Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes With a Price

by Tim Shoemaker

  That’s exactly what he intends to do. “But just to be safe …”

  Mom laughed. “Since when did you start worrying so much? That’s my department. I’ll see what Dad thinks.”

  Swing and a miss. And to push it any more would draw more attention to it than he needed.

  She pointed to a tray of chocolate chip cookies cooling on the counter. “I need someone to test this batch.”

  He was in no mood for cookies. He wanted to turn out all the lights and be sure the deadbolts were in place on the front door. Hide. Take a shower and scrub every trace of blood, every scent of Frank’s death off him. A wave of weakness rolled over him and settled there. His mind shifted to an image of Frank’s body on the floor of his diner.

  “Think I’ll take a shower first.”

  She handed him a cookie anyway and leaned against the counter by the sink. “I talked to your dad on the phone while you were out. The photo shoot went well. He should be home by noon tomorrow … and he’s bringing a surprise with him.”

  Cooper chewed a bit of cookie he didn’t remember putting in his mouth. Wake up and find out this whole thing had been a bad dream … that’s the kind of surprise he wanted.

  She smoothed her shoulder length hair. “Something Dad has wanted for a long time.”

  Cooper’s little sister ran into the kitchen. “Tell me too,” Mattie said. At six years old, she acted like the entire family revolved around her—or should.

  “I’ll tell both of you after Cooper gets cleaned up.”

  Mom started giving Mattie a little hint, but Cooper couldn’t focus on it. Right now every thought in his head revolved around Frank ‘n Stein’s. He only zoned-out for a minute, but apparently he missed something important. Somehow Mattie got the idea Dad was bringing home a pony. She pranced and galloped around the kitchen, pawing at the air.

  Mom kissed Cooper’s forehead. “He can’t wait to show you, so do me a favor. Hurry home after school tomorrow. No snack stops at the mini-mart or Frank ‘n Stein’s.” Frank ‘n Stein’s. Cooper’s heart lurched.

  His mother started to leave the kitchen with Mattie. “You won’t forget to come right home, will you?” she teased, calling over her shoulder. “I can pin a reminder note on your backpack if you think it will help.”

  His backpack.

  Panic clenched his stomach and twisted it. Dizziness surged through his head. Cooper grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself. His mother wouldn’t be pinning any note to his backpack. Not tonight. He’d left it under the table at Frank ‘n Stein’s. The backpack pinned him—to the scene of the crime.

  CHAPTER 6

  Gordy mounted his bike and followed Hiro down the drive, scanning up and down the street for a car with one headlight. He’d feel a lot safer when he got home.

  “I don’t need an escort,” Hiro said over one shoulder.

  And I don’t want to be one. But he followed anyway and kept an eye out for suspicious cars, staying a couple lengths behind Hiro.

  She didn’t slow as she approached her house, but picked up the pace instead.

  “Hiro,” Gordy called after her. “What are you doing?”

  She lowered her head to be more aerodynamic and seemed to pump harder, widening the distance between them. She zipped down School Drive, across Campbell Street and picked up the bike path through Kimball Hill Park.

  She was heading right back to Frank ‘n Stein’s. I don’t think so. Gordy stood on the pedals and closed the gap within seconds and pulled up alongside.

  “You crazy?”

  “Frank was good to my family. And you know it.”

  Yeah, yeah. After her dad died Frank gave her mom a job as a bookkeeper. Helped her get her degree and a higher-paying job. He ought to know the story. Their moms and Aunt Dana had been close since college. “It’s too dangerous to go back there.”

  “Then go home.” Her mouth formed a tight line. She kept pedaling along the asphalt bike path.

  Oh, nice. And how heroic would that look? “Exactly what are you planning to do? He’s dead.”

  She flashed an angry glare. “Stop saying that. Just stop it.”

  He coasted for a second and let her get a lead on him. He glanced down at the creek to his right. Black and rushing away from Frank ‘n Stein’s—which is exactly what they should be doing. When Coop heard about this he wouldn’t believe it. Then again, Hiro did have her own mind on things. There would be no turning her back now.

  Hiro biked over the creek on the pedestrian bridge and picked up the trail bordering the creek on the west side to Kirchoff Road.

