Cory's Flight

by Dan Petrosini

  How Tower had extracted Cory from the nightmare was a mystery. One that Cory was afraid to look at too closely out of fear it would disappear. The attorney was not only incredibly effective but quick to resolve anything presented to him.

  It got too easy to bring a problem to Tower, and Cory was guilty of depending on him. He wondered if his dependency had driven the lawyer to get greedy. Either way, it was wrong and ended their relationship.

  Had the attorney changed since their blowup? There were little signs, but he was human, not a machine. Tower agreed to represent him quickly, surprising Cory. But on reflection, it made sense. Tower said he was transactional, and Cory likened him to a poker player. He’d lost the last hand but was ready to play again.

  Cory didn’t play cards but knew playing poker against Tower was a losing proposition. Wondering if Tower bluffed when he played, Linda’s cell phone rang. He popped out of bed and rushed to her nightstand as Linda woke.

  He grabbed the phone. Mt. Sinai Hospital was calling.

  Groggily, Linda said, “Who is it?”

  Cory answered, raising a hand as he went into the bathroom. Linda followed him. “What’s going on? Is it Mom? Is she okay?”

  Cory hung up. “Mom’s, uh, not doing well.”

  “Oh my God. What’s the matter?”

  Cory reached into his closet for his pants. “Get dressed. I’ll get the kids up. We got to get down there.”

  Ava and Linda held hands walking down the hallway. Tommy felt heavier than usual as Cory carried his sleeping son into the intensive care unit. Nurses were hurrying between rooms. Though there was a lot of activity, it was conducted quietly.

  They checked in and were led to his mother-in-law. Linda said, “How is she doing?”

  “I’m sorry. Your mother is extremely weak.”

  Linda gasped when she saw her and reached tentatively for her hand. Cory looked at his mother-in-law’s chest. Her breathing was shallow and intermittent.

  Cory lowered his son to the ground. “Say hello to Grandma, Tommy.”

  “Is Grammy sleeping?”

  “Yes, but she can hear you.”

  Ava buried her face in Linda’s chest. They were both crying. Cory wrapped his arms around them. “It’s going to be okay. She’s peaceful, and she’s going to a better place.”

  * * *

  “Mom, look at this one.” Ava held a picture of her grandmother holding her as a newborn.

  “She was so happy when you were born. They say having a grandchild is better than having your own kid.”

  Ava ran her finger over the photo. “I think we should put it on the board.”

  “Sure. We need to find one with her holding Tommy.”

  Cory said, “She was a special lady. From day one she treated me like a son.”

  “Mom loved you. She used to protect you when you did something stupid. It used to annoy me she didn’t stick up for me.”

  Ava said, “I guess Daddy was the son she never had.”

  “He got away with everything. Remember when you wrecked her car?”

  “You crashed Grandma’s car?”

  “It was an accident. I was reaching in the glove box for a CD and I took my eyes off the road and hit a parked car.”

  “More like sideswiped the whole block.”

  “Oh my God, Dad. Did you get hurt?”

  “No. But it was super embarrassing. I was more afraid to tell your mother than Grandma.”

  “What did Grandma say?”

  “She was cool. Said she knew I didn’t do it on purpose, and as long as I wasn’t hurt, that was all that mattered.”

  Tommy said, “Daddy, why didn’t they give Grammy the kidneys?”

  “It’s very complicated, but Grammy got sick really fast and there wasn’t enough time.”

  “But why not?”

  “Look through these and find a good picture of you and her. Daddy has to make a call.”

  Linda looked at Cory. He said, “I’m going to call Tower. You know, about the arrangements and get our money back.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The funeral arrangements distracted Cory. As the last person to leave the wake mentioned the transplant, Cory realized Tower hadn’t called him back.

  His family was getting into the limo to go to the cemetery. Cory stuck his head in. “I got to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  Stepping into an empty viewing room, Cory called Tower. Expecting to be told he wasn’t available, Cory was surprised to hear the lawyer’s voice. “Mr. Lupinski.”

  “Hi, I wanted to let you know my mother-in-law passed away.”

  “Yes, I’m aware. Please give my condolences to your wife.”

  “You knew she died?”

  “Of course.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “We monitor all of our clients.”

  Cory felt it was odd he referred to her as a customer but let it pass. “Well, I’m calling about the money. When will we get our deposit back?”

  “That wasn’t a deposit but a payment to make the necessary arrangements.”

  “Okay, but when are you going to refund the money?”

  “A refund will not be forthcoming.”

  “But she’s dead. We don’t need the kidneys.”

  “That’s unfortunate, but we’re well into the process and have already expended funds to secure the resources.”

  “But we just told you to get started, like, a week ago.”

  “You know we move quickly.”

  “We really need that money. Can’t we get some of it back?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Lupinski, but we simply can’t do that.”

  “I don’t understand. You can take whatever you spent already out of the hundred grand.”

  “A contract is binding.”

  “I didn’t sign no contract.”

