Page 17 of Hidden Truths

He would bet this woman had good sense and backbone, and maybe even some compassion. “Officer Rinaldo, I need to see Mara Philippi, and I need to get back to my wife before it’s too late.” He noted the gold band on her left hand. “You’re married. Surely you understand that?”

“I’m widowed.”

Max heard raised voices from behind the office door. Warden Arbuckle and Assistant Warden Korthauer, shouting about something. He looked toward the office, half-expecting to them storm out.

Officer Rinaldo looked, too, but the door remained closed. She stood. “I happen to know Mara Philippi was placed in the barred cell you requested. I wasn’t instructed to do so, but since it sounds as if they’re going to be a while, I can take you down there.” She pointed him toward the elevators. “After you.”

He walked ahead of her—everybody who worked at the prison preferred to guard their backs—and asked, “What’s going on with Arbuckle and Korthauer?”

“A call came in from Washington, DC. The FBI.”

“Oh.” Max gave a brief laugh. “Did it?” Dear Nils. Max might not like him, but the guy had the connections and he wasn’t afraid to use them.

Officer Rinaldo pressed the button to call the elevator. “I don’t know what it’s about, but once it came in, I was told to handle you.”

The doors opened and he got in. “Are you handling me?”

“I am. I’m giving you what you came for.” She got in with him and pressed the button for the bottom level. “That’s not what they meant, but in the future, when they decide to order me around, maybe they should be more specific.”

The elevator dropped. The doors opened. He held them for Officer Rinaldo.

She shook her head. “After you.”

“Right.” Max walked down the corridor. “You’re not part of the Arbuckle/Korthauer team.”

“They don’t have a team. They have a dictatorship that stinks of corruption. Korthauer should occasionally remember where she came from—which is the same place I came from.”

He was pleased he’d guessed right. “You have the look of a McFarrell.”

“Except my father came from out of town, so I’m not as inbred as the rest of them.”

He gave a surprised bark of laughter.

They reached the small barred door in the corner.

Inside the cell, a woman sat on a chair, her elbow on the table, her back to Max. Her hair was black, like Mara’s, but hair could be dyed. Her skin was pale like Mara’s, but she lived in a cell.

“Mara,” Max said. “I’ve come for a visit.”

The woman didn’t move.

“Don’t you want to see your old friend?” Max coaxed.

Still no movement.

“Come on, woman!” Officer Rinaldo glanced down the corridor toward the elevator. “We haven’t got all day!” Obviously, she anticipated interference from the warden and the assistant warden. Obviously, she intended to win this round.

The woman in the cell didn’t move.

“Mr. Di Luca,” Officer Rinaldo said, “I’ve been on the job long enough I don’t have to work down here in the trenches. I didn’t anticipate problems, but I guess I should have. They tell me Philippi was pure hell when she first got here. A few months ago, she got the medication she needed and settled in.”

Or she escaped and left someone in her place.

Officer Rinaldo struck her bat against the bars. “Turn around, Miss Philippi. Let’s see your face.”

Max watched the prisoner intently, noting that she jumped at the sound.

“Let me find the keys. I’ll get her turned around.” Officer Rinaldo walked toward the end of the corridor.

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