Theodore Boone: The Activist (8 page)

Chapter 14

H
ardie and his grandfather, Mr. Silas Quinn, found Theo and Woody as they crossed Red Creek. Theo was soaked with sweat and blood and the stress was triggering an asthmatic attack. He was pumping his inhaler as he hovered over Judge, who wasn’t moving. Mr. Quinn quickly scooped up the dog and placed him on the seat of his pickup truck. “Put the bike back there and get in,” he ordered, and Woody tossed his bike into the bed of the truck. The boys crowded into the front seat, with Theo gently cradling Judge, whose eyes were closed.

“Is he gonna make it?” Hardie asked his grandfather.

“He’ll be all right,” Mr. Quinn said as he shifted gears and took off. He had already called 911 and requested an ambulance and the police. He wanted the survey crew off his property, and he would have preferred to confront them himself. But, at the moment, there was a badly injured dog to deal with. They were flying along a gravel road, headed for town. Mr. Quinn said, “Who has a cell phone?”

Woody did not because he was only thirteen and his parents thought he was too young. Hardie had one but he wasn’t sure where it was. Theo said, “I do.”

“I think you should call your parents, Theo,” Mr. Quinn said. Theo gently placed Judge into Woody’s lap and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Where are we going?” Theo asked.

“Not sure,” Mr. Quinn said. “Who’s your vet?”

“Dr. Kohl.”

Elsa answered the phone at the office. She informed Theo that his mother was in a meeting with a client but his father was not. As he told his dad what happened, he gently stroked Judge between the eyes. He glanced at Woody, the toughest kid he knew, and saw tears.

They stopped the ambulance in the middle of the county road that led to the Quinn farm. At first the crew was not sure how to handle an injured dog, but Mr. Quinn was not a man to argue with. In loud and colorful language, he told the crew to take Theo and the dog to Dr. Kohl’s office on South Clement Street. Mr. Quinn, Hardie, and Woody would follow in the pickup truck.

Inside the ambulance, Theo watched as the two paramedics treated Judge as though he were a badly injured child. They placed him on a sterile white gurney, cleaned his wounds, whispered words of encouragement to him, and checked his pulse. Though it was obvious to Theo they were trained to assist humans and not dogs, they did a wonderful job of making Judge comfortable, and Theo as well. His shirt was covered with blood and dirt, and one of the paramedics slowly wiped it with gauze to make it somewhat cleaner.

“He has a pulse,” the other one said as he pulled a sheet up to Judge’s neck. “I think he’ll be all right.”

“Thanks,” Theo managed to say.

“We’ve never hauled in a dog before,” one said. “What happened to him?”

Theo just shook his head, unable to tell the story.

For almost forty years, Dr. Kohl had mended and healed most of the dogs and cats and other small animals in Strattenburg. His quiet little office was in an old shopping center that had seen better days. His long-time receptionist was Miss Ross, a fiercely efficient assistant known to call and scold clients when their pets’ rabies vaccines had expired.

Miss Ross was at her desk late that Friday, making things tidy and getting ready to leave, when the phone rang and Mr. Woods Boone explained the family dog was en route and in bad shape. Was Dr. Kohl around? Indeed he was. Minutes later, Miss Ross watched in disbelief as an ambulance roared to a stop at the front door.

In forty years with Dr. Kohl, she could not remember an injured animal arriving in an ambulance. She knew Judge Boone was a special dog (weren’t they all?) but had no idea he had such respect in the community. Behind the ambulance was a pickup truck, then a police car, then two other vehicles. A paramedic cradled the dog and rushed him inside. The small waiting room quickly filled with a bunch of nervous people—Theo, his buddies, his parents, Mr. Quinn, the paramedics and ambulance driver, Elsa from the office, and two officers in uniform.

While Dr. Kohl and a technician carried Judge into the back for X-rays, Theo was examined by his parents. He was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. He was barely able to control his emotions as he told the story, with Woody and Hardie helping with the details.

“He actually struck you with the stick?” Mr. Boone said.

