Jail Cell Love Affair - 7. Formal Meetings With the Warden

Since it wasn't Dennison on the block that night, the prisoners figured something happened. They weren't locked in their cells yet, so Mo took Fred aside.

"Denny isn't here. While it's possible he called in sick, we need to get in sync in case Winters canned him or something. He may have let the Warden know who visited whom to try to get out of it somehow."

"What do you suggest?"

"As long as we both stick with 'it wasn't me,' we should be okay."

"I'm guessing you won't crack, but if he pushes me hard enough..."

"Yeah, okay. He probably will haul you in there first. On your way back past my cell, a thumb up means you held your ground, thumb down, you couldn't."

"What if he separates us first?"

"You're good figuring out the options, ain't ya?"

"Yeah, well I was a real estate attorney before. I had to find ways to tell people the options they had, even when they had none."

"Okay, what do you suggest?"

"It's got to be subtle. I can't leave a note on his desk or anything."

Fred gave it some thought and came up with an idea.

"He's got a chair across his desk, I'd guess?"

"Yeah, two."

"Okay, if I held my own, the two chairs will both face the same way. If I crack, one will be crooked."

"He's a bit OCD, so you can't turn it much."

"Shit, but what if he's so anal, he gets up and fixes it?"

"Okay. Leave them straight, but one a few inches further out than the other. It won't be as easy for him to notice."

"Got it, even, I did okay; uneven, I cracked."

"Cool. At least we'll tell him the same things, no matter which way it goes. If you're struggling with it, just come clean. We'll deal with the consequences."

The next morning, Warden Winters indeed called Fred into his office first, thinking he'd be easier to intimidate. Faines escorted Fred into the Warden's office. The Warden told Faines he should stay, thinking it would intimidate Fred further.

"Mr. Jamers, I have it on good authority that you've been visiting with another prisoner after lights out."

"And who spun that yarn?"

"That's not important. Things will go easier for you if you tell me the truth."

"What if the truth is I didn't do anything? I have the right to face my accuser, who was it? Another prisoner looking for brownie points?"

"You'll tell me the truth or face the consequences."

"Sorry sir. I got railroaded into this place, I may as well get it again."

"Are you insinuating I'm assuming you're guilty?"

"I'm not insinuating anything. I'm stating it plainly. I'm not admitting to something I didn't do."

"Last chance. Admit it or you'll spend some time in solitary."

"You can do that for no reason?"

"My reason is I believe you're lying to me."

"Pardon my French, but that's a shitty reason."

"I was thinking two days. We'll add insubordination to the charge. Five days. Take him away, Mr. Faines. Bring the other one after you deliver Jamers to the hole.

"Yes, sir."

Fred got up on his own, straightened out the chair, lined it up with the other, and left with the guard.

A few minutes later, Mo is in the Warden's office. Again, Faines is asked to stay.

"Your partner told all. He'll be spending five days in solitary. You tell me what happened too, and I'll only give you the same five days."

Having seen the chairs neatly placed, Mo questioned, "What do you mean, what happened?"

"When you were visiting with Jamers after lights out."

"Did he learn self-teleportation or something? Lights out means the cell doors are locked."

"He already told me you two visited each other. Give me the same details and you won't be punished too harshly."

Mo is again careful to avoid outright lying, "Okay, I've never been visited by Fred, or anyone after lights out."

"And before lights out?"

"Everybody's visiting everybody else. You should know, you made the rule."

"So, then my source was wrong?"

"If your source is Mr. Dennison, as I suspect it is with all the questions lately, then yes. He's had it in for me forever."

"Well, I believe a murderer less than I believe a guard."

"I'm not a murderer. I was convicted of manslaughter. As if you didn't know."

"It's all the same to me. Mr. Faines, give him five days as well. Make sure he and Jamers are separated by at least three walls."

"Yes, sir. Come with me, St. Louis."

Five days later

Fred and Mo are escorted back to their cells. The Warden moved Fred next to Mo and had a wireless listening device hidden just outside the front of Fred's cell. He was going to get the truth one way or another.

Dennison returned from administrative leave two days before. The Warden had no proof. Yet.

"Why would the Warden move me next to you, Mo?"

"He's got some reason. I have an idea what it might be. Say nothing here."

They felt a little freer to talk at lunch.

"The only thing I can think of is he's planted a bug."

"In one of our cells?"

"Got to be. Why else would he put us together unless he suspected something was going on?"

"So, mum's the word upstairs."

"Yeah. If I can think of something we can talk about that will fuck Denny over, I'll let you know. Look around but try not to make too much noise doing it. It would probably be somewhere close to the bars. We're not going to talk to each other from our beds, everybody would hear."

It didn't take long for Mo to figure something out. Another discussion happens at dinner. Fred told Mo he didn't find anything.

"We have to assume it's somewhere. Okay, did you tell Winters that Denny walks past your cell?"

"No, I said nobody does."

