“Is he alive?”
“Possibly,” she said carefully.“But that’s strictly confidential.”
He studied her for a moment, fingers steepled.“Confidential.”
“Yes.”
“When I last spoke to your boss, Agent Valentine, she seemed to be of the view that I couldn’t be trusted to boil a kettle.”
“Tensions were running high at the time of Cox and the man who claimed to be Father Santos escaping.Things were said which…” She took a breath, started afresh.“Governor, I can assure you that the Bureau has complete faith in you.And your staff.”
“So if I rang your boss, Deputy Director Winters, she would confirm that, would she?”
“She would.Except that, between you and me, this visit isn’t happening.”
“It isn’t?”
“It embarrasses me to say so, but we’re investigating the possibility of a leak within the Bureau.”She sat back, cringing.So many lies before lunchtime.
Day also leaned back in his chair.“A leak, you say?Interesting.So now you understand what it’s like on my side of the fence.You can’t trust everyone under your own roof.”
Kate gave him a tight smile.“I do understand that, yes.”
“I have to admit,” he went on, “it’s oddly satisfying hearing that from you.You were rather hard on us after the escape.”
“I was doing my job.”
“Me too.”
The silence between them was brief, but pointed.Then he sighed and stood.“Alright.Let’s put that behind us.I’ll make the arrangements.The interview room on the east block is free.You can have an hour.I’ll make sure the guards stay out of earshot.”
“Thank you.”She meant it.Charles Day was a decent man.Which, of course, made all her lies worse.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said, opening the door.“They’re not the easiest pair to talk to.Especially Purvis.”
“I’ve dealt with worse.”
The visiting room smelled of coffee and old wood polish.Frost laced the window bars, turning the light into a cold lattice across the floor.Kate sat at a metal table, her notebook open, her badge discreetly tucked away.
The door buzzed.Two guards entered, followed by the prisoners.
Tray Purvis came first — tall, wiry, with hair bleached to the colour of straw and a half-grown beard that gave him a look of unintentional piety.Derren Kowalski followed, shorter and heavier, his expression cautious, almost apologetic.
Both wore standard, outsized orange uniforms, but Purvis had somehow managed to roll his sleeves to the elbow and angle his collar like a man being photographed.
Kate waited until they were seated.“Thank you for agreeing to talk.”
Purvis smirked.“Didn’t have a choice, did we?”
Kowalski shot him a glance.“Don’t start, Tray.”
Purvis ignored him.“You’re the one who caught Cox, right?Before he got away again?”
“I’m one of them,” Kate said evenly.
He leaned forward, elbows on the table.“So what’s this about?You trying to find him?Or just trying to figure out why he’s smarter than you?”
Kate didn’t flinch.“I’m here because you both spoke to him before he escaped.I want to know what he said to you.”
