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“She’s dead?” Daniel tried to comprehend. How would they find out where the drugs were? How would they give the kidnapper what he wanted? Shawna Garza wasn’t much of a mother, but she was all Benny had. How would Daniel tell him? He fought back cusswords he hadn’t said in years. Instead, he tried to pray.God, why would You let this happen?
“Daniel?” Cooper stared at him, concern on his face. “You all right?”
“Yeah. What now?”
The detective removed his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his brilliant white hair. “It surely does present us with a problem, don’t it?”
“Yes, it does. A big problem.”
“Let’s go talk with the staff here, see what happened.”
Inside, the warden, Ellen Rockford, a woman with the complexion of someone who sat behind a desk all day, led them through a series of long hallways, locking doors, and security checks before they ended up in the infirmary. Shawna Garza’s body rested on a hospital bed, covered with a white sheet. One bare foot stuck out the end.
‘This is Dr. Kramer, our resident physician,” Rockford said, gesturing toward a man with thick black-rimmed glasses and acne-scarred skin. “What do you have, Doctor?”
Dr. Kramer had a surprisingly firm handshake and the deep voice to go with it. “The prisoner suffered several deep wounds to the chest and stomach. One wound penetrated a lung. She drowned in her own blood. She has some defensive wounds on her hands and some bruising on her upper arms.”
“Somebody grabbed her and they struggled.” Daniel lifted the sheet for one brief second. Shawna Garza’s slack features told him nothing. He dropped the cloth and turned back to the doctor.
“Looks that way.”
“Do you have the perpetrator?” Cooper directed the question to the warden, who shook her head. “Not yet. The prisoners in that cellblock are in lockdown. We’ve isolated the troublemakers. We’ll let you know if we come up with anything, but chances aren’t too good. The code of silence is pretty impenetrable.”
“How was her record inside?”
“We hadn’t had any trouble with her.” Rockford pushed glasses up her nose and glanced at a folder in her hand. “She spent a lot of time on the computer. Spent time in the library. Did her job.”
“Don’t know of anyone who gave her a hard time?”
Rockford shrugged. “She was a fairly attractive woman. I would image that got the attention of the other inmates. However, she didn’t complain, at least not to the staff.”
“I’d like a copy of the autopsy report when it’s ready.”
“We’ll pass that request on. Anything else?”
“Who notifies next of kin?” Daniel couldn’t take his gaze from the slender bare foot sticking out from under the sheet. She’d been a sorry excuse for a mother, but still, a human being.
“The TDCJ will take care of it.”
“I don’t think there’s any next of kin here in Texas, besides her son,” Daniel admitted, glancing over at the detective. Cooper had filled the warden in on the situation.
“The records show that she has a brother and some distant family members in California,” Rockford replied. “We’re not even sure the addresses she gave when she came into the system are still good or were ever good. I guess her son becomes a ward of the state.”
Or my child. Daniel didn’t say it aloud.God, I’d like to think prison changed Shawna. But I don’t have any way of knowing. I pray that it did. Lord, it was horrible way to die, in prison, all alone. When the time comes, help me find the words to tell Benny. Help me to give him comfort. And Lord, show Your grace and Your mercy on Shawna Garza.
“Daniel, you ready?” Cooper’s puzzled voice penetrated his reverie.
“Yeah. I just thought—a word of prayer seemed in order.”
“No problem.” Cooper took a step closer and inclined his head. Katz looked away, his face reddening. The doctor and the warden simply waited. “We have time if you need more.”
“No. I’m done.”
Not as done as Shawna Garza. She had gone into the system a drug dealer and an unfit mother. She had come out dead. They had no way to know where she’d hidden the drugs.
The one thing Daniel needed to save Benny, he didn’t have.
Chapter Eleven
