Four Walls

20

WHEN MAC ARRIVED WITH Flack at RHCF, the latter's first response to checking his weapon was resistance. Russell and Ursitti were there to meet them again, and Flack was not pleased by his way to the entrance was blocked until he checked his Glock at the arsenal.

"Look," Flack said, "I'm here to arrest a guy. I do that without a weapon, I feel kinda naked."

"I can live with that, Detective," Russell said.

"What I mean is, I'm exposed. I don't-"

Russell shook his head. "I know what you meant, Detective, and it doesn't matter. We got rules, we got regulations, and if you violate them, you get put in here for real. Now please check your weapon in the arsenal."

Flack looked at Mac, who just shrugged. He had already checked his weapon. He understood Flack's objection-it was never wise to arrest a suspect unarmed, just on general principles. The weapon provided security, even if it was holstered with the safety on. Even then, it didn't always help, as Mac had learned the hard way.

"Rules are rules, Don," Mac said.

The snarl on Flack's face indicated that he didn't buy that particular line of reasoning. However, he went ahead and checked his weapon. Then they went through the rest of the rigamarole required to enter the prison.

Once that was completed, Mac left a grumbling Flack to the logistics of processing Mulroney so that he could be placed under arrest for Vance Barker's murder. Ursitti accompanied Mac to the interview room. As they walked, Ursitti asked, "What is it you need to do here, Detective?"

"I need to talk to all the COs who supervised the distribution of medication in C Block for the past week."

"You wanna know who stood over Washburne getting his pills?" Ursitti asked.

Mac nodded.

Ursitti got on the radio and asked someone to go to his office and fetch the Charlie Block duty roster for him.

Several minutes after Mac and Ursitti arrived at the interview room, a CO came by with the roster in question. Ursitti flipped through it and found the right page, showing it to Mac. Mac sat down in the chair that Flack had taken in previous interrogations and stared at the page.

Since he really only needed the past week or so to establish the pattern he thought he'd find, he started with the person on duty a week ago. At the sight of the name, he winced, but he still said, "Can you bring Officer Ciccone in here?"

"Sure, but don't expect much. He's pretty pissed off."

"Well, the feeling's mutual."

After Ursitti summoned Ciccone on his radio, Mac asked, "What about the nurses?"

"None of them are in now. Captain Russell can give you contact info if you wanna call them."

"The COs should be sufficient, but I'll get those names and addresses when we're finished."

Ursitti shrugged. "Fine, whatever."

Ciccone entered, then stopped halfway over the threshold as soon as he saw Mac. "Hey, I told you, I ain't talking to you without my lawyer."

Ursitti rolled his eyes. "Come the hell off it, Ciccone."

"I ain't coming off nothing, Lieutenant. I've been harassed by this guy once already; it ain't happening again. Barker's murder ain't my fault, and nothin' you guys can say is gonna make it my fault. I ain't saying a word until my mouthpiece gets here."

"This isn't about the Barker murder, Officer," Mac said. "It's about Washburne."

That brought Ciccone up short. "Washburne?"

"Yes."

Ciccone rubbed his stubble-covered chin. "Okay, as long as we're just talking Washburne, I'm all right with that."

"Thank you," Mac said, trying and probably failing to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

As Ciccone took his seat, Mac asked, "A week ago today, you supervised the distribution of medication in C Block, is that correct?"

Shrugging, Ciccone said, "Sounds right, yeah."

"Was medication administered to Malik Washburne?"

Ciccone nodded and started fidgeting with his hands.

"Do you remember what the medication was?"

"Honestly, I don't remember what he takes. I'd have to check the roster. I know he only had one pill though."

"And he took it?"

"Sure, like always." Ciccone shrugged, still fidgeting.

"Describe the process, please."

Rolling his eyes, Ciccone said, "Went like usual. The nurse gave him the meds, then gave him a glass of water. He put the pill in his mouth, he took the glass, he swallowed the water."

"You're sure?"

"Course I'm sure, I do this at least once a week, sometimes more."

"And Washburne took his meds?"

"Absolutely."

Mac made a few notes in his notepad and then said, "All right, Officer, that's all I needed to know. Thank you."

Getting up, Ciccone said, "No problem, Detective. Always happy to waste my time with you. Sure you don't wanna ask me anything else? I got a great story about how the cons brushed their teeth two weeks ago."

Smirking, Mac said, "No, Officer, that'll be all."

As Ciccone left, Mac looked up at Ursitti. "Next I need to talk to Officer Bolton."

Bolton was summoned and took his seat. "What can I do for you, Detective?"

"According to the roster, you supervised the administration of medication for C Block six days ago."

"Sounds right, yeah."

"Did you administer Klonopin to Malik Washburne?"

Leaning back in his chair, Bolton looked up at the ceiling. "Honestly, Detective, I don't remember if it was Klonopin or not. I can't keep track. I'm pretty sure he got what he was supposed to get, though."

