Justice (7 page)

“
What about Officer Moore?
”
Conover asks.

It’s as if a switch is flicked inside our ally. One moment he’s slumped in the chair, and the next he’s all but reaching across the table at Conover, face contorted with rage. The young man instinctively leans back.
“
You leave Stu Moore the fuck out of this! You leave his wife alone, you leave his kids alone. Do you hear me?
”

Conover’s speechless, but I maintain my calm. It takes a lot to make me flinch. Conover will get the same tolerance after a few years. My gut is shouting at me, though.
“
Officer Lopez, please calm down. We didn’t mean to offend you.
”

“
Stu Moore was my best friend,
”
Lopez snarls.
“
I’ve known him for ten years. I got him his job here. I’m godfather to his youngest. Don’t you
dare
do anything to insult his memory. He died a hero, and I won’t let anyone say otherwise.
”

“
Yes,
”
I say.
“
He did. I’m sorry if we offended you.
”
I stand up, extending my hand to the still steaming man.
“
Thank you again for meeting with us. If you could send Officer Leon here when you get back to the block, I’d appreciate it.
”
Lopez forcefully shakes my hand, glares at Conover, and stalks out. With a sigh I sit back down.
“
I thought he was about to punch you.
”

“
Me too,
”
a still shaken Conover says.
“
What was that about?
”

“
Could be grief, could be something else. My guess is a little of both. Not that he’d ever tell us. At least not today.
”
I shut the Lopez file, and pull out the file on C.O. Garrett Leon.
“
So, what have we learned so far Officer Conover?
”

Ever the eager student, Conover’s face lights up at the chance to show his stuff.
“
Not much. Just background about the guards, right?
”

I cluck my tongue.
“
You disappoint me, Officer Conover.
”

His face falls.
“
Why?
”

“
There’s an old saying my Uncle Ray told me. It’s KISS: keep it simple, shithead. We just narrowed the suspect pool down to six.
”

He considers this.
“
It had to be one of the guards. There’s no one else.
”

“
Correct. But why?
”

He thinks for a moment.
“
Because…the more people who know, the more chance of one of them screwing up.
”

“
We’ll make a detective out of you yet,
”
I say with a proud smile.
“
Three cardinal rules in the detective racket: easiest solution is usually right, follow the money, and the spouse always did it.
”
I pull out my pad to write everything down.
“
We need to look at this in the most logical way, chronologically. He convinces one of the guards to start sending out his letters, either through charm or more likely through cold hard cash. We never found all of his bank accounts, so he’s probably got millions stashed away God knows where. So Ryder bribes him to not only act as go-between, but to switch out his medicine. The same guard probably messed with the security system too.
”

“
So we’re not ruling out Moore or Dodd?
”

“
No, if anything they just became our prime targets. Maybe Ryder faked a seizure, or maybe he was simply let out and messed with the security system himself.
”

“
But why kill Moore if he was helping him?
”

“
Loose end.
”

An obese man with a huge belly and balding red hair steps in dressed in a guard uniform. Officer Leon, I presume. He sits without a word, and I begin questioning with Conover occasionally interjecting. He has nothing new to add.

“
You just had a baby, right?
”
I ask.

“
Yeah. Our forth,
”
Leon answers.

“
Wow. Four. That must be hard on a guard’s salary.
”

“
That’s why I’m in Hardcore. Better pay.
”

“
Still,
”
Conover adds.

“
My wife’s family helps when they can.
”

By now he should be acting defensive, or at least glaring at us, but he’s not. He’s too calm, which either means he knows he’s caught or is too dumb to know what we’re hinting at. From the rest of the interview, I glean it’s the latter. Did Ryder take advantage of that? Would he trust his escape to this man? The famous gut says no.

“
Did James Ryder pay you to help him escape?
”
Conover asks.

The guard’s face twists into a look of disgust.
“
No, sir. That guy scares me. I didn’t even like looking in his cell. He has
acid
for blood or something.
”

I believe him. We’ll double check, but he’s not our accomplice.
“
Did any of the other guards like him?
”

“
I don’t think so,
”
the giant answers.

The door swings open, and the Warden pokes his made up face in. Make-up on men is unnatural somehow.
“
I need you for the press conference,
”
he says.

Great.
“
On my way.
”

The warden glances at the guard, lips pursed in annoyance for whatever reason, before walking out again. I wonder if the guy ever smiles. Probably only when he’s ripping into people. I’ve encountered his type way too many times not to know the signs. If he did ever smile, he won’t be doing it again for quite awhile.

“
Officer Leon, thank you for your time. If we have any follow-up questions, we’ll contact you,
”
I say with a smile.

“
How long until you think you’ll find him? Will he come back here if you do?
”
he asks, noticeably scared.

“
I have no idea.
”

“
Oh. I hope he doesn’t. Can I go now?
”

“
Sure,
”
Conover says.

Leon leaves without another word, off to guard the rest of the freaks. I don’t care how much it pays, if I had four kids there’s no way in hell I’d even come within a mile of this place. Hope after all this Office Leon comes to the same conclusion.

“
He didn’t do it,
”
Conover says.

