By now the entire group seemed to be around the table. Officer Sykes stepped up, grinning. He’d been smiling all week.
Frank Mustacci cleared his throat. “I have an announcement,” he said. He drew three envelopes from his apron pocket.
The crowd quieted. He handed one envelope each to Cooper, Lunk, and Hiro. “A three-way split on the $30,000 reward I posted.”
Somebody gasped. The crowd surrounding them clapped. Cooper held the envelope with both hands and tried to wrap his head around what he had just heard.
“We can’t take this,” Hiro said. She tried to return it, but Frank raised his hands and took a step back.
“Nothing could have brought me more joy this week than writing these checks.” Frank pointed at her. “And nobody is going to take that joy away—not even you, Hiro.”
Cooper opened the envelope and peeked inside. A check for $10,000. Unbelievable.
Lunk stared at the check on the table in front of him. He looked up and locked eyes with his mom. “You know what this means?”
“Hopefully,” Gordy said, “a bigger bike.”
Lunk didn’t even seem to hear Gordy’s comment. It was as if Lunk forgot that people surrounded him. For this one instant it was just him and his mom—and the check.
She smiled. “Tell me.”
He waved the check in the air. “We’re staying here. Right here in Rolling Meadows.” He looked at Hiro, Gordy, and finally Cooper. “This is where all my friends live.”
Cooper couldn’t imagine life ever getting better than this one moment. He turned toward Hiro and found her looking at him, a slight smile on her face. “What?”
“I think this has been the happiest week of my life,” she said. “But I have a feeling the best is yet to come.” Her smile grew.
It was spooky how closely she tracked with his own thinking.
She glanced at the envelope in his hand. “How you going to spend your check?”
He’d have to do some careful thinking about that. His mind went to The Getaway. They could get the engines fixed. And definitely put some in the bank. He’d talk to Dad about all that later. But there were two things he knew he needed to do. “There are some broken windows I need to replace.”
Lunk snickered.
“After that,” Cooper said, “I owe somebody a couple Chicago hot dogs at Frank’n Stein’s.” He pulled the rumpled and worn index card out of his pocket—the one he’d written at the police station the night Gordy was taken. And it would be a debt he would be happy to pay.
Hiro picked it up and smiled. “So this is what you wouldn’t show me.” She gave him a curious look. “Why?”
How could he explain the deep down fear he’d had that he’d never go to Frank’n Stein’s with Gordy again? Instead, he took it out of Hiro’s hands and handed it to Gordy. “A little something I owe you.”
Gordy looked at it. Nodded. “That’s one bet I wish I hadn’t won.”
“Well if you’d rather, we can forget the whole thing.” Cooper reached for it.
Gordy pulled it back. “I’m not saying that.” He smiled. “You will pay in full, amigo.” He patted his stomach. “In fact, maybe we can go over for a monster shake when this is over.”
“Tonight?” Cooper gave him a “you’re crazy” look. “You just finished dinner.”
“Exactly. And now it’s time for dessert.”
Frank hurried back to the grill, and the crowd around the table thinned out until it was just the four of them again.
Cooper pocketed the skull ring. “So you haven’t told us what you’re going to do with your check, Hiro.”
She smiled. “I have an idea.” She raised her chin slightly and nodded. “But I’m not going to tell you three about it, thank you very much.”
Cooper knew there was no chance of prying it out of her. But knowing Hiro like he did, she wasn’t going to spend it on herself. She’d do something heroic with it. She’d help somebody who was hurting or in need.
She turned to Lunk. “Quite an amazing week, huh, big guy?”
Lunk was still staring at his check. He looked at Cooper. “Way beyond amazing. I’d go so far as to call it”—he paused—“miraculous.”
“And you thought prayer was stupid.” Hiro slugged him in the arm. “Don’t deny it.”
Lunk raised his arms in mock surrender. “Guilty as charged.” His face got serious. “I still don’t get why God allows bad things to happen to good people.”
