Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes With a Price

by Tim Shoemaker

  Cooper sat behind Hiro and Gordy and stared out the school bus window. If only he’d slung his backpack over his shoulder before he went to call Frank. The regrets that kept him awake last night still wouldn’t let him rest.

  Police cars filled every handicapped parking spot at Plum Grove Junior High. Not a good sign.

  Gordy turned in his seat and gave Cooper a wide-eyed look. He’d obviously seen the cop cars, too.

  If Cooper had ridden his bike as usual, he’d have been tempted to turn around and pedal home. And he wouldn’t have to lie to say he felt sick. His stomach felt jazzed all morning.

  But staying home might draw more attention than he wanted. Besides, he’d be ditching his two best friends—and Gordy might need help staying calm. Cooper filed off the bus behind the others, trying to look natural. Gordy looked like a zombie.

  “Think they’ve figured it out?” Gordy fell in step beside Hiro and Cooper.

  Cooper eyed the police milling around the entrance. “No.”

  Gordy tugged on Cooper’s arm. “For sure?”

  Cooper stopped and let a group of students pass. “If they knew, they’d have already picked us up.”

  Hiro didn’t say a word, but she nodded slightly.

  “They’re zeroing in,” Gordy whispered. “What do we do now?”

  Cooper forced his mind to stay logical. Just the sight of all the police had him teetering on the edge of panic. “Exactly what we said before.” He willed himself to look calm. If Gordy knew what was going on inside me he’d totally lose it. Pushing the thought out of his head, Cooper started walking again. “Just act like nothing is wrong.”

  One police officer was eyeballing the dozens of bikes poking out of the steel racks. Cooper felt relieved they’d taken the bus after all. Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy mixed in with other students entering the building through sets of double doors. They stayed close together, but Cooper was in his own world.

  A handful of police stood just inside the building, watching students enter. The door to the principal’s glass-walled office was closed. Principal Shull sat on the corner of his desk listening to several uniformed officers crowded around it. Cooper picked up the pace, and kept his head down. If the three of them could just make it through today without breaking the Code of Silence, there was hope. Then he’d have all weekend to try to figure out what to do next.

  Principal Shull made a surprise visit to the first period class—carrying Cooper’s backpack. He ducked in, smiled, and pointed at it.

  “Anybody lose a backpack with an English book and sweatshirt inside?”

  He appeared totally casual about the whole thing, like he was just trying to be helpful.

  The man was trolling. Hoping for a bite. Cooper hoped his own act would be as convincing as the principal’s. He didn’t move.

  “No?” The principal smiled again. “Anybody know of another student who is missing one?” He looked directly over Cooper’s head at a group of boys sitting behind him.

  Cooper turned to look at them too, as did half the class.

  Riley Steiner, Walker Demel, and Trevor Tellshow looked totally innocent. They’d looked the same way when the principal came in questioning the culprits behind the Out of Order-Do Not Enter signs taped on every GIRLS washroom door in Plum Grove school just a couple weeks ago. Rumor had it that head librarian Miss Hoskins had a little ‘accident’ while running from one bathroom to another—looking for one that was operational. Steiner, Demel, and Tellshow claimed to be innocent then, too, but they were found out a couple days later. The detentions they served as a result only boosted their hero status among many of the guys—including Gordy.

  “Mr. Steiner?” The principal held it a little higher, as if he thought Riley couldn’t see the backpack clearly from where he slouched at his desk.

  Riley shrugged and shook his head—obviously answering for the whole group.

  Apparently satisfied, Principal Shull made a methodical row-by-row visual sweep of the room. Cooper had no worries about Hiro. She could be impossible to read when she wanted to—which drove Cooper nuts. Gordy was another story. Cooper prayed the principal wouldn’t read anything on Gordy’s face.

  “Anybody?” He gave the backpack a little shake.

  Jake Mickel raised his hand. “If there’s any money in it, it’s mine.”

  It broke the tension, and Cooper laughed right along with the rest of them. Mickel looked pleased with himself, and shot a glance toward the guys in the back.