I stand, and toss on my suit jacket.
“
Nope. But we’ll treat him as a suspect until we have proof otherwise.
”
I pull down my vest.
“
How do I look?
”

He eyes me up and down.
“
Good. Any idea what they want you to say?
”

“
The usual. ‘No comment’ or ‘We can’t release that information.’ While I’m gone, I want you to keep culling through the fan letters. I’m sure it’s a dead end, but better safe than sorry. This shouldn’t take that long.
”

Warden Myers waits at the end of the hall, arms folded. Not a man who likes to be kept waiting, even for a minute. Up close I can see the pancake make-up covering his entire face with a hint of blush on the cheeks. I probably should have done some touch–up, but it’s too late now. Don’t want to keep my adoring audience waiting.

“
This your first press conference?
”
I ask as we walk toward the front of the prison along with his secretary and another guard.

“
Yes,
”
he replies gruffly.

“
Do you have a prepared statement?
”

“
Of course,
”
he snaps.
“
I’ll do the talking. You’re just there to back me up.
”
He already has flop sweat and shaking hands. I’d be nervous too if I were him. Right now I’m walking beside a scapegoat about to be slaughtered on national television, and he knows it.

“
It’s your show,
”
I say.

He ignores me the rest of the walk. Instead he rehearses his statement. Not that it matters what he’s going to say. He’s already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. The jackals are amassed in the parking lot, twelve deep with their vans and equipment scattered around. It’s not just the locals either. No, our blunder will be broadcast worldwide through BNN and LBC, among others. Now I really wish I’d put on make-up.

The sacrificial altar, or podium with several microphones attached, waits for us just outside the glass doors. Two guards standing watch by the door nod at us for solidarity. We nod back. The warden takes a deep breath, and then his trembling hand opens the door. He’s probably a good poker player. His face remains expressionless as he walks up to the microphones with me and the guard a few inches behind him.

“
I have prepared a brief statement, and then I will take questions,
”
he begins, voice neutral.
“
I’d like to begin by giving my heartfelt condolences to the families of the guards who were injured or killed in last night’s attack. Officers Moore, Dodd, and Dr. John Qwan were trusted and respected members of our community. Moore had several commendations for valor, and Dr. Qwan served in his position for over ten years. What happened to them is a tragedy, and all our thoughts and prayers of our staff are with their loved ones.

“
There is no excuse for what happened last night. We failed to do our jobs, even though every safeguard was in place and followed to the letter. What happened was a fluke, and we are already taking measures to make sure it does not happen ever again. The prison is cooperating fully with the investigation into this event. Thank you.
”

Immediately, a cacophony of voices starts. I can barely understand a word until the warden points to someone. The reporter shouts,
“
Have the other prisoners been moved from the obviously unsecure area?
”

First blood drawn.
“
I cannot comment on the location of inmates due to security reasons. But let me stress, this was an isolated incident. There hasn’t been an escape in three years, and there will be none from now on.
”

The reporters clamor until Myers chooses again.
“
How do you respond to Grace Pickering’s demand for not only your job, but those of the mayor and commissioner?
”

“
As of this time, I have no plans to resign. This was an
isolated incident
, one that will not be repeated as long as I have my post.
”

“
But
someone
is to blame,
”
another reporter shouts.
“
Your so-called safeguards failed in this case. Who’s to say they won’t again?
”

The top of Myers’ head turns red, and he grips the podium so hard it creaks. He’s lasted longer than I thought he would. It’s sound bite time.
“
Look, we have the worst offenders in here. The scum of society. The freaks of nature. We do what we can to keep them in here, but we’re bound by law and nature. They aren’t. What the hell are we supposed to do when we have to mollycoddle them or be sued by you liberals if we don’t?
”

“
And what do you propose, Warden?
”
someone shouts.

There’s no way in hell I’m letting him answer that. I am, after all, his back-up. You don’t stand by and let someone shoot themselves in the head. The foot maybe. I step up to the podium beside the Warden.
“
I’m Det. Joanna Fallon with the Galilee Falls Police Department. I’m sure you have questions regarding this investigation.
I’d
be happy to answer them.
”

A few faces fall, but my old pal Veronica Lilley with
The Galilee Standard
smirks. She’s actually my first cousin, though we both like to keep that under wraps. I feed her information, and she does the same for me. Like me, she’s the tiniest in the crowd, with the same color eyes and skin, but tawny straight hair. Her hand shoots up along with the others but I choose her, as she knew I would.

“
Do you have any leads on how Alkaline managed to get out of his cell? Are the guards suspects?
”

“
We are investigating every possible avenue,
”
I respond with the stock answer.

“
And how do you respond to the allegation that Alkaline had an accomplice outside the prison? Any leads to who that is, if it’s true?
”
V asks.

“
It appears as if someone picked up Ryder outside the prison, yes. We are asking anyone with information regarding James Ryder to contact our tip line. Next question.
”

I field a few more routine questions about the investigation, our suspects, how he escaped, with the usual deflections and vague answers. We might as well be reading from a script. Of course it never remains that easy for long.

“
The last time, Alkaline was caught by Justice. Is he involved in this investigation? Perhaps leading it?
”
the woman from BNN asks.

“
GFPD is in charge of this investigation, with help from the Federal Marshal Service, and will remain so. As of right now, as far as I know, there are no plans to officially involve a masked vigilante in the manhunt.
”