Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes With a Price

by Tim Shoemaker

  His dad laughed. “I believe it. He can really pack it in.”

  Cooper wished Gordy was here. He’d probably do some goofy thing to get the conversation going in a good direction.

  “How about Hiro?”

  Bingo. He’d just pressed his finger on a bruise. Like a mental version of the Battleship game, his dad just scored a hit. His eyebrows moved together slightly as if he noticed Cooper’s hesitation. If he didn’t say something quick a lot more questions would follow—and Cooper would be sunk.

  “Well, I haven’t seen too much of her this week.” He poked his straw up and down through the plastic lid, making a squeaking sound. “She was sick one day. I was sick another. Today we missed each other all day. Her mom picked her up from school, so we didn’t get to talk on the bus.” All of it true, but intended to misdirect him. So that really made it all a lie, didn’t it?

  “That’s too bad.”

  Cooper’s tactic worked, but he didn’t exactly feel happy about it. It only intensified a sense of isolation. Like he was all alone and in a place he shouldn’t be.

  “I really like that girl. And she’s a good friend.” His dad leaned back and smiled, staring up at the ceiling like he was playing back a scene from his memory. “Yeah, good friends are a gift from God.”

  One he’d underappreciated. “She’s really something,” Cooper said.

  “A real sweetheart.” Dad nodded as he spoke the words. Like he’d just realized the truth of what he said. “But she’s tough, too. Doesn’t take guff from anyone.”

  Don’t I know it. Loneliness knifed through him. Next to Gordy, she was his best friend. Was. He’d messed that up good.

  He’d messed everything up. He’d twisted the truth and lies together like the crepe paper crisscrossing the room. And he didn’t think he could untangle it by himself.

  For a moment Cooper felt an urge to spill the whole thing. Just tell Dad and let him help sort this mess out.

  Tell him. A lump swelled in his throat. Why not? Tell him now. Deep down, he knew he needed help. For the first time in a week he cracked open a door he’d never planned to open. The one that he’d hidden the truth behind. Dad would know what to do. He’d understand and forgive him. He’d been fooling himself to think it was his job to protect the family—or that he could. Dad was the one who needed to do it. But how could he if he didn’t even know the family was in danger?

  The thought gave him a rush of something. Adrenaline? His breathing came in quick, shallow breaths. Not adrenaline. Hope. TELL HIM. He gripped the edge of the table as if to steady himself. Okay. He’d do it.

  Remember the Code. The words struck him just as hard as if they’d been delivered with a fist. What was he thinking? How would he even start? His dad would be so disappointed in him. Plus, talking here didn’t seem right.

  The side door swung open from the kitchen and Mr. Stein walked into the dining area. “Well.” He walked toward their table and wiped his hands on a white apron stretched around his waist. “Thanks for coming in.” He swung a chair around from one of the other tables and sat down. “Kind of a quiet day.”

  “Carson MacKinnon.” Cooper’s dad extended his hand. “And you know my son, Cooper, I imagine.”

  “Cooper.” Stein smacked his forehead with his palm. “The face I know. The names?” he shrugged. “Frank is the great one with names.”

  “How is he?” Cooper’s dad settled back in the seat.

  Cooper squirmed.

  “Better. Stronger every day.”

  Yeah, and Mr. Stein was overly optimistic.

  Carson MacKinnon raised his eyebrows and glanced at Cooper. “What a relief, huh? Still in a coma?”

  Mr. Stein squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.

  Cooper’s dad hesitated. Like he was giving a moment of silence in honor of the co-owner of Frank ‘n Stein’s. “Police have any more leads?”

  “Aw,” Stein slapped at the air. “They’re chasing ghosts. Kids, actually. Got themselves tied up in a legal skirmish at the school so they can interrogate the kids. It’s nuts. I think they’ve spent more time looking for the mystery witness than looking for the robbers themselves. Sometimes I wonder if they think the mystery witness was actually involved in some way. Like a gang initiation or something.”

  Cooper put the straw in his mouth and sucked hard on it. He needed to look busy so they wouldn’t guess how shaky he felt inside.

  “You don’t think kids were involved?”

