Singularity Read Free

told me is accurate, they have to realize we’ll be looking at their staff as possible suspects.”
    Hacking nodded and pointed a finger at Sullivan’s chest. “Exactly. So it’s imperative that they be kept at arm’s length. Until we know more, we can’t rule anyone out.”
    “What exactly are we looking at here, boss?” Sullivan said.
    “Let’s wait until Stevens gets here. He’s coming with you as support.” Hacking eyed the darkened lobby and looked at his watch. “Where the fuck is he?”
    “I’m guessing he’ll be here soon. He was on vacation, wasn’t he?”
    “Yeah, first day back is today.”
    Sullivan stood and stepped to the door. “You want a coffee while we wait?”
    Hacking nodded, turning back to his computer screen. Sullivan made his way out to the dark kitchenette that stood at the far end of the room, and flipped the coffeemaker on after adding enough water and grounds for three cups. He stood waiting for the dripping of the dark liquid to cease and wondered again why he’d felt such uneasiness earlier. He’d never investigated a prison case before, but protocol was the same. Wait for the invite from the locals, have the forensics team scour the area, interview each and every person involved, formulate a suspect list, and bring them in for questioning. He shook his head as anxiety squirmed in his stomach once again and tried to push the strange feeling away.
    As he made his way back toward Hacking’s glowing office, he heard a door in the hallway slam. A few seconds later Barry Stevens appeared from the darkened corridor. Barry was thirty-seven, five years Sullivan’s senior, and had thinning blonde hair and a spare tire of twenty pounds hanging around his midsection. His face was long, with a hooked nose and eyes that were nearly always watery. Sullivan had worked with him on dozens of death investigations, attended his children’s birthday parties, and been so drunk with him on two occasions that all he could remember were snippets of conversation and bellyaching laughter. The man was rock steady and Sullivan was glad Barry would be coming with him on this one.
    Stevens’s eyes found Sullivan in the dark and his smile lit up a newly sunburned face. “Sully, how goes it?”
    “Better than you, it looks like. There’s this new thing called sunscreen, you should look into it,” Sullivan said as he handed a cup of coffee to the older man.
    Stevens laughed. “That Mexican sun is hotter than shit. You should see my kid’s back. We thought we were going to have to take him to an emergency room down there.”
    “Better than the rain we’ve been having up here, though,” Sullivan said.
    The two agents walked into Hacking’s office. After Hacking greeted Stevens, both men sat and looked expectantly at the senior agent. Hacking opened a manila folder and pulled two sheets of paper out and handed one to each man. Sullivan studied the top portion, which held directions to Singleton Penitentiary, and then the bottom, which contained some brief information gathered since the call came in earlier that morning.
    “Like I told you both, this one’s fucked-up,” Hacking said. “The deceased’s name is Victor Alvarez. He was a runner and dealer for a Mexican supplier specializing mainly in cocaine and heroin. Got busted last fall in central Minnesota selling to a minor. His trial date was set for later this summer, and he was transferred to Singleton only ten days ago. Yesterday, he got in an altercation with another inmate and hurt the other guy pretty bad. He also attacked several prison officers when they tried to intervene. Subsequently, he was thrown in one of their cells that serve as solitary on the lower level. At about one o’clock this morning, a guard went to check on Alvarez after hearing noises coming from his cell.”
    Hacking rubbed his eyes with a thumb and forefinger before continuing. “This is where it gets strange, boys. The guard called the local sheriff’s office