Chapter 4 - THE SPY IN THE WAITING ROOM
Mitchell didn't run. Running caused panic, and panic in a maximum-security prison led to riots.
He walked with long, purposeful strides back to the main visitor holding area. The clock read 7:15 a.m.
When he entered the room, Brenda Hayes was zipping up Chloe’s coat, her hand resting a little too tightly on the back of the child's neck.
“We’ll be leaving now, Warden,” Brenda said, her voice tight with forced professional courtesy. “This has been traumatizing enough for her.”
“Nobody leaves,” Mitchell said, his voice echoing in the empty holding area.
He signaled to the two armed guards at the exit. They stepped together, blocking the heavy glass doors.
Brenda’s eyes widened. She pulled Chloe closer to her side. “Excuse me? You have no right to detain a state social worker.”
“I have every right to secure my facility, Ms. Russo,” Mitchell said softly, using her maiden name deliberately.
Brenda flinched. The color completely drained from her face.
Mitchell stepped closer, looking down at the woman. As she raised her hand defensively, the sleeve of her cardigan slipped back. Resting on her wrist was a delicate, intricate silver charm bracelet.
Mitchell recognized it instantly. He had reviewed the crime scene photos a hundred times. That exact bracelet was listed in the evidence file as an item Sarah Cole was wearing on the night of her murder. It had mysteriously vanished from the evidence locker four years ago.
“You’re wearing a dead woman’s jewelry,” Mitchell stated, his eyes locking onto the silver charms. “Did your brother give that to you after he wiped the blood off?”
Brenda stared at the bracelet, then up at Mitchell. Her lower lip trembled violently.
She didn't reach for her phone. She didn't scream for a lawyer.
Instead, she burst into agonizing, breathless tears.
“He didn't give it to me,” Brenda sobbed, dropping to her knees on the linoleum floor, completely releasing Chloe’s hand. “Sarah gave it to me.”
Mitchell frowned, the puzzle shifting again. “Sarah gave it to you?”
“Sarah and I were friends,” Brenda wept, burying her face in her hands. “She knew my brother was dirty. She knew Arthur was extorting money from the wealthy families in the neighborhood. She came to me for help. She gave me her bracelet as a promise that we would expose him together.”
The reversal shattered everything Mitchell thought he knew about the woman crying on the floor. Brenda wasn't a spy for her brother. She was a hostage to her own terror.
“Why didn't you go to the police?” Mitchell demanded.
“Because Arthur is the police!” Brenda cried out. “When he found out Sarah was digging into his accounts, he killed her. He framed Gavin. And he told me if I ever said a word, he would make sure little Chloe had a terrible 'accident' in the foster system. I became a social worker just to get custody of her! I’ve been protecting her from my own brother for five years!”
Chloe stood quietly, watching the woman who had raised her break down on the floor. She reached into her pocket again.
“Auntie Brenda,” Chloe said softly. “You said I could give the shiny key to the big man today.”
Brenda looked up, her face streaked with mascara. She nodded weakly.
May you like
Chloe walked over to Warden Mitchell and held out her small hand. Resting in her palm was a rusted, heavy brass locker key.
“It’s to a storage locker at the Greyhound terminal downtown,” Brenda whispered, wiping her eyes. “Sarah hid the red winter coat there the day she died. It has the physical ledger sewn into the lining. It proves everything. But Arthur is already on his way here to make sure Gavin dies. If he sees me giving this to you, he’ll kill us all.”
