Carter turned toward the door.
“Before I go, I have one question.”
Whitaker said nothing.
“Does Elias Grant know you kept him under another man's identity?”
The room went silent.
Hayes slowly lowered his hands.
Whitaker's face became pale.
Carter opened the door.
Behind him, the warden spoke in a voice that had lost every trace of politeness.
“Lock him down.”
Chapter 16: The Wrong Cell
Two officers intercepted Carter before he reached the main corridor.
“Officer Carter, come with us.”
“Where?”
“Administrative holding.”
“Am I under arrest?”
“Just follow instructions.”
Carter looked past them.
At the end of the corridor, Blake stood beside a security station.
Their eyes met.
Blake gave a barely noticeable shake of his head.
Don't resist.
Carter understood.
If he fought the officers, Whitaker would have an excuse to make him disappear inside the system.
He placed his hands behind his back.
“Fine.”
They escorted him downstairs.
But instead of taking him to the staff holding area, they led him through the Special Custody Unit.
Carter recognized the reinforced doors.
Cell 214 was at the far end.
The door was closed.
A small observation window sat at eye level.
One officer unlocked the entrance.
“Inside.”
Carter looked at him.
“Why are you bringing me here?”
“Orders.”
The door opened.
A man sat at a metal table inside the cell.
He was in his late fifties, thin, with gray hair and a deeply lined face. He wore a faded prison uniform and held a book open in front of him.
He looked up.
His eyes met Carter's.
Then the man slowly closed the book.
“You're late,” he said.
Carter stepped inside.
The door slammed behind him.
The officers locked it.
Carter turned toward the man.
“Elias Grant?”
The prisoner stood.
“That's a name I haven't heard in a long time.”
“You're supposed to have disappeared.”
Grant gave a tired smile.
“According to the people who put me here, I did.”
Carter glanced toward the observation window.
“Why are you listed as Michael Reynolds?”
“Because Michael Reynolds was the only name they could use without raising questions.”
“But Michael was transferred.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Grant looked toward the door.
“Somewhere he couldn't tell anyone what happened.”
Carter's jaw tightened.
“Is he alive?”
“I don't know.”
Grant walked toward the narrow window.
“They brought me here after I refused to surrender the original investigation files. They told the outside world I had resigned. They told my family I had abandoned them.”
He turned back.
“And then they gave me a new identity.”
“Why didn't you report it?”
Grant laughed bitterly.
“To whom? The people who arranged it?”
Carter took a step closer.
“What does Tank want from you?”
Grant's expression changed.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
“He wants the original evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“The evidence that proves he didn't operate alone.”
Carter frowned.
“I already know Whitaker and Hayes are involved.”
“You know about the money and the transfers. That's only the surface.”
Grant leaned closer.
“Tank wasn't the mastermind of the entire operation.”
Carter stared at him.
“Then who was?”
Grant opened his mouth.
A loud metallic bang interrupted him.
The cell lights flickered.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Cell 214. Stand by for transfer.”
Grant's face went white.
“No.”
Carter turned toward the door.
“What transfer?”
Grant grabbed his arm.
“Listen to me carefully. They know you've found me. They're not moving me to another facility.”
“Then where?”
Grant looked directly into Carter's eyes.
“They're moving me somewhere I won't come back from.”
Chapter 17: Tank Knows the Truth
In the prison yard, Tank sat alone on a bench.
The basketball lay beside his feet.
He wasn't speaking to the other inmates.