  The principal continued his scanning. Cooper held steady when the man looked at him.

  “I’ll check another homeroom.” Again, the big toothy, “just-trying-to-be-helpful” smile. “If you think of someone, I’ll have it in my office. Just stop by.”

  Right. And the cops will kindly escort you to the police station. Nice try, Principal Shull.

  The principal nodded at Mrs. Schmidt, as if to signal the class was all hers again. The man disappeared out the door, closing it behind him.

  For the rest of the morning Cooper’s heart pumped double-time, while the clock seemed to tick at half speed. When he stepped into Miss Ferrand’s fourth period English class, two policemen and Principal Shull were waiting inside. This wasn’t good. They stood huddled up by Miss Ferrand’s desk like they were planning a raid, or going over their strategy. Obviously the “Gee, did anybody lose a backpack?” plan didn’t work. Now they’d moved to Plan B.

  Gordy looked like he was going to wet his pants. Hiro sat right in front of Cooper’s desk and set her backpack beside her. She locked eyes with him as he passed—like she knew their little masquerade was about to unravel.

  This had to be about the English book in his backpack. It obviously led the police to Plum Grove School. The book was only used by eighth-graders, and all the eighth-grade English classes were taught by Miss Ferrand. By process of elimination they were narrowing the field. Fast.

  Steiner, Tellshow, and Demel put up a cool front. Talking loud. Laughing. To Cooper it seemed they were trying a little too hard. The fact they deliberately acted like they had nothing to hide made them look guilty as sin. They were in the clear, though. Cooper was sure of that. The police weren’t there looking for someone behind another prank. They were looking for him.

  Kids still talked, but without the usual volume. Jake Mickel leaned over, eyes wide.

  “I heard the cops are here for a drug bust.”

  If he only knew the truth.

  Kelsey Seals, who sat directly in front of Jake, twisted around in her seat. “I heard there might be a bomb threat,” she said. “What do you think, MacKinnon?”

  Bomb? Like they’d actually keep the students in the building while they checked it out. “I hear they’re cracking down on kids doodling in their textbooks.”

  Jake laughed. “You’re an idiot, MacKinnon.”

  Cooper shrugged. “It’s what I heard.”

  Kelsey turned to share her theory with Eliza Miller—who seemed more than eager to listen.

  Miss Ferrand studied the students row by row. Cooper turned to cement when Miss Ferrand’s eyes met his. Her eyes held no accusations, just an appearance of deep concern. She kept scanning the room.

  Nothing in that backpack pointed directly to Cooper. He was safe, except for the fact that he no longer had an English book. And from the looks of things, he was going to need one. Now.

  He looked at the clock. The bell would ring in just over a minute. Cooper didn’t dare draw extra attention to himself by leaning forward and whispering to Hiro. He slid his cell out of his pocket and texted her.

  GOT YOUR ENGLISH BK?

  She jumped slightly, like the vibration of her phone startled her. Fishing it out of her pocket, she read the screen and tapped out an answer.

  His phone vibrated with her response.

  Y. In b-pack.

  Seconds left now before the bell. He texted again.

  Hiro read the message and closed her phone without answering. In one smooth motion she slid h
er backpack behind her chair—right next to his.

  The bell rang, and Principal Shull instantly stepped to the front of the class. Punctuality was a big deal with him. One of the policemen joined him.

  “Students, I would like each of the boys in this classroom to take out their English book and place it on their desk.”

  A murmur rose from students. Cooper reached down and slid his hand into Hiro’s backpack instead of his own. He found the book easily and slapped it on his desk like it was a “get out of jail” card.

  Four boys didn’t have a book, and Jake Mickel was one of them. Principal Shull called them forward.

  “Hey, I didn’t doodle in my book,” Mickel said. “I didn’t even write my name in it.”

  Laughter followed him as he shuffled to the front. Seals and Miller exchanged a knowing look.