  Good. It was the longer way, but definitely safer than racing through parking lots and crossing the four-lane. At least she was using her head a little.

  Flashing lights lit up the sky around Frank ‘n Stein’s. Hiro took the bike trail under the Kirchoff Road bridge that looped around and ramped back up to the street level on the other side. She crossed the creek and coasted to a stop at the diner parking lot. Gordy stopped beside her and put a leg down to take in the scene. Police cars. Paramedics. A growing crowd gathered outside a yellow police line.

  All the glass had been knocked out of the front door of Frank ‘n Stein’s now, and police walked through the opening like the door was propped open. Broken glass sparkled on the ground in the flashing red lights like the cheap jewelry some of the girls wore at school. Not Hiro, of course. The only jewelry she ever wore was the necklace with a miniature Chicago Police shield on it—or ‘star’ as they called it in Chicago. It was a Chicago tradition to give a necklace or pin to family members of a fallen officer. She chose the necklace. It was the gift she never wanted, but would never part with either. Gordy thought it was morbid. Almost as spooky as keeping a lock of his hair in her pocket.

  A car screeched to a stop in the next parking lot, and a man ran toward the building. Joseph Stein. Frank’s partner. He ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and said something to a policeman who tried to block his way. Mr. Stein must have convinced the man he was half owner because the policeman stepped to one side and waved him on. Mr. Stein paused for a moment by the front door, as if wondering if he should unlock it, but then stepped through the door and disappeared inside.

  Gordy stretched to get a better view. Was Frank’s body still on the floor? Maybe they’d taken an extra apron and covered his face with it. In any case, Mr. Stein was in for a shock.

  Gordy ditched his bike and stood next to Hiro. “Okay. Paramedics are here. Nothing more we can do.”

  She held up a finger, but didn’t take her eyes off Frank ‘n Stein’s.

  Gordy watched Hiro. What if Hiro’s mom still worked here? She might have been dead too. Gordy wondered if the same thoughts crept into her mind. But right now this place was creeping him out. “Time to go,” he said.

  Hiro ignored him. Her attention seemed focused on the fringe of the crowd. Gordy followed her gaze.

  Great. Neal Lunquist. Just seeing Lunk made Gordy’s stomach twist even tighter. Lunk still wore his Frank ‘n Stein’s shirt, which is one of the reasons they avoided Frank ‘n Stein’s before 7 p.m. on Thursdays.

  Even though there was some kind of truce between them after Cooper saved Lunk’s hide, Gordy didn’t exactly trust him. To him, Lunk was still the bully that used his size to intimidate. And Hiro seemed ready for a fight whenever he was around, too. She had to, really. Lunk painted a target on her back from the very beginning.

  She leaned closer to Gordy. “Look at the creepy looking guy talking to Lunk.”

  “Got him.” Gordy sized the man up. About six-two. Two hundred and twenty-five pounds. Mid forties. The guy had a mean look about him. And he looked like he knew how to handle himself in a fight.

  She slowly rubbed the shield hanging from her neck between her thumb and forefinger. “He looks suspicious.”

  “Why? Because he’s talking to Lunk?”

  “Because he’s about the same size and build of any one of those three men we saw. There was plenty
of time for him to leave the scene, change clothes, and come back and watch from the crowd. Criminals do that sort of thing all the time. And the man obviously has some kind of connection with Lunk, an employee—which would explain how they knew about the safe. What more do you need?”

  Gordy shrugged. “A latex mask hanging out of his back pocket would do it.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “You’re ridiculous. I bet he’s got a record.”

  Gordy didn’t care. He just wanted to get away from this place. “We came to see if paramedics were here for Frank. They are—so let’s go.”

  Hiro held up one hand. “Look.”

  The man stepped closer to Lunk. By the looks on their faces, they were having some kind of argument. Lunk looked like he wanted to tear the guy’s head off.

  “I need to hear them,” Hiro said. “I’m moving closer.”

  Gordy grabbed her arm. “This isn’t a stakeout.”

  She pulled free and worked her way along the edge of the crowd. Gordy followed, but kept his head low. Hiro’s height helped her move close undetected, but Gordy had to work at it.

