Cory's Flight

by Dan Petrosini

  To be successful, he’d have to completely cut ties with his family. Cory leaned back, looking at a photograph of his kids and wife. What was worse? Seeing them once a month, through plexiglass, or never talking to them again?

  Forcing the question out of his mind, he continued searching for advice. One guy, a bank robber, had been on the run for ten years. In addition to cutting ties, the fugitive said you had to ditch your devices, or technology would lead the authorities to you.

  Cory closed the site and opened a private window. He wasn’t sure how much it would protect his browsing history, but it also raised a tool he could use. Why not leave a trail? Not to where he was going, but to throw the cops off.

  Cory typed in Cabos, Mexico, in the browser and clicked on rentals when his wife and daughter came into the apartment.

  “Hey, how was dance?”

  “Okay. Mom, I’m taking a shower.”

  Cory asked his wife, “What’s with the one-word answers?”

  “She’s upset at what’s going on.”

  “And what do you think I am? I’m the one looking at going to jail.”

  “This affects the whole family.”

  “She hasn’t said two words to me since the shit hit the fan. She probably thinks I’m guilty.”

  “She’s worried and doesn’t know how to express it.”

  “She’s got to learn to talk about things.”

  Linda raised her eyebrows. “Really?” She smiled. “I remember a certain someone who kept his secrets and feelings locked up.”

  “That was different.”

  “It always is, isn’t it?”

  Cory took Linda’s hand and pulled her onto the couch. “I’ve gotten better, right?”

  “You’re closing up again.”

  “Sorry, this is crazy.”

  “You can always talk to me.”

  “I know.”

  “What have you been thinking about?”

  He lowered his voice. “I’m not supposed to say anything, but I’ve been thinking if it looks like I can’t find who framed me, I can’t go to prison. I just can’t.”

  “I don’t understand, you’re not going to . . .” She put a hand to her mouth. “You’re not thinking of taking your life, are you?”

  “No, I’d never do that. I was thinking, you know, maybe, to run.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know. Mexico or something like that.”

  “What about us?”

  “I don’t know, I just started thinking about it.”

  “They always catch people who try to hide.”

  “I know, but there are a couple of guys I’ve been reading about who’ve been on the lam for ten years or more.”

  “What kind of life is that?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s got to be better than a damn five-foot cell.”

  “Promise me you won’t do anything rash. That you’ll talk to me first.”

  Cory said he would, but he really didn’t think he could afford to tell her. It was just too risky. He’d have to be as smart and alert as he could. Cory had to remain sober; there was no other way.

  * * *

  Cory sipped his coffee and read a story about Robert Vesco, an American financier who fled to Central America. He had enough money to change a law in Costa Rica that outlawed his extradition. It worked for a while, but American pressure rolled back the law, and Vesco ended up fleeing to Cuba.

  He got up to make a second cup of java when his daughter said, “Great. Look who’s on the news again.” Ava got up. “I’m not going to school.”

  Cory turned to the TV. A picture of him on stage was over the anchor’s shoulder:

  “There’s more trouble for fallen star Cory Lupinski. The musician, whose stage name is Cory Loop, was arrested on suspicion of murdering his former manager Lew Stein. The assistant district attorney handling the case made public a voice mail message on the deceased’s phone. Here’s a transcript of the message, purportedly left by Cory Lupinski.”

  The screen was filled with a typed message that the newscaster read: “Where the hell are you? I’m not going to let you get away with it, you bastard. I’m telling you, don’t screw with me or you’ll regret it. And I mean it.”

  “We’ve reached out to counsel for Mr. Lupinski. We’ll bring you their response to the damning evidence against someone who brought such joy in the past.”

  Linda shook her head. “You didn’t remember threatening him?”

  “It wasn’t a threat. I just wanted the papers he had. He should’ve given them to me when we fired his ass.”

  “What is Worth going to do about this? You gotta say something.”

  “I’m calling him now.”

  “Mr. Worth, it’s Cory. I just saw the news. Did you know about this?”

  “I received a call from the DA’s office just before they released it.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We’ll release a statement, with a plausible explanation, dismissing the message. You said it was related to records required for a tax audit, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bring whatever IRS documentation you received in regard to the audit.”

  “Well, I didn’t get anything formally.”

  “I don’t understand, Mr. Lupinski.”

  “You see, my new manager, Mr. Baffa, he said it was my responsibility to have the records in case the IRS wanted them.”

  “Are you stating there was no audit?”

  “Not yet. But Mr. Baffa said because I was claiming losses against other years’ income, that it would probably be audited.”

  “That presents a significant challenge. I’ll have to consider this new information before deciding on a response.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cory had just finished mixing a children’s song he’d written. As he left the studio, his phone rang.

  “Cory Loop?”

  “Yeah, who’s this?”

  “Brandon from Entertainment Tonight. How are you?”

  “Good. Why the call?”

  “Every two years or so, we do a show focusing on entertainers who’ve had, uh, legal issues, you know, interaction with law enforcement. One of the cases the program manager selected was yours.”

