RUNAWAY JUSTICE

His third case entangles Austin lawyer David Adams with a most unlikely client.

Parker Barnes is only 12, but he’s already been through a lifetime’s worth of grief. Orphaned years ago, he bounced from one foster home to the next until an unpleasantly explicit insinuation from his latest nonfather made him steal $100 and take off on his own. Parker’s never been in a big city, and he makes for Austin as a promised land where he can live on the streets. His plans go spectacularly awry when he’s hauled in for helping a slightly older drifter named Skater steal purses shortly after he’s witnessed the fatal shooting of businessman Max Legley in Pease District Park. David, who has lots of experience dealing with homeless people in Austin, steps up to represent Parker and quickly gets him released and admitted to a relatively humane group home. As it turns out, though, Parker may have been safer in jail. FBI agent Harry Zegers has seen a recording of Parker that puts him close to the murder scene in space and time, and since Legley was a federally protected witness, Zegers is hot to bring in his killer, even if that killer was only 12. At the same time, Richie Maylor, the ex-con who really did pull the trigger on behalf of a party to be named later, is under orders to mop up the loose ends—and he seems suspiciously well informed about everything David and Parker do.

A routine suspenser with a standout performance by a tough, resourceful preteen.