Epilogue
"He's in here." The corrections officer unlocked the door and gestured inside. "He hasn't been doing well."
"That's why I'm here to see him," I said lightly. "Thank you very much." I stepped inside the cell and waited until the door closed behind me.
Dean Hayes lay on the tiny bed against the wall, his face pale and covered in a sheen of sweat.
I clicked my tongue and pulled the chair over to sit beside him. "You're really not doing well, are you? What a shame."
He looked over at me. His eyes didn't widen, he didn't so much as twitch. Of course not, he had no idea what was really wrong with him, much less that I had something to do with it.
"Don't worry, I have some medication for you," I said. "Do you think you can sit up to take it?"
"Yeah." He struggled to push himself up on his elbows and accept the cup of water I handed him, along with two pills. He threw them into his mouth and washed them down with the water.
"They should make you feel much better," I said.
I took the cup from his hand and placed it aside.
If they tested it later, it would contain nothing but tap water.
The pills on the other hand, were tasteless and virtually untraceable.
The coroner would find nothing more than the poor boy's heart stopped after a short illness.
Terrible thing, the flu. Highly contagious, and deadly under certain circumstances.
Dean coughed a couple of times before curling up around himself and falling still. It was a shame he wouldn't suffer too much, but I had to cover my tracks.
I patted his shoulder before I stood and knocked on the door for the corrections officer to let me out.
"He should sleep for a while, but if he's not better in the morning, let me know and I'll arrange for him to be moved to a bigger hospital." He wouldn't be better in the morning; he'd be dead.
"Thank you. Is he still contagious?" The officer was careful to keep his distance from me.
"Very contagious," I agreed. I stepped aside to start removing my PPE. "Keeping him isolated for a while is the only option." I shoved everything into a bag, ready for disposal.
"I'll see you later," I said pleasantly.
The officer nodded. "Yeah. Thank you, Doctor Ryan."
I whistled softly as I walked away. No one fucked with my daughter. No one.
I wondered if Marley was available for a celebratory drink. She'd never know what I'd done. As far as she knew, I was nothing more threatening than her boss, and her lover.
Sooner or later, we'd have to tell Catalina. She was going to be pissed, but we'd deal with that in time. Cat would eventually understand.
I hoped.
The end.