Chapter Four: Found
Wednesday, June 23, 3:30PM
When Peter entered the White Collar bullpen, Hughes stuck his head out of his office.
"Burke. Get in here," he said. He was frowning.
Frowning, not regretful. Peter chose to take that as a good sign. He shot Diana and Jones a glance as he swept by their desks. They both gave him thumbs up. More good signs. He mounted the stairs and slid into Hughes' office.
"What did you find out?" he asked, a little breathless.
"Sit," said Hughes. "First of all, he's still alive."
Peter let out his breath with an audible whoosh. The relief he felt made him almost boneless as his muscles unclenched. He had been doing his best to ignore the likelihood of the worst possible scenario, but his body hadn't been fooled.
"That's good news," said Peter.
"That's the only good news," replied Hughes. "Caffrey didn't steal something. He murdered another inmate in Friedrich's employ."
"He – what?"
Peter's mind couldn't wrap itself around the idea. Neal Caffrey was not violent, he was sure of it. This was the man who had gone quietly and with a smile when he was finally arrested, the man who never carried a gun because he didn't want anyone to get hurt. The man who had accepted his defeat with grace and didn't seem to hold it against Peter or anyone else.
"Apparently, Caffrey was found standing over the inmate's body, blood all over him. The guy was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife."
"It must have been self defense," said Peter. "Was there any evidence that he actually did it at all? Maybe he found the body."
Hughes shrugged. "No way to know," he said. "Inmates are property, not people. They have no rights. This isn't like someone on the street who is found over a dead body and has a right to due process."
"What did Caffrey say about it?"
"Peter, there's no record of any of that. All there is, is a statement from Friedrich supporting his decision to surrender and his selection of Justice. Inmates aren't interrogated. No evidence is gathered. No case is made."
Peter ran a hand through his hair. "But someone was murdered. Surely there's an investigation."
Hughes pursed his lips. "The inmate who was murdered is also considered property, not a person. Investigations aren't mandatory, any more than if Caffrey had stolen food. Owners have sole discretion on how to handle offenses to their property. Law enforcement only gets involved if a civilian is injured."
Peter blew out a breath. This was complicated, and he hated the law even more now than he had this morning. None of it was right. But still, there was a bright side: since the murder was considered a property offense, he should be able to force a sale with compensation. He realized that now he was going to be offering compensation for not one but two Work Contracts. He wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to come up with the money for that. He'd have to call Elizabeth again.
"Peter, are you seriously planning to buy Caffrey's Contract?" Hughes looked at him searchingly. "That's…extreme."
"Can you think of any other way to prevent his execution?" asked Peter. "I'm all ears. But this is all I can come up with. Friedrich has the right, under the law, to select death as his Justice. As far as I can tell, the only way around that is for someone else to take over as owner of record."
Hughes stared over Peter's shoulder for a long minute. Finally, he sighed. "I can't think of another way. This is complicated, though. I'm not sure how it will read to have the agent who caught Caffrey buy his Work Contract. There's something worrisome about that, ethically."
"More worrisome than ESIA?"
"Point. Okay, proceed. Let me know if you need anything else from me."
"One thing," said Peter. "Where is he being held, and can you get me in?"