Jack Hogan sat down, and at that moment Theo could not imagine that anyone believed Pete Duffy was innocent.

Judge Gantry tapped his gavel and called for a fifteen-minute recess. Theo was not about to risk losing his seat, so he and Ike stayed put. Ike whispered, “Have you heard from Bobby?”

Theo shook his head. No.

Chapter 17

A month earlier, the identity of Bobby Escobar had been revealed during a closed-door hearing before Judge Gantry. Jack Hogan had kept his name a secret until the last possible moment, but the rules of procedure required that all witnesses be named before the trial. Judge Gantry had delivered a stern lecture: Any unauthorized contact with Bobby would result in harsh penalties. Tampering with a witness was itself a crime, a serious one, and Judge Gantry would not hesitate to punish anyone who tried to intimidate him. The judge’s comments were specifically aimed at Clifford Nance and his defense team, and at one point Nance had objected by saying, “Your Honor, with all due respect, you seem to be implying that we would engage in criminal activity. I find this offensive.”

To which Judge Gantry replied, “Take it any way you want, Mr. Nance. But no one says a word to this boy, okay? I’ll be closely monitoring his situation.”

The police moved Bobby to a secret location and gave him security around the clock. He had limited access to his friends and family. He went to work each day at the golf course with a cop in plainclothes nearby.

It took Theo almost a week to find out where he was staying. Julio spilled the beans one day during recess at school. Julio said Bobby was even more frightened and wished he’d never come forward; said he was painfully homesick and worried about his mother back in El Salvador. She was ill and wanted him to come home. He was threatening to disappear into the vast underground that brought him to Strattenburg in the first place. He wished he’d never found the job at the golf course. Theo urged Julio to convince his cousin to stand firm, be brave, and all that, but even Julio was having second thoughts about getting Bobby involved. He said it was easy for Theo to believe in doing what’s right and to believe in justice the American way. But Theo didn’t understand what it was like living illegally, unwanted, afraid all the time, unable to speak the language, and constantly worried about being arrested and deported. Bobby didn’t trust the police because they spent a lot of time rounding up illegals and putting handcuffs on them. Sure, they were being nice to him now, but what about life after the trial?

Watching Jack Hogan, and hearing Bobby’s name tossed around the courtroom, Theo was having second thoughts of his own. He was responsible for finding Bobby and getting him involved.

Things would get worse.

When court was called to order, Judge Gantry said, “Mr. Nance, you may make an opening statement for the defense.”

Nance rose importantly and strolled across the courtroom to the jury box. As usual, he began with a bang. Loudly, and with great drama, he proclaimed, “Bobby Escobar is a criminal. He violated the laws of this great nation by illegally crossing our border for economic gain. He has been living here, illegally, while enjoying the benefits of our country. He has a job, one to which he is not entitled, while many of our citizens remain unemployed. He has three meals a day, while ten million American children go to bed hungry every night. He has a roof over his head, while half a million Americans are homeless. When he is sick, he is allowed to go to our hospital for excellent health care, courtesy of the taxpayers.” Nance stopped and walked to the other end of the jury box. He glared at the jurors, then continued, “Why is he not in custody? Why is he not being deported back to El Salvador? The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is because Bobby Escobar has cut a deal with the police and the prosecution. He’s figured out a way to stay in this country, and not only stay here but to live here without fear of being arrested. He has become a star witness in this case. He will take this witness stand, and when he does he will say anything the police and prosecution want him to say. And after he testifies, he will not be arrested, he will not be deported. Why? Because he has cut a deal. In exchange for his bogus and unreliable testimony against my client, Mr. Pete Duffy, he will be treated differently from all other illegal immigrants. He will be given a special status, that of immunity. Immune from deportation. Immune from the punishment that our law says he deserves. He will be protected by the police and prosecution while they scramble around and try to find him a work permit, perhaps even a green card. Who knows, perhaps they’ve even promised him the fast track to US citizenship.” Another pause as he walked to the other end of the jury box. All jurors watched him closely. He spread his arms and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s not be fooled by a desperate man. Bobby Escobar will say anything to avoid prosecution. He’ll say anything to stay in this country.” He looked into the face of each juror, and slowly walked back to the defense table.

That was it! The shortest opening statement in the history of American law.

Over lunch at Pappy’s Deli, Ike said, “Brilliant, just brilliant. He zeroed in on the strongest piece of the prosecution’s case and destroyed the credibility of Bobby Escobar.”

Theo, who’d had a knot in his stomach ever since Clifford Nance sat down, said, “You think the jury will believe Bobby’s lying?”

“Yes I do. Clifford Nance will destroy him on cross-examination. The jury is already suspicious. You need to understand, Theo, that immigration is a red-hot issue in this country. According to the experts, we, as a nation, are split right down the middle when it comes to undocumented workers. On the one hand, many people realize that these people primarily do the jobs that nobody else wants to do. But on the other hand, there are thousands of small businessmen who can’t compete with the cheap wages paid to illegals. I’ll bet that most of the people on the jury know of someone who lost his or her business because they wouldn’t hire undocumented workers. They resisted the temptation to cut corners, and they paid dearly for it when they closed their doors. Illegals are paid in cash, and they often earn far less than the minimum wage. There is a lot of anger out there directed at people like Bobby Escobar.”

“But Waverly Creek is the finest golf course around. Why would they hire undocumented workers?”

“To save money, and lots of it. Plus, Theo, they don’t always know. There’s a lot of fake paperwork around. Some employers don’t ask questions. Often, the guy who owns the business will hire a smaller company to do the dirty work and look the other way. In Bobby’s case, there’s a good chance he works for some small-time landscape company that has a contract with the golf course. It’s a murky world and evidence is hard to find. It’s easy to just ignore things and save money.”

Theo, who hadn’t touched his sandwich, asked, “Okay, what happens to an employer who gets caught using undocumented workers?”

“He gets busted, pays a big fine. But that rarely happens. There are too many workers and too many employers willing to pay cash and get the cheap labor. Eat your lunch.”

“I’m not that hungry. In fact I feel kind of sick. I wish I’d never dragged Bobby into this mess.”

“This mess was started when Pete Duffy killed his wife. It’s not your fault, or mine, or Bobby’s. A crime often drags in innocent people, people who would rather not get involved. That’s just the way it goes. If witnesses were afraid to testify, a lot of crimes would never be solved.”

Theo managed to nibble around the edges of his sandwich, but he had no appetite.