"And he took the meds?"

"Sure." Bolton shrugged.

"He didn't try any of the usual tricks?"

Bolton laughed at that, glancing at Ursitti. "Nah, he wasn't that stupid. It's usually the new guys and the really dumb ones that try the bullshit."

"So Washburne took his meds six days ago?"

"Far as I remember, yeah."

"Thank you, Officer."

Next up was Flack's friend Sullivan. A smile broke out on his baby face as soon as he came in and recognized Mac. "Hey, Detective Taylor. How's the investigation going?"

"Well, half of it's going fine. Detective Flack is arresting Jack Mulroney for Vance Barker's murder."

"Ain't gonna be sorry to see that asshole go." Sullivan took his seat, then leaned forward, his shaggy blond hair flopping into his face, and talked in a whisper. "Hey, listen, Detective, you're a friend of Donnie's, right?"

Realizing Sullivan wanted to keep this conversation between the two of them, he leaned forward and said, "Yes."

"I've known the guy since we were kids, but-" He hesitated. "Look, the guy's not takin' his meds. The man was in a bomb explosion a year ago, and he's actin' like nothin' happened. That ain't healthy."

Mac was hardly in a position to lecture other people about how they dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder. That was for the department therapist. Then again, Mac knew Flack's opinion of department therapists.

The embarrassing part was that Mac hadn't noticed that Flack wasn't taking his Percocet, and it made him wonder what else he'd been missing lately.

Mac leaned back and spoke in a normal tone. "I'll see what I can do about that personal problem of yours, Officer," he said for Ursitti's benefit, "but it's actually the inmates' taking of medication that I'd like to talk to you about now."

"Shoot." Sullivan slapped the table with his palms and then let them rest on his lap.

"Five days ago, you supervised Malik Washburne receiving his meds."

"Yeah, that's right. He takes-uh, Zoloft, I think."

"Klonopin, actually."

Sullivan snapped his fingers. "Right, Klonopin. Anyhow, yeah, he took it."

"What was the procedure?"

Blowing out a breath, Sullivan said, "Nurse takes out the pill, hands it to him, he takes it, she hands him a glass, he drinks it, down goes the pill." He shrugged. "The usual."

"He didn't try to palm the meds or anything like that? Hide it under his tongue?"

"Nah, Washburne wasn't that kinda guy. He was a cop, he knew the drill."

"Okay, then. Thanks, Officer."

After Sullivan left, Ursitti said, "Okay, Detective, you wanna explain yourself? I assume you're gonna bring in everyone on that list."

"No," Mac said, standing and hoisting the clipboard, "I think I've got everything I need. At most, I'd only need to talk to"-he gazed down at the list-"Officers Schuster, Moody, and Gibson. See, I already talked to Officer Andros-he's the one who supervised Washburne the day he died, and I already got his story." Looking up at Ursitti, he handed the lieutenant the clipboard. "That's why I know that Officers Ciccone, Bolton, and Sullivan were all lying just now."

Ursitti's eyes grew wide. "Excuse me?"

"They might have told the truth, but you were in the room, and they didn't want to admit that they were complicit."

"Detective Taylor, what the hell are you talkin' about?" Ursitti put his hands on his hips. His eyes were blazing.

Mac let out a breath. "Malik Washburne was a devout Muslim. He converted in part because Islam proscribes taking mind-altering substances such as alcohol-and prescription drugs."

"Yeah, well, my wife's Jewish-goes to temple every Saturday-but she also likes her bacon in the morning. So what?"

Shaking his head, Mac said, "Washburne took that restriction seriously. Remember, he was an alcoholic who was in jail because he fell off the wagon. Someone like Washburne would've been adamant about not taking any mind-altering substances."

Ursitti frowned. "So what're you saying?"

"Call Officer Andros in again."

"What, you're not gonna tell me?"

"Give me a few more minutes, Lieutenant, and it'll all make sense," Mac assured him.

Ursitti glared at Mac but got on the radio and summoned Andros.

While they waited, Flack came into the room, hands in his pockets. "Mac, I got Mulroney all good to go. You done here?"

"Not yet. You go ahead, Don, I need to finish this up."

"What, without me? C'mon, Mac. Washburne's name goes on my record. If you have something cooking-"

Mac shrugged. "Mulroney's not going anywhere. Join me." While they waited for Andros, Mac filled Flack in on what he knew so far.

Flack smiled. "I see where you're going with this. That's why you asked Peyton to do that blood test, right?"

Ursitti growled. "Will you two stop playing this Agatha Christie shit and tell me what the hell you're talkin' about?"

"All in good time, Lieutenant," Mac said with a cryptic smile.

Just then Andros came in. "I thought you guys were arresting Mulroney."

"This is about Malik Washburne," Mac said.