  “Absolutely not. Not in a bad way, anyway. And the police haven’t actually said kids were, but the way everything came down … it just made me wonder.”

  Cooper’s dad had that look he got sometimes when he was trying to word a question just right. “So what’s your take on it—if you don’t mind me asking?”

  Stein leaned forward. “I believe it happened just like the letter in the paper. Some kid witnessed a robbery by professionals. The kid wasn’t part of some gang. If he was he wouldn’t write the letter. And no kid could take Frank down like that.” He looked at the floor. “No kid would.” He looked at Cooper. “Everybody loved him. Right?”

  Cooper nodded, but no words came.

  “The police can’t get that through their heads. They’re so hell-bent on finding that kid—oh, excuse my language,” Mr. Stein put a hand to his mouth. “Truth is, some boy out there is scared to death while some real bad guys are probably halfway across the country, spending Frank’s money.”

  “If the witness is innocent, why doesn’t he just turn himself in and prove he didn’t do it?”

  “Like the letter said, he thinks at least one of the robbers is a cop. He doesn’t dare go to the police.” Stein shrugged. “How can he? He doesn’t know who to trust.”

  Dad swirled his shake with his straw. “I guess I see what you mean.”

  “The kid needs some protection. Some help. The police are trying to chase him down like he’s a fugitive or something.” He balanced his chair on the back two legs. “If there is a dirty cop, this kid can’t go to the police by himself. I wouldn’t either if I were him. It could be a trap.” He looked at Cooper again. “Does that make sense?”

  “Totally.” Finally someone who really understood.

  “Well, I wish the police would understand. They’re going about this all wrong. This kid needs a friend. Not threats. All they’re doing is scaring the kid into hiding.” He waved an arm toward the window. “I’d like to put a banner in my windows. ‘“Come on in, kid. I believe you. Talk to me and I’ll march right into the police station with you and the hard drive and show them myself.”‘ He shrugged. “Well, enjoy the shakes. I’d better get back to work.” He smiled. “Time for me to shake a leg, and all that.”

  Cooper smiled back. What he really wanted to do is shake his hand.

  CHAPTER 49

  After some major begging by Mattie, Cooper’s parents left early for the circus so they could watch the elephants being fed. Personally, Cooper thought the workers running cleanup behind the elephants would be the real show. Swinging the big coal shovels around to keep from being knee-deep in a real mess. Like he was now. More like neck deep.

  Now that his dad was gone, all Cooper wanted to do was talk to him. Spill it all. He’d missed the perfect opportunity to do it at Frank ‘n Stein’s. Now it would have to wait, and the guilt he felt seemed heavier than ever.

  They left Cooper with a giant bowl of bite-size Snicker bars to hand out to trick-or-treaters. Like he was really going to open the door for strangers wearing latex masks.

  For a moment he pictured himself opening the front door and Detective Hammer standing there wearing an Elvis mask with some other cop in a clown mask behind him. Lunk’s dad, Mr. Lucky himself, would be there too—and maybe “Guido” and “Lonnie” or some of the other boys from the underworld.

  “Trick-or-Treat,” they’d shout. “Thanks for opening the door, but you didn’t need to bother. We have a key.”

  Would the robbers treat him to a trip to the hos
pital … or the county morgue?

  Cooper wasn’t about to take a chance. Lunk had already connected enough dots to know Cooper was the witness his dad was looking for. Halloween night would be a perfect time to lead the robbers to his door.

  He grabbed a piece of paper and a marker from his backpack. He wrote Happy Halloween—take a piece of candy in big letters and taped the paper to the edge of the bowl. Opening the front door a crack, he looked both ways and set the candy bowl on the porch deck. Fudge lunged at it, but Cooper grabbed her collar and pulled her back inside.

  “Not for you, girl.”

  Cooper threaded his way through the house turning off lights, locking doors, and checking windows. If anybody stopped by for a visit, he wanted it to look like nobody was home. Fudge kept right on his heels with her tail wagging like this was some new kind of game.