  She stopped behind a small group of people not five feet from where Lunk and the man stood. Lunk’s back was turned toward them, and the man didn’t seem to notice those milling nearby.

  “You got what you came for,” Lunk said. “And you’ve already made a mess of things. Leave me and Mom alone.”

  The man spit on the ground and snickered. “Is that any way to talk to your father?”

  Father? Gordy mouthed the word to Hiro. Now he could see where Lunk got his size.

  Lunk clenched his fist. “I’m dead serious.”

  The man took a step back and held his hands up, palms out. “Okay. I’m done here for now.” He turned on his heel and started walking.

  Hiro leaned out for a better view just as Lunk turned their way.

  Lunk spotted her immediately. He put his index fingers up to the outside corners of his eyes and pulled them back, reducing his eyelids to narrow slits. “What are you looking at Hiroko?” He elbowed his way through the crowd toward the yellow tape line.

  “Let’s go,” Hiro said.

  Gordy nodded. About time. He wouldn’t feel safe until he was in his own room. And he certainly didn’t want to see paramedics roll Frank out on a stretcher with a sheet over his head … and Hiro didn’t need that either.

  Gordy led the way back to the bikes. “Straight to your house.”

  She looked up at him with a determined half smile. “Almost straight home.” She motioned her head toward the man walking away from the crowd. “We have a suspect to follow first.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Frank. That was Cooper’s first waking thought. The horror of the robbery closed in on him. He felt like he was getting sucked into a bad dream. Cooper’s goal Friday morning was a no-brainer. Survive the day without getting caught.

  Hiro ran to meet Cooper and Gordy just as they reached the bus stop. Thankfully, the only other kids around gathered at the corner of Fremont and School Street, barely two blocks west. “Did Gordy tell you?”

  Cooper looked at his cousin. “Tell me what?”

  Gordy didn’t look too anxious to tell him anything. “I thought we’d tell him together.” He nodded at Hiro like he expected her to take it from there.

  “We have a suspect.” Hiro fingered the necklace.

  “Hold on,” Gordy said. “You have a theory.”

  Cooper held up his hands. “Tell me later. First we have a new problem to deal with.” He had to get this off his chest.

  Gordy gave him a questioning look.

  “My backpack. I left it under the table at Frank’s last night.”

  Gordy leaned back against the street sign post like his legs couldn’t support him any longer. “We’re dead.”

  Hiro groaned. “The police would have found it last night. I’m surprised they didn’t pick you up already.”

  Cooper glanced down the street. Still no sign of the bus. “There was nothing in it to trace it to me. I’d dumped the whole pack on my bed before going out to meet you. The thing weighed a ton.”

  Hiro looked skeptical. “Your name wasn’t on your backpack anywhere?”

  Cooper shook his head. That was one thing he was sure about.

  “No notebook inside? Papers?”

  “Just my English book—but I never wrote my name in it.”

  “You’re sure?” Her voice sounded hopeful.

  “Absolutely. I stuffed my hoodie in there just before I left, too.”

  Gordy looked alarmed. “What about your name in your sweatshirt?”

  “C’mon, Gordy, what do you think, I’m five or something?”

  “Hey,” he held up his hands in protest, “some people write their name on things like that.”

  “I guess we’re lucky it was Coop’s sweatshirt left behind and not yours,” Hiro said. She raised her eyebrows with that “gotcha” look.

  Gordy let that one go and stood upright. “Okay. Your name wasn’t in your backpack anywhere. So we’re good. Right?”

  Cooper shook his head. “Not completely. They’ll trace it back to Plum Grove.”

  Hiro said, “That’ll narrow the search field.”

  Cooper slid his old backpack off his back. “For now, I’m using my backpack from last year.”

  Gordy stepped closer and poked three fingers through a gaping hole in the front pocket. “Physical Science. Seventh grade. I knocked a lit Bunsen burner onto it and burnt a hole in it.” He smiled slightly. “And the best part was-”

  “Gordy,” Hiro interrupted. “We were all there, remember? We need to tell him about Lunk.” She stepped closer. “Last night—before I rode home,” she eyed Cooper like she wanted to make sure he was listening. “I went back to Frank ‘n Stein’s. With Gordy.”