“Twice, on the backside,” Theo answered. “And the short one knocked me down.”

“One of them pushed me down too,” Woody added.

“This is outrageous,” Mrs. Boone said, staring at the two policemen. One of them said, “We’re on the scene, Mrs. Boone.”

“I should hope so.”

“We want to press charges as soon as possible,” Mr. Boone said. “I want these thugs in jail.”

“So do I,” said Mr. Quinn. “They were on my property without permission.”

The group quickly agreed that the bad guys must be brought to justice, then things settled down a bit. The waiting began. The policemen and ambulance crew signed off and disappeared. Miss Ross made a pot of coffee and they all drank it from paper cups. After about an hour, Dr. Kohl came out for his first update. He explained that Judge was alive, barely, but in bad shape. He had a faint pulse. He had taken several blows to the head and these had caused a severe concussion. There was no fracture of the skull, but quite a lot of swelling around the brain. His right front leg was broken and several teeth were knocked out. In Dr. Kohl’s opinion, he was lucky to still be breathing and the next twenty-four hours would be crucial. If the brain continued to swell, Judge probably would not survive.

Dr. Kohl led Theo and his parents into the rear of the clinic, to an exam room where the lights were dimmed. On a small table covered with a sterile white sheet, Judge lay on his side, eyes closed, tongue hanging out, fur shaved from his face and head, an IV stuck to his left front leg, and a splint on his right front leg. He was such a pathetic sight that Theo immediately began crying. He couldn’t help it and he couldn’t stop. He hated crying, especially in front of a stranger, but, staring at his gravely wounded buddy, he just couldn’t hold back the tears. Mrs. Boone was crying too.

After they gawked at Judge for a long time, Dr. Kohl said, “There is nothing else I can do. I’ll have a technician here all night to monitor things, but, frankly, it’s now just a matter of waiting.”

“I’m not leaving,” Theo said, teeth and braces clenched tightly. “I’m staying here all night.”

“Come on, Theo,” Mr. Boone said.

“I’m not leaving. When I’m sick, Judge stays beside my bed and never leaves. I can do the same for him. Forget it, Dad, I’m not leaving.”

Mrs. Boone said, “Theo—”

“Forget it, Mom. Judge needs to hear my voice and know that I’m here. I’ll talk to him all night, okay? Please.”

The adults looked at each other, then Dr. Kohl shrugged. “It’s up to you,” he said. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

Mrs. Boone said, “Okay, Theo, but let’s go home, have a quick dinner, take a shower, and change clothes.”

“No Mom. I’m not leaving. I’ll never leave Judge. Never.”

Occasionally, in the chaotic game of parenting, it was important for the adults to yield and allow the kids to get their way. This seemed like a perfect moment, and Mr. and Mrs. Boone were wise enough to understand.

Mrs. Boone stepped closer and patted her son on the shoulder. “Okay, Theo, we’re going to run home, get some clean clothes and something to eat, and we’ll be back in an hour. Okay?”

“Thanks Mom,” Theo said, without taking his eyes off Judge.

When his parents and Dr. Kohl were gone, and the door was closed, Theo leaned over Judge and gently kissed him on the nose. With tears dripping off his cheek, he began whispering into his ear. “I love you, Judge, and I’m gonna talk to you until you wake up. Okay? Listen to me, Judge, because I’ll never stop talking.”

But Judge never moved.

Chapter 15

I
t would be a long night. Mrs. Boone brought Theo a sandwich, which he could not eat, and a clean shirt and jeans. She and Mr. Boone took turns sitting in the cramped exam room with Theo and Judge. There were only two chairs, one on each side of the table where Judge clung to life. Dr. Kohl’s assistant was a strange young woman named Star. She had purple hair and a ring in her nose, but in spite of first appearances, she was incredibly sweet and deeply concerned about Judge. When Dr. Kohl said good-bye around 9:00 p.m., he explained to Theo and his parents they were welcome to spend the night in the clinic, and Star would take care of things. Dr. Kohl would keep his cell phone nearby and could be at the clinic within ten minutes if something happened. The Boones thanked him repeatedly.

