Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes With a Price

by Tim Shoemaker

“But I think I’ll take it easy and stay in my room for awhile,” Cooper said.

  “Okay,” Mom said. “I’ll bring you some soup and crackers in a bit.”

  “Sure, thanks, Mom. That’d be great.”

  Cooper trudged back upstairs with Fudge right behind him. Cooper plopped on the bed, and Fudge sat on the floor and leaned in close. Cooper stroked her head. “And what’s the story with Hiro, Fudge?” He pictured Hiro in his mind the last time he’d seen her. Something about her eyes when he accused her of lying to her mom. The pain. Like he’d physically hit her. “I hate the way she looked at me.”

  Hiro didn’t understand, or maybe wouldn’t understand was a better way to put it. Following the Code was a matter of life and death. At least for Cooper up until now. She seemed to get that at first, but somewhere along the way she got confused.

  Or was it him?

  Cooper swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there. What about the things she said about him? Her face drifted into his mind. But it wasn’t the smiling, loyal Hiro he saw. It was the face that showed the hurt and pain she felt. And the loss of respect for him.

  If he broke the Code of Silence, maybe things would get back to normal with Hiro. Maybe. Their friendship had taken a real hit. He knew it. But was the damage permanent?

  The doorbell tore Cooper from his thoughts. Fudge bounded out of the room and down the hall barking and howling as she went.

  “It’s Gordy,” Mattie called.

  Cooper hustled down the front hall and stepped outside. Gordy stood waiting on the front porch. He started in as soon as the door closed behind Cooper

  “I can’t believe you ditched me today. I mean, I was totally on my own.”

  Cooper motioned for him to lower his voice. “I was sick.”

  Gordy glared at him. “Now you’re lying to me, too, huh?”

  “Lying?”

  “Oh, come on. This is Gordy you’re talking to. You can’t tell me you really had the flu.”

  “I threw up last night. If you don’t believe that, ask Mattie. She was there.”

  Gordy put his hands on his hips. “That was last night. But I bet you felt fine this morning.”

  Cooper looked down at the decking of the front porch.

  He leaned in close. “You ditched me. Me.”

  CHAPTER 42

  Cooper looked up. He expected his cousin’s face to look angry. Instead he saw hurt.

  “Sorry, Gordy.”

  “Before Hiro, it was always the two of us. We stuck together no matter what. Right?”

  “We still do.”

  Gordy waved him off. “Then Hiro was like one of us, until she couldn’t stand it anymore.”

  “Couldn’t stand what?”

  “How you’ve changed.”

  “What?”

  “But in my heart I defended you. I stuck up for you because we always stick together. We cover each other’s backs. Until this morning. And now even I can’t defend you anymore.”

  “C’mon, Gordy.” Cooper put his hand on Gordy’s shoulder. “Calm down.”

  Gordy brushed Cooper’s hand away. “What if Miss Ferrand questioned me today?”

  “Did she?”

  “No. But she could have. And you didn’t care.”

  Cooper could feel his cheeks getting warm. He fought to keep his own voice down even though he felt like shouting. “Of course I care. You know I care.”

  Gordy looked at him. His eyes narrowed. “You expect me to believe that?”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “Truth?” Gordy shook his head. “Do you even know what the truth is anymore?”

  “Huh?”

  “That’s what I figured.” Gordy turned and trudged to the porch steps and sat down.

  Cooper stood watching, his mind replaying what had just happened. Gordy didn’t trust him anymore. Gordy.

  “Maybe Hiro is right,” Gordy said.

  “About what?”

  “Forget it.”

  Cooper sat on the step next to him. “No, tell me. What did Hiro say?”

  “Can’t.” Gordy pretended to lock his lips with an invisible key. “I promised I wouldn’t.”

  Gordy never kept secrets from him before. Never.

  “When did you talk to her?”

  “Last night after I left here. At lunch today. After school too. What difference does it make?”

  A whole lot of difference in Cooper’s mind. Gordy was spending time with Hiro without him. Lots of time.

