House of Reckoning by John Saul

Author:John Saul [Saul, John]
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 978-0-345-51689-3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Mitch waited until the last possible moment before finally crumpling up the paper coffee cup, tossing it into the trash barrel by the door, and heading back to work.

Except he wasn’t going back to the cellblock he normally worked. He was going to pay a little visit to Ed Crane.

Mitch crossed the yard with his usual swagger, checked with the supervisor in the block housing Crane, then headed down the long line of cells on the second tier until he came to the last one.

Ed Crane was lying on his bunk staring into space with a closed library book on his chest, but stood up as Mitch approached.

Mitch walked into the neat cell and looked around for something that would give him an excuse to write the son of a bitch up, but it seemed that Crane was the kind of prisoner he hated most—took care of his cell, didn’t make trouble for anyone, and didn’t even bother to claim he shouldn’t be there. Finally, Mitch settled on the charcoal portrait of Sarah that Ed Crane had taped neatly to the wall above his bed. “Your daughter draw that?”

Ed nodded.

“Some artist, huh?”

Ed nodded again, but more slowly this time. What was going on? Why was this guy talking about Sarah?

Mitch moved closer to the portrait, leaning in as if searching for something in Sarah’s face. Then, his back still to Ed, he said, “Tell me, Crane—does your little girl get as violent as you?” Ed said nothing until Mitch Garvey turned around, his eyes narrowing with menace. “Asked you a question, Crane. Smart cons answer when they’re asked a question. Especially by me.”

Ed’s lips tightened, then he shook his head. “Sarah’s a sweetheart. Hardly ever even gets mad about anything.”

“How about religion?” Mitch asked. “You put the fear of God into that girl?”

Ed Crane’s eyes sharpened. “What business is it of yours?”

Mitch smiled. “Oh, it’s my business all right. Don’t you know who I am, Crane?” Not waiting for an answer, Mitch leaned closer, and his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “I’m her new daddy, Ed. I’m her father now, and I think you screwed up raising that girl. Something’s wrong with her, Ed. Seems like she’s following in the footsteps of Satan.”

Ed stared at Garvey. “Satan?” he repeated. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“See?” Garvey said. “See what I mean? You curse like that in front of your daughter?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ed said.

Mitch could see the fear that was starting to come into the man’s eyes. “Seems she killed a dog yesterday,” Mitch said. “A helpless dog.”

“Bullsh—” Ed began, but cut himself short before giving Garvey an excuse to write him up. “Sarah wouldn’t do something like that.”

Mitch moved toward the door. “Believe it, Ed. It happened. But thanks to me and my family, your little girl’s still got a chance.”

“She doesn’t need a ‘chance,’” Ed insisted. “She’s already as good as kids get!”

“Maybe she is—maybe she isn’t,” Mitch said. Then his voice turned hard.

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