DELANNOY SLAMMED HIS fist on his desk in anger. Mischa Barton should have been dead by now. An attack in the prison yard. But things had obviously changed.367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZCUUxCOmL
"Where is she now?" he asked, in French, of the two guards standing before him-----the head guard, Coralie, and her enforcer, Josette.
"Solitary, of course," Coralie answered in French.
"No, no, no!" Delannoy pounded the desk again. He raised his hands. "How do we get to her in there? Think, Coralie, think! How do we get to her in solitary and pretend that it wasn't the guards who did it? Solitary is the safest place in this prison for her!"
Coralie lowered her head.
"And we won't be sending her out to the prison yard any time soon," Delannoy added. "Someone who attacks a guard? She wouldn't see fresh air for a month. And we don't have a goddamn month! She was supposed to die today!"367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHY7fcGfKfD
Delannoy swept a pile of papers off his desk onto the floor. He took a couple of breaths and tried to calm himself. A temper tantrum would only make things worse.
He looked at Josette, who was wearing a large piece of gauze on her face, fastened with long pieces of medical tape. She looked horrible, of course, but more than anything she was full of rage. She'd received more than a dozen stitches on her face. Josette had been, objectively speaking, a moderately attractive woman----albeit hard and nasty----but she wouldn't be attractive any longer. The scar would fade with time, but it would be permanent.
"The infirmary," said Josette.
Delannoy drew two more breaths and put his brain in gear. "The infirmary...."
"She suffered some injuries today," said Coralie.
"She also said she wanted to die," Josette said, a smile creeping over her ruined face. "More than one hundred people heard her say that today."
Delannoy nodded. "So we make it a suicide." he frowned. They'd used that ruse with Rihanna. A second suicide by the Broken Dolls, within the space of three weeks? It wasn't ideal. But he was fresh out of options.
Coralie said, "We'll put her in the secured room. We'll make sure there's a bed strap or something in that room. We'll hang her."
Delannoy sank into his chair. "You're on until.....when?"
"My shift ends at 2:00 a.m.," Josette answered.
"Mine, too," said Coralie.
"Wait," Delannoy snapped his fingers and shot forward. "The security cameras."367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjFBgn8uK3
The room went silent for a time. Everyone stewed on that.367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy34ODnKFwy
"We have paperwork going back months on those lousy cameras," said Coralie.367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNLS7kZls0
"They went out last week," Josette recalled. "Remember?"367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡle99GnpsfJ
"Right. That's right," Coralie agreed.367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXpfqL4zqI
Delannoy groaned. They were right. There was a history with those cameras in the infirmary. Budget cuts had prevented the purchase of new ones, so they had just made temporary repairs to the existing ones. No, it wasn't ideal. But it could sell. Given Mischa's suddenly erratic behavior----her suicidal comments today and her uncharacteristic outburst in H wing----it would pass the smell test.367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAN2bq29zoq
"Then the cameras have to go out for a while," Delannoy said. "We can't have them going out just between 1:45 and 2:00 a.m., though. That would be too big a coincidence. You understand?"367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfz4mdq4dwk
Both guards nodded.367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiusPOmNfx
"All right, then." Delannoy slapped his hands down on the table and let out a breath. "We keep this between us, as usual," said Delannoy. He pointed at each of them. "Nobody else is involved. Especially this time. Are we clear? Nobody else."367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKqsIB4wml
"I'll assign myself to G station two tonight," said Coralie, referring to the guard booth outside the infirmary. "I'll clear out solitary so that booth stays empty, too. I won't assign anyone to G station three, either," she added, referring to the guard booth at the door leading downstairs to the parking garage. "It will just be me tonight on G wing."367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWb9KBYObi
"Fine. You call my private cell when it's over. And ladies?" Delannoy called to them as they walked toward the door. "Make damn sure it's over tonight."367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctk7yyBzgh