  “Anyway, I need to deliver a message from her.” He paused like he was trying to be sure he worded it just right. “She talked to her brother right before school today.”

  “She talked to Ken?” Cooper couldn’t believe it. But that explained the text message and where she got the inside scoop about a trap being laid for him. “Did she tell him?”

  Gordy shook his head. “Just talked about the case.”

  “Ken isn’t stupid,” Cooper said. “He’ll figure it out. What was she thinking?”

  “Relax. She didn’t break the Code. You want to hear this or not?”

  What he really wanted to hear was an explanation from Hiro. But he didn’t want Gordy to clam up either. “Yeah, sure. What did her brother say?”

  “Some of the Arlington Heights cops are buddy-buddy with some of the boys in blue from Rolling Meadows. The word is they want the person who wrote the letters bad.”

  No news there.

  “The cops call you ‘Golden Boy’. Did you know that?”

  Cooper thought about the way he signed the letters. Silence is Golden. “It makes sense, I guess.”

  “And Ken said that Hammer was going to nail you when you called back or something. They weren’t going to let you slip away this time.”

  Cooper smiled. “I figured they’d have police patrolling all over at 3:30. So I was one step ahead of them. I called them early before they had the net in place.”

  Gordy looked relieved. “You got the phone without me?”

  “Yep. And I made the call. Hammer seemed really surprised too. He tried to keep me on the phone, but I never saw one patrol car. I caught him totally off guard.” Cooper glanced back toward the front door. “And I’ve got some really good news for you.”

  Gordy looked at him, his eyebrows raising slightly.

  Cooper paused for a moment. “They got him.”

  “Who?”

  “Lunk’s dad.”

  “You sure?”

  “Somebody from Plum Grove called in and gave them a tip.”

  Gordy smiled. “It was Hiro. Called Miss Ferrand’s number.”

  Cooper stared at him. “You know that for a fact?”

  “I gave her Ferrand’s number last night. And Ferrand hugged her before class.”

  A little alarm went off in Cooper’s head. Hiro and Gordy weren’t just together a lot. They were meeting and making plans without him. They were taking matters into their own hands and leaving him out of the loop. Hiro was gone, and she was taking Gordy with her.

  “So they got him, huh?” Gordy looked like he was going to burst. “This is fantastic. Hiro called this one right.”

  Hiro was taking charge. And she could have blown the whole thing. “What did she tell Ferrand?”

  “How she overheard the conversation between Lunk and his dad. How he’s living in the shed. That they should check it out. Search the shed for masks or money.”

  She didn’t really do anything wrong. It wasn’t like she breached the Code. Not exactly. But she’d certainly torn another hunk away from their friendship. “And neither of you thought of talking to me about that first?”

  “Look,” Gordy said. “She kept telling you to tip the police off in the letter or the phone call. You wouldn’t do it … so she did.”

  Cooper stared at the ground. Let it go. Let it go. Don’t take it out on Gordy or you’ll drive him away. Admit it. You were wrong about Lunk—it’s as simple as that. But the Code kept us alive, didn’t it? That has to coun
t for something. Hiro has to give me a little credit.

  “Coop? It’s over, right? They got him. That’s what we’ve wanted.” The anger was gone from his voice now.

  “Yeah,” Cooper said. “Maybe it is.” But it didn’t feel over. Not nearly.

  Gordy walked back up the stairs and sat on the railing. “So how come you’re not doing cartwheels across the lawn or something?”

  “They want me to bring in the hard drive and identify him on a lineup.”

  Gordy looked deep in thought. “Actually go there—as in turn yourself in?”

  Turn yourself in. Cooper didn’t like the way that sounded. Maybe he got so used to keeping a lid on this that even the thought of going to the police didn’t seem like anything to celebrate. But it was time to break the Code for good. “If I don’t, he’ll walk.”

  Gordy’s eyes widened. “But wait a second. What if—”

  The front door opened and Cooper’s mom walked out on the porch. “Hi Gordy. Looks like your cousin will be in school tomorrow.”

  Gordy eyed him. “For sure?”

  Cooper nodded. “Yeah, I feel good.”

