Chapter 10 - The Warden's Secret
Leah drove straight to the prison.
She did not call ahead.
Mitchell met her in a private conference room.
She placed the photograph on the table.
"Explain."
He looked at it.
His face changed.
"Where did you get this?"
"Raymond Price."
Mitchell slowly sat down.
The photograph was seventeen years old.
Mitchell wore a lieutenant's uniform.
Henry Wallace stood beside him at a prison charity event.
"That's your connection?" Mitchell asked.
"It's a question."
"Then ask it."
"How well do you know Wallace?"
"I don't."
"Try again."
Mitchell's jaw tightened.
"I knew him."
"How well?"
"He chaired the state corrections oversight committee."
"And?"
"He helped approve construction contracts."
Leah leaned closer.
"Contracts that Nathan later discovered were tied to shell companies."
Mitchell looked at the photograph again.
"I didn't know that then."
"Did Wallace ever do anything for you?"
Mitchell went quiet.
That was answer enough.
"What?"
"My wife had cancer."
Leah waited.
"Seventeen years ago," Mitchell said. "Insurance refused an experimental treatment. Wallace connected us with a foundation."
"How much?"
"Nearly eighty thousand dollars."
"Did you repay it?"
"It wasn't a loan."
Leah's eyes hardened.
"Was it a favor?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
Mitchell slammed his palm on the table.
"My wife died anyway."
Silence followed.
His anger disappeared as quickly as it came.
"I never worked for Wallace."
"Then why did Raymond keep your photograph?"
"I don't know."
Leah studied him.
"Did Wallace contact you about Elena?"
Mitchell didn't answer.
"Robert."
He looked at her.
"Yesterday morning."
Her stomach dropped.
"What did he want?"
"He told me Elena's execution needed to proceed without disruptions."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I get calls from political people every execution day."
"Did he mention Chloe?"
"No."
"The phone?"
"No."
"Rusk did."
"I told you that."
Leah stood.
"You should have told me about Wallace."
"You're right."
"That's not good enough."
"No."
Mitchell looked exhausted.
"But I signed Chloe's visit authorization."
Leah stopped.
"If I were trying to protect Wallace, Elena would never have seen that child."
True.
Mitchell leaned forward.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Wallace visited the prison three months ago."
"Why?"
"Officially? Inspection."
"Unofficially?"
"He asked about Elena."
Leah's pulse quickened.
"What exactly?"
"Her mental state. Whether she'd accepted her sentence."
"Anything else?"
"He asked who was scheduled to supervise her execution."
Leah stared at him.
"You?"
Mitchell nodded.
A knock came at the door.
Officer Bell entered carrying a sealed envelope.
"This was delivered for you."
Mitchell frowned.
"No return address."
Leah said, "Don't touch it."
Too late.
Mitchell had already opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Chloe leaving the prison after visiting Elena.
A red circle had been drawn around her face.
On the back, four words:
THE CHILD STAYS QUIET.
Mitchell's face hardened.
May you like
Leah reached for her phone.
Then the prison lights went out.