Out in the reception room, Woody, Hardie, and Mr. Quinn were still waiting. They had been there for hours with nothing to do but wait. They had ordered a pizza, which they had shared with Star. When Dr. Kohl left, they decided to leave too. Woody and Hardie promised Theo they would return early on Saturday morning to check on him and Judge. When they embraced for the night, all three boys had moist eyes. It had been a long, rough day.

A few minutes after they left, April Finnemore arrived with her mother, May, an unusual woman Theo and everybody else tried to avoid. Because Star refused to allow visitors back in the exam rooms, Theo had a chat with April in the front reception area. He didn’t want to tell the story again but didn’t have much of a choice. April was one of his best friends, and when she asked, through tears—“Theo what happened?”—he had little choice but to start with the fishing trip and finish with a badly injured dog.

Ms. Finnemore, who had a big mouth and a penchant for high drama, listened with wild eyes and her hand over her mouth, as if she had never heard of such brutality. Mrs. Boone managed to ease her off to one side so the kids could talk. Theo adored April, but he was relieved when she left with her mother.

Things changed when Uncle Ike arrived ten minutes later. He insisted on seeing Judge, and when Star objected Ike growled at her and she ran for cover. After a visit with Judge, and a few words whispered into his ear, Ike announced he would be staying there through the night with Theo. Mr. and Mrs. Boone were to go home and get some sleep. Star could hang around if she wanted. She explained that Dr. Kohl had instructed her to monitor Judge throughout the night. Ike seemed to approve of this.

Mr. and Mrs. Boone left again, with another round of hugs and thanks to Star, and they promised to sleep with their cell phones in case something happened. Star locked the front door of the clinic and retreated to a small employees’ lounge. Ike assumed a seat next to Judge and said, “Theo, it’s important for Judge to hear our voices, okay? So you and I are going to talk as long as we possibly can. We’re going to tell stories, take turns, make up jokes, whatever it takes to keep the words flowing, okay?”

“Sure, Ike.” Theo was standing beside Judge. Ike slung his feet and sandals onto a small counter and somehow managed to get comfortable in the cheap plastic chair. He said, “Now, I want you to tell me again the story of how that stupid kid got himself bitten by the copperhead last week.”

Theo frowned and said, “Come on, Ike. I’m sick of that story.”

Ike said, “It’s not about you, not about me, it’s all about Judge. Maybe Judge wants to hear the story again. Your voice, Theo, somewhere down deep, in the deepest part of his little wounded brain, Judge can hear your voice. He doesn’t care what you’re saying. What matters is that he knows you’re here, next to him, talking to him.”

Theo swallowed hard, and began the story of Percy and the copperhead.

Ike shook his head and interrupted. “No, no, Theo. Start at the very beginning, and go slow. We’re in no hurry. Judge is in no hurry. We have hours to kill.”

So Theo tried again. He started with Troop 1440 leaving on the bus, headed for Lake Marlo, and he threw in every large and small detail he could possibly remember. Ike nodded along, smiling. Attaboy.

When he finished the snake story, Ike said, “Now, Theo, we just had a big murder case here in Strattenburg, the biggest ever. What’s the man’s name?”

“Pete Duffy.”

“Right, right. Mr. Pete Duffy, accused of killing his wife, wasn’t he?”

“That’s correct.”

“So tell me that story, and start with the murder and how the police found the body. You watched the trial, right?”

“I did.”

“Good. Tell me about it.”

Theo sat in the other chair and pulled his knees to his chest. The Pete Duffy murder case was one of his favorite subjects, and he talked about it forever, it seemed. From time to time, he glanced at Judge, who appeared to be resting quietly, motionless. Occasionally, he glanced at Ike, who was wide awake and staring and nodding at the wall. Star peeked through the open door from time to time, always with a smile, always listening not far down the hall.

When he wrapped up the last installment of the Duffy story, Ike said, “Remember that time we took off and went to rescue April Finnemore, just the two of us?”

“Of course I remember, Ike. How could I forget?”

