The three of them rode back to Cooper’s house in relative silence. Hiro’s mood seemed to shift on the ride. By the time they climbed up the ladder and over the stern, she turned quiet.
Instead of going inside the cabin, Cooper led them to the bow. He sat at the very front and let his legs dangle over the side.
“We need to talk about that surveillance hard drive.” He could hear the raspy voice in his ear. Sunday night. Or else. He rubbed the back of his neck. He could almost feel the man squeezing.
Gordy eyed him. “You’re not thinking of delivering it to the bell tower tomorrow night, are you?”
“No. But I’ve got another idea. I just need to process it a little. We won’t be able to talk at church. Wanna meet here after lunch?”
Gordy shrugged. “Works for me.”
Hiro seemed off in another world. Cooper waved his hand in front of her eyes. “Hiro?”
“I’ll be busy in the afternoon. But I can make it here after dinner, I guess.”
“Okay. What’s wrong?” He hated to ask the question—because he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“Twenty minutes ago I threatened a police detective.” Hiro fidgeted with her braid. “I’m supposed to be a policewoman someday, and I confronted the man on his police ethics. We’re the ones who are wrong here.”
Cooper didn’t know what to say. She’d just bailed them out of a jam—at her own expense. In some other situation that may have made him proud or especially grateful. Right now it made him feel dirty. Like he’d stepped in the mud and wiped his shoe on her jacket.
She rubbed the necklace. “Maybe you should have said something.”
“Like what? Oh, by the way, we were here the other night. Saw the whole thing. Elvis and his clown pounded Frank and robbed his place. Honest. Oh, and by the way, are you Elvis?”
Gordy snickered, but he looked a little spooked.
“I mean, come on, Hiro. What if Hammer is one of the guys? If I say something to him, I could be playing right into his hands.”
Her eyes filled with tears. Great.
“My Dad would be ashamed of what I just did. Of what I’m doing. I’ve dishonored him.”
Ouch. “What do you expect me to do?” Cooper asked.
“Fight for the truth. Like you always used to do.” Hiro crossed her arms across her chest. “Can’t you see this is going to backfire on us? They’re going to find out, and when they do, we’ll look a lot worse than if we’d just come forward with it.”
“But we didn’t do anything wrong,” Gordy said. “Right, Coop?”
Cooper nodded. “You make us sound like we’re criminals or something.”
“We’re lying to the police. We’re holding back evidence with that surveillance hard drive. That does make us criminals.”
“C’mon, Hiro. You’re looking at this all wrong.”
“Am I?” She stood and took a step toward him. “Your only concern is protecting yourself.”
“What?”
“You don’t care about anyone else.”
Her words knocked the wind out of him just as if she’d caught him off guard with a fist to the stomach. Didn’t she get it? The Code of Silence was about protection—for all of them. Why did she think he went all the way to the back of Frank ‘n Stein’s kitchen to grab the keys? To protect them. If he didn’t they’d likely have been caught.
“That’s not true.” He wanted to explain it to her. To show her how wrong she really was. But he stopped. He wasn’t so sure she’d hear him if he tried. And if she didn’t, the wall between them would get a little higher. The wall. Sometimes it did seem like this thing was turning into a wall.
Then again, maybe she was just thinking about herself. How lying to the cops might mess up her chances of becoming one someday. Cooper could feel his own steam rising at that thought.
“When are we going to visit Frank?” she asked.
Where did that come from? Cooper wanted to say something about “lying low” again, but she looked dead serious. “I’d like to,” Coop said.
“But you won’t.” Her voice had an edge to it.
“I just think it might be a little risky.”
She shook her head. “Like we’ll look suspicious somehow if we visit?”
“Well, yeah, something like that.”
“I’m with Cooper,” Gordy said. “Visiting Frank is crazy.”
“Crazy?” Hiro raised her chin just a bit. “Frank is a friend. And friends visit. You don’t think it looks crazy if we don’t?”
Gordy looked as uncomfortable as Cooper felt. “Maybe we could just send a card. We could all sign it, and, uh …”
Always trying to keep the peace. Cooper loved that about his cousin. But the card idea wasn’t going to fly with Hiro.
A quiet settled over them. Cooper needed options. Trouble was he didn’t have any. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Okay.” Cooper finally broke the silence. “The way I see it, we’re running out of road here. But I still say we wait until the last second to tell what we saw.”
Neither of the other two spoke for a moment.
Cooper felt they were waiting for him to say something. “We’ll come clean before any one of us goes into Detective Hammer’s interrogation.”
Gordy thumped his fist on his chest. “I can bluff my way through with Hammer. I’m for sticking with the Code.”
“And what about his baloney detector?” Hiro said.
“I’ll be like a rock. Nobody will get anything out of me.”
Cooper held up his hands. “Hold on, Gordy. We can’t take a chance with the interrogation, no matter how sure we are about sticking to the Code.”
Hiro nodded. Gordy looked like he was ready to say something, but Cooper held up his hand to stop him. He had to finish this thought. “But we can’t just go to school Monday morning and spill to Hammer either. Not alone.”
Gordy nodded. “Exactly. If he really is Elvis, we’re toast.”
“Sooo,” Hiro’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“If we don’t hear they’ve caught the robbers by the evening news on Sunday night, I’ll tell my parents everything. We can go to the police together if you want.”
“If we go as a group,” Hiro said, “we’ll be safe. I’ll bring my brother too.”
Cooper shrugged. “Why not? The more of us that go to the police station, the better. They can’t get all of us.”
Hiro smiled. It was just a quick one. A flash of teeth and then gone again. But it was enough for Cooper to know the old Hiro was still there. Still loyal. He didn’t know what he’d do if that ever changed.
“Why wait until Sunday night?” Hiro pleaded. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Because I’m praying the robbers will be caught before then and we won’t have to get involved at all.” Praying? Why did he even use that word? He’d been worrying plenty, but praying was a different story.
Hiro looked like she was wrestling with something. Like how to convince Cooper they should turn themselves in right now.
“Okay. I’ll wait.” She folded her arms across her chest.
Gordy shot her a suspicious look. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“We’re only talking twenty-four hours.” She nodded. “It will be here before we know it.”
That’s what Cooper was afraid of.