Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes With a Price (7 page)

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 clear, 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.”

Hiro gave a little snort.

Gordy’s back slumped a little more. He took a bite.

Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Hiro gave Cooper a sideways glance. “And then there’s the DNA evidence.”

By the look on his face, he hadn’t thought of that.

“Your sweatshirt. One piece of hair in that hood and you’re pinned to the crime scene. It’s probably at the crime lab right now,” Hiro said.

Swallowing, Gordy looked from Cooper to Hiro. “But still, they’d have to get a DNA sample from Cooper to match it. Right?”

Hiro reached across the table and plucked a hair from Gordy’s head.

“Hey,” Gordy said, batting her hand away. “What’s that all about?”

“Do you honestly think the police can’t get a DNA sample if they really want it?” She looked at Cooper, wishing he’d understand, hoping he’d rethink the whole strategy of staying silent. “You’re in danger, Cooper. We all are, but you especially. Our Code of Silence isn’t going to keep the things you left behind from telling them everything they need to know.”

T
en minutes later Hiro threw up what little of the lunch she ate. Right there at the table. Mertz, Bowens, and Barbour leapt from the adjoining table screaming and pointing, drawing more attention to Hiro. Students clapped and cheered. Hiro hung her head and cried.

Cooper glared at Mertz—huddled together with her two clones. Like they’d never seen someone sick before. They made Cooper queasy just looking at them.

“Let’s get you some fresh air, Hiro,” Cooper said, holding one of her arms and helping her to her feet. Gordy grabbed all three of their backpacks, stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth, and walked on the other side of her. Five minutes outside made all the difference. Even her voice sounded stronger.

“I’m sorry, Coop,” she said. “I’m just so scared.”

He totally understood the feeling.

Halfway through sixth period, Principal Shull’s voice crackled over the PA system. All students were directed to proceed to the auditorium immediately. Any reason to cut class short should have been cause for celebration. Instead, Cooper shuffled along with the herd, keeping his head low.

Climbing to the top row of the bleachers, Cooper sat between Hiro and Gordy. Cops milled around everywhere on the maple gym floor below. Like sentinels at each door, they stood in their blue uniforms, ready to grab their eyewitness, if they could only figure out who it was.

“I don’t like it,” Gordy whispered. “Do they know something?”

“Yeah,” Cooper said. “But not enough.” He stuffed his backpack at his feet.

Jake sat two rows down, next to Kelsey and Eliza. It seemed they hadn’t stopped talking since they’d started at his locker.

Riley Steiner, Trevor Tellshow, and Walker Demel sat in the front row, which was totally weird for them. For any other assembly they’d be sitting in the back, having their own little party. After the visit from Principal Shull and the cops in Miss Ferrand’s class, they obviously knew they were in the clear. They seemed intensely interested in knowing the trouble somebody else was in.

Hiro leaned close to Cooper. “If a violent crime isn’t solved in the first 72 hours, the chances of it ever being solved go way down.”

Great. Only fifty-five hours to go.

Cooper saw Lunk mount the stairs and head their way. The kid was big enough to be in high school. Actually he
should
be in high school. For some unkown reason he’d been held back before he moved to Rolling Meadows. And it could stay a mystery for all Cooper cared. It wasn’t the kind of thing he’d want to ask Lunk about. Being held back didn’t have anything to do with smarts, though. The guy was sharp. Like always, he walked alone and wore a black t-shirt and faded camouflage pants.

Lunk kept coming, like he deliberately intended to sit close to them. Cooper felt Hiro tense next to him. When Lunk made eye contact, Cooper nodded and managed a smile.

Sitting on the wooden bench directly in front of them, Lunk turned just far enough to see them. “Hey, Coop.” He nodded at Gordy. “Gordo.”

“Hey.” Gordy hardly looked up.

Lunk grinned at Hiro. “Thanks for the entertainment at lunch. Eat a bad egg roll or something?”

Hiro glared. “No actually, but I saved one for you.”

A smile spread across his beefy face. “The lunch lady must have had some too ‘cause she heaved all over the table while she was trying to clean up your mess.”

Gordy’s eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah. She came out with a bucket and a pair of gloves, but before she could even—”

“Stop,” Hiro interrupted, covering her ears. She took shallow breaths and squeezed her eyes shut. For a moment Cooper thought she was going to lose it again. Gordy slid a couple of feet away from her.

Lunk’s face registered a clear victory. “Did I mention Candy Mertz wasn’t looking so good either?”

Hiro pressed her hands tighter against her ears. “No more.”

Principal Shull stepped up to the podium. “All right, students, quiet down.” He raised his hands in the air.

Within seconds the entire auditorium went silent and still, like they’d been unplugged. It seemed everybody wanted to know why the police were there.

“Thank you.” The principal lowered his hands. “This afternoon we have a very serious matter to talk to you about.” He paused and scanned the crowd. “I’m going to ask Rolling Meadows Police Detective Hammer to explain. Please give him your full attention.”

Hammer marched across the maple wood floor to the podium, his footsteps echoing from bleacher to bleacher. “I’m going to get right to the point,” he said, waving a folder in one hand.

Cooper tried to analyze his voice. Did it sound like a DJ? Anybody’s would with a microphone like that.

Hammer lowered the folder and scanned the crowd. “Last night a violent robbery took place at Frank ‘n Stein’s, right in town. One of the owners was brutally beaten. He’s in a coma in the ICU at Northwest Community Hospital.”

The crowd broke into hushed whispers. Cooper didn’t have to fake a look of surprise.
Frank was alive?
He glanced at Hiro. She stared straight ahead, her mouth slightly open. Lunk didn’t turn around, but his shoulders slumped.

“We have at least one eyewitness who saw a male, possibly twelve to thirteen years old, fleeing the crime scene on a bike. The boy nearly got hit by a car and admitted to witnessing the robbery.”

Cooper held his breath.
Could anyone hear his heartbeat?.
It thundered in his ears, and his stomach clenched. Gordy put a hand on his leg and squeezed.

Hammer took the cordless mike out of the podium stand and walked toward the bleachers. “Between the description from our eyewitness and evidence found at the scene, we are convinced the person who fled the diner is a student at Plum Grove Junior High.”

A gasp escaped from the student body, and immediately the bleachers were alive with talk.

Cooper couldn’t speak, even if he wanted to.

“Hold on.” Hammer raised the file folder with one hand until the wave of talk receded. “The police are looking for your cooperation here. If you know anything, if you suspect anyone, I need you to have the guts to talk to one of us. We’re looking for a male. We believe he is in the eighth grade. He carries a black backpack. He owns a dark gray zip-up hoodie from Old Navy. He’s missing his English book. He may have some fresh scrapes and bruises. This boy rides a mountain bike—the color may be brown or orange.”

Again the crowd erupted in excited talk. Kelsey Seals and Eliza Miller huddled close to each other, looking around like they may get attacked.

Cooper’s head reeled. They would find him. How could they not? But his bike was silver. That would help. The orange glow from the parking lot lights must have—

“There’s something you need to know.” Hammer stood with one hand on his hip until the room was silent as a tomb. “The boy
who witnessed this is probably scared. And for good reason. He’s in real danger.” Hammer paused, letting those words sink in. “Maybe it’s a friend of yours. You need to help him. Maybe you noticed someone acting strange, out-of-character, or nervous this morning. You come see one of us.”