  By 6:30 he pulled on a black hooded sweatshirt and slipped out the kitchen door into the backyard. He wanted to get out of the house, and he needed some time to think. He hustled straight to The Getaway with Fudge trotting alongside. Climbing the ladder he swung a leg over the rail and crouched on the deck.

  “You stay down there, Fudge. You’re on guard duty tonight, okay?”

  She didn’t seem to like it any better than he did. She let out a single yip in protest.

  “Quiet, girl. I don’t want everybody to know I’m in here.”

  He opened the cabin, slipped inside and closed it up again. He needed some light, but wasn’t about to power up the lantern. The cabin windows would glow and tip off somebody he was inside.

  He lifted up the bench and pulled his dad’s old duffle bag out from the storage compartment underneath. Rummaging through it quickly, he found the flashlight, pointed it at the floor, and clicked it on. A bright circle illuminated the decking under his feet. Dad did get it fixed. He tucked the duffle away, but left the flashlight on the table. He wondered if even the flashlight might be seen too easily from outside. He eyed a book of matches and a stubby candle on a brass stand.

  Sitting on one bench, he struck a match and lit the candle. It wouldn’t create enough light to be noticed outside, but it helped to chase out the shadows inside. He turned off the flashlight and waited.

  Looking out the window, he checked to make sure the gate to the front yard was closed. If it wasn’t, Fudge would be in that candy bowl in seconds.

  He cupped his hands around the candle to take the chill out and peeked out the window every couple minutes. The Getaway made a perfect hideout, and with Fudge prowling around in the backyard, he felt safer here than in the house. But was anyplace really safe?

  Not anymore. Not since he’d seen the robbery. Cooper turned that thought around in his mind. No, that wasn’t really true. Was it just the robbery that had him hiding out in the boat on Halloween? Was it the robbery that had him looking over his shoulder at school?

  No. It was the lies. The Code of Silence. The thing that was supposed to keep him safe worked like poison on him. Eating away at him. Destroying his friendship with Hiro. The robbery didn’t do all that. It was the decision he made after the robbery. The decision to hide the truth in order to live. And every time he lied, he’d been dying a little bit more.

  A thump along the side of the boat startled him. He puffed out the candle and stayed perfectly still. Holding his breath, he listened. Why hadn’t Fudge barked?

  “Coop,” Gordy hissed from outside the cabin door. “You in there? It’s me.”

  Gordy; that’s why Fudge didn’t bark. Cooper let out a shaky breath. He unlocked the hatch and stepped back. Gordy swung open the door. And he wasn’t alone.

  “Trick or treat,” Gordy said. He gave a little wave and a goofy grin spread across his face.

  Cooper looked past Gordy to the girl half hidden behind him.

  “Hiro?” Cooper practically whispered her name.

  He backed up and sat down on the bench while the two shuffled inside. Cooper relit the candle and searched Hiro’s face to try to read what state of mind she was in. Maybe she’d thought about things and wanted to set things right too. Whatever was on her mind, she didn’t let it show on her face.

  Gordy sat on the bench opposite him. Hiro stood.

  “I filled her in on the stuff with Lunk.” Gordy shrugged. “She wanted to come.”

  Cooper attempted a smile. He hoped it didn’t look as stiff and awkward as it felt. “Glad you’re here.”

  “I won’t be staying,” she said. “I just have something to say, and then I’ll leave the two of you to do whatever it is you plan to do.”

  “Okay,” Cooper said, uneasiness growing. “Sure you don’t want to sit?” He motioned toward the bench next to Gordy.

  “Positive.” She looked at Gordy, then back at Cooper. “I went to see Frank again today. My mom took me after school.”

  Cooper nodded. For a moment he wished he could have gone with her. Talked to Frank—even though he couldn’t answer back.

  “And Frank is coming out of it—the coma.”

  “What?” Cooper stood. Finally, a little light at the end of the tunnel. “That’s great!” He looked at Gordy, but his cousin didn’t look one bit excited.

  “Yeah, I’m really relieved about that,” Hiro said. She didn’t look very relieved though.

  “So he’s going to be alright—I mean he’ll make a full recovery. Right?” Cooper looked at Gordy and back to her again. Both of them looked glum.

