Free Code of Silence: Living a Lie Comes With a Price by Tim Shoemaker Page A

in his backpack. The pack felt heavier for it. And exactly how was he going to bring the topic up to his parents? Hiro started reading her form as they walked.
    Gordy pulled on his arm and stopped him as soon as they had cleared the doors. “Check that out.”
    Cooper followed the direction of his gaze. The cops were all over the bike rack area. One of the officers held a camera and took pictures of every bicycle.
    “Good call on riding the bus today,” Gordy said.
    Hiro looked up at Cooper. “They’ll probably show the pictures to their witness.”
    The driver that almost hit him.
    She leaned in close. “You heard what Lunk said about Frank giving him a chance?”
    “Kinda spooky, right?”
    Hiro hugged herself and kept walking. “He’s part of this. Along with his dad. I feel it.”
    “But he
likes
Frank,” Cooper said.
    Hiro gave an exasperated groan. “So he’s a good actor.”
    “Seemed real to me.”
    When Cooper noticed Detective Hammer, he was almost on them. It was impossible to see his eyes through the mirrored lenses of his aviator-type sunglasses. No accident there.
    “Got your permission slip, guys?” Hammer said. The detective still had the manila folder in one hand.
    “In my backpack.”
    The Detective nodded. “Good. You boys in seventh or eighth?”
    Cooper felt his face grow warm. He stood taller without trying to look obvious. “Eighth.”
    “Then you’re on my list.” Hammer opened the folder. “Names?”
    What was going on?
“Cooper MacKinnon.”
    “G-Gordon Digby. But I go by Gordy. Cooper started it, and it just stuck. Even my Mom calls me Gordy now.” He talked fast and took a step back.
    “There you are.” He made a notation in his folder. “I like putting names with faces.” He looked directly at Cooper.
    For a second Cooper couldn’t talk—couldn’t breathe. He stared at Hammer’s mirrored lenses. All he saw was his own face in each lens looking back at him.
Does he recognize me? He couldn’t. It was the guy with the raspy voice that really saw me. Mr. Clown.
    The detective tapped the folder. “Get that permission slip signed.”
    He turned to Gordy. “You okay Mr. Digby? You seem a bit nervous.”
    Gordy swallowed. “Perfect.” His voice cracked.
    Hammer cocked his head to one side. “Trying to test my baloney detector?”
    “No sir,” Gordy stammered. “I’d never do that.”
    A smile parted the detective’s lips slightly. “Something tells me you could slice up enough baloney to feed half your school.”
    Hiro slid between Cooper and Gordy and hooked their arms.“And I’m the lucky girl who has these phony baloneys for best friends.” She rolled her eyes and tugged the boys toward the curb. “And if they make me miss the bus, I’m really going to turn them into dead meat.”
    Hammer’s head rocked back with a burst of laughter. “Better get going, guys.” He motioned them toward the line of buses along the edge of the parking lot. “She’s tough.”
    Still holding them by the arms, Hiro whisked them away toward the buses.
    “Nice save, Hiro,” Cooper said.
    “You’re welcome. But we need to talk. This isn’t over—you know that, right?”
    Cooper stopped outside their bus. “Yeah. We’re on the list.” He glanced back toward the school entrance. Hammer was still standing where they’d left him—watching them.
    “And after the way Gordy acted so nervous,” Hiro said, “I think you two just moved to the top.”

CHAPTER 12
    C ooper didn’t dare say a word about it on the bus ride home. What if somebody else overheard him? Thanks to Hammer’s little speech in the gym, kids were on high alert, suspicious of anybody but their closest friends. Kids on the bus huddled close together and talked, sometimes pointing to other riders.
    He had to think. The situation had heated up a lot faster than he expected it would. He’d convinced himself that all he really had to do was keep quiet. Stick to the Code. But that wouldn’t be enough