  Principal Shull, along with the police officers, escorted the four boys out of the room. Unless they could pull the book from their locker, these guys would have some questions to answer. Cooper was sure about that. He guessed the police had been doing this each period after the “lost and found” approach bombed, hoping to find the guy without an English book—or an alibi for last night.

  Miss Ferrand offered no explanation, and the period passed in a blur. When the bell sounded for lunch, Cooper let out a shaky breath, as if he’d been holding it since he walked into the room. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Hiro melted into the hallway crowd. Gordy hustled up alongside him and cupped his hand by his mouth. “They’re on to us.”

  “Not here,” Cooper hissed. “Split up. See you at lunch.” Hiking his old backpack on his shoulder, Cooper picked up the pace and weaved his way through a group of girls.

  “MacKinnon,” Jake Mickel called from across the hall. He stood in front of his open locker.

  Cooper crossed the hallway, dodging kids hurrying to lunch.

  “The cops actually wanted to see my book.” He pointed to his English book lying on the bottom of his locker.

  “Did they check for doodling?”

  “Didn’t even open it. Just wanted to make sure I had it.” Jake shook his head. “Weird, right?”

  Grab his book. The thought flashed through Cooper’s mind. Steal it? What was he thinking? But he wouldn’t actually be stealing. He’d just borrow it until things cooled down. He slid his backpack off his shoulder and set it in front of Jake’s locker. “Maybe it’s a new tactic to be sure we do our homework.”

  He laughed, and turned to stop Kelsey and Eliza, who both approached as kids shuffled past “Did you see the way the cops hauled me out of class?”

  This was his chance. Cooper bent down to retie his shoe. The English book stared at him. He glanced up at Jake. His back was turned, and his body blocked the girls’ view. His heart thumped harder. With a rush of adrenaline he snatched Jake’s book, dropped it in his own backpack, and stood.

  Jake was still going at it, but in more detail than he’d shared with Cooper.

  Cooper shouldered his pack. “See you, Jake. I’m starving.”

  “Me too.” Jake slammed his locker closed without looking.

  “Weren’t you scared?” Kelsey asked.

  He shook his head. “Not a bit. I had nothing to worry about, right?”

  Cooper smiled and jogged toward the cafeteria. You might have something to worry about now.

  CHAPTER 9

  Hiro sat at their usual table and positioned herself where she could watch the cafeteria entrance. Strange how she still felt out of place, even after going here for over a year. Her mom thought the move would be good for her. Mom could be near Gordy’s and Cooper’s moms—her best friends. And Hiro would have Coop and Gordy—and she’d make new friends. They would be just what she needed. That was the plan.

  But all Hiro had wanted back then was to be alone. Her hero died. The last thing she needed was to make friends with a bunch of chirpy girls. All their laughing seemed totally out of place. The whole world should have mourned. The way she saw it, the world tilted a bit more on its axis the moment her dad died. And it was never coming back.

  Maybe she pushed the other girls away. But the truth is, they kept their distance, too. She just wished Lunk would keep his distance.

  As it turned out, it wasn’t new friends she needed. It was the old ones that pulled her through. She’d known Coop and Gordy since they’d been kids. And they were the ones who’d really helped her through those dark days.

  And Frank had helped her in his own way, too. Why do the good men die? Dads who love their kids and are out there trying to protect people. Business owners who give struggling widows real help and a chance. Frank didn’t deserve to die. He gave Hiro’s mom more than a job. He gave her hope. Hiro’s stomach felt totally messed up. She could feel a lump forming in her throat.

  She had to pull herself together. Breaking down in tears wasn’t exactly the best way to blend in. She studied the room. To her left the hot lunch line snaked into the cafeteria. She never took hot lunch, and today it smelled like pizza. Long paper banners with the hand painted words “Go Chargers” lined the walls. Right now she’d like to charge right over to the police station and tell them everything.

  Candy Mertz, Lissa Bowens, and Katie Barbour sauntered with their trays and sat at the adjoining table. They were deep in conversation—probably about some boy. Mertz and her flirts. If they saw Hiro, they didn’t show it. It was like she was invisible. That ought to come in handy when I’m a cop, she thought.

