Theodore Boone: The Scandal Read Online Free PDF Page A

after the tests. For the older guys, I’ll find some way to make it up. I don’t foresee a problem.”
    “Who cares about the older guys?” Woody said. “Let’s go.”
    “Get it planned,” the Major ordered. “Use your checklists and don’t forget anything. You’ll be in the woods with no way out except on foot. Planning is crucial.”
      
    Theo was required by family tradition to stop by his uncle Ike’s office every Monday afternoon for a visit. If Ike was in a good mood, the time was enjoyable. If Ike was in a bad mood, Theo didn’t stay very long. There was about a fifty-fifty split in Ike’s moods. He had once been a respected lawyer who specialized in tax matters. Now he kept the books for a few clients and didn’t make much money. He had once worked from a nice office over at Boone & Boone. Now he worked in a dump above a Greek deli and had no secretary. He once was married and had two children. Now he was divorced and the kids, now adults and Theo’s first cousins, never made it back to Strattenburg and had nothing to do with their father. According to Theo’s mother, Ike had once been quite stylish, with dark suits and fine silk ties. Now he wore faded jeans, sandals, and T-shirts, and he kept his long gray hair pulled tightly in a ponytail. As Theo was learning, the old version of Ike was far different from the one he knew.
    And that was fine. Theo adored his uncle Ike, and the feeling was mutual.
    Since Theo had spent Monday afternoon with the Holland family, he decided to stop by Ike’s on Tuesday after the quick and pleasant meeting with the Major. As always, Ike was at his desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork, with Bob Dylan playing softly on the stereo and a can of beer beside his phone. “Well, how’s my favorite nephew?” he asked, the same question every time.
    Theo often wondered how and why adults got in the habit of asking the same questions over and over, but he knew there was no clear explanation. “I’m doing lousy, and I’m your only nephew.”
    “Oh, that’s right. A full week of testing for robots. What a stupid idea. Back when I was a kid, teachers were allowed to teach, but now . . .” He held up his hands and said, “Sorry, I think we had this discussion last week.”
    “We did. A drunk guy tried to break in our house last night,” Theo said with a smile. Before each visit he always tried to think of something interesting to tell Ike.
    “Well, do tell,” Ike said as he sipped his beer.
    With great enthusiasm, Theo told the story of the Holland family and Mr. Holland’s near-assault on the Boone household. He managed to make the event somewhat more frightening than it had really been, but he knew Ike appreciated a good story. Ike himself had said that he’d never heard a story he couldn’t improve with a little exaggeration.
    Theo went on, “And Mom says they’ll keep him in jail for a few days and charge him with a felony.”
    “What a creep, but he’s lucky the cops didn’t blow his head off.”
    “Maybe so, Ike, and I know you don’t care much for policemen, but believe me it was a relief to see those blue lights last night.”
    “I suppose so.”
    “Anyway, my mom is trying to figure out how to protect the family. She thinks the guy needs some help with his drinking problem.”
    “I’d say,” Ike said as he sipped more beer. According to a few things Theo had overheard, Ike had his own issues with drinking, and that was one reason his parents had little to do with him. That and the blowup of the law firm many years ago. The adults never talked about what happened, but Theo was determined to find out one day.
    They talked some more. Theo said he had to go, since it was Tuesday and his family spent the evening at the homeless shelter.

Chapter 6
    B y Thursday afternoon, the third day of testing, Theo’s brain was fried, and he didn’t care what happened with his scores. He left the school and rode his bike around town, trying to clear his