  “Hey,” Gordy raised his hands up. “None of this ‘with Gordy’ stuff. It was your idea all the way.”

  Hiro ignored him. “We wanted to tell you before the bus gets here.”

  Cooper felt like the bus just hit him.

  Now he felt like he needed something to lean on. She rattled off the details, her voice rising in pitch as she did. He just looked at her, trying to listen, but also hardly believing what he heard. They’d all agreed to lay low.

  “Hiro,” he finally interrupted. “Why’d you chance it?”

  She looked at him funny. Like it surprised her that he even had to ask. “Frank. I had to make sure he wasn’t … still alone.”

  He nodded. If he’d thought it would have helped Frank, he’d have done it himself. But it was so risky. “Sometimes criminals go back to the crime scene just for thrills. What if they’d been there?”

  “I think they were.”

  “I tried to stop her,” Gordy said. “But Detective Yakimoto wouldn’t listen.”

  “I agreed to keep quiet,” she said. “But I can’t hide and do nothing.”

  They needed to hide right now. Stay safe. He shook those thoughts off. “You think you saw them?”

  “I saw Lunk. Wearing his work shirt.”

  Cooper watched as kids lined up to board the bus. “Okay. So Lunk was there. Wearing his work shirt. So?”

  “He looked real nervous. Scared. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

  Cooper pictured the 15-year-old the only time he’d ever seen him scared—in the back of the police car. The guy who’d made Cooper’s life miserable had needed his help; so Cooper had helped. Gordy and Hiro still didn’t trust him, but Lunk never bullied Cooper again—and sometimes he actually tried to be friendly with him. The bad blood between Lunk and Hiro had lessened slightly since the incident, but still only slightly.

  “His boss was murdered,” Cooper said. “That’d shake anybody up.”

  Hiro told him about the man Lunk argued with—and how they followed him at a safe distance.

  “He looked mean,” she said. “Creepy mean. He’s connected. I know it.”

  Cooper shook his h
ead. “You followed a mean-looking stranger?”

  “A suspect.”

  “You’re not a cop. You do know that, right? I know you want to be one someday, but—”

  “I can take care of myself.” She raised her chin. “Do you want to hear the rest or not?”

  Cooper heard the bus round the corner and head their way. Terrific. He had hoped the bus would be late to give them more time to talk. “So what happened?”

  “We followed him to Lunk’s house. The creep is living in the shed.”

  Definitely strange. Cooper had to admit it. “Okay, so that’s weird. But what does it prove, really?”

  The bus slowed to a stop and swung open it’s doors.

  “An inside job,” she said. “The man is Lunk’s dad.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Cooper led the way to a couple rows of seats near the back of the bus and waited to talk until the bus started moving again. “I never saw his dad around,” Cooper said. “I just figured he lived in another state or something.”

  “Or maybe the state pen,” Hiro said. “Seriously, he looks like an ex-con. I’m telling you, there’s a connection here. Wanna hear my theory?”

  The bus slowed, coasted to the curb, and picked up six more passengers. Two of them sat in the row directly in front of Gordy and Hiro.

  “Later. When we can talk,” Cooper whispered.

  She looked disappointed, but nodded in agreement.

  Cooper could guess her theory pinned this on Lunk somehow. She’d love that. Lunk made her first day at school miserable when she moved to Rolling Meadows after her dad died. Maybe it was the fact she wore her dad’s leather Chicago police jacket to school for weeks—even though it hung almost to her knees. Lunk made fun of the jacket, even when he knew her dad had died. And the more he did, the more other kids stayed away. Not because Lunk was especially popular. It seemed more like kids were afraid they’d be a target if they got too close.

  But because all three of their moms were longtime friends, Cooper and Gordy had known Hiro for years. And they ended up being the only real friends she had. Cooper understood her. Most of the time, anyway. Honestly, the girls who locked her out of their tight little circles didn’t know what they were missing. That’s the way Cooper saw it. She was a great friend. Fiercely loyal. And now the three of them had to stay close and keep quiet.