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  “I don’t know.”

  “Or we could license the tunes to Raffi or Zanes.”

  “Let me think about this.”

  After hanging up, Cory went into the kitchen. “I got good news and bad news.”

  Linda said, “About the case?”

  “No, my new songs.”

  “Oh, you had me worried. What’s up?”

  “Well, the good part is they really dig the tunes.”

  “That’s great. I told you that if Tommy likes them, they’re going to be hits. What’s the bad news?”

  “They think I’m a turn-off for parents and want to issue them under a stage name.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. You still get the same royalties, right?”

  “Yeah, I’m just thinking about a way to make sure you get money if something happens to me.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

  Cory shrugged.

  “Call Baffa up, he’ll know how to make sure of it.”

  “Good idea.”

  Cory pulled his cell out and dialed his business manager.

  “Mr. Baffa, it’s Cory Lupinski.”

  “How are you?”

  “I guess as good as can be expected. I got a situation I need your advice on.”

  Cory explained releasing the new material under a stage name and asked, “If I agreed to something like that and I had to go to jail or something, would my family get the royalties?”

  “There’s a good chance a substantial fine would be imposed. It’d be part of a sentence to give the state an opportunity to recoup the costs associated with a trial.”

  “How much would that be?”

  “I have no experience in that area and would have to research it. However, that’s maybe the least of the financial side of your problem.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Given your public profile, it’s likely the family of the victim would file a civil suit against you. If you’re convicted criminally, chances are they’d be awarded a significant sum as monetary compensation for their loss.”

  “So, using a stage name wouldn’t protect the money?”

  “No, as you ultimately benefit.”

  “What if I listed my friend as the composer?”

  “If he just passes the income to you, there’s a likelihood it will be found out.”

  “What about my wife?”

  “That would appear to be an obvious circumvention.”

  “But Linda and I have written together in the past. I mean not much, but we have.”

  “Has she ever been given composition credit on a published work?”

  “Yeah, it’s been a few years, but yeah, definitely.”

  “And it was a co-credit, with split royalties?”

  “I gave her the composition end and took the performance. It wasn’t a ton of money, but it happened.”

  “Did she work on these songs?”

  “Yeah, she helped.”

  “You have to be certain, as it may be challenged in a court of law.”

  “She helped me with the lyrics, you know, what words to use.”

  “In that case, the wiser thing to do would be to consider co-crediting.”

  “But that would leave half of the money, and we’re not talking a lot of money here, that I could lose.”

  “I understand, but at this point, that’s my advice.”

  “But then my half could go out the window.”

  “True, but you want to avoid a challenge. If you only claim half the royalties, it should satisfy the state and settle any civil action.”

  “I get your point, and I’m no legal person, but don’t you think these guys would take what they can get easy and then push to take my wife’s?”

  “It’s likely they’d pursue the entire stream, claiming it was a tactic to shield the money, but they’d have to convince the court.”

  “I doubt these songs are going bring in a ton of money, so my family is going to need whatever royalties they generate.”

  “I understand your position, and it’s your decision, but I still believe you shouldn’t get too aggressive.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cory’s mind raced. What would Tower say when he saw him? Would he refuse to see him or scream at him? Tower had a host of nefarious contacts. Would he sic one of his thugs on him?

  Tower had tried to intimidate him after Cory recorded their conversation to stop Tower from continuing to blackmail him. Nothing had come from it. Tower had tried to scare Cory. It worked, and Cory was relieved when the harassment ended.

  Cory pushed the idea of stopping for a drink out of his head and tried to calm down. He pulled his phone out and set the Spotify app to a classical music stream.

  He tried to concentrate on the Vivaldi sonata, but it wasn’t working. He stepped into the elevator and closed his eyes. On the ride up, he took deep breaths.

  Sitting in the waiting room, his leg shook like a jackhammer. The receptionist led him to Tower’s office.

  Cory wiped his sweaty palms on his pants as the woman opened her boss’s door. Barney Tower, in a crisp white shirt and blue tie, was leaning back in a burgundy leather chair.

  He said, “Cory Lupinski.”

  “How ya doing, Mr. Tower?”

  Tower smiled. “Absolutely fantastic.”

  “I’m sure you are, after that win you had with Zepher. It was super.”

  “As you’re intimately aware, it’s what I do.”

  “You sure do.”

  “As for you, you’re not doing particularly well, are you?”

  Cory spread his hands. “Look, I know we had our differences in the past, but I’m considering changing attorneys.”

  Tower smiled. “And you’d like to know if I’d be interested in representing you?”

  “I didn’t do what they’re saying.”

  “Whether you did it or not is of no concern. I prefer not knowing.”

  “All right, but somebody is trying to frame me for killing Stein.”

  “So I hear.”

  “Let me ask you, what do you think of my case? If I hired you, what would you do?”

