Page 18 of Say Nothing
"Hello?"
"Joey.Hi, it’s Alison Payne," Alison said.
"Alison, how are ya?It’s been a long time since I heard your voice."
"It has," Alison said."I’m doing fine.How are you, Joey?"
"Oh, great," he said."Really great."
"How’s the bailiff life working out for you?"Alison asked.
"It’s the best decision I've ever made, Alison.I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.I get to work with a lot of the same criminals, but only one at a time.Much more manageable that way, not that I couldn’t always take care of myself."
"I remember," Alison said with a smile."The stories I heard about you, Joey.I mean, most of them came directly from you, but you know."
Joey laughed, the booming sound making Alison take her ear from the phone for a moment and laugh along with him.
"Listen, I need a favor from you," Alison said once they both stopped laughing."Well, more information than a favor."
"Anything, Alison.What do you need?"
"When you are a prison guard, do you remember a man by the name Calvin Reynolds?"
"Yeah, I remember him.He was a little—well, you get the gist.Let’s just say he was not very nice."
"And Casper Douglas?"Alison continued.
"He was much the same," Joey replied."If I remember correctly, they were thick as thieves in that place."
"Just the two of them, or were they part of a gang?A group?"
"Mainly just the two of them, but they did associate with a few of the other hardened criminals in there.We’d often have to wait for them to be alone to escort them back to their cells or wherever else.They weren’t violent often, but it bubbled under the surface.We had the weapons and power, but they were cornered rats, and they did lash out at a few of the guards.Never me, but I was careful."
"Did you ever get the sense they were planning anything while doing time together?"Alison asked."Was there anyone they were friendly with who was released not long ago?"
"I don't know about not long ago," Joey replied."Since I left that place, I haven’t really kept in touch with anyone.If you want to know if they were up to no good, then that would have gone through Jason Weber."
"Jason Weber," Alison confirmed.
"Yeah."
"Do you know what he was in for?"Alison asked.
"No, no, he wasn’t a prisoner.He was one of the guards.As corrupt as they come.I stayed away from him, but the stories I heard!Anyway, he was fired not long before I left, and they made up something about cutbacks and a poor performance review, but it was whatever he was up to with the inmates.The prison didn't want the negative attention, especially with the budget being set.A prison guard being one of the worst criminals in the joint is not great for the prison."
"Do you know what Weber is up to now?"Alison asked.
"The last I heard, he was working as a security consultant.He and a few of his friends started a company that took a look at the security measures of commercial properties and businesses and made recommendations on upgrades."
So, you know security systems and how to bypass them as needed?And you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty by the sounds of it.
"Anything else you can tell me about him?"Alison asked.
"If you’re going to go talk to him, which I presume you are, don't go and do it alone."
"I won’t," Alison said."Thank you for the information, Joey, and take care of yourself."
"You, too," he replied."I mean that, Alison."