“Okay, let’s do that story.”

“It’s your turn, Ike. You were involved in that one.”

Ike said, “Well, as I remember it, your buddy April disappeared from her home one night when no one else was there.” Ike stood and stretched his legs. He did a few quick squats, cracked his knuckles, and when the blood was flowing he continued with the story. Theo added details along the way, just a few at first but after twenty minutes the two were tag-teaming as they relived their adventure of finding April and rescuing her from her crazy father.

Around midnight, Star brought them bottles of cold water and did a quick check of the patient. Judge was breathing but not awake.

Ike said, “Star, welcome to our little story time. Would you like to play along? You can choose any story you want because Judge doesn’t care. He just loves stories.”

Theo wanted to hear the story of how she managed to get a ring in her nose, but knew that was probably off-limits. Star said, “Let me think about it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I guess she doesn’t like to tell stories,” Ike mumbled. “What about that time, Theo, when someone broke into your locker and planted some stolen goods? And the police were about to arrest you? Just a couple of months ago, right?”

“How could I forget?”

“And someone kept slashing your bike tires.”

“That’s it.”

“Great. Tell Judge and me that story again.”

Theo was suddenly tired. He was physically exhausted and needed sleep, and he was emotionally drained as well. He stood, did a few squats like Ike, and began the rather frightening story of being accused of a crime and nearly arrested. Ike had been involved in that story, too, and he inserted a few details along the way.

The chatter continued, and down the hall Star listened with amusement. Around 2:00 a.m., things became quiet in the exam room, and Star peeked inside. Theo was asleep in one corner, curled into an awkward position on top of a sleeping bag his father had brought. Ike had somehow managed to fall asleep sitting in a chair with his feet propped up.

She eased inside and gently touched Judge near his heart. It was still beating.

The police investigators arrived at Dr. Kohl’s clinic early Saturday morning. Dr. Kohl was not yet in, but Star had unlocked the clinic and welcomed the officers. They chatted with Theo and Ike for about fifteen minutes and left. They said their plans were to talk to both Hardie and Woody that morning. Theo learned that the survey crew had disappeared by the time the police arrived yesterday afternoon, so no arrests were made. The police did retrieve Theo’s bike and he could pick it up at the station. Ike made it very clear that the Boone family certainly intended to press charges, and have the men arrested and brought to justice.

Unknown to Theo, Hardie had managed to memorize the license plate number of the survey crew’s truck.

Mr. and Mrs. Boone arrived with doughnuts and coffee. Ike left soon thereafter. He promised to return that afternoon. Dr. Kohl examined Judge at 9:00 a.m. and said there was little change in his condition. The fact that he had survived the night was obviously a good sign, but the veterinarian cautioned them against too much optimism. Mrs. Boone suggested Theo go home, take a shower, and get some rest, but Theo refused. He was not leaving Judge until Judge was fully awake and feeling fine.

No one argued with Theo.

Mr. Boone left but Mrs. Boone stayed at the clinic. She established herself in one corner of the reception area, opened her laptop, and began going through her e-mails. She had a thick briefcase by her side and lots of work to do. Theo sat with her for a few minutes and made small talk, then he went to check on Judge. Back and forth, back and forth. The day dragged on as sick dogs and cats came and went through the reception area. Dr. Kohl was popular because he’d been there so long, but he had also discovered that Saturday was the perfect day for business. He didn’t work on Mondays, preferring instead to play golf, but on Saturdays, he was a busy vet. Once an hour, he checked on Judge.

Mr. Boone arrived and Mrs. Boone left. April returned on her bike, without her mother, and stayed with Theo for an hour. When Dr. Kohl and the technicians weren’t looking, Theo sneaked her in for a quick visit with Judge. She could not hold back the tears at the sight of the patient, partially tucked under a white sheet, his head shaved, eyes closed, and little pink tongue hanging out. Theo, though, was tired of crying.

