Kindred Spirits

Part 16

Will Jackson sighed as he sat down the receiver of his phone at the information he'd just received. This wasn't good for him or for his colleagues. He stood up from his desk and went over to the window and looked down upon the yard of prisoners. She was down there. At one time he'd sworn Joan Ferguson was the Queen of the damned, but he'd come to find out that through his own fear he had committed the same type of evil. He just hadn't been imprisoned and publicly humiliated. Hatred was a bitter pill to swallow, and for as long as it was in your system everything you touched died. That was what was happening to Vera. She just couldn't let Joan Ferguson go. Will had to make a choice now. He'd seen the footage of Jake, and he'd had the powder residue in Stevie's cell tested. It wasn't an illegal substance. In fact, it wasn't even a drug. It was talcum powder. Baby powder. Stevie Simmons had spent the last five days in the slot because Vera had Jake plant baby powder in her cell. He'd also seen the footage of Vera's visits with Stevie. It reminded him strangely of Joan, and that concerned him greatly.

Almost as if she'd felt his presence, he saw the now silver-haired woman look up toward him. He had two choices here, and either one was going to affect him in one way or another. He would have to decide how to handle Vera, but he had to do the right thing. He sighed heavily as he stepped away from the window. First, he had to go let Stevie out of the slot. There was no need to delay the inevitable when she hadn't done what she'd been accused of. She could and would probably sue the prison over this, but it couldn't be helped. Ann Reynolds would hate this. He wondered sometimes if he shouldn't just retire. His life would be a hell of a lot easier.

Stevie was going crazy in the silence now. Lou had thankfully given up tormenting her with barbs, but there was only so much silence you could take. It was a different type of silence as well. It was the kind that ate you from the inside out and made you want to scream. She glanced at her half-eaten breakfast with disdain. She didn't know if she'd ever get used to that damn food. She was surprised when she heard footsteps. They were heavy and not the clip-clop of heels. When the cell door opened, Stevie was surprised to see Governor Jackson in front of her.

"Stevie." Will said simply, his hand waving for her to come out of the cell.

She was unsure of what to think at first. The police hadn't charged her yet. Maybe she was being charged now?

"Its alright. You're in no danger. You can go back to your cell." Will said, his voice softening at the bedraggled young woman's avoidance of him.

"Why?" She asked, confused