The Demon Hunter

5:"Nothing to live for"

Friday, 23rd of April. The second day of the investigation.

David had dropped Angela off at school, so Lauren had the morning to herself. She used that time to prepare mentally for what she was about to do. The state prison had already confirmed that she would have the chance to talk to Simon again, and they would arrange for an appointment. While she sipped her coffee and nibbled on some toast for breakfast, she read the file on Simon Weisa once more. It didn't reveal any new information to her, but for some reason she felt drawn to it. The man himself made her curious. She was eager to find out what he had to tell.

There were some reports from his behavior in prison. Altogether pretty positive reports - that was the reason the head warden had suggested this evaluation to find out whether Simon was suited for a parole hearing. There had been one or two incidents in the beginning, reported in the file - minor ones that resulted in nothing more than a stern warning, and after some time the other inmates and the guards seemed to get along really well with him. Lauren remembered how that one guard she met had treated Simon, giving him that nod of respect. There was something strange going on.

After she had finished her breakfast - more or less, since she had lost her appetite halfway through her toast - she headed out to the state prison to keep her appointment. Her other tasks on that day were postponed on her request without any problems. While she drove the long winded road towards the prison gate, she remembered what Simon had asked of her. Be open minded! And bring a bigger notebook! The notebook was placed on the seat next to her, a ringbook with 200 blank pages. Also she had checked whether the recording function of her phone was working properly. She usually didn't record any of her sessions with patients, but this time she wanted to be prepared for everything.

The guards recognized her and barely looked at her visitor ID when she drove up to the gate. The metal gate to the parking lot opened as soon as her car was only fifty yards away. Lauren frowned. Sometimes she wondered if it was such a good idea to be so lax on security measures in this prison. After all, not all inmates were as... considerate as Simon was. She drove through the gate and parked the car on a vacant spot. The guards that had witnessed her arrival greeted her with a nod, but she hardly took the time to nod back. As she stopped the engine, she already grabbed her things and hurried to get to the main building.

She did her best not to think how often she already had come here. Always for the same purpose: interviewing prisoners, analysing their psyche, see if they were ready to let back into society. Even though this was now a routine job for her, she never could completely dismiss this uneasy feeling when she arrived at the premises and found herself surrounded by fences, guard towers, walls and big ugly buildings. It was said that the Malthorn State Prison had a good reputation, even among former inmates who once had the opportunity to compare it to other prisons in the country, but it was still a prison, and the people in there were criminals.

But today her feeling was a bit different. It was this positive energy that she had felt in the presence of Simon - something odd, but nontheless pleasent and assuring. When she interviewed other inmates, she reminded herselv that this unpleasant environment was designed to keep them in and not harming anyone. With Simon, she felt that this environment actually did more harm to him that it did good to the rest of the world.

But maybe he was crazy? In that case, he really didn't belong here. Still, that was what he insisted upon: He was guilty, and this was the place he was supposed to be. What did he tell her the last time? He did it of his own free will. He just never told anyone why he did it.

While she entered the inner workings of the prison structure, she was a bit relieved that the security measures were not as lax as they appeared outside. The guards followed the necessary procedures by the book, made sure that she was aware of the rules while dealing with a prisoner, searched for any dangerous or illegal items which she had none, and finally brought her to the visitor area and the room where she had first met him. He wasn't there yet, so she was told to wait. As a precaution, she was let into a waiting room close by.