Dr. Kohl X-rayed Judge again and reported the swelling had gone neither up nor down. At 2:00 p.m., another vet, a Dr. McKenzie, arrived at the clinic. According to Dr. Kohl, Dr. McKenzie was a friend and trusted colleague and was there to examine Judge and give a second opinion. With Theo out of the exam room, the two vets poked and prodded, studied the X-rays, and seemed rather gloomy about Judge’s condition.

Throughout Saturday, Theo rarely left Judge’s side. His parents came and went. Vets came and went. Technicians came and went. Woody, Hardie, and April came and went. Alone with the door closed, Theo gently stroked the soft fur along his dog’s back, whispering and assuring him that things were going to be fine. He watched intently as Judge’s stomach rose slowly, then fell, clear proof he was still breathing, still alive. “Come on, boy,” he said for the millionth time.

Judge was a mutt whose age and breeding would always be a mystery. He had been abandoned by someone and taken into custody by the city’s Animal Control unit. He had been placed in a shelter, given his shots, fed and groomed, and put up for adoption, but no one wanted him. The animal rights activists in town had long been seeking a no-kill policy at the city’s shelter, but the sad fact remained that there were too many stray dogs and cats and not enough people willing to adopt them. After six months in the shelter, the city had no choice but to “put down” the unwanted animals. For Judge, his six months had expired, and he was hours away from the end.

Two years earlier, when Theo was eleven, he had gone to Animal Court with his dad to help a friend whose German shepherd had bitten the mailman for the third time. Animal Court, also known as Kitty Court, among other names, was in the basement of the courthouse, and was considered by the lawyers to be the lowest possible place in the entire judicial system. In fact, most lawyers avoided Animal Court.

Judge Yeck was a part-time judge, and perhaps the only lawyer in town who wanted to fool with Animal Court. During the dispute over the German shepherd, Judge Yeck looked at Theo and said, “Say, Theo, what kind of dog do you have?”

Theo, who was sitting behind his father, was honored to be recognized by a judge, even if it was in Animal Court. He stood and said, “Well, sir, I don’t have a dog.”

“Why not? Every kid needs a dog.” Judge Yeck looked at Mr. Boone and said, “Woods, why don’t you let your kid have a dog?” Theo was thrilled and couldn’t help but smile, braces and all. He had been bugging his parents about getting a dog for at least a year.

Mr. Boone looked embarrassed and said, “Well, Judge, we’re talking about it.”

As Theo would later learn, after he and Judge Yeck became pals, the judge loved animals and hated to see them destroyed. He looked at a bailiff and said, “Bring that mutt in here.” The bailiff disappeared through a door and within seconds returned with the mutt, the one who was about to be renamed Judge.

Yeck said, “Look at this handsome dude, Theo. Wouldn’t he make a great friend?”

The handsome dude looked directly at Theo, and Theo looked directly at him, and at that moment the friendship was sealed. Judge was knee-high to an adult, weighed forty pounds, had a lot of terrier and thick fur and big brown eyes and was the cutest dog Theo had ever seen.

“He sure would,” Theo managed to say.

“What about it, Woods?” Judge Yeck said.

“Gee, I don’t know.”

“Well, here’s the deal. This guy has been in the shelter for six months, the limit. He’s scheduled to be put down tomorrow morning. If you guys don’t take him, then it’s over. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

Indeed it would. Theo left with the dog.

His father told him later that Judge Yeck was known to pull that stunt, to bring in some poor dog or cat about to be “destroyed” and shove it off on some unsuspecting person in his courtroom. That was another reason a lot of people avoided Animal Court.

Around dark, Mrs. Boone said rather sternly it was time for Theo to go home, if only to bathe, brush his teeth, change clothes, and get something to eat. Mr. Boone agreed and they seemed determined to see this happen. Theo, however, wouldn’t budge. “I’m not leaving Judge,” he insisted. A brief family feud was under way when Ike strode through the front door and said, “How’s old Judge?”

“Hanging in there,” Theo said. “Could be a long night.”

“Well, we survived last night,” Ike said with a grin. “I’m sure we can pull Judge through another one.”

“Are you staying?” Theo asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”