was not a look of confidence. They were as worried as Theo, maybe more.
After breakfast, Theo and his dad drove to Gil’s Wheels for yet another new tire. At Mr. Boone’s request, Gil disappeared into the rear of his store and found the first two damaged tires. He gave them to Mr. Boone, who now had a collection of three. Mr. Boone paid for numbers two and three, and paid the eight dollars Theo owed on the first tire. Gil assured them that there was no epidemic of tire slashings in town; in fact, he had seen only three the entire week, all of which belonged to Theo.
Outside the bike shop, the rain had stopped, but the skies were still cloudy and threatening. For a moment, Theo and his father talked about driving to the golf course and waiting on the weather. The course, though, would be soaked, and if it was opened later in the morning there would be a crowd. Theo knew that a crowded golf course was worse than no course at all. They agreed that it was not a good idea.
Ike had texted twice during the morning and wanted to meet. Back home Theo puttered around the house and watched the weather. After an hour he a
Ike looked worse than usual. His eyes were red and puffy with dark circles just below them. “I’ve been up all night,” he said as Theo took a chair. “Didn’t sleep a wink. Spent the whole night reading through divorce files, and you want to know something, Theo, there are a lot of sad folks out there who need to get divorced. I’ve never been so depressed in my life. I don’t know how your mother does this kind of work every day of the week. Wives accuse husbands of all ma
Theo just sat and listened. Ike was hyper, probably jazzed on coffee and one of his little super juice drinks that guaranteed quick energy. He blitzed on: “So, I still like my theory. Do you?”
“Sure, Ike. It’s the best theory yet.”
“Thank you.”
“They slashed my bike tire again yesterday, at the VFW.”
Ike paused, pondered this, took a swig of coffee. “We gotta catch ’em, Theo.”
“The police do not believe me, Ike.”
“We gotta move fast.” Ike picked up his notepad and flipped some pages. “I found two cases that we should explore. Both are nasty divorces from the Secured Docket, which, of course, means that the court has locked away the files, so only the lawyers have access. The first case involves Mr. and Mrs. Rockworth. I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s safe to say that Mr. Rockworth does not like your mother. Two children involved, huge fight over who should get custody, with both parents doing a pretty good job of proving that neither was fit to raise kids. After a bitter trial, Mrs. Rockworth was given custody and Mr. Rockworth was given liberal visitation rights with the kids, both of whom are in counseling. The judge ordered Mr. Rockworth to pay eighteen thousand dollars in attorney fees to the firm of Boone & Boone. Do you know anybody named Rockworth?”
“No. How old are the kids?”
“The boy is twelve, in the seventh grade at the middle school. He has an older sister who’s fifteen. Evidently, both wanted to live with their father. The family has lived here for just a couple of years, which explains why you haven’t heard of them.”
“Is this your top suspect?”
“Oh no, just a possibility. I have a much better prospect—the fighting Fi
“What are the boys’ names?”
“Jonah Fi
Theo closed his eyes and tried to place the names with faces, but he could not. “Don’t know them.”
“I thought you were a fairly popular kid at school, Theo. Do you know anyone?”
“I’m in the eighth grade, Ike. We don’t mix too much with the seventh grade, nor does the seventh grade mix with the sixth, and so on. We have different classes, different schedules. How much do you know about these guys?”
“The basics, but not much more, at least for the younger one, Jonah. The court has appointed a guardian to look out for their best interests, and both boys have expressed a strong desire to live with their father. Their mother, through her talented lawyer, claims the boys want to live with their father because he lets them do whatever they want, including smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. Can you imagine a seventh grader drinking beer around the house with his dad?”
“No, I ca
“They’ve had a rough life, moved around a lot, changed homes and schools. Not much stability. Yes, I’d guess that these two boys are pretty much on their own. Last year Jessie was caught with marijuana and went through Youth Court. He got probation. The boys were sent to a foster home three months ago as sort of a safe house, until the divorce was over, but they kept ru
“I don’t suppose my mother is involved in a divorce for a Mr. and Mrs. Scheer?”
Ike looked at his notes, flipped a page, then said, “No. Why?”
“Just a hunch. A kid I know in Scouts who’s a little different, that’s all.”
“There’s no file on them.”
There was a long pause as Theo and Ike thought about the situation. Ike gulped coffee while Theo stared at the floor. Finally, Theo said, “I need to tell you about my friend Griff.” Theo told the story of Griff’s sister, Amy, and her friend Be
“This could be huge, Theo,” he said.
“What if it’s Jessie Fi
“You gotta make this happen, Theo.”
“But how?”
“If we can get our hands on a stolen tablet, we take it straight to the police who’ll check the registration number. If it came from Big Mac’s, then they’ll get off your back and go after these little Fi
From a rear pocket, Ike pulled out his wallet, opened it, and withdrew some cash. He counted out two twenty-dollar bills and a ten. “Here’s fifty bucks. Stick it in your pocket. Go find Griff, tell him to talk to his sister. Make this happen, Theo.”
Theo took the money and stuck it deep in his pocket. He sat down again and said, “But what if it doesn’t work? What if this Gordy guy doesn’t want to handle a stolen tablet, or what if the dude has already sold it to someone else?”