Chapter 11: Nicola

Nicola was woken at 0-dark-hundred by the sound of her phone and she struggled from sleep to grab it from the nightstand. She peered blearily at the screen. It was a text from Jack: There's been a death. Get here quick before they disappear the body.

She was out of bed and halfway into her clothes before she was even fully awake. Twenty minutes later she was driving into the prison's parking lot, still blinking sleep from her eyes and was surprised to see Sophia waiting for her by the staff entrance. The girl looked rumpled and anxious, but not nearly as exhausted as Nicola felt.

"What are you doing here, Sophia? Did Officer Russell text you too? He shouldn't have."

Sophia shrugged fell into step behind her. "I'm here now, I may as well help. What is the situation exactly?"

"There's been a death – that's all I know."

"Who?" Sophia asked urgently. "Do we know?"

"Not yet." Nicola wondered who the girl was worried about. She knew that she hadn't imagined that look shared between her and Wolff, but decided not to push it – for now, as they had far more pressing matters to attend to.

"Why are we here?" Sophia asked as they entered the building. "Isn't the night shift covering it?"

Nicola felt that Sophia knew damn well why she was here hours before her shift started, but she decided to play it easy. "I want a look at the body – every time this happens the evidence is gone by the time I get in there. Not this time. I want something concrete."

Sophia nodded. "Will they try to stop us?"

Nicola turned to face her, almost causing the girl to bump into her. "You shouldn't be getting involved in this. It could impact your career – and depending what's going on it could be dangerous. That's not what you signed on for."

Sophia looked at her closely for a moment and then gave her a tight smile. "I don't do what I do to play it safe," she started, seeming to choose her words carefully. "I do this because I want to help people. Especially those who can't help themselves. I know the risks. This is what I want to do."

Brave, stupid words, but they sent a thrill up Nicola's spine. Sometimes the daily grind and the pain of these people, the pain some of them had caused others, wore down on her, sapping the drive and the hope from her bones. But those words from this optimistic childreminded her of what she had started out to do.

"They might try to stop us, but they have very little jurisdiction to do so. If it looks like we're going to be kicked out, I want you to record everything surreptitiously while I distract them. Okay?" Nicola said finally, leading the way again.

"That's a plan I can get behind!" Sophia whipped out her phone and started fiddling with the buttons.

One way or another they were going to get a look at that corpse.

Doctor Evergreen worked night-shift and, as predicted, he was very displeased to see them. Nicola fought him the best way she knew how. Having suffered through many battles with the man previously, she knew just how to go about it - she challenged him and gave him an opening to tell her she was wrong. Never had there been a man more enamored with the sound of his own voice or one more likely to lose track of time while he told an upstart woman where she was in error.

While he ranted, she made vague sounds of acknowledgement and subtly made what observations she could: The victim was an African American man and he had been beaten almost unrecognizable. It was impossible to tell if he had been hit with an object without closer investigation, but if someone had done this with their fists then they might well need medical treatment themselves due to the sheer amount of violence used.

Sophie was carefully edging round the young man on the table, hopefully recording as she went. Her face was serious and sad but, beneath that, Nicola could read anger in the way she moved, the set of her jaw. She felt the same way. It didn't matter what this man had done to land himself in this place – even if it was a dreadful crime, no one deserved to die like this, executed without a trial, and with such brutality his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

It was going to stop. She didn't know how yet, but she was going to make sure he was the last.

Later, she and Sophia shared a coffee from the thermos Jack had handed her as she'd stalked out of the morgue. He had walked with them in silence as they climbed back up the stairs and out of the security doors. Then he had passed her the coffee and a given her a solemn nod before trudging off to his duties. It comforted her to know that they had at least one other ally in the prison itself.

"Doctor Kay?" Sophia said, breaking the silence, but keeping her voice low. "We need to do something about this."

"Nicola. And yes, we do. I've been to the police – they as much as said the kids deserved it. The man I spoke to anyway." Nicola felt another burst of indignant anger remembering that conversation. While it was true the Bludhaven police had taken an upturn in the last few years, there were still pockets of corruption that spared like tendrils of molten lava, deep into the organization.

"Do you know what is actually happening to get these men killed?" Sophia asked bluntly, "I mean, it's obvious they're being beaten to death, but by who? And why?"

Nicola sighed and took a sip of hot coffee, watching the steam rise and curl away on the cold air. "I've heard rumors. Nothing that I can back up."

"What rumors?"

"Illegal fights. Inmate against inmate – to the death. I assume the guards allow it for some reason."

"Why?" Sophie asked, "why would the CO's allow it, and why would the inmates do it?"

Good questions, and ones Nicola didn't have answers for. "When you put it like that it sounds pretty stupid," she admitted.

Sophia flapped a hand, only just hanging on to her coffee in her enthusiasm. "No, no, you misunderstand me. I've heard those same rumors – and I think there is probably some truth to it. Enough to use it as a starting point. But the first order of business is to figure out the whys, and then the who's. And then make a case the police can't ignore."

"So," Nicola mused, "first question – why are the guards allowing it to happen?"

"My guess is that they set it up – maybe using people they don't like?" Sophia offered. "Or maybe it's like an illegal gambling operation, with money riding on the outcome of fights."

Nicola nodded, it was possible, messed up, but possible. "And add to that, it probably goes a long way to keep order in here. If you don't behave you end up in the ring, or whatever," she said. It still sounded like the plot of a bad movie, but at the same time, she could see men like Officer Williams being involved with something like that.

"Like the prison version of the Hunger Games!" Sophia added, flailing her coffee again.

Nicola bit back a smile. For a moment there Sophia had begun to seem like she was far older than her years, and far, far too accepting of the situation. And then with one well-placed silly comment and she looked just like a slightly rumpled college student again, infused with all the absurdities and assurance of youth.

"So, how do we go about the next bit?" Nicola asked.

"Well, first we better try and find out if we're right. We might be completely off base and this whole thing is just some run-of-the-mill serial killer bashing people to death for thrills while the prison tries to cover it up to avoid the paperwork."

"Good point."

"So the next step is evidence. We need to know the names of the missing and the dead. Include unplanned transfers out of the jail; getting them lost in the system is a good way to hide a death. Then we need to figure out who's in on it and who is just turning a blind eye. Dr. Evergreen is clearly involved to some extent so he might be a good place start."

And there was that knowledgeable, confidence back. Nicola gave her a long considering look. "You seem like you know what you're doing. To an alarming degree."

Sophie smiled at her, guileless and earnest. "I watch a lot of crime shows, Dr. Kay, that's all. Just a TV addict."

Somehow Nicola doubted that, but in the face of their current situation, she chose to keep those thoughts to herself.