Flesh and Blood by Michael Lister Page B

time.”
     
    “What about a gang bang?”
     
    “With her?”
     
    I nodded. “Any of the guys braggin’ about that?”
     
    “Not that I’ve heard so far,” he said, “but if it happened, there’ll be talk.”
     
    “Could you go back down on the compound and see what you can find out for me?”
     
    He nodded. “I’ll find out what’s bein’ said.”
     
    “The sooner the better,” I said.
     
    He nodded again and didn’t waste any time leaving the chapel.
     
    Locking my office door and turning off the light, I sat in the quiet, cool, dark room and thought about everything I had seen and heard the past several hours, allowing my mind to go where it would. I thought about the crime scene, how difficult it would have been for Melanie to get to it. I wondered where she had hidden if she had been in for as long as the Tower III officers said she had, or if they had lied about buzzing her into the rec yard that night. Were they a part of this? Had they participated or benefitted in some way? I thought about Joe and their marriage, and the transformation that had occurred in Melanie. Was he really as patient and understanding as he seemed? Did seeing her inside the prison cause him to lose it and become violent? I thought about Judy Williams and Sean. Judy was certainly bitter. Had she killed Melanie to protect her son? Had Sean brought Melanie in to have sex in a dangerous setting, caught her with inmates instead, and killed her himself?
     
    When Mr. Smith returned to the chapel, he was shaking his head.
     
    “What is it?”
     
    “Nobody sayin’ nothin’,” he said.
     
    “Not exactly what I had expected,” I said.
     
    “Me neither,” he said. “Convict do somethin’ he gonna brag about it to somebody.”
     
    “Nobody braggin’ about having sex with her?”
     
    He shook his head. “Not a word.”
     
    “And ideas?” I asked.
     
    He shrugged. “Maybe … nah, I got no ideas. Never seen nothin’ like this before.”
     
    “Maybe there just hasn’t been enough time yet,” I said. “Yard was closed all morning. Maybe enough of them don’t know enough about it to say anything.”
     
    “Maybe,” he said, “but that ain’t ever stopped ’em before.”
     
    As I was leaving the chapel, Pete was coming in. Gwen Clark had arrived and, unable to come on the compound, was waiting for me in the admin building, and I was on my way to see her.
     
    “Got the prelim results,” he said.
     
    “You mind walking up to admin with me?”
     
    He shook his head. “No problem.”
     
    He took a few steps back and waited while I locked the chapel doors.
     
    “Before I forget,” he said. “Sean Williams and Joe Wynn are on their way in. IG’s gonna interview them officially.”
     
    I nodded.
     
    “I doubt I can get you in,” he said, “but I can probably mic the room so you could hear it.”
     
    “Thanks,” I said.
     
    “Regional director’s still in Stone’s office,” he said. “Today is Stone’s last day. They haven’t said who the new warden will be, but the rumor is there’s an assistant warden at Calhoun CI that’ll get it.”
     
    I didn’t care about any of that, but I nodded, paused for a moment, then asked, “How’d she die?”
     
    “Asphyxiation caused by strangulation,” he said. “Somebody choked her to death.”
     
    I thought about it. No surprises there.
     
    We were buzzed into the holding area next to the control room, walked to the front gate, and waited.
     
    “She was pretty kinky, wasn’t she?” Pete asked. “What if she was doin’ that thing where the guy chokes her while she comes and it went too far? Could’ve been an accident, right?”
     
    I shrugged. “Maybe,” I said. “Had she had sex?”
     
    “They think right before she died, but they don’t think she was raped,” he said. “No sign of trauma. But get this. Whoever it was wore a condom, and she had been douched afterward—they found traces of latex and vinegar inside