"You meant nobody but guards, if he ever asks again."

"Okay."

"When we get back to the cells, I'm going to ask you if you've ever seen Dennison walk past your cell with another guard."

"Okay. And?"

"You'll say you have and that you heard a cell door past you opened."

"Which means?"

"I'm then going to suppose that Winters was asking everybody about Denny because he blamed whatever he was doing in there with another guard, on us."

"Turn the whole thing around on him? You're sneaky."

"I don't know if the Warden will do anything about it, but it'd be a damn good reason for Denny to blame someone else. He's not going to know exactly who told the Warden he was taking other prisoners to see each other, or even exactly what the Warden was told. The late-night visits will end, unfortunately, but if Denny gets fired rather than just suspended, like he probably was while we were in solitary, maybe whomever replaces him will be willing to deal, or Laggert, since he was only afraid of Denny ratting him out."

"Maybe. Everybody knows we've been doing stuff, why don't we just do it between dinner and lights out? The guards patrol on a pretty set schedule."

"Too risky. They still randomly walk around. Plus, I'm not sure I'd like the idea of one of these guys actually seeing something. We can deny what Dennison says. We can't deny being seen."

"Shit."

"Hey, like you said, Fred, we'll be okay. Maybe something will change. We had those few times together, anyway."

Dejected, Fred looked at the floor, "Yeah, I guess."

After dinner, they had that conversation near their cells. The Warden reviewed the tape the next morning, not expecting anything much. He was pleasantly surprised at what he heard. Another locker room conversation followed the next afternoon.

"Okay, Mr. Dennison. I know exactly what was going on with the late-night visitations. I'm going to give you a choice. You resign and tell me who the other guard is, or I inform the prison board."

"Inform them of what? I haven't done anything. What other guard?"

"That's why you have a choice. If I could prove that you were using the cells as a free motel for your own sexual gratification, you'd be a resident of one of those cells."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been using an empty cell for your own sexual purposes and blaming what I was told on two prisoners."

"What!?!?!? I'm not a fag."

"I'll even let you resign without telling me who the other man is."

"Mr. Winters, I'm telling the truth. I'll admit I was letting St. Louis in to visit Jammers. But they're the fags. They're the ones that were fucking in a cell."

"On the slim chance you're now telling the truth, the offer still stands, because that's breaking the rules as well. Resign now, or the prison board can figure out the truth."

"You gotta be shitting me."

Puffing out his chest, "I do not take my responsibilities at this prison lightly. You've either broken the rules for a prisoner or for yourself. It's all the same to me. Last chance. Will you submit your resignation, or do I send a report out?"

"Fuck. Fine. I resign."

"I can't replace you tonight, so I'll expect to see your resignation on my desk in the morning. If anything happens to one of our prisoners under your control tonight, resignation or not, you'll be reported."

"I can't believe this. Fine. You win. I'll resign and leave the fucking faggots alone."

Another two weeks go by, very slowly for Fred and Mo. It's been better without Dennison around, but not as good as they were for that short while. They're still close, they eat together, occasionally steal a kiss, but they're unhappy. Then Fred's lawyer makes another appearance.

"Hi, Mark. What's up?"

"I've got good news and bad news. You might be getting a new trial."

"A new trial, you mean an appeal?"

"Nope. You're not going to believe this, but one of the jurors was arrested for rape. Apparently, his DNA matched the trace of DNA found in Stephane."

"It had to be Bully, the guy that lives next door."

"Yep, Bullard Williamson."

"Why wouldn't the DA just drop the charges against me?"

"To avoid a massive slop of egg on his face."

"This is fu... amazing. When is the trial?"

"That's the bad news. The DA wants to wait until after Williamson's trial is over. It starts in three months. But he's already been charged with Stephane's murder as well. If Williamson is found guilty, then him dropping the charges against you, he comes out of it smelling like a rose."

"Damn. By then I'll have been here like five months."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but at least you won't be here for five to ten years."

"Yeah, that's the silver lining, I guess."

"No more attacks, no more getting raped."

"None of that's happened."

"No sh... Really?"

"Yeah, one of the guys here has taken me under his wing. He's huge and nobody would ever cross him."

"So, only one guy is raping you."

"This is a privileged conversation, right?"

"Yeah."

"Mo didn't rape me, I did it willingly. Unfortunately, it had to stop. Long story."

"Wow. That's, um, hard to believe. Some big guy is screwing you?"

"Thanks for putting it so bluntly. No, we were making love. To each other, it's not just a one-way street."

"Um. I suppose I'm happy for you. But I guess it's good that it stopped, when you get out, you won't miss it as much."

A little too loudly, Fred realized what that meant, "Fuck!"

The guard in the visitor's room spoke up, "You get a warning Jamers, only because there's nobody else here. Next outburst like that, it goes on report."

"Sorry, Mr. Glank. It won't happen again."

Next up - "Spreading the Bad News"