  “Really?”

  “You got to admit, it’s an interesting case, being accused of murdering the manager who stole from you.”

  “I didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Stein’s death. You’re wasting your time covering it.”

  “The segment is green-lighted; it’s going to happen.”

  “You’ll regret it.”

  “Why don’t you come on and tell your side of the story?”

  “There’s nothing to tell. I didn’t do it. It’s one big mistake that we’re going to correct. The police got the wrong man. I’d never do something like that. They shouldn’t have arrested me in the first place.”

  “I’m not judging and don’t know all the details, but from what our sources obtained from the prosecutor’s office, there seems to be enough evidence to connect you to the crime.”

  “I don’t know how many times I have to say it, I didn’t do it!”

  “Then come on the air and tell the world.”

  “I got half a mind to, but my lawyer doesn’t want me doing any press.”

  “I’d hate to present a one-sided picture.”

  “Hold on! I’ll call my attorney to see if he’ll allow me to come on.”

  “That would even things out.”

  “Even things out? What, are looking to hang me or something?”

  “No, it’s not like that. It’s just we have quite a bit of—”

  “Forget it! Goodbye!”

  Linda came in. “What’s going on? Your nose is bleeding.”

  Cory swept his nose with a thumb. “It’s nothing. It stopped already.”

  “Who were you arguing with?”

  “I wasn’t arguing. It was that damn TV show, Entertainment Tonight. They’re
doing a show on celebs with legal problems and want to do a hit job on me. Bastards want me to come on so they can rip me up.”

  “You said no, right?”

  “Yeah, Worth don’t want me saying anything to anyone.”

  “Good. Go wash your face.”

  Cory headed to the bathroom to clean up. Linda went to pick up Tommy’s sipper cup and something caught her eye. She touched it with her fingertip. It was bright red and sticky. It was a drop of Cory’s blood.

  Fear ran up Linda’s spine. Had Cory’s nose bled at Stein’s house? Is that how it got there? Linda replayed the day her husband’s ex-manager was killed.

  Cory woke up in a bad mood. He said he hadn’t slept well. Cory had mentioned how much his manager had stolen from them at breakfast. At the time, she thought he might have been up worrying over money. She now considered whether he’d been unable to sleep because of obsessing over Stein.

  She remembered Cory brooding as she left to take Tommy to school. He was gone when she came back, even though his studio session wasn’t for several hours. When he came back later that afternoon, she remembered he was fidgety. She’d thought it was because he was craving a drink.

  Linda also remembered that he’d stayed up late, claiming he wanted to work on a new song, but when she’d gotten up to use the bathroom, Cory was on the couch, staring at an infomercial.

  Did he kill Stein? She had to know the truth. Cory had been violent in the past. It wasn’t pretty, but she thought it was because of the drugs and drinking. Since he’d been trying to stay sober, he’d been moody at times but never violent.

  Did Cory have a streak of violence in him that had emerged again? Linda’s mind spun. What would happen to them if Cory went to prison? If he got off somehow, were they in danger? Would Cory’s dark side strike again? Maybe hurting one of the kids?

  Cory came back in. Linda said, “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know, but I got to call Worth and see if he can stop these idiots from running a hit piece on me.”

  “Not the show, Cory. Everything. What’s going to happen to us if you go to prison?”

  “I’m not going to jail. No way.”

  “How will you get out of this?”

  “I’m not sure. Worth doesn’t seem to want to hire an investigator, so, I’m thinking of getting one on our own.”

  “Did you do it?”

  “What? Of course not.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Cory.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Were you there?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t have a nosebleed at his house?”

  “I wasn’t there. Goddamn it! Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

  Linda hugged him. “I believe you. I’m just scared, for the kids, for us.”

  “It’s going to work out. Don’t worry.”

  “We couldn’t bear to see you in prison. It would scar the kids and follow them the rest of their lives.”

  “I swear, I’m not gonna spend the rest of my life behind bars. I’ll run if I have to.”

  “Run? Where?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m checking into it.”

  “What about us? We couldn’t go with you. It’s terrible hiding like that.”

  “I know. It’d be tough on them and you but better than seeing their father in some shitty jail.”

  “Would we ever see each other again?”

  “Unless I can find out who is framing me, probably not. The cops would be following you to see if you might lead them to me.”

  “We’d lose everything if you skip bail. What would we do for money?”

  “I’m not going to leave you guys homeless. I’d never do that. Maybe I can swing getting more of the royalties upfront. I’d say I need it to pay for my defense. We could put it aside somewhere safe, that the cops wouldn’t know about it.”

  “But you’d need money to survive too.”

  “I know, but I can make a buck doing anything. I’d wash dishes until I figured something out. I don’t want the kids or you to suffer.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Cory’s spirits lifted as he read another story on fugitives. Though many were caught, it was because they’d let their guard down. Those who were vigilant slipped through the cracks even though the law was looking for them. At the end of the day, the cops had too many people to track down and went after the easiest targets.

