Free Suspicion by Joseph Finder

convicted. Almost
all
of them did prison time. That means you have a nine in ten chance of ending up in prison. That’s the reality.”
    Danny almost leaped out of his chair. “
Prison
?” he sputtered. “Did you say
prison
? Are you freaking
kidding me
?”
    Poskanzer shook his head slowly. “Danny, come on, sit down, okay? All I’m saying is—if we choose to fight it in the legal system, the odds are extremely high you end up in prison.”
    Bitterly, Danny said: “So basically, I can get prison time for . . . just accepting a loan from a guy?”
    “When they call it a racketeering offense, you sure can.” Poskanzer swiveled his computer monitor around so Danny could read the screen. “Take a look.”
    A table of some kind. Words and numbers. “What is it?” Danny asked.
    “These are the federal sentencing guidelines for RICO offenses. Racketeering, as they call it. Given the amount of money involved—fifty thousand dollars—and the fact that it falls under the category of narcotics-related conduct, you could get three hundred twenty-four to four hundred months in prison.”
    Danny stared in mute terror. “I don’t even know how long four hundred months is.”
    Poskanzer didn’t even hesitate. “Thirty-three years.”
    He swallowed. “This is bullshit!” He tried to summon indignant outrage, but instead it came out like a plea. “This is total bullshit.”
    Poskanzer bowed his head for a moment, as if praying or lost in thought. Then he lifted his head and said, “Do you remember that time we got onto the roof of Low?”
    Danny nodded. “Roofing”—getting onto the roofs of campus buildings—was a venerable Columbia tradition. You had to pick locks and shimmy through windows, and there was always a chance of getting caught, which could mean being thrown out of school. But that just gave it an illicit thrill. In their freshman year, he and Poskanzer had once sneaked onto the roof of Low Library in the middle of the night. The view was spectacular. Far below, the quad twinkled and sparkled.
    Danny nodded, wondered what his point was.
    “That was cool,” Poskanzer said.
    “It was.”
    “I hated freshman year. My roommates were assholes. You were one of my few friends.”
    Danny was moved. He’d had no idea. He nodded and smiled. “I’m honored.”
    “Listen to me. I could take your money. I’d be happy to. Well, my firm would be happy to. But we’re friends, you and me, so I’m not going to lie to you. Fighting the US government is an incredibly expensive undertaking. We’d need a retainer of two hundred fifty thousand dollars, to start.”
    “Jay, I don’t have that kind—”
    “And they know that, believe me. The fact is, a competent defense may end up costing you a million, maybe even two million, by the time all is said and done.” Danny recalled one of the DEA guys saying something like that. “Also, it’ll tie you up for years. And then, like I said, the odds are way against you. You’d have a nine-in-ten chance of going to prison. For up to thirty-three years.”
    “Jesus.”
    “Look, if you were my brother, my dad, my best friend, I’d tell you to cooperate. But you’re also a single dad. You’re Abby’s only parent. You gotta think about that. You’d be ruining your daughter’s life. I mean, have you appointed a guardian for Abby?”
    “A . . .
guardian
?”
    “In case you end up in prison. In case you have to go away. Because that’s
probably
what’s going to happen to you. Unless you cooperate with them. You really want to spin that roulette wheel? I don’t think you do.”
    “I don’t
believe
this!”
    “Go get a second opinion, Danny. And a third, and a fourth. Ask any lawyer experienced in dealing with the feds. They’ll all tell you the same thing—only maybe they’ll soft-pedal the odds against you. Plenty of lawyers would be happy to take your money and bankrupt you. But I don’t want to do that. I’m advising you—as a friend—to