  “What am I missing here? You both act like he’s going to die or something.”

  “Coop,” Hiro’s voice dropped to a whisper, “he is going to die.”

  CHAPTER 50

  Cooper took a step back. “What?”

  She folded her arms across her chest and hugged herself. “He figured out who was behind the robbery, remember?”

  How could he forget? Frank had puzzled the thing together just before they put him in the coma.

  “They realized he knew. That’s why they meant to kill him. Kill him.” She let the words sink in. “They obviously thought they did. And when he ended up in a coma, the scumbags were still okay. I mean it’s not like he could possibly identify anybody. Right?”

  Cooper nodded and pieces fell in place. “But if he climbs out of the coma, he’s a lot bigger threat to the robbers than we ever were.”

  “Exactly,” Hiro said. “If my brother is right, and organized crime is involved, they won’t tolerate any loose ends.”

  Cooper slumped down on the bench. “They’ll kill him.”

  “Dead men tell no tales. Right?” Gordy raised his eyebrows and drew one finger across his throat like a knife.

  Hiro shot Gordy a sideways glance. “They tried once. They just messed up on their first attempt.” She pulled the braid from over her shoulder and picked at it. “But they won’t make that mistake again. Unless we do something, an innocent man will die.”

  In his heart he knew that was true. Why is it whenever he thought he was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel it turned out to be an oncoming train? “But what about the police? Don’t they have a guard at his hospital—”

  “Police?” Hiro cut him off. “Thanks to us they don’t know he needs protecting. Because they think it was a random robbery. They don’t know the danger he’ll be in. And if Detective Hammer is part of this, he’ll have total access to Frank. Nobody will stop him.”

  Cooper pictured Elvis creeping into Frank’s hospital room as he slept.

  “Unless we tell.” She stood with her hands on her hips watching him.

  Cooper propped his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. He should have told his dad. He should have never set up the lousy Code in the first place. Yeah, Frank needed protection—and that meant going to the police. Hiro was right. But what about trusting the police? It would be risky to just walk into the police department and announce they’d seen the whole thing. Two cops were involved. That meant Hammer had a partner somewhere—a partner who would do anything to protect their dirty little
secret.

  “Well?”

  Hiro had an “all business” look about her. Like she’d deliberately steeled herself so she wouldn’t back down.

  “Let me think.”

  “Think? What’s there to think about? An innocent man is going to die because of you!”

  “Me? I never hurt Frank—and I never would!” Cooper’s leg started jumping under the table. Not now. He pressed his hand down on his knee. Hard.

  “You’re leaving him unprotected—and that’s just as bad,” she said.

  “What if we talk to the wrong cop,” Cooper said. “We could all be taking a risk.”

  Hiro took a step closer. “Yeah, and one we have to take. We were wrong, Cooper. All of us. We should have told our parents and gone with them to the police. The dumb Code and all the lies just made it worse on all of us.”

  The words sliced through him. He could feel his cheeks grow warm. He wanted to throw something. Anything. Just go out on the deck and chuck something as far as he could. Maybe even Hiro.

  Get a grip, Cooper. Don’t blow this. God, please help me. Help me process this right. I don’t want to make this mess even worse.

  “This isn’t going to go away,” Hiro said. “The longer we wait, the worse this is going to get.”

  Listen to her. Hiro was right. About a lot of things. The Code had made things worse on all of them—and it was all his idea. So many things happened that he hadn’t seen coming. Like Frank’s life being in danger. Again. “He’s actually out of the coma now?”

  Hiro shook her head. “In and out. He recognized me. Talked to me.”

  “What did he say?”

  Her eyes pooled immediately. “Said he was glad to see me. To know I was okay.” She swiped back tears. “Asked if you and Gordy were alright, and when I told him you were, he said ‘Thank God.’”

  Cooper felt like someone had just wrung him out. “Did he tell you who was behind the robbery?”

  “Didn’t get a chance. When he started talking, nurses ran in and Frank slipped back into the coma. The head nurse explained this happens as they’re coming out. They may go back and forth a bit, but she seemed very excited. He’ll probably be awake sometime tomorrow.”