Mozou/Maxine
"Well, he is doing as well as could be expected FOR SOMEONE THAT'S HAD A SHARP OBJECT RAMMED INTO HIS BODY !!!" she finally replied, losing a bit of her temper before reigning it back, "Sorry ! What happened here warden ?! He's a scientist ! One of the least violent people I've ever known ! What could he have done to deserve to end up like - this ?!"
Warden Lockheed sighed before answering. "There was a fight at breakfast this morning, two men vying to be 'toughest man in the cellblock' or one wanting the other's eggs or something equally important. And the rest of the men in the cafeteria, as is usually the case when this type of thing happens, gather around in a large circle, three or four men thick, around the combatants. Watching, egging on, rooting for one or the other to spill blood from the other. Mr. Green was in this 'viewers' circle' and someone else stabbed him. The guards were focussed on getting through the circle and stopping the fight. Once they realised he'd been stabbed, they got him here." Lockheed gestured to the infirmary.
"The two who were fighting will be in solitary for the next month. We're trying to figure out if either colluded with the attacker to create the diversion, or the attacker was simply an opportunist. I have my people talking to the inmates, trying to see if anyone saw anything. Unfortunatly, being a snitch in prison... Well, the few rewards I could offer harly mitigate the risk of being a snitch."
"As far as motive, I can make a few guesses. I assume you knows he owes money to people; people who can exert influence here despite my best efforts. Or it could be someone being mad at him because they thought he was receiving too favourable treatment from me."
"I should explain. Mr. Green, Dennis really. I call him Dennis. He's a model prisoner. He's earned a spot as a trustee here. And I was talking to him one day about science. I've seen his file, and I asked him if he could think of anything I could suggest to my daughter for her then upcoming science fair. She'd come to me for help, and I was at a loss. I try to be there for my kids, but this job makes it difficult sometimes. And Dennis, he had ideas; he even offered to help her, if I brought her by my office here. And he did, bless him. She won first place, even." The Warden's pride in his daughter was evident.
"I like Dennis, as much as I can allow myself to professionally like any of my inmates. And, as a penalogist, I shouldn't be saying this, but I think he shouldn't actually be here. Maybe one of the 'Club Fed' prisons. Not here. But I'm not a lawyer. But during the time he was helping Clarissa, I let him eat dinner in my office, not in GenPop. He's a trustee, for God's sake, in MY prison; that's my perogative. But I can easily see where that kind of favoured treatment may have been resented.
"And if it is my fault, I may never forgive myself.
"It's only been since this morning, and my staff and I are investigating and will continue to do so. But I'll be honest, the chances of finding the person who did it aren't great."
Lockheed then lowered his voice further, "My best suggestion, honestly, is find him a better lawyer. Get him transferred out of here. Maybe even paroled. If you have contact with his aunt, talk to her. She may still have contacts or a better lawyer. I'll be honest, one of my recurring nightmares back when I discovered the connection, was her and her band of merry men coming and breaking him out. Thank God she's switched sides a few years ago."