  Mom smiled and gave Gordy a hug, then walked back toward the door. “I’ll put fresh sheets on your bed. You’ll feel even better.”

  Cooper waited until she disappeared inside. “Okay. What is it?”

  “I’m not sure. Ken didn’t have any details, but it was pretty clear the police planned to try some other tactic this time. Something different.”

  “Whatever it was, it didn’t work.”

  “I dunno,” Gordy said. “Hiro wanted me to warn you that the police were setting some kind of trap. She said her brother used the word ‘bait.’ They were going to ‘bait’ you so you’d turn yourself in.”

  “Bait me?” Cooper’s mind raced, filling in the blanks. He stood and paced the front porch. “Hammer said they had Mr. Lucky. That I needed to identify him, or bring in the security camera hard drive.”

  “Think it’s true?”

  “The part about Lunk’s dad—absolutely. But can I trust Hammer? That’s the question.”

  Gordy nodded. “Think he’s using Lunk’s dad to bait you?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Cooper plowed his hands through his hair. It made sense. Hiro’s conversation with her brother added even more doubts about trusting Hammer. “And I was ready to take the bait. Hook, line, and sinker.”

  He wished Hiro was with them right now. He wished that wall between them wasn’t growing. The call to Ferrand and the conversation with Ken proved it was. But she did send Gordy to warn him. That was a plus.

  “What if he never even hauled Lunk’s dad in?” Gordy said.

  Cooper nodded. He could hear Hammer’s voice in his head. You really want me to set him loose? An icy chill crept up his back. Now the idea of marching in there with the hard drive didn’t sound like such a good idea, even if his parents came with him. How hard would it be for Hammer to destroy the evidence?

  “We need to rethink our next step. I was ready to go in. I mean, I dug out the hard drive and everything. It’s sitting right out on my bed.”

  Gordy’s eyes opened wide. “Didn’t your mom just go up to change your sheets?”

  CHAPTER 43

  Stupid, stupid, stupid. Cooper bounded up the stairs two at a time. Fudge shouldered past him and pulled ahead, even though she couldn’t possibly be sure where he was going. He burst into his room just as his mom dropped a wad of sheets on the floor. For a second he stared at the bundle wondering if she had somehow rolled the hard drive up inside.

  “Looking for this?” Mom held up the computer component.

  “Yeah, thanks, Mom.” Cooper stepped forward and reached for it.

  Mom pulled it back. “Not so fast. First I want to know what this is all about.”

  Stupid mistake. He’d have to wing it. “An auxiliary hard drive. You know, a backup.”

  “Whose hard drive?”

  “A friend from school. They got a new computer with tons more memory. They didn’t need the backup space anymore so he offered it to me.” He gave what he hoped looked like a casual shrug. “I figured we could always use the extra memory so I took it.”

  She bounced it in her hand like she was testing the weight. More like testing the truth of his story. “And why hadn’t you told us about it?”

  He had to turn this around. Get her to stop asking questions by asking some of his own. “He gave it to me Tuesday. I got sick and forgot all about it. I put it on the bed so I’d remember to tell you. That’s where it was, right?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “If I were trying to hide it, why would I leave it on the middle of my bed?”

  She didn’t answer.

  Cooper was getting good at this little diversionary tactic. But he knew this could still go either way. He had her playing defense now, which is where he wanted her. If he let up the pressure, she’d jump back on offense. But push too hard, and she’d likely push back. “Gordy is going to help me hook it up this weekend. Sound okay to you?”

  “Maybe. What’s this boy’s name?”

  Busted. “Jeff.” Where he came up with that name, he didn’t know. It was the first name that popped into his head.

  She eyed him. “Jeff?”

  “Uh-huh. Jeff Williams. His family just moved here from Canada.” Sometimes the more outrageous the lie, the more believable it was. Nobody would expect someone to lie that openly, so they figure it’s the truth. Politicians did it all the time. He reached for the hard drive.

  She pulled back again and wagged a finger at him. “Not so fast, Cooper MacKinnon. I think I’ll hold onto this and see what Dad says tonight.” She tucked it under one arm, picked up the bundle of sheets, and started out of the room.