“We live in a big, nasty world, Lunk. Bad things happen.” Hiro leaned toward him. “I don’t know why God allows some of the things he does.” She paused, like she was trying to find just the right words. “But God is still in control, and I believe he has a plan.”
Lunk slipped his check into the envelope and fanned the air with it. “Well, he definitely has a way of turning bad things into good.”
Hiro’s face lit up. “Exactly.”
“Speaking of good things,” Cooper said, “my dad said we’re going to take a vacation this summer on The Getaway. All of us.”
It was true. Dad had been talking it up all week. The Getaway was almost ready, and it would soon be floating in the clear waters of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. “Swimming. Skiing. Snorkeling. Just fun.”
“No mysteries,” Gordy said.
Cooper wasn’t sure that was possible anymore. Trouble had a way of finding them—and it was likely a summer vacation wouldn’t be any different.
Gordy looked at Hiro. “I’m totally serious. No detective work. None. Zero.”
“What?” Hiro acted disappointed. “No concrete-filled bats? No life-or-death situations?”
Gordy shook his head. “Nothing more risky than the four of us having a pizza on deck at sunset.”
Hiro folded her arms across her chest. “Pizza? In a confined space with three hungry guys? Sounds dangerous to me.”
“Just don’t get in Gordy’s way, and you’ll be fine,” Cooper said.
Hiro smiled. “But the idea of a vacation on the boat—with my best three friends in the whole world … it sounds like a dream.”
“Your three best friends?” Lunk looked at her.
Hiro pulled the braid over her shoulder and fiddled with it. “Mmm-hmmm.”
Lunk looked down at his hands—like he expected her to take it back. To say she was only kidding—because there was no way she’d ever consider Lunk to be one of her best friends.
Hiro seemed to pick up on that. She definitely seemed to be enjoying the moment.
“Best friends stick together.” Hiro said. “No matter what.”
Lunk looked up. “I can do that.”
“You sure proved that over the last few days,” Hiro said. She turned to face Cooper. “And so did you.”
Lunk gave Cooper a sideways glance. “You were a crazy man this week. Is there anything you wouldn’t do for a friend?”
Cooper thought for a moment. He had taken some insane risks. But if you didn’t do everything you could for a friend, could you truly call yourself a friend?
“There is one thing Coop would never do when it comes to a friend.” She pulled a pen out of her back pocket and scribbled something on the palm of her hand, cupping it so nobody could read it.
Cooper wasn’t sure he wanted to know what she wrote. But there was only one thing that came to his mind. One thing he’d learned that he’d never do when it came to a friend. But he didn’t actually want to say it. It wasn’t the kind of thing you told others about. It was something you showed. By your actions.
“Okay,” she said, balling her hand into a fist. “To prove I know you as good, or better, than you know yourself”—she tucked her pen in her back pocket—
“Oh, great,” Gordy said. “Here we go.”
Hiro ignored him. “All you have to do is finish the sentence. The only thing I wouldn’t do when it comes to a friend is …”
She held her fist in the air, waiting for his response.
Cooper paused. Not so much for dramatic
effect as to be sure he meant it.
“Say it, Coop,” Hiro said. “The thing in your head right now.”
He did not want to do this. He looked to Lunk for a little backup.
Lunk shrugged. “Better do it, Coop. She’s not letting go. And we all know how Hiro gets when she’s got her mind made up.”
“I’m thinking the one thing he wouldn’t do—even for a friend—is miss a chance for a monster shake,” Gordy said. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re wrong,” Hiro said. “We’re talking about Coop here, not you.” She locked eyes with Cooper. “Just finish the sentence,” she whispered.
“The one thing I wouldn’t do when it comes to a friend is …” Cooper swallowed. “Give up on them.” He knew it. More than ever. “I’d never give up on them.”
Hiro smiled, her eyes alive. She opened her fist and held her palm out to him.
