Particularly given the alternatives.
39
Tom Galvin’s private plane was a Challenger 300, made by Bombardier. Its exterior was white and shiny and glinted in the sun on the tarmac at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass.
He’d driven Lucy and Abby in the Honda. They’d parked in the lot at eight thirty A.M. and rolled their bags into the general aviation terminal to wait for the Galvins.
On the dot of nine, the Galvins arrived. Through the plate-glass window in the terminal, Danny watched the Maybach limo pull right up to the plane. Tom, Celina, and Jenna got out of the car while Diego, the chauffeur, unloaded their luggage. A short staircase popped open, and everyone climbed in like they were taking a shuttle bus. Danny noticed the Galvins didn’t bring any skis. Presumably, they left them at their house in Aspen. Danny, Lucy, and Abby all planned to rent skis when they got there.
Celina turned and waved them over.
“We don’t have to go through, like, security?” Abby asked.
“I guess not,” Lucy said.
No tickets, no security lines, no taking off your shoes or stuffing a Ziploc bag with liquids.
It was good to be Galvin.
When they’d boarded the plane, Danny introduced Lucy to the Galvins. Celina greeted him and gave her a kiss. Abby and Jenna went off together so Jenna could give her the tour.
The cabin was roomy, over six feet tall and around seven feet wide. In the forward part of the cabin were four big beige leather club chairs, two facing two. In the aft was a long couch facing a couple of club chairs. There was no flight attendant.
“Not bad,” Danny said, trying not to look impressed.
“It’s better than the Green Line,” Galvin said with a laugh. He turned, saw the two girls sitting in the club chairs up front. “Hey, move it, those are the grown-ups’ seats!”
“Can this thing go to Aspen without refueling?”
“It can fly to Europe without refueling.”
“This is awesome,” Abby said, a big smile on her face. She didn’t bother pretending to appear nonchalant. “Do we have to turn off our cell phones and stuff?”
“Yeah, right,” Galvin replied. “What a crock, huh?” With a smile, he called to Danny, “The only hitch is, they won’t let me smoke my cigars in here.”
“Wanna watch a movie?” Jenna asked.
“Don’t you girls have homework?” Celina said.
“They’re not allowed to assign homework on a three-day weekend,” Jenna answered.
“What about your Prejudice paper?”
“It’s Pride and Prejudice, Mom, and it’s not due till Tuesday.”
“I want you to work on your paper for at least one hour,” Celina said. She waggled an index finger. “After that, you can watch a movie.” She turned to Lucy. “These girls, they can’t be without a screen in front of them or they go crazy with boredom.”
“Speaking of screens,” Galvin said, “we’ve got Wi-Fi on board and a coffee machine in the galley kitchen.” He pointed aft.
“I’m good,” Danny said. “Sorry your sons can’t join us.”
“Yeah, well, Brendan has exams, and Ryan and his girlfriend are doing… whatever they do.”
“Thomas,” Celina said warningly.
“They’re probably screwing,” said Jenna.
“Hey!” Celina said. “I don’t want to hear these word out of your mouth!”
“Sorry,” Jenna said quickly.
“All right,” Galvin announced. “Let’s all get seat-belted and get this show on the road.” He and Danny sat in the club chairs next to each other in the front of the cabin, and Celina and Lucy took the other pair. Lucy took a book out of her handbag-a new biography of Cleopatra-and set it in her lap. The pilot gave a safety briefing over the PA system, and a few minutes later the plane took off.
The chairs were white leather and far more comfortable than any airplane seat he’d ever sat in. Hell, maybe more comfortable than any chair he’d ever sat in, period. Galvin was working on a laptop on a pull-down table. Danny had set up his laptop on the table in front of him, too, but he was far too tense even to think about working.
All he could think about was the DEA. How much of their threats was bluster, and how much was for real? He had no way of knowing. He had no one to talk to about it.
A low hum of anxiety had taken hold of him. It knotted his stomach. He felt like he’d drunk ten cups of strong coffee.
He wanted to stop cooperating with the DEA but didn’t know how he possibly could. You walk away now, you’re committing suicide, Yeager had said. He’d be painting a target on his chest. Once the word got out that he’d been working with the DEA against the cartel, he wouldn’t be alive much longer.
Why? Because if he walked away, they’d move to indict him, and that indictment would detail his cooperation with the DEA against Thomas Galvin. And the cartels would learn the details from the indictment.
Or so the DEA warned him.
But maybe that threat was hollow. Maybe.
Thanks to a few hours on Google late the night before, Danny had his doubts.
For one thing, a federal indictment could be sealed. The details didn’t have to leak out.
Anyway, the DEA wasn’t going to move against him until they’d nailed down their case against Galvin. He’d read through all sorts of stories on federal prosecutions until he had a good idea of how the government tended to move in big drug cases.
They wanted the big kahuna, not the big kahuna’s insignificant little buddy. They weren’t going to screw up their case by tipping off Galvin and the cartel. That would be just plain stupid.
And then there was the fact that he was here, sitting on Tom Galvin’s private plane. If Galvin was really working for the Sinaloa cartel, and if Galvin had any reason to believe Danny was a DEA informant… well, Danny and Galvin’s wife and daughter wouldn’t be here. Simple as that.
At least, if Danny’s reasoning was correct, anyway.
He wondered whether he should meet again with Jay Poskanzer, and try to figure a way out. Or some other lawyer. Get a second opinion.
He looked up and noticed Galvin watching him. He felt a wriggle of fear in his gut.
“Not bad,” he said, his hands outspread, indicating the airplane they were sitting in. “Mind if I ask, do you own this?”
“Nah, charter. Told you, they won’t let me smoke my stogies in here. Owning is a huge pain in the butt. You gotta have full-time pilots on payroll, lease a hangar, all that crap. I don’t really fly often enough to justify it.”
Danny nodded. Lucy and Celina were talking animatedly. They seemed to have bonded right away.
“Plus, whenever we fly to Aspen, I always insist on the most experienced pilot they have,” Galvin said.
“Why’s that?”
“Aspen’s a scary place to fly in and out of. It’s in the middle of a mountain range, the runway’s only five thousand feet long, there’s just not much room for error. If you miscalculate, you could slam into a mountain.”
“I see,” Danny said. Air disasters were not his favorite topic while flying.
“When the ceiling’s less than a thousand feet, the pilot can’t see the runway. You’re flying four hundred miles an hour, and-”
“Got it,” he said curtly.
In a lower voice, Galvin said, “Your girlfriend’s great. Really cool.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“They look like they’re getting along.” An hour into the flight and Lucy and Celina hadn’t stopped talking. “How does she do with Abby? That’s got to be a tough gig.”
“Well, actually. Better than me.” Danny was surprised at Galvin’s question. Most guys wouldn’t notice something like that, let alone remark on it.
“Your wife-she passed, right?”
“Last year. She was my ex-wife by then.”
“Breast cancer?”
Danny was certain he hadn’t given any details of Sarah’s death. Maybe Galvin had heard from Abby. Danny rarely talked about Sarah’s cancer or the terrible days before and after her death. He’d never have expected Galvin to ask about something so personal.