Free Singularity by Joe Hart

supposed he’d never really seen him happy. Not really. “Lee woke up this morning. I just got off the phone with his wife.”
    Relief swam through Sullivan’s midsection, and for a moment he didn’t even feel the harsh pull and uncomfortable dampness of his clothes. “Good. Christ, I was still worried, even after what the doctor said.”
    “He’s going to make a full recovery. He’ll be back in a few months, I’m sure. Now, what are we dealing with over there?”
    Sullivan laid out the facts, or as much as he knew of them. Yes, Alvarez had been killed in the cell. No, there was nothing apparent yet. Yes, they’d already interviewed the first person on the scene. No, the crime-scene team hadn’t come up yet.
    Sullivan listened to the low murmur of voices and the occasional phone ringing on Hacking’s end. The office sounded good right then. Warm, dry clothes, a cup of coffee, and some simple paperwork.
    “So what do you think?” Hacking finally asked.
    “I don’t know. I’m waiting on Don to finish up in there, and then maybe we’ll have something.”
    “That kid wasn’t lying?”
    “That kid was scared out of his mind, boss. He couldn’t have lied if his life depended on it.”
    Hacking grunted. “Okay, keep me posted, and hopefully something’ll turn up. The weather looks like it’s not going to cooperate, so you’ll have to make due with limited resources for the time being.”
    “Sounds good. We’ll have someone boat us across tonight if things run their course. Find a motel or something close by, maybe meet up with the sheriff in the morning.”
    “Okay, be safe.”
    “Thanks, sir.” Sullivan hung the phone up and mentally filed Hacking’s beef with him as over. Lee’s recovery had seen to that.
    Barry finished speaking with the guard at the front desk and began walking toward him. When he was a few feet away, he held out a manila folder.
    “Reports from yesterday’s disturbance between Alvarez and Fairbend . An Officer Bundy was working that shift, same asshole with the goatee who took over for Hunt. The whole thing’s there. After a little reluctance, she also agreed to have our friend Benny send us the footage of the fight via email.”
    “Why’d she give you grief? You weren’t hitting on her, were you? You shouldn’t be doing that while we’re working, Jenny will not be impressed.” Sullivan cocked his head at his friend and moved deftly away when the other man threw a mock punch at him.
    “No, I wasn’t hitting on her. I told her you wanted her number.”
    “That’s not even a good comeback, my friend. Fail.”
    Barry smiled and shook his head. “Not sure why she didn’t want to give up the footage. Maybe she just didn’t want to do the legwork. She kept saying the warden would have to approve it first. I politely informed her that this was our case now, and the warden was giving us full access to the prison information. Everyone here got up on the wrong side of the fucking bed this morning, if you ask me.”
    “Especially Alvarez,” Sullivan quipped. “Maybe it’s the beautiful weather.”
    “Either way, she’s having it sent to each of our emails, we can watch it on our phones.”
    “Good. Did you find out which way the infirmary was?” Sullivan asked.
    “Yeah, it’s off the main holding area to the right.”
    Sullivan began walking in that direction and Barry followed. “Let’s go have a sit-down with Fairbend . See why his cellmate suddenly decided to try to kill him last night.”
     
    ==
     
    The infirmary was behind a door that led off the main holding area prior to the commons. It was a square room with wide windows set high in one wall, the glass interlaced with steel mesh. Several humming fluorescents shone down on the immaculately white tile floor. A few locked cabinets stood against the right wall, and a desk, decorated with strewn papers, held a position beneath the windows across the room. A lone guard sat in a chair just inside the doorway,