Page 71 of Wired Justice

Chapter Forty-Four

Wong and Freitanended the search and summoned Jake to the SUV. “What’s the emergency? I wasn’t quite done with Chernobiac’s bathroom. Not that I was having any luck finding anything incriminating in there.”

“Your partner called from the station. She confirmed part of the theory that we’ve been talking about. We need to go to the county jail ASAP and interview Rayme and Webb.”

“Excellent.” Jake rubbed his hands together. “What’s the connection?”

“She found evidence of blackmail payments on Chernobiac’s hard drive,” Freitan said. “But there’s still no clear connection to Webb and Rayme; she just thought we should isolate and question them in case they are involved.”

Jake grunted affirmatively as he settled in the back seat and texted Sophie. “So you got intel on Webb and Rayme?”

“I’m busy, Jake.”

At least she was replying. “Keep me in the loop, partner.” Jake didn’t like how even small exclusions felt big to him. So far, he wasn’t doing great at detachment.

“Sorry. I’m focusing on trying to find a connection to Rayme and Webb, and sifting for whoever took the cash and drives a black SUV. No luck so far.”

“Ok. I’m psyched to go to the interview. Thought Freitan & Wong would try to ditch me.”

“They did. I pressured them that we only have a couple days of pay left and we have to make them count.”

“Well, thanks for that. See you when we get back. We can figure out how to wrap things up from there.”The thought of leaving the island and saying goodbye to Sophie curdled Jake’s innards into a restless ball.

“Yes,”was Sophie’s terse reply.

“Sophie thinks whoever killed Chernobiac may also want to silence Rayme and Webb,” Jake said aloud.

“That’s why we’ve called ahead and asked for those two to be moved to solitary, though we still have no evidence the cases are connected,” Freitan replied.

Hawaii County Correctional Center was a lumpish gray cube surrounded by a heavy chain link fence, topped with coils of razor wire. Palm trees at the four corners of the rectangular area attempted a tropical feel that fell short.

Jake and the detectives got out of the SUV in the parking area marked Employees, and the two showed their badges and Jake his ID at the entry point. “Here to see prisoners Holly Rayme and Jim Webb,” Freitan said.

The guard at the booth looked up sharply. “Step inside the sally port, please.” The three did so, and the door immediately locked with a heavy clang.

Guards entered and frisked them roughly. Freitan scowled. “Hey! What the hell?”

The corrections officers said nothing, and Jake kept his mouth shut too. Whatever was going on was higher than his pay grade. Once they had all been cleared, the COs left them in the sally port. One of them addressed Freitan over his shoulder. “We are running your prints and IDs.”

Freitan put her hands on her hips, pacing the tiny area. “Something’s gone down involving our perps. This is not SOP, things are usually pretty casual around here.”

Watching Freitan do that relieved Jake of his need to do the same. Moments later the inner door opened, and admitted them to a hallway. They were met by the warden himself, a slender man with a transparent tonsure of hair and a deep, leathery tan. “Warden Scott Biles. Were you the ones to call in the warning about Webb and Rayme?” Biles asked.

“Yes, we were. We’re here to interview them about our case,” Wong said. “A witness they may be connected to was almost killed, so we thought to be proactive and have them isolated.”

“Ah. Well, there’s been an unfortunate incident. You can speak to Holly Rayme in the infirmary.”

“And Jim Webb?” Freitan still had her hands on her hips.

“Webb is dead. Killed in an altercation on the yard this afternoon. We are following increased security protocol and conducting a full internal investigation.”

Jake tightened his jaw to keep from showing any expression. Freitan swore, and Wong shook his head. “We are still seeking a solid connection between this couple and the witness who died. I guess there must be one.”

Jake followed the two detectives as the warden led them through a series of badly lit corridors smelling of Lysol. They eventually reached the infirmary area.

They observed Holly Rayme from one side of a glass window threaded with a grid of wire. She appeared unconscious, her thin, sallow face swollen and empurpled. Her hands were bandaged, lying quiet on the crisp white sheet.

“She was stabbed with a crude implement and beaten. We had sent a corrections officer to take her to solitary, but he didn’t get there in time,” Warden Biles said.

---