“This Ricky. He’s a drug dealer?” Mom said.
“Yeah, but I would have nothing to do with that. He’s looking to go legit and invest in legal businesses.”
“Invest drug money,” Madison said.
“Money is money. And beggars can’t be choosers. You think a bank is gonna give me a loan, with no collateral?”
“They might. Did you try?”
“There’s no point. I’m a nobody. I don’t have a Harvard degree like you. To me, this was my big chance, so I went to meet Ricky at this bar he owns. That was my first mistake. Ricky sells out of that place. Right when we started talking, he took a phone call, then he stood up. I heard him tell the bartender, ‘It’s a go.’ Then he says he’s going to the john and disappears. The bartender comes out from behind the bar, drops a duffel bag on the table in front of me, and he disappears. I’m thinking maybe this is the cash up front for the investment, so I pick up the bag. I’m about to open it and look inside when the DEA busts in. They arrest everyone in sight, including me. This bag is in my hands. It turns out to have heroin in it, and now it has my fingerprints, too.”
“But they weren’t your drugs,” Yolanda said. “So that’s not your fault. You need to tell somebody what’s going on. Someone who can do something about it.”
Danny wrung his hands, his face gray.
“There’s no one to tell. The cops are on the take. Ricky pays protection, and that phone call he got—it was a tip-off. I’m ninety-nine percent sure that it came from the detective running the case. What am I gonna do, go to that detective and say I’m innocent? He’ll kill me—like, literally kill me.”
“You have to tell your lawyer,” Madison said.
“My lawyer is in on it, too. Him and the dirty cop are working together. These guys are as bad as Ricky. Worse.”
“They can’t make you plead guilty if you’re innocent,” Madison said.
Danny looked at her like she had two heads.
“Did you hear anything I just said? They can. They did. The night before I went to court, some guys cornered me in the bathroom and beat the crap out of me. They said to keep my mouth shut ‘tomorrow.’ I’m like, What’s tomorrow? And they said, You’ll see. Do what you’re told, or next time we won’t be so gentle. I go back to my bunk, bleeding, in pain. I’m afraid to go to the infirmary. I got no one to turn to. No friends inside, no allies. I go to the pay phone and try calling Adrian, who got away clean, the asshole. He changed his number. All I know is, if I tell the guards, those guys who beat me’ll come back, and this time I’ll be dead. So, I keep my mouth shut. I go to sleep, and next thing I know, the CO’s shaking me awake. They put me in the van to court, where that lawyer meets me. He tells me the case is overwhelming and my only hope is to plead guilty and throw myself on the mercy of the judge. He gives me a paper to sign. It says the drugs are mine, and I’m looking at ten years. And I’m like, No. He goes, Danny, if you do this, I can ask the judge to go easy. But if you resist, she’ll think you have no remorse. You’ll be locked up for life. And your friends will think you shafted them. I know these people. They don’t play, and they know where your mother lives.”
Madison went cold. “Your own lawyer threatened you? And threatened Mom? That really happened?”
“Yes, it happened. You think I’m making it up?”
“No. I—I’m just shocked.”
“Yeah, because you live in a fantasy world where everything is pretty.”
“Did the prosecutor object?”
“He wasn’t there when the lawyer railroaded me. Nobody was.”
“Did you ask to speak to him?”
“To the prosecutor? So they think I’m a snitch? That’ll get me killed for real.”
“What about the judge in the case?”
“What about her? In court, she asked for the evidence. And the prosecutor just said I was in possession of the bag, and my prints were on it. Which was true. As far as the judge is concerned, that’s the end of it.”
“Did you say the drugs weren’t yours?”
“I would’ve had to say it in open court in front of the lawyer and the dirty cop. Besides, it’s pointless. My lawyer goes way back with this judge. Has her in his pocket. He bragged about it. So, she’s dirty, too.”
“That can’t be true. It’s federal court. That’s like— How can I explain? The national court, the top, the most elite. The judges are highly educated, honest. Things like that don’t happen there.”
“Well, they did.”
“What’s the judge’s name?” Madison asked.
Danny shook his head. “Maddy, look, I appreciate that you came to visit. But I don’t want you in the middle of this. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I’m screwed. I need to keep my mouth shut, or things will get worse.”
“You can’t just give up,” Madison said. “At least let me look into it for you. Find out if there are previous complaints against the judge, or your lawyer. Whether it would make sense for me to try to talk to them, or—”
Danny put his hands in his hair, pulling at it anxiously.
“Are you listening to a word I say? The judge is tight with the dirty lawyer. They’re in on it together. If you talk to either one of them, you’ll get me killed. Is that what you want?”
All the blood drained from their mother’s face. “Of course she doesn’t.”
“Then stay out of it. Not just for my sake. For Mom’s. I told you, they know where she lives. Ma, the guys who beat me up, they said your address. I can live with the consequences for me. But not for you. I couldn’t handle that.”
Tears stood out in their mother’s eyes. “Son, I’ll take that risk. You’re what matters.”
“No. I’m not letting you.” Danny turned to Madison, grabbing her hands. “You promise me, Maddy. For Mom’s sake, say you won’t talk to anyone. Not the judge. Nobody. Say it.”
“I promise I won’t talk to anyone without clearing it with you first. Just tell me the judge’s name, so I can do the research.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw guards rushing toward their table. Danny looked up in alarm.
“No physical contact,” one of the guards yelled. “Hands in the air.”
Danny threw his hands up. The guards yanked him to his feet and kicked his legs apart. One of them patted him down.
“What did she give you?”
“Nothing, that’s my sister. We were just—”
“He’s clean,” the guard said, shaking his head.
“This visit is terminated,” the other one said, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt.
Madison sought his eyes urgently. “Danny? The name?”
“Remember, you promised,” he tossed over his shoulder as they led him away. “It’s Conroy, Kathryn Conroy.”
4
They drove in stunned silence, both upset by the visit. They were nearly back to Boston before her mother spoke.
“You’re going to talk to the judge, right?”
“Mom, he said not to. He made me promise.”
“He doesn’t know what’s good for him.”
Madison shook her head. “It would be a mistake.”
“Don’t listen to him. This is too important.”
“I can’t even believe what he’s saying is true. This is crazy, but I know her.”
“You know the judge?”
“Yeah. She’s teaching at the law school. I’m taking her class.”
Mom gripped the steering wheel, turning to Madison with burning eyes. “Danny’s judge is your teacher?”
A car honked.
“Mom. Watch out.”
Yolanda looked back at the road. “But that’s wonderful. That makes it easy.”