Page 6 of Kevin's Destiny

“When Boggs called me into his office earlier, I was just getting ready to head to HR. No one knows this, but I was going to see what my pension would be, because I’m retiring. Once I learned of my options, I was going to go to Boggs. I’ve been slowly cleaning out my house, packing what I want to take with me, then I’m not only leaving Seattle, but I’m leaving Washington state. I have a job lined up.”

“I’m not going to ask you where, not that I don’t want to know, but I don’t want anything to slip while we do the interviews. We don’t know why she’s requesting you, and if it’s for what we think, then no one needs to know where you’re going. It’s better to protect yourself.”

“Thank you for that.” Kevin nodded and exited the vehicle. When they arrived at the gate, they were led to an area where Kevin had to relinquish his gun, but he was allowed to keep his badge. Instead of keeping it on his belt like always, he clippedit onto his chest. He didn’t want anyone to mistake him for an inmate. Not that anyone would, because this prison held only female inmates.

They were met in the hall by a woman who looked relieved to see them.

“Is one of you Kevin Lassiter?” she asked before introducing herself. “Sorry, I’m a little rattled. I’m Warden Susan Finch. It’s been an exciting few hours.”

“I can only imagine,” Kevin said as he held out his hand. “I’m Kevin Lassiter.”

“Thank god. I know you’re divorced, but your wife refuses to talk to anyone but you. To keep her safe from herself, and the other prisoners, I had her moved to solitary confinement. I’ll call to have her brought up. I’ll take you to the other detectives as we wait for her arrival.” They waited for her to use her radio to give the instruction, and in less than two minutes they were walking the halls with an armed guard behind them. Not just the gun they carried on their side, but there was also a long gun in their hands.

“Why the extra firepower?” Kevin asked and he nodded his head toward the guard.

They stopped, and the next words out of Warden Finch’s mouth had both Brooks and Kevin shocked.

Warden Finch sighed heavily several times, turned in a circle, then turned to look directly at Kevin. “I know I shouldn’t say this, but your wife did all of us a favor by killing Abby Strokes.”

“Ex-wife,” Kevin answered automatically, then shook his head. “Why do you say that?”

“Abby Strokes was a terror in here. I’ll give you a copy of her record, but she came to us at the age of twenty, and she’s been here for ten years. She was at the top of the food chain. There have been several other inmates that she’s put in the infirmary because they refused to take direction from her. They didn’tconform to her bullying. I’ll have to look it up for the exact numbers, so don’t quote me on this, but I believe she’s put Karen in the infirmary at least three times in the last year and a half.”

“Jesus,” Kevin said as he recalled what his wife had looked like when she was free. He couldn’t imagine her being hurt.

“Do you think she acted in self-defense?” Brooks asked.

“Not from what I saw on the video.” Finch sighed and shook her head. They continued walking, and when they went around a corner, they all stopped in their tracks when they saw Bennett and Drake standing there with someone in scrubs. Kevin looked at the floor, saw the body covered with a sheet, and walked over, squatted down, and lifted the sheet. Secretly, he thought everyone was lying to him and that it was Karen beneath the drape and not someone else. There was no way in hell that his ex-wife had the strength to kill someone. Let alone the mental capacity for such a horrendous act.

He firmed his jaw when he saw that the women was not Karen, and sighed in relief. Then his job kicked in, and he noted the marks on the face, neck, and upper chest. He looked at his co-workers and they looked at him with pity.

“Stop that shit right now,” he said as he stood. “Don’t look at me like that. She’s my ex, and you guys know it. If you can’t keep your faces clear of any emotions, then I’m going to call Boggs and get someone else in here to do their job properly. I’m not the victim, I’m not the suspect. I’m a fucking homicide Detective. Now do your jobs!”

“Yes, Sir,” they barked out, and looked up when someone wheeled a gurney around the corner. Finch, Kevin, and Brooks stepped back to let them work at getting the body in a black bag, up on the gurney, then rolled away.

“This way, gentlemen,” Finch said as she nodded to the janitors standing there waiting to clean up the mess. She paused to look at the other two detectives. “Can they clean up the mess?”

“Yes,” Drake said and stepped up beside Kevin.

“Is everyone on lockdown?” Kevin asked as they continued forward.

“Yes.” The reply was clipped. After several twists and turns, they reached a door. Finch opened it, and everyone walked in. It was a conference room with a table with two chairs on each side. The guard that was already there brought one chair around, so only one was on that side, then brought in several more. By the time he had it set up, two more guards walked in with Karen between them.

Kevin sucked in his breath when he saw her, shocked by her appearance. She didn’t look haggard, but she looked hard. He had seen the look she wore on several people that have lived in the streets for years. People that didn’t give a damn about what happened to them, but still kept going. She walked in with her head held high, and when she looked around, her eyes locked on him.

“Hello, Kevin.”

CHAPTER 3

“Karen,”Kevin said with a nod, and they all sat down. Kevin was directly across from her, with Brooks to his left, and Drake and Bennett to his right. There were four guards, one standing in each corner. “I’d ask how you were doing, but then I wouldn’t be here if you were doing okay,” Kevin stated, trying to break the ice of the room.

“True. I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, and I have the answers. Do what you need to.”

“Come again?”

“Read me my rights, or whatever.”

The men exchanged looks, and Bennett did.