Cooper read it and shook his head. How did she do that?
Acknowledgments
Thanks for giving me so much material to work with!
Special Thanks to …
Frank Ball … for his skillful help fine-tuning the mechanics
of Back Before Dark
Dr. Dale McElhinney … for his expertise adding realism
to two scenes
Rich Hammer … for his time, undying support,
and valuable input
Jeff Aiello … for his endless fight to protect kids,
and for helping me to do the same
Mrs. Wendy Fanella and her enthusiastic students …
for making this series a special part of their class
Nancy Rue … for her encouragement and expert advice
Kim Childress … for her insight and flexibility
with the content and edits
Nathan Williams … for a great quote that inspired
the tagline of this book
Cheryl Shoemaker … for never doubting—even when I did
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
Bro. Bud. Crony. Amigo. People use lots of words to describe their friends. But what does it take to be a good friend—and will we have what it takes when it really counts? Cooper took huge risks for Gordy—and it gives us a good feeling to think we’d do the same. However, not many of us will face a situation where a friend has been kidnapped as Gordy was. But our friends or family can still be “taken” in other ways.
The truth is that we live in a pretty messed up world. There are all kinds of ways friends can be lured into traps that will hurt them or even take them captive. You could probably make a list of things right now. What should you do if you have a friend who is making a bad choice or a wrong move, or is drifting from the truth? Should you let it slide? Cover for them? Pretend you don’t notice? Distance yourself from them? If you really want to be a good friend, your course of action will likely need to be different from the ones I’ve just listed.
Some answers, at least partially, are found in a conversation between Hiro and Lunk in Back Before Dark. Remember when Hiro worried about Cooper taking crazy risks in his efforts to find Gordy?
Hiro’s eyes flashed. “A real friend helps keep his friend from walking into trouble.”
“Sometimes.” Lunk nodded. “Or is willing to walk through the trouble with his friend, if he has to.”
Let’s take a closer look at these two different points of view.
“A real friend helps keep his friend from walking into trouble.” In many ways Hiro was absolutely right. Sometimes we need to actively protect our friends and family by stopping them from continuing down a dangerous path.
Remember what Hiro, Cooper, and Lunk did when they realized Gordy was heading into potential danger? They urged him to stop. Tried to warn him. They chased after him in an effort to keep him from making a huge mistake.
You can do that with your friends or family. There are times when you’re going to see more clearly than they do. You’ll sense they’re making a bad decision. A compromise. Or a mistake. And that will often lead them to pain and regret. As a good friend, you’ll want to warn, urge, and encourage your friends to change their course. It’s as simple as that.
Sometimes you need to be the voice of conscience for a family member or in your friend’s life. You need to be the type of friend who can come alongside them and help convince them to make good choices. It isn’t always easy—but then, being a good friend isn’t exactly an easy job.
But remember this. Your job is to warn your friend if you feel they’re taking a wrong or dangerous path. Your job is to encourage your friend to do the right thing. However, you are not responsible for the decision your friend makes. Sometimes, your friends may make bad choices no matter how hard you try to convince them to do the right thing.
“Or is willing to walk through the trouble with his friend if he has to.” That was Lunk’s response to Hiro. Gordy approached that van despite the warnings from his friends. And he got himself in trouble. Cooper, Hiro, and Lunk didn’t abandon him, though. They went after him. Tried to find a way to rescue him.
We can do the same thing. If a friend has gotten himself in some kind of trouble or made some bad choices, sometimes he can’t get himself out of it any more than Gordy could escape from that basement. He needs friends who will do everything they possibly can to rescue him.
And sometimes “walking through trouble with them” plays out in different ways. Gordy wasn’t the only one in danger. Cooper was going through a tough time because of what happened to Gordy. Hiro and Lunk tried to stay close to him in their own ways. To walk with Coop as he went through the trouble. To be there for him.