  “I don’t give away my strategies. If you want to know, engage my services and pay my firm’s professional fees. Then, and only then, I’ll share my approach.”

  “But how do I know you’d be better than who I have now?”

  “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t think I could help. Besides, you’ve benefited from my expertise and connections in the past.”

  “How much is this going to cost?”

  “You can’t put a price on saving a man’s life.”

  “I know, but I gotta know. I don’t want to go through what happened last time.”

  “That wasn’t pleasant, was it?”

  “I mean, I hope there’s no hard feelings, but I had to do what I did. You understand, right?”

  “I’m a transactional person.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I don’t have time to get into it today. Let my office know if you wish to retain our services.”

  “But how much will I need to pay?”

  “Five hundred an hour plus costs. We’ll need a hundred thousand dollars up front as a retainer.”

  “I don’t have too much money right now because of the bail thing.”

  Tower put up a palm. “That’s your problem. I’ve got work to do.”

  “But—”

  Tower stood. “Goodbye, Mr. Lupinski.”

  Cory walked down Madison Avenue. He didn’t like Tower, but he was his only option. Worth was a nice guy, but Cory’s life was on the line. He wasn’t sure what Tower did to get the results he did, but he was sure he played dirty.

  Tower was nasty, but Cory didn’t have a choice. He had to have Tower’s help if he wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

  He’d have one more talk with Worth about his chances. If the attorney still believed the best option was to ple
ad guilty in exchange for a twenty-year sentence, Cory would hire Tower while continuing to prepare to run and hide.

  * * *

  Linda was in bed, tapping her iPad. Cory said, “We got to talk.”

  She put her tablet down. “You made your mind up?”

  “Much as I hate the bastard, unless I find out who’s behind all this, Tower’s my best shot at getting off.”

  “I can’t believe nobody else can help us.”

  “Tower’s got the connections. Look at what he did for Zepher and me with Bonner.”

  “How do you think he does it?”

  “Probably bribes people.”

  “He’s so sleazy. I can’t believe so many people are that corrupt.”

  “Right now, I don’t care about anything but getting this over with.”

  “You have to be careful with him.”

  “Trust me, I’m on alert. As soon as Baffa sends over the publishing papers, you’ll sign them and get them to the label. Once that’s all in order, I’ll pull the trigger with Tower.”

  “You sure about giving me all the credit?”

  “Yeah, it’ll be cool. Raffi wants to do the tunes; he needs material for a new album.”

  “You think we’ll get sued?”

  “Maybe, but if we stick to our story that you wrote the lyrics and used the chords from ‘Around the Farm,’ we’re gonna be fine.”

  “I don’t know, what happens if I have to go on the stand? I can’t lie.”

  “Don’t worry about it now. Let’s see what happens. We can always change it up if things get too hot.”

  “I don’t like this. Why does everything have to be so complicated?”

  “I’m sorry. I just want to be sure you and the kids are going to be okay if I got to run or something.”

  “How do you expect us to be okay? Huh? You’ll be a fugitive. The kids will never understand it. They’ll be haunted by their famous father who’s disappeared.”

  “What do you want me to do? Go to jail? Would that make you happy?”

  “Don’t be so stupid. We want you here, where you belong.”

  “Me too, but if I can’t, prison isn’t an option for me.”

  “Being on the run isn’t good. We gotta find a way out of this.”

  “I’m trying. Maybe Tower can work some of his magic.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Between the upfront payment Baffa arranged for the tunes in exchange for a smaller royalty and twenty thousand from Linda’s mother, Cory scraped together Tower’s retainer.

  Crossing the street, Cory pushed feeling terrible about borrowing money from his sick mother-in-law from his thoughts. Walking down Lexington Avenue, he hoped the effort would pay off.

  Waiting for an elevator, two women pointed at Cory and whispered to each other. Cory turned his back and waited for the next ride up.

  Tower’s assistant, Brenda, led him down a hallway that smelled of cigar smoke. She knocked on his door and opened it. Tower, finger curled around a fat cigar, was reading a document.

  “Sit down. I’ll be a minute.”

  Cory eyed the bottle of Pappy Van Winkle on the desk. It had been his favorite bourbon, and it was no coincidence Tower had made it available.

  “Feel free to pour yourself a drink, Mr. Lupinski.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “You sure? I hear nothing beats a shot of Pappy.”

  “I’m not drinking anymore.”

  Tower raised an eyebrow and turned a page. He set the papers aside. “Sorry about that.”

  “No problem.”

  Tower dragged a file to him and centered it. “We received the first set of documents from our discovery request.” He flipped open the folder. “The prosecution has accumulated substantial evidence against you.”

  “But we can fight back, can’t we?”

  “Yes, what they have may be formidable, but it’s not insurmountable.”

  “That’s good.”

  “I never concern myself with an eyewitness, but they’ll make the case that your phone location data corroborates you were there.”

  “I teach a student just a couple of blocks away.”