  Besides avoiding contact with people in your former life, a couple of themes showed up in every success story: high-quality fake identity papers and altering your looks.

  He’d undergone a transformation of sorts when the record label stylists took over. The look, which he still kept, was younger and edgy.

  This time maybe he’d melt into the background by going to his original hair color, maybe even go gray or even shave it all off. The love patch would be replaced with a full beard.

  Glasses would help, but to really change, he’d have to consider cosmetic surgery. He’d have to research it depending on where he ended up. Maybe a procedure in someplace like Mexico before moving on. Right now, the thing he wanted was an assurance he could get fake papers.

  As a musician, Cory didn’t have the kind of network to go undercover, but when he’d been blackmailed, a man was recommended to him to discover who was behind the extortion. Cory scrolled through his contacts and hit dial.

  “Uh, Mr. Black?”

  “Who’s asking?”

  “Cory Loop, Cory Lupinski. Remember, you helped me with the—”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t want to talk over the phone. Can we meet?”

  “One thirty. The end of Perry Street, by the water.”

  As the phone went dead, Cory reached for his jacket.

  The wind was whipping off the Hudson River. Cory tucked his chin into his jacket as a runner headed north on the path along the water. He lowered his head as a gust of wind buffeted him.

  Cory saw Mr. Black. He was leaning on the railing facing the Hudson River. Cory sidled up to him, wondering how he could stand the cold in a dungaree jacket.

  “Thanks for meeting me.”

  Black nodded silently.

  “You probably know, I’m being accused of killing my ex-manager. I didn’t do it.”

  Black remained silent.

  “I’m not saying I’m gonna do it, but if I can’t be sure to beat this, I’m thinking of running.”

  “You?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You’re not cut out for that kind of life.”

  “I have no choice. I can’t go to prison.”

  Black nodded. “And?”

  “I’m going to need a new identity. Can you get me a new passport and license?”

  “Eight thousand.”

  “Okay.”

  “In cash.”

  “I’ll get it. How long is it going to take?”

  “Two weeks after you get me two photos.”

  “No problem, I’ll get them fast.”

  “The Eagle statue in Battery Park, one week from right now.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Black nodded. Cory watched him walk away, stunned he could get what he needed so easily.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nerves jangled in Cory’s stomach as Entertainment Tonight’s theme song faded. “Look at them, they’re just waiting to tear somebody down.”

  Linda lowered the TV’s volume. “It’s what they do. Everybody knows it, so don’t get riled up.”

  “They’re gonna make me look bad, and that’s not good for anybody on a jury.”

  “But Worth said he’d move the trial if he felt you couldn’t get a fair one.”

  “I can’t let it get to a courtroom. That would mean we never found out who was framing me. Look at the way this bastard is smiling.”

  The thirty-year-old host said, “Tonight’s edition is a special segment focusing on the legal misfortunes of celebrities. I’m sure our viewers rem
ember Cory Loop, whose real name is Cory Lupinski.”

  A picture of Cory holding an award filled the screen.

  “Cory had a mercurial rise to the top of the pop charts, including three number-one hits. As with many, the fame and fortune created a stream of problems. Mr. Loop was the victim of an extortion scheme, which culminated in him shooting the blackmailer in the leg. Mr. Loop claimed it was in self-defense and served no time for the offense.

  “His recent troubles revolve around Lew Stein, his dead ex-manager. The history between the two is long and complicated. At one point, Stein, who allegedly stole from Cory, was stabbed during an argument with the musician.”

  “Allegedly? What bullshit!”

  “No charges were filed in the incident. Cory dropped out of the pop scene, moving to making children’s music, focusing on finding a cure for childhood cancer, and improving organ transplant programs. We’ll follow his story after a message from a sponsor.”

  “At least they’re mentioning your charitable work.”

  “Trust me, nobody will remember.”

  “Let’s get back to our coverage of Cory Loop. Unfortunately, the award-winning musician’s current troubles are his most serious to date. He has been charged with the murder of his ex-manager, Lew Stein. Found in his home, Mr. Stein was suffocated to death.

  “A witness put Mr. Lupinski near the victim’s Brooklyn home, and he was arrested while giving guitar lessons at the children’s wing in Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.”

  Video of a handcuffed Cory being led into a police station flooded the screen.

  “Sources tell us that there are now two witnesses placing Cory Loop by Stein’s home. Law enforcement officials also discovered an incriminating voice mail message left by Mr. Loop on his ex-manager’s phone.”

  “Incriminating? Come on!”

  “But the most significant piece of evidence is the drop of blood found next to Mr. Stein’s body. DNA tests confirm it belongs to Cory Lupinski.

  “Entertainment Tonight invited Mr. Lupinski on tonight’s show, but he declined, refusing to make a statement.”

  “Bullshit! They never asked for a statement, I told them I didn’t do it.”

  “With us tonight is John Steer, an expert in criminology and frequent contributor to this program.