“So, that’s how the feds knew about me. From you.”
“I was never trying to hurt you or drag you into my problems or anything. I just didn’t know what else to say.”
“No, it’s okay. Your problems are my problems. That’s what family means.”
“Still. I’m sorry, Maddy.”
“Don’t apologize. The feds got me out of a tight spot last night, which they might not’ve done if they didn’t think I could help their investigation. So really, you did me a solid in that regard. On the other hand, now they’re accusing me of things I didn’t do.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for one thing, Wallace planted drugs on me.”
The sadness in his eyes turned to horror. “What the hell? On you? Why?”
“Oh, it’s a long story. But then this lawyer got murdered, and—ugh, I can’t even.”
“You didn’t have anything to do with any of it. Right?”
“Of course not.”
“Yeah, that’s just like me, when they threw that bag of drugs at me. Now I’m worried they’re trying to play you, and it’s my fault.”
“Who’s playing me?”
“The prosecution.”
“You mean like a negotiating tactic?”
“Exactly. I convinced them you were valuable. Now they want to force you into a cooperation agreement because they think you can really help their case. They say you work in the judge’s office and spend time at her house. Is that true?”
“Yes, I’m her intern. And I take care of her cat.”
He laughed. “A cat? Seriously?”
“I only did it to try to help you. To get close to her and see what I could find out. The cat’s cool, though.”
“I don’t think the feds care about the cat, sis.”
“Probably not.”
“They want to know about her crimes. When they first brought me in for an interview, they asked about Judge Conroy and Ricky Pe?a. Like, did he bribe her to put the weight on me, and let him go? I can’t answer that. I’m no insider, no mastermind. I only met Ricky once for five minutes. I don’t know the judge at all. They don’t tell me secrets. All’s I could say was that my lawyer railroaded me, and she went along with it. Turns out, that information’s not worth enough to get me a deal. Now, they’re saying I have to get you to cooperate. That’s why they brought me here.”
“Wait a minute, what?”
“I’m here to talk you into signing up with them.”
“They planned this? Like, brought you here ahead of time?”
“Yeah, I’m housed in Pennsylvania now, in a secure facility. They brought me down to DC this morning at the crack of dawn. What I’m saying is, these people are not looking out for your interests. They want to put pressure on you. You got to be careful. From what I’ve seen of them, they’d tell you they got evidence on you just to get you to wear a wire.”
“A wire?”
“Yeah, they want you to record this judge, get her to confess. They told me so. And said I should tell you to do it, for my sake. But I won’t. You got to make up your own mind. I’ve been inside. I’ve seen what can happen. Snitches get retaliated against. It’s dangerous, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. So I’m here to tell you, don’t do this for me. Really. Maybe don’t do it at all. I’ll survive somehow.”
“To help you? I’m sorry if I’m slow, but how would me wearing a wire help you?”
“They didn’t tell you?”
“They haven’t explained the deal to me yet. We were at kind of an impasse when they brought me over to talk to you.”
“From what I understand, they’re willing to count your cooperation for my benefit.”
“Count it how?”
“Big time. If you get this judge on tape, they’ll dismiss my case. I could walk out of here a free man. They’d expunge my record. I could start my life over, instead of rotting in jail for something I didn’t do. It would be like this nightmare never happened.”
“Wow. That’s huge, Danny.”
“Not huge enough to risk my sister’s life.”
“That’s my decision, isn’t it?”
“It affects us both. In Ad Seg, you’re all alone. I had a lot of time to think, and I realized I need to be better for my family. Going to the bar that night wasn’t just foolish. It was selfish. It put you in a position where you had to take risks to help me. Saving my ass should not be your problem, Maddy. I’m the one who screwed up my life.”