Lacy Dalton sat in a small, stark and sparsely furnished exam room in the prison's Infirmary. Slightly overweight with her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, she sat hunched and silent, her blue eyes red from crying. She looked up when the warden entered the room, ushering Stella ahead of him. He pulled off his sunglasses, and gave Lacy a piercing look.
"This CSI wants to talk with you, Ms. Dalton," he said, and Lacy looked from him to Stella, who didn't notice the warning look in his eyes from behind her.
The other woman nodded, and Stella didn't miss the expression of fear on Lacy's face. She turned to the warden.
"If you could leave us alone for a few minutes?" Stella asked, taken aback when the warden shook his head.
"It's either me, or another officer. I'm not leaving her alone with anyone," he said.
Stella bit her lip thoughtfully; she wanted to tell the warden what she thought of that, but seeing the pleading look on the young officer's face, she just nodded.
The warden stepped back, leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He'd put his shades back on, rendering the expression in his cold grey eyes invisible. Stella cleared her throat.
"You were the one that found the body of Lance Talkington, right?" she asked, and Lacy nodded, dabbing at her eyes with a kleenex.
"Did you notice anything? A fight, a disagreement beforehand?" Stella asked, and Lacy glanced over Stella's shoulder at the warden, then back at Stella.
"There was a minor argument in the line between Talkington and another convict," she stated, her voice trembling.
"What's this guy's name?" She asked, her pen poised over her notepad.
Lacy hesitated, looking down to the floor for a split second before glancing again at the warden and finally to Stella.
"Raymond Cizon," she said, almost in a whisper.
Stella frowned and then raised her eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" she asked, but before Lacy could answer, the warden spoke up.
"Of course she's sure. She told me the same thing. Don't question her intellegence."
Lacy's eyes filled up with tears again, and Stella rounded on the warden, her jaw set, and one hand clamped around the wrist of the hand holding her notepad.
"I need Ms. Dalton to answer my questions, Warden." She informed him, a dangerous undertone in her voice.
The warden ripped off his sunglasses, and stepped forward.
"Ms. Dalton is done talking to you," he said, and opened the door.
Stella capped her pen, turned to Lacy, and gave her a reassuring look.
"Thank you, Ms. Dalton," she said, and walked toward the door, sweeping past the warden on her way out the door.
The warden followed Stella out, closing the door on Lacy Dalton. Stella said nothing, but she was making a mental note of the interaction between herself and the warden. Something was off, and she would talk to Mac about it later. Little did she know that Mac was harbouring the same thoughts.