  “The DA is aware there’s enough to elicit reasonable doubt. Being in the vicinity of the crime scene is an issue but explainable.”

  “Super. My old lawyer, he was so negative—”

  “What is troubling is your blood being discovered near the body.”

  “I wasn’t there, I swear.”

  “We must be careful in addressing it. A denial, no matter how vigorous, is not enough.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “We could have our forensic experts test and age the stain.”

  “You can tell how long it was there?”

  “Exactly.”

  “How reliable are the tests?”

  “They’re highly accurate, but the prosecution will parade experts providing an opposing conclusion no matter what the results are.”

  “But that will make more reasonable doubts. Won’t it?”

  “On its own, I’d tend to agree, but in concert with the witnesses and the incriminating message you left on the victim’s phone, questions will begin to pile up.”

  “That message was old—”

  “You don’t have to convince me, it’s the jury I’m concerned about.”

  “What are we gonna do?”

  “I have a couple of ideas. There’s a handful of people I’m going to reach out to. We’ll see from there.”

  “That sounds good. You said you were going to look into the bail thing. What’s up with that?”

  “Good news.”

  “Really?”

  “I had several conversations with the DA’s office and a private discussion with the judge. They’re agreeable to reassessing the amount posted.”

  “Oh, man, that’s super. By how much?”

  “It’s not a done deal, but we’re going to have a hearing this week on my motion to reduce by a million dollars.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  “If we’re successful, and I believe we will be, there’s going to be costs and people who need, let’s say, taking care of.”

  “No problem. Do what you have to do.”

  “Are you sure? It’s expensive.”

  “Absolutely. How much?”

  “Three hundred thousand.”

  “Three hundred? That’s steep.”

  “Not really. Getting a bail reduction of this magnitude is highly unusual. If you want to halt the proceedings, let me know now.”

  Cory hesitated. “No, it’s okay. Go for it.”

  “Excellent. I’ve got to get going, there’s a charity dinner I must attend.”

  “Okay, but I think we should hire an investigator to look into who is setting me up.”

  “Right now, I want to focus on the bail hearing, but we can talk about that next time. Is there anything else?”

  “You think I should take a polygraph test? You know, to prove I’m not lying.”

  “I’ll have to think about it, as they’re not admissible as evidence.”

  * * *

  “Hey guys, I’m home!”

  “Daddy!” Tommy ran to his father, and Cory picked him up and turned him upside down.

  “Swing me, Daddy.”

  Cory held his son by the ankles and swayed him.

  Linda came in holding a dish towel. “Be careful. How did it go?”

  “It went super! Who wants to go out to dinner and celebrate?”

  “Yay! I do.”

  “I have a chicken in the oven already.”

  “So what?”

  “I’ve got to shower, and Ava has a paper that’s due tomorrow.”

  “Can we go, Mommy?”

  “Not tonight, honey.”

  “Don’t worry, little man. After dinner, I’ll take you for an ice cream.”

  “Yay!”

  “You’re in a great mood. It went well with Tower?”

  “It was all
good. Get Ava, I want her to hear the good news.”

  Dragging her feet, Ava followed her mother into the family room.

  “Hey, Ava. I know this all has been tough on you, so I wanted to share some good news.”

  Cory sat Tommy on his lap and said, “Today, Daddy went to his new lawyer, and this man is very good. He’s optimistic about the case, and he has a ton of contacts.”

  Linda asked, “What did he say?”

  “He’s in touch with the DA, and even the judge, and he’s working on a plan to get this behind me.”

  “Did he tell you what he was going to do?”

  “It was a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but guess what?”

  “What, Daddy?”

  “My bail is going to be reduced, by a lot.”

  Ava said, “So? That don’t mean anything.”

  “Yes, it does. It means they’re starting to realize I didn’t do it.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Of course, it does. Why else would they lower it?”

  “Bail has nothing to do with innocence or guilt.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “We learned that in civics class. Bail amounts are based on what the court thinks the risks are of the accused going on the run.”

  Cory thought, how did a sixteen-year-old know this? “Yes, that’s part of it, but the bottom line is they wouldn’t give us back the money if they believed I did it.”

  Ava rolled her eyes and got up.

  Linda said, “Where are you going?”

  “I have to finish my paper.”

  “It’s okay, let her go finish her schoolwork. Tommy, go get Trouble, I feel like playing a game.”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Tommy ran out and Cory said, “Even when I win, I lose. You’d think she’d be happy that something went our way.”

  “I don’t understand what Tower said.”

  Their son came running in with the game. Cory said, “I’ll tell you later.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cory put Tommy to bed and went to the kitchen. “He loves Curious George. I remember reading that as a kid. Talk about a royalty stream.”

  “What happened with Tower?”

  “It was good. He didn’t seem to be holding a grudge or anything.”

  “What did he say about how he’d handle the case?”

  “Not much. He said he’s researching it and all.”