  Hiro watched Coop enter the cafeteria with Jake, Kelsey, and Eliza, but he peeled away when the others stopped to join the hot lunch line. Gordy appeared out of nowhere and walked with Coop to her table, and they sat across from her.

  Cooper pulled Hiro’s English textbook out of his backpack and placed it on the table. “Thanks for the loan.”

  “Quick thinking on your part,” Hiro said. “But I don’t know if our luck can hold.

  Coop tapped his backpack. “I picked up another book.”

  Hero knew exactly what that meant. “You stole someone’s book?”

  Gordy immediately checked his own pack. “Better not have been mine.”

  “Jake Mickel loaned it to me.” Cooper put a finger to his lips. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Gordy snorted a laugh and pulled his sandwich out of his bag. Two sandwiches actually. One peanut butter. The other jelly. They never mixed until they hit his stomach.

  Just watching him made Hiro’s stomach feel even worse. She pulled out her sandwich and debated eating it or not.

  She pushed it away. “Look guys,” she said. “The police are going to figure this out. They’re not stupid, you know. They’ve already narrowed their search to our school—and to Miss Ferrand’s classes.”

  Cooper shook his head. “They’re fishing.”

  “They’re in the right pond.”

  He looked over his shoulder. “Like you said. They aren’t stupid. Borrowing the book is just buying us time until the police catch the men who did that to Frank.”

  Gordy shifted a mouthful to one cheek. “They’re goons.”

  “Goons?” Hiro shook her head.

  He swallowed. “It’s a perfectly good word for them. You’d rather I called them thugs?”

  “Both a little dated, Gordy.” She pictured Lunk’s dad. “How about we call them scum?”

  Cooper leaned in. “Goons. Thugs. Elvis. Mr. Clown. Scum. Doesn’t matter what we call them. We just need to stay clear of them.”

  Hiro used her sandwich to hide her mouth. Not that she really thought anybody would try to read her lips, but it certainly worked. “If your cop theory is right, Elvis and the Clown could be right here in the building looking for us.” She took a bite and put her sandwich down.

  “Looking for me,” Coop said, “You two got out in time. He was so focused on me, I don’t think he saw either of you riding across the street.”

  “And the principal was looking for a guy,” Gordy said. “You’re in the cle
ar, Hiro.”

  Hiro took an orange segment out of her lunch bag and tapped it against her lips. “But what if Mr. Clown did see us riding off?” She stared off toward the exit. “He’d be looking for three kids sitting together, just like us.”

  Gordy looked as if he were about to venture into a haunted house—alone. “You think we should split up?”

  “What I’d really like is to lock arms together, walk to the nearest policeman and turn ourselves in,” Hiro said.

  Cooper looked like he wanted to say something, but caught himself. She could see the frustration on his face easy enough.

  “I didn’t sleep last night—and I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight,” she said. “I’ve felt sick to my stomach ever since they hit Frank. What if they catch up with us?” For an instant she imagined seeing Lunk’s dad show up at her door. Heard his snicker.

  “They’re looking for me,” Cooper said. “Just me. I’m the one they saw. The only one.”

  She looked him square in the eyes. “I’m afraid they’re going to find you.”

  Gordy leaned in close. “You’re sure there’s nothing to tie your backpack directly to you?”

  “If there was, I’d be at the police station by now.”

  Hiro raised her eyebrows. “No fingerprints?”

  Cooper stopped chewing.

  “I’ll bet the police found some clear ones on that book.” Hiro picked at her sandwich.

  “What good will that do unless they fingerprint me to confirm a match?”

  Gordy looked from Cooper to Hiro. “Can they do that? Can they fingerprint you?” His eyebrows disappeared underneath drapes of straight blonde hair covering his forehead. “We’re too young.

  Right?”

  Hiro nibbled at the crust. “They’d have to get permission from a parent.”

  “So that’s it then.” Gordy angled the rest of his peanut butter sandwich into his mouth. “Tell your parents not to agree to it.”