  “It was an oral contract. You hired us to make arrangements, and we did. It’s unfortunate that your mother-in-law died, but it doesn’t change what we already did.”

  Cory heard Ava call for him and he said to Tower. “I have to go, but I gotta tell you, what you’re doing is unconscionable.”

  * * *

  Cory came into the family room. “Tommy fell asleep before I finished reading a page.”

  “Everybody’s wiped out.”

  “It’s been a tough couple of days. You know, my nose is still stuffed up from the daylilies.”

  “I don’t like them either. Anytime I smell one, I think of a funeral parlor.”

  “Ava seems to be handling it okay.”

  “She’s a smart kid, and we told her all along how dangerous Mom’s condition was.”

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m all right. I mean, I miss her like crazy, but since she went into the hospital, I . . . I knew.”

  “She was some lady. We’ll miss her, but at least she’s not suffering.”

  “I know. I really didn’t think she’d survive the transplant.”

  “It’s crazy, but it could have gotten worse for her.”

  “I know. It’s going to be hard to clean out her apartment.”

  “I’ll help you, and there’s no rush.”

  “It’s okay. I want to get it over with. Oh, you have to call Tower and get our money back.”

  Cory took a deep breath. “I did, but he’s not giving any back.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “He said he spent money, made the arrangements, blah, blah, blah.”

  “It was a hundred thousand dollars. No way he spent it all.”

  “I know, but he wouldn’t budge.”

  “That’s so unfair. I’m going to call him.”

  “Maybe that’s not a good idea.”

  “Why not? She was my mother, and it’s our money.”

  “I know, but he’s handling my case, and I don’t want to piss him off or anything.”

  “So, he’s allowed to push us around? I won’t stand for it.”

  “Take it easy
, hon.”

  “One thing has nothing to do with the other.”

  “I’m going to see him. I’ll bring it up again. I’m sure he’ll bend some.”

  “He better.”

  “We’ll see what happens, but right now, let’s try and relax. Everything is so damn negative these days.” As soon as it came out of his mouth, Cory regretted saying it. “No, it’s not. We have each other and the kids.”

  Linda raised her eyebrows. “Really? You forget you’re accused of murder?”

  “You know what I meant.”

  Linda shrugged.

  “We need to lighten things up. Let’s watch something funny. You up for some Sebastian Maniscalco?”

  An hour later, the couple went to bed. The comedy hadn’t been the magic Cory hoped for. Linda put her head on his chest, and Cory felt the wetness of her tears. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.”

  “It’s tough, but it’ll get better after a while.”

  “She was always there for me.”

  “And she’s still watching out for you. She’s your guardian angel now.”

  “I know you lost your mom way earlier, but I don’t know, I feel cheated.”

  “That’s natural. She was taken too early.”

  “I feel bad for the kids. They won’t have a grandma around. And Tommy will forget her.”

  “No, he won’t. Both kids have great memories of her, and we’ll make sure they remember their grandma.”

  “I hope so. Maybe it’s because she’s the last to go, but when Dad died I felt bad, but nothing like this.”

  Cory hugged his wife. “It sounds terrible, but it’s because you’re an orphan now. We both are.”

  “Oh Cory, I can’t lose you too.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I hope not.”

  “I’m going to tell Tower to get the self-defense plea going. We got to end this.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Start planning a vacation.”

  “A vacation? Where? We don’t have the money to go somewhere fancy.”

  “I don’t care where, as long as it’s warm. Donny was telling me it was cheap in the panhandle of Florida.”

  Linda yawned. “I’ll check online tomorrow.”

  As she moved to her side of the bed, the questions he had about the biggest decision of his life amplified in his head. The primary one was whether he’d have to stand trial. If the DA didn’t buy his self-defense story, he’d have to sell it to a jury.

  Tower seemed confident and had delivered every time Cory was in a jam. However, what the other attorney had written crept back into his head.

  But what were his options? If he didn’t go along with Tower’s suggestion, it was either pleading innocent despite the evidence against him or running away. None of the options were good. There was no room for error.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Cory smelled coffee. He felt like crap. He pulled the blanket over his head and tried to fall asleep. Tussling with what to do, he’d come to an uneasy agreement with himself that self-defense offered the best way out.

  There were still questions that needed answering, but he resigned himself that he would tell Tower to move ahead. Cory got out of bed and padded into the kitchen. “Morning. How’d you sleep?”

  Linda said, “Terrible. I had a bad dream about Mom.”

  “Sorry.” He kissed her cheek and grabbed a cup of coffee.

  “You sleep okay?”

  Cory shrugged. “Not really. Was thinking over this self-defense thing. I think it’s the only way to go.”

  Linda reached for his hand. “It’ll work out.”

  “I gotta tell the kids.”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah, I don’t want Ava hearing about it from a friend or the news.”

  “I can’t wait until it’s behind us.”

  “There’s no guarantees this is going to work.”

  “It will. You have to trust Tower. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “That’s the problem. I don’t know if I can trust him.”

  “Why? Nobody thought of using self-defense.”

  “I know he wants to win and all, but maybe he doesn’t care that much. If he loses, it’s my ass in jail. He still gets paid, and the bastard’s got the money from the transplant.”

  “We got to get some of that money back, but don’t let that interfere with your case. He told you about that way before Mom . . .”

  Linda started crying. Cory said, “It’s okay.” He gave her a napkin.

  Ava came in. “What’s the matter, Mom?”

  “She’s upset about Grandma.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “You sure, Mom?”

  “Yes. I like that blouse with those jeans.”

  “Grandma got me this for my birthday.” She held up her arm. “And this was the bracelet from Christmas.”

  “It goes perfect together. Eat something before you go to school.”

  “I’m not hungry. I’ll take a bar with me. I gotta go. See you later.”

  Cory said, “Hang on a second. Sit down, I have to tell you something.”

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, honey, Daddy just wants to let you know in advance something about his case.”

  “What?”

  “Under the advice of my attorney, I’m going to change my plea to self-defense.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That it was a justified killing.”

  “You killed him?”

  “No, I didn’t, but the lawyer said it was the best way to be sure I don’t go to jail.”

  “I don’t get it. Why would you admit to something you didn’t do?”

  “Daddy’s only saying that because Mr. Tower said it’s the way to go.”

  “So, now you’re lying also?”

  “Hold on, Ava. I know it’s shocking to hear, but I didn’t kill Mr. Stein. I wasn’t even there. This is nothing but a legal strategy to make sure I don’t go to prison.”

  “I don’t believe this. This is crazy.”

  “People do this every day.”

  “Yeah? But once you say you did it, you can’t take it back. You’d be known as a murderer.”

  “The people who know me, the ones I care about, would know the truth.”

  “What truth? The one where you didn’t do it, or the one where you did?”

  “I’m only saying it was self-defense to be sure. Otherwise, I have to take a chance with a trial, and Mr. Tower said that would be dangerous. It’s all about trying to manage a bad situation.”

  Ava shook her head. “I don’t know how you can say you did it. It’ll be all over the news and everything. You can’t just take it back; it’ll be there forever.”

  “It’s hard to understand, but you got to trust me. It’s the best option we have.”

  Ava stood. “I’m going.”

  “Have a good day, honey.”

  The door slammed.

  “Geez, that went well.”

  “I’ll talk to her later.”

  “She’s right, though. Her whole life we taught her to be honest, to watch what she said, and now we’re telling her it’s okay to lie.”

  “You don’t have a choice, Cory.”

  “I don’t know, but it feels selfish. A good father would fight the charges, be an example of integrity.”

  “You’re a wonderful father.”

  “It doesn’t feel like it.”

  “You are, and let me tell you, doing what you’re doing makes sure you’ll be around for the kids. What good are you going to be for the kids if you’re in prison?”

  * * *

  Tommy had a nightmare, and Linda had stayed with him until he fell asleep. She tiptoed into the family room. Cory was watching TV. “He’s out?”

  “Snoring like an old man. What are you watching?”

  “A documentary about people faking their own deaths.”

  “Oh, com
e on, not again.”

  “No, I’m not thinking about it anymore, but it’s crazy. There were two guys, both in Florida. One guy was a pilot, and he went up and put the plane on autopilot. Then he parachuted out over Mississippi, where he had a stash waiting for him.”

  “The plane crashed?”

  “Yeah. He thought it would make it to the Gulf of Mexico, but it petered out before it got there.”

  “They caught him?”

  “Yep. And this other guy, he took his boat out and made it look like he drowned in the Florida Keys. He had some sort of makeshift submarine he hooked up with. They were looking for him for days until he was spotted in Orlando.”

  “That was stupid of him.”

  “I know. The Coast Guard billed him like four hundred thousand for the searches.”

  “Put the news on. I want to see the weather. Tomorrow Ava’s doing a walk for Alzheimer’s. I hope it’s not going to be too cold.”

  Cory changed channels. “I think it might be flurrying.”

  “It better not be windy.”

  “Wait a minute, that’s the O’Rourke guy. The guy I asked Tower to check into.”

  “The one with the supposedly flirting wife?”

  “I told you it was nothing. The guy is a gangster. They’re saying he’s involved in a gambling ring.”

  “Didn’t Tower say he cleared him?”

  Cory jumped off of the couch. “Yeah, and that he wasn’t a mobster. What the hell is going on?”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Tower lied to you then. He probably didn’t believe you about the framing and didn’t check O’Rourke out.”

  “Could be, or maybe O’Rourke is involved, and Tower’s trying to protect him.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “How the hell would I know?”

  “Don’t get mad at me.”

  “Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Maybe nothing. All you know now is he seems to be involved in organized crime, and Tower told you he wasn’t.”

  “Yeah, but why?”

  “Like I said, Tower may never have checked him out.”

  “Oh, Tower would definitely do it. He’s all over everything and everyone.”

  “He’s not God, Cory.”

  “You don’t know this guy. Tower doesn’t miss a beat. Something is going on with him and O’Rourke.”