“So you’ve known about this since Monday night?”

“Yes, sir. I wasn’t sure what to do. I’m just a kid, you know?”

“Did you tell your parents?”

“I told Ike yesterday morning and my parents yesterday afternoon. We were hoping they would find Bobby and everything would work out.”

“Well, they haven’t found him. Any idea where he is?”

“Last night he called Julio and told him he was hiding in an apple orchard somewhere around Weeksburg, said he was planning to go back to Texas and cross the border. Julio called me and told me this.”

Judge Gantry removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He was sitting behind his massive desk in shirt sleeves and a tie. Theo was sitting in a chair across from him, his feet barely touching the floor. He felt very small. “There’s something else,” he said, removing his cell phone. He found the two text messages to Bobby and handed the phone across the desk.

Judge Gantry read the texts and shrugged. “These are in Spanish. Did you write them?”

“I had help translating the first, but I wrote the second one.”

“What does it say?”

“I just told Bobby that today is an important day, that he’s needed here in court, that he’ll do fine and he’ll be safe. That’s all. I wasn’t trying to tamper with a witness. I promise.”

Judge Gantry shrugged again and slid the phone back across the desk. “I’m impressed with your Spanish.”

Theo grabbed the phone and felt his entire body relax. What, no handcuffs? No jail? No yelling at me for sending text messages to a crucial witness? He took a deep breath and managed to fully exhale. The knot in his stomach loosened a bit.

“Did he respond in any way?”

“No, sir.”

“Have you talked to Julio this morning?”

“No, sir.”

“Well, it looks like I’m staring at another mistrial. Jack Hogan described Bobby’s testimony to the jury in his opening statement, and now the kid is gone. I can’t believe the police allowed him to get away.”

“Hard to believe,” Theo said, but only because he couldn’t think of anything else.

“You’d better hang around for a while, just in case he decides to call. Unless, of course, you want to go back to class.”

“I’ll stay.”

Judge Gantry pointed to a chair wedged in a corner between two heavy bookcases. “Take a seat over there and don’t make a sound.”

Theo scampered to the chair and became invisible. Judge Gantry pushed a button on his phone and said, “Mrs. Hardy, send in the lawyers.”

Within seconds, the door flew open and all the lawyers who’d been waiting poured into the room. Judge Gantry directed them to a long conference table and took a seat at the end. The court reporter set up her stenographic machine next to him. When everyone was settled, Judge Gantry said, “Let’s go on the record.” The court reporter began pressing her keys.

He cleared his throat and said, “It’s about ten thirty on Wednesday morning, and the State has called all of its witnesses, with the exception of one Bobby Escobar, who is not here and evidently cannot be found. You agree, Mr. Hogan?”

Jack Hogan kept his seat. He was obviously angry and frustrated, but also resigned to defeat. “Yes, Your Honor, that appears to be the case.”

“Mr. Nance?”

“Your Honor, on behalf of Pete Duffy, the defendant, I move for a mistrial, on the grounds that the prosecutor, Mr. Hogan, promised the jury in his opening statement that they would hear from an eyewitness, a witness who would be damaging to our case, a witness who could well determine the outcome. The jury had every right to believe this; indeed, we all believed it. Since Monday morning, the jury has been expecting the State to put this witness on the stand. Now, however, it appears as though this will not happen. This is grossly unfair to the defendant, and it’s obvious grounds for a mistrial.”

“Mr. Hogan?”

“Not so fast, Your Honor. I think this situation can be explained to the jury, and the jury can be told to disregard my opening comments. I’m happy to apologize to the jury and explain my actions. Everything was in good faith. We have presented enough proof to convict the defendant even without the testimony of Bobby Escobar. A second mistrial means that the murder charges will be dropped, and that would be an injustice.”

Judge Gantry said, “I’m not inclined to agree, Mr. Hogan. The damage has been done, and the defendant has no way to cross-examine the witness. It seems quite unfair to him to promise the testimony of such a crucial witness and then not deliver.”

Hogan’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head. Clifford Nance barely suppressed a smile. Theo couldn’t believe his good luck — a ringside seat at the most important moment in the biggest murder trial anyone could remember. He absorbed every word without moving a muscle. No one seemed to realize he was there.

Judge Gantry said, “We’ll stand in recess until this afternoon. The search is not over and I may have some new information. We’ll meet here at two. Until then, not a word of this to anyone. I don’t want my jurors to know what’s going on. Meeting’s over.”

The lawyers slowly got to their feet and headed for the door. Judge Gantry motioned for Jack Hogan to stay behind. When the door closed and they were alone, he said to the prosecutor, “There’s an apple orchard outside of Weeksburg. Get the police to search it immediately.”

Hogan left quickly, and Judge Gantry sat in his chair behind his desk. He looked at Theo and said, “What a mess. What would you do in this situation?”

Theo thought for a second. He was struck by the loneliness of the job, the importance of making decisions that had such a heavy impact on the lives of so many people. When he wasn’t dreaming of being a great courtroom lawyer, he was dreaming of being a wise and respected judge. Now, though, he was having second thoughts. He wouldn’t want to be in Judge Gantry’s shoes at the moment.

He said, “I like what Jack Hogan said. Why can’t you just explain things to the jurors and let them decide the case based on the testimony they’ve heard? There’s a lot of evidence that points directly at Pete Duffy.”

“I agree, but if he’s convicted he will appeal, and the Supreme Court of this state will surely reverse the conviction. No trial judge likes to be reversed, Theo. That would mean we would have to try Pete Duffy for a third time, and that doesn’t seem fair.”

“But wouldn’t that give us time to find Bobby Escobar?”

“Do you really think they’ll find him?”

Theo considered this for a second and said, “No, sir, not really. He’s probably halfway back to Texas right now. Can’t say that I blame him.”

There was a loud knock on the door, and before Judge Gantry could respond, Mrs. Marcella Boone barged into the office and said, “Henry, where’s Theo?”

Theo jumped to his feet and said, “Hi, Mom.”

Judge Gantry stood and said, “Hello, Marcella. Theo and I are just discussing the trial.”

“I heard he was arrested,” she said.

“Arrested for what? No, he’s helping me consider the motion for a mistrial. Have a seat.”

She took a deep breath, shook her head in either frustration or disbelief, probably both, and managed to relax.

The police combed through the three apple orchards near Weeksburg and found nothing. Every undocumented worker within five miles had vanished into the woods; there was no sign of them and certainly no sign of Bobby. By noon, they had reported the bad news to the Strattenburg police. They checked on Julio and his mother, Carola; neither had heard from Bobby. They talked to his boss and he knew nothing. The search was over. The witness was gone.

Theo had a pleasant lunch with his parents and Ike at Pappy’s Deli. His father suggested that he go back to school, but Theo thought otherwise. Judge Gantry needed him, he explained. He was under strict orders from the court to stay close to the courtroom, just in case Bobby decided to check in. “No chance of that,” Ike said, chewing on a world-famous pastrami sandwich.