Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham Read Free Book Online

for another bad project.”
    “What’s pork?” Theo asked.
    “According to my dad, pork is when government money is given to politicians who use it to build projects in order to get votes in order to stay in office. Sometimes the projects are good, but often they aren’t really needed. Pork is a bad word now in politics, but the politicians are still chasing the pork, according to my dad.”
    “I think my mom would agree with your dad.”
    “What should we do, Theo?”
    “Hire a real lawyer. Eminent domain cases are tried in court before a judge who makes the decision as to how much money the property is worth. You gotta have a lawyer.”
    “Do you think your mother would take the case?”
    “No. She just does divorces.”
    “What about your father?”
    “He doesn’t go to court.”
    “Can you talk to your parents and get the name of a good lawyer?”
    “Sure. I’m happy to do that.”
    Hardie slowly got to his feet, and said, “Thanks, Theo.”
    “I really didn’t do anything.”
    “You listened, and that’s worth a lot.”
    As they left the conference room, Theo turned off the lights. Judge followed them back to Theo’s office, then outside.

Chapter 6
    F or the second morning in a row, the Friday edition of the
Strattenburg Gazette
ran a front-page story about the Red Creek Bypass. Theo read it with great interest at the kitchen table as he and Judge ate Cheerios and prepared for another day, although it was far from just another day because he was going camping. The only bad thing about a camping trip was that dogs were not allowed. Theo and a few of the other Scouts had once asked the Major if they could bring their dogs, and they got a flat “No.” The Major said his job was difficult enough keeping up with fifty city kids off in the woods. The last thing he needed was a pack of dogs running wild.
    Though he didn’t argue, Theo thought this was a bit unfair. Judge was a very disciplined dog who came when he was told to come, sat when he was told to sit, rolled over when he was told to roll over, and never ran off. He stayed close to Theo at all times when they were away from home. Judge would love to camp out with the boys, and sit around a campfire, and sleep with Theo in a pup tent, and hike and swim. But when the Major said no, he meant it.
    Mr. Boone was already gone; he enjoyed an early piece of wheat toast with his coffee club at a downtown diner. Mrs. Boone did not eat breakfast. Instead she usually sat in the den in her bathrobe and read the newspaper in silence. For a woman who talked all day long, she enjoyed the quietness of the early morning. Occasionally, though, like today, she sat at the kitchen table with Theo and they read the newspaper together. He was leaving for the weekend, and she wanted to be close.
    According to the
Gazette
, the announcement by the governor had set off a storm of bickering by various groups in town. The tree huggers, led by the Sierra Club, the Stratten Environmental Council, and a bunch of other groups, were screaming noisy objections and threatening lawsuits. The pro-business crowd was praising the governor and the bypass and howling about how bad traffic was on Battle Street and how much this was hurting the city. A good-government group chimed in with a protest that the project was too wasteful and unnecessary. Several landowners were angry that the state planned to take their property. Hardie Quinn’s family was not mentioned.
    In other parts of the state, the governor was being congratulated for pushing the project. In Lowensburg, an hour south, the mayor said the absence of a bypass around Strattenburg had choked off important “avenues of commerce” and harmed the economy of his city. In Carlsburg, an hour to the north, a state senator said two factories had closed in recent years because truck traffic was so slow around Strattenburg.
    The war of words raged on. As he read, Theo learned that the final decision on whether or not to build the