Julia shook her head, unable to speak. She could feel a soul crying from its very depths, being yanked from this life and resisting its rupture, too young to pass. She looked over to see Paul standing behind the ambulance, his anguished expression illuminated by the bright light from inside.
The EMT closed the doors, and Paul turned away in mute shock and walked stiffly toward them.
“Paul?” Bennie straightened, shaking her head. “Is it Courtney—”
“No, it’s Alex,” Paul answered hoarsely. “He’s dead.”
42
The next hour was pandemonium as Julia, Paul, and Bennie tried to locate Courtney and find out how Alex was killed. Julia and Paul asked cops and C.O.s while Bennie worked the phones. Nobody had any information or was willing to answer. Julia looked for Glushenko among the Buckley police, but didn’t see him, which made her more suspicious. Every cop in three surrounding towns was here, and Glushenko was conspicuous by his absence.
Bennie hung up the phone, hurrying over. “Okay, I have news from the assistant warden—”
“Is Courtney okay?” Paul asked, anxious.
Julia wiped her eyes. “Please say yes.”
“Yes.” Bennie smiled, her relief plain.
“Thank God!” Paul’s eyes glistened. “What happened?”
“Where was she?” Julia joined in. “How was Alex killed?”
Bennie raised a hand. “This is preliminary info, and the assistant warden won’t tell me much. He said that Courtney had a stomachproblem, right before the arraignment. She was in pain and throwing up.”
Julia knew what it was. “She has IBS, but she hasn’t had a flare-up in years.”
“Like six years,” Paul added. “Then what happened?”
Bennie put up her hand again. “She was taken to the infirmary, but the nurse wasn’t in at night. They’re way understaffed. Typically, a prison doctor does med checks and routine care for more than one prison. Anyway, they called around for the doctor, which involved more waiting in the infirmary.”
Julia tried to put it together. “So who was stabbed?”
“The woman we saw in the ambulance was Courtney’s cellmate, whose name they won’t tell me. Next-of-kin hasn’t been notified. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.”
Julia gasped. “Oh no, how horrible.”
Paul looked grim. “Did the assistant warden say how that happened?”
“No, and he won’t, not to me. They’re going to have an investigation, and there’ll be jobs on the line.” Bennie shook her head. “But I can tell you the way I think it happens. A crooked C.O. leaves the cell door open, then another inmate slips inside with a shank. It takes only one dirty C.O. They don’t make much money.”
Paul asked, “Could a C.O. have stabbed her?”
Bennie nodded. “I suppose that’s possible, too. I’m just glad Courtney wasn’t there.”
“I think she was the intended victim,” Julia blurted out. “I think it was mistaken identity, and they meant to kill Courtney.”
Bennie blinked. “Is your vision telling you that?”
“No, my gut,” Julia answered firmly. “What are the odds? The cellmate was the only one in the cell because Courtney had been taken to the infirmary, and let’s say whoever came to kill her didn’t know that. He, or she, saw that the cellmate was biracial and assumed she was Courtney.” Julia paused. “It’s more likely the killer was a male inmate because a female inmate might have seen Courtney before. A male inmate might not have. She’s only been here a few hours.” Julia met Bennie’s eye. “I bet the thought occurred to you.”
“It occurred tome,” Paul interjected.
Bennie nodded. “It did occur to me, but I’ll play devil’s advocate. They already had Courtney framed. Why kill her?”
“They think she knows something. My guess is they think she knows what that object Kay found is and they’re worried she’s going to tell somebody.”
“But you and Courtney told Glushenko you didn’t know what it was, didn’t you?”