Sometimes friends go through hard times. They need us to stay close. To listen. To help give them perspective and hope. To keep them from doing something really stupid. That’s what good friends do.
Get the motivation right. What motivates you as a friend? Throughout a lot of this story, Cooper’s own sense of guilt was the driving force to find Gordy. While that was understandable, it definitely wasn’t the best motivator. Eventually Cooper discovered what his real motivation needed to be. Love.
Dr. McElhinney summed it up pretty well.
“There are many things that motivate people. Greed. Power. Hatred. Guilt. Fear. Revenge. But there’s one thing you must know about love. Love is stronger than all of them combined.”
Love is the purest motive. And the most powerful. And if we want to be a really good friend, we need to make sure our words and actions are fueled by love.
“Sometimes rescuing a friend from darkness means going in after them.” Cooper made this statement just before he risked it all to rescue Gordy. Sometimes our friends need us to take risks to save them. Motivated by love, we risk embarrassment, ridicule, and maybe even the friendship itself in order to rescue someone from a trap or from taking a wrong path. That’s what good friends do.
But know your limitations. Following a friend into a dangerous environment is rarely going to do any real good. It will likely get you in trouble—like when Coop got himself kidnapped. So be careful. Get advice from your parents or other wise people you respect and trust.
You’ll probably never have a friend who gets abducted. But you’ll have friends who make bad choices that will leave them hurting or chained to sin. As a good friend, you can warn them about bad choices, and you can be there to help them if they want to change. But be very careful they don’t drag you into the consequences of their own destructive choices.
“The one thing I wouldn’t do when it comes to a friend … is give up on them.” Cooper said that at the end of the book, and that was really his mindset all along. Our friends need us to be that kind of friend. Is there ever a time to walk away from a friend? Yes. Sometimes we will have friends who won’t listen or won’t turn back from bad paths or choices no matter how hard we try to convince them. Sometimes we must distance ourselves from them to keep from falling into the same trap. We won’t do our friends any good if we wind up in the same dangerous situation that
they’re in.
In the early chapters of Back Before Dark, Cooper felt that the dark had swallowed Gordy up. In real life, we’ll experience that. We’ll see friends lured into darkness. I hope you’ll be the type of friend who doesn’t compromise or cover for them. I hope you’ll love them enough to warn them. Be the kind of friend who will do all you can to rescue them from darkness. And when you do, you’ll have good reason to celebrate. Go out and treat yourself to a monster shake and fries!
Oh, and one more thing. Guess what I’m working on right now? The third book in the Code of Silence series. The title is Below the Surface. Your friends Coop, Hiro, Gordy, and Lunk will be back for yet another adventure. And this time they’ll be taking a vacation on The Getaway. I think you’ll love it!
—Tim
Digging Deeper
1. An innocent-looking backpack on the roof of the minivan was really a trap to lure Gordy. What are some seemingly innocent things that can lure us, or our friends, into danger?
2. Cooper, Hiro, and Lunk all warned Gordy to back away from the van, but Gordy ignored their warnings because he didn’t see the danger. What warnings from friends or family have you been discounting or ignoring?
3. By the time Gordy realized the backpack was a trap, it was too late to escape. How does that happen to people in real life?
4. Gordy got tasered and experienced a world of pain. How might we experience pain when we ignore warnings from friends or family?
5. Gordy found himself taken prisoner by the very man he chased down to help. How can the things we pursue or go after end up imprisoning us?
6. Friends get trapped and imprisoned by bad habits, secret sins, compromise, lack of self-discipline and more. Name some specific things that can take your friends to a dark place—things that can mess them up.
7. Cooper never gave up hope and never stopped trying to rescue Gordy—even after many others thought he was never coming back. How can we do that for our friends and family—those who have been trapped or taken captive somehow?
8. Cooper learned that love is a strong motivator. Love seeks the good of others without expecting anything in return. How can you be more deliberate in loving your friends and family?
Back Before Dark Page 31
