Chapter 15 - A Woman Who Refused to Be Quiet
Gloria did not resist when the officers came. She lifted her hands so everyone could see them. "I want my attorney. And I want someone from outside this prison to hear what I saw."
Her words traveled the tier faster than a threat.
A dozen women began pounding their cell doors. Some called Gloria's name. Others called the names of friends who had left in vans and never come back. Bell demanded silence, but the noise kept climbing.
I knew a riot would give him the excuse he wanted. "Stop hitting the doors!" I shouted. "Write down what you saw. Give dates. Ask for a witness interview."
A few women stopped. Then more did. Someone slid a pencil and paper beneath her cell door to the woman next to her.
Brooks and Harris placed Gloria in an interview room instead of the transport wing. Harris informed the outside investigators that the administration had requested another unexplained medical move.
By nightfall Rae had an update. The state had suspended Brightwater's ability to receive prisoners pending review, and police were seeking judicial permission to search the West Industrial site. The contractor's attorney denied everything.
I should have felt relief. Instead I remembered Leah's photograph and the warning on its back. If Varrick realized the address was exposed, he could move everybody before the police arrived.
Morgane sat on the edge of her bunk across the aisle. "He's got other buildings," she said. "Fitch used to say you never load every truck from the same dock."
"Then the investigators need the routes."
"The routes aren't in the contracts. They're in a handwritten dispatch notebook."
"Where?"
May you like
She stared toward the administration wing. "Bell keeps it in his office safe."
Just then the lights went out. Emergency lamps blinked red above the doors. Somewhere beyond the wall, an engine started in the service yard.
