Ch. 6 iGet a visitor

4 Months later

Even though the circumstances couldn't possibly get worse, Sam had partially got used to prison. Of course, since she was on death row, she didn't get certain privleges that other inmates got. An example was that she was only allowed visitors once every two weeks. Carly, Freddie and Spencer had made the trip without fail every visiting day since she had arrived. She quickly began looking forward to every second Saturday. The first visits, of course, were the hardest. The sight of Sam in Prison Orange made Carly break down. Sam only got two hours per visit, and half of that was spent trying to calm Carly down.

This week was different. It was the second Saturday, and so far, no one had showed up to visit Sam. She had started to worry. Whoever set her up was still out there, after all. Carly and Freddie could have targets on them, and with Sam already locked up there was nothing she could do about it. Finally, at 3:30, an officer showed up at her cell. "Let's go, Puckett. You have a visitor." Sam had noted when she first arrived here that the prison guards took no chances. Death row prisoners were handcuffed behind the back and shackled with leg irons at all times, even during rec time. The security was another thing Carly, in particular had trouble adjusting to.

Visitors were patted down and x-rayed. The guards had to make sure that no contraband from the outside came in. Some guards were hostile to Sam, as they had heard what she supposedly did. As Sam turned to be handcuffed, she knew she had one of these guards. "The sooner we execute you, the better Puckett!" she said icily as she went about shackling Sam like an animal. Why don't you just shove a leash up my ass?, Sam thought to herself. She kept quiet, because she had been told that prisoners who stepped out of line were placed in solitary for a period, which varied depending on what you did.

"As it happens, you stupid girl," the guard callously continued, "Valerie Greene was my niece." Ah, crap, Sam thought quietly. She just had to have a relative who worked as a guard on the female death row. "I just wanted you to know that when your time comes, I'll be the one strapping you to that gurney!" she spat. Sam had had enough of this. "And I just want you to know that when my lawyers find the evidence that someone else killed your precious niece, I'm going to moonwalk out of here," Sam said in return. She didn't mean to sound uncaring. Sam, after all, had been as devastated as anyone else to learn of Valerie's murder, due to no small part that she was the one accused of it. But this bitch had gone too far.

"Yeah, get used to me," the guard retorted. "My name is Sarah Greene, Guard Greene to you. And I have a feeling we're going to be great friends!" she said. She was oozing fake enthusiasm. She didn't want to be friends with this prisoner. Oh, no, she wanted to march Samantha Puckett into the death chamber and let justice be done. She was one of those overly religious christians, who took the bible so literally it ran their life. Eye for an eye, and all that. But she didn't say another word to Sam as they walked to the visiting area, which made Sam happy.

Sam was expecting to see Carly, Freddie and Spencer. She was surprised when none of the three were her visitors. In their place was Jocelyn. "Didn't you get arrested for shoplifting?" Sam asked confused. Surely she'd be in Juvie right now. "Yeah, but it was my first offense, so the judge graciously gave me community service." Jocelyn smiled. "Look," she said. "Part of the reason I'm visiting is because I want to show you I've turned over a new leaf," the taller girl continued. "But I do have some buisness." Sam would have hugged her, if she weren't shackled and handcuffed.

"So speak," Sam said, impatiently. "Are you always this mean to your friends?" Jocelyn asked, pretending to sound hurt. "Look, I've been found guilty of two murders I didn't commit," Sam began angrily. "I have a death sentence that says in two years the State of Washington can kill me for a birthday present, and I've just been made to feel really small by one of the guards. So you'll forgive me if I don't feel all touchy-feely at the moment," Sam barked. "Whoa, chill out, I was just kidding," Jocelyn said. "Carly called me up and told me to visit in her place this week. She said she had to go with her brother to Yakima to celebrate her Grandfather's birthday." Sam regretted taking her frustration with the state out on her at that moment.

"That's not all," Jocelyn continued. She suddenly had a serious tone of voice. "Your sister's private school got a hold of Carly," she said. "What did they say?" Sam asked. She began to think she had a feeling she knew how she was set up. "They said your sister hasn't been to school for at least a month." Sam began to get worried. Melanie was a straight A student. Always on time, rarely ever absent. Completely opposite of Sam, who barely passed, was constantly disruptive, and had a reputation of pranking her teachers. "Go on, there has to be more," Sam pressed. "There is," Jocelyn continued. "The school tried to call your mom, but got no answer for two weeks. They called Carly because she had Spencer listed as an emergency contact."

It all began to fall into place for Sam. It was obvious that someone had dared to kidnap her sister. They probably forced her to cooperate with setting her up. Too bad Sam couldn't do anything about it on death row. "Look, do me a favor, would you?" Sam asked. "Name it," Jocelyn replied. "Can you check around Seattle for my sis?" Sam asked. "Sure, do you have a picture?" Sam laughed. "You don't need one. We're identical twins." Jocelyn laughed too. "That makes things easier." What made Sam worry most was that if someone could get to Melanie, who went to school in Portland, Oregon, they could probably get to Carly and Freddie as well.

"If you see Carly again, tell her to be careful," Sam instructed. "Jocelyn nodded. "Consider me their personal body guard," Jocelyn said. "Time's up, Puckett!" Guard Greene yelled. "Thanks alot," Sam said. "No need," the taller girl replied. Sam was quite sure that there was no way Melanie was behind this willingly. They probably threatened to kill her, and even if they didn't there was more than one way to get it. They probably forcibly removed a piece of hair, and that was put on Gibby's body.

It was lunch time in prison, and due to what she was just told, Sam was in a bad mood. That being said, it was a bad time for another inmate to get in her face. Her name was Leanne Jackson, and she had an entourage. "Look, it's the new girl," one of them said. "I'm gonna have fun making you my bitch," Leanne said. If she thought that this was going to intimidate Sam Puckett, boy was she about to have a bad day. Sam gave her the same warning she had given Jocelyn in the holding cell when she was first arrested. "Look," she said with an edge of anger in her voice. "I'm not looking for trouble, so if you have half a brain, you'll take your little barbies and get out of my way."

If Leanne were smart, she would have obeyed this warning. But she had been a death row prisoner for five years now, and she felt that she owned this part of the block. She didn't think she would be intimidated by a child. "Nobody talks to me that way!" she yelled. Sam didn't back down. "Well, I just did, so back off before I make you my bitch!" That was it. Leanne swung on Sam. It was a clumsily thrown right hook. Instead of feeling her fist hit Sam's face, she instead felt the agony of a wrist lock and armbar combination. "Next one of you takes a swing on me, and I break it!" Sam yelled. The other girls backed off as the guards rushed in to break it up. "Puckett, you're going to the warden's office," Guard Greene said as she pulled Sam off the other girl.