"Okay, whatever." He took a seat. "I thought Melendez cleaned his clock for him."

"No," Mac said, with Flack standing over him, "he died of anaphylactic shock."

"What's that?"

"An extreme allergic reaction," Flack said.

"Oh, okay-like my uncle with eggs. Swear to God, you give him anything with eggs, he stops breathing." Andros shuddered. "Scariest damn thing you ever saw. Once a restaurant insisted there wasn't any egg in the pasta they served-we eat there free in perpetuity now, in exchange for Uncle Walter not suing them. So that's how the asshole died, huh?"

"Yes," Mac said, "and we think that you were there when he ingested the fatal substance."

"Say what?"

Ursitti said, "Detective, if you're accusing my man here of-"

"Officer Andros didn't do anything wrong," Mac said quickly, holding up a reassuring hand. "He simply did his duty yesterday morning."

"What happened yesterday morning?" Andros asked, now looking quite bewildered.

"You watched as the nurse gave Malik Washburne his prescribed dosage of Klonopin. After which point he tried what you called yesterday 'the usual crap' with his medication."

Andros snorted. "Yeah, that's right. Tried to palm it. Real bush-league stuff."

"And that's what killed him."

"That's crazy!" Ursitti said. "You heard my COs, he'd been taking the drugs for weeks. How could he suddenly be allergic?"

"Because your COs were lying like cheap rugs," Flack said. "When they were describing how Washburne took his meds, they were also talkin' about what a good guy he was, right? That he was a stand-up guy, an ex-cop, that whole bit?"

"Some of 'em, sure," Ursitti said.

Andros said, "I don't get it-you're saying he was allergic to the Klonopin?"

Before Mac could answer, the door opened to Captain Russell. He was holding his cell phone in his hand. "Detective Taylor, I have a Dr. Peyton Driscoll from the medical examiner's office on the phone. She says it's urgent that she talk to you and that it has to do with the Washburne case."

"Thank you, Captain," Mac said, taking the phone from Russell. "If you could stay a moment, please?"

"I have a prison to run, Detective, and I don't appreciate being made to be your errand boy."

"It's for a good cause, Captain, since you won't let me bring my phone in here." He put Russell's flip-top phone to his ear. "Peyton?"

Peyton told him exactly what he was expecting to hear. He thanked her and closed the phone, then handed it back to Russell. "The ME has confirmed that Malik Washburne was fatally allergic to Klonopin," he said.

"That's impossible!" Ursitti said. "The man's been on Klonopin since he got here."

"No," Flack said, "he wasn't. He didn't believe in mind-altering drugs, so he didn't take any."

"And the COs looked the other way," Mac said. "They liked Washburne, they respected him, and they were willing to help him out. But Officer Andros here wasn't in the loop."

Andros was rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers. "I don't believe this. You're saying that by making him take the pill, I killed him?" He sounded more than a little devastated.

"Again, Officer Andros, this isn't your fault."

"No," Flack said, "it's the fault of the jackasses who didn't share their AA plan with you."

"'Cause they think I'm a rat." Andros pounded a fist on the table. "Jesus! I should just go back to Sing Sing."

"There's no need for that, Randy," Ursitti said. "This isn't on you-it's on everyone else."

"Damn right it is," Russell said. "I can't believe that this sort of abuse was happening on my watch. There's no excuse for letting a convict get away with not taking his prescribed medication."

"The prescribed medication would've killed him," Mac said. "Even leaving that aside, his religious beliefs prohibited him from taking them."

"Then he should've said something!" Russell shook his head. "I liked the man, too, Detective, but that was just irresponsible." He looked at Andros. "Don't worry, Randy, you won't take any heat for this." Then he glowered at Ursitti. "You may be the only one who doesn't."

Mac glanced at Flack. "That's up to you, Captain, but I think our investigation is complete. Washburne's death was accidental. Turns out you only had one murderer here."

Flack added, "And I'm taking him off your hands."

"You're welcome to him," Russell said. "And thank you both for your excellent work."

"It's our pleasure," Mac said.

"But not as much of a pleasure as it will be to take Mulroney out of here," Flack said. "C'mon, Mac, let's go."

As Mac followed Flack out into the corridor, he couldn't help but notice that Flack was walking gingerly-and wondered how he missed it before. He put a hand on Flack's arm to get him to stop walking for a second. In a low voice, he said, "Listen, Don-have you been taking the painkillers they prescribed?"

Rolling his eyes, Flack said, "Jesus, Mac, don't you start. Bad enough I got Terry and Sheldon on my ass."

Mac chuckled at Flack's histrionics. "All right, all right, I'm sorry. I'm just concerned, is all."

Flack took a breath. "I appreciate it, Mac, but I'm fine. Really."

"If you say so."

"I say so. Now c'mon, let's take a bad guy out of jail and put him in another jail."