  Not good. Time for the trump card. “Don’t you trust me?” He tried to paste a surprised, hurt look on his face.

  Mom turned. “I’ve always trusted you, Cooper. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes I shouldn’t check to be sure I can keep trusting you.” She smiled and left the room.

  Cooper stood there for a second. Fudge looked at him with eyes that seemed to know everything. She looked disappointed in him. Or worried for him. She had good reason to be.

  He followed his mom down the stairs to the laundry room. She put the hard drive on the counter and started feeding the sheets into the machine. It was crazy. Every cop in Rolling Meadows would love to get their hands on that little thing. So would the men that sent Frank into some kind of twilight zone between life and death. And here it was, just sitting out where anyone could see it.

  “Did Gordy go home?”

  How was he going to get the hard drive hidden again? What would he tell his dad?

  “Cooper?”

  He snapped his attention back to his mom. Too late. Her eyes flicked to the hard drive. Stupid. Cooper wanted to kick himself. She’d followed his gaze and caught him looking at it. That would only fuel her suspicions.

  She cocked her head and looked at him. “Is Gordy still here?”

  “I think so, but I’ll check.” He trudged to the front porch, relieved to dodge any questioning about the hard drive. Gordy must have read the situation just by looking at his face.

  “She saw it?”

  Cooper nodded. “Confiscated it too. Wants to talk to my dad about it.”

  “We’re dead.” Gordy jammed his hands in his pockets and turned away. “Now what?”

  “I’ll figure out something.” Cooper hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. But if his dad plugged the auxiliary drive into the computer, and he would, he’d figure out Cooper was the mystery witness. Goodbye Code of Silence.

  “Hiro wanted me to tell you one more thing.”

  Cooper groaned. “There’s more?”

  “Ken wondered if somehow organized crime was involved.”

  “Now there’s a comforting thought.” This whole thing was getting insane. Organized crime? He wanted to think through that possibility. What it would mean. B
ut right now, at this moment he had to figure out if he should turn himself in or not.

  He glanced over his shoulder at the house. The last thing he needed was for his mom to overhear. He stepped off the porch and headed for the driveway, motioning Gordy to follow. “The real question is this. Do the police really have Lunk’s dad in custody or not?”

  “And how are we going to find out?”

  Cooper thought for a minute. “We could see if Hiro could ask her brother.”

  “What if he gets suspicious?”

  Gordy was right. Asking questions like that would be risky. “Why do you think Hiro warned me?”

  “She’s your friend.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Definitely. She may be steamed at you, but deep down we stick together. Right?”

  Cooper felt a twinge of guilt. He should have set his alarm so he could have warned Gordy before school this morning. In a way he really had ditched Gordy today. And things with Hiro were pretty shaky. Still, it was a good sign that Hiro warned him. Maybe their friendship hadn’t taken quite the hit that he thought it did.

  “Isn’t that right, Coop? We stick together.”

  “Yeah, always. And I’m sorry about ditching you today. Really sorry.”

  Gordy nodded. “It kind of hurt, you know?” He gave Cooper a sideways glance. “But I’m okay now.”

  Neither of them said a word for a minute or two.

  “Okay. Let’s figure this out. If they really have Lunk’s dad, also known as Mr. Lucky, somehow I need to go in or he’ll be back on the streets,” Cooper said. “But if they don’t have Mr. Lucky, and I show up at the police station …”

  “You’re toast,” Gordy said.

  “Or worse,” Cooper said. “I turn myself right in to Detective Hammer, and he just happens to have an Elvis mask in his trunk …”

  “In which case,” Gordy made a fake gun with his hand and put it to his head, “he’ll be giving you a ride in the trunk too.”

  “Thanks, Gordy.” Cooper wrestled with his thoughts. Turning himself in seemed more and more risky. If he could be sure they really had Lunk’s dad in jail it was a pretty safe bet that Hammer was clean. Then he’d tell his parents everything. Maybe they’d call a lawyer. Or give an exclusive interview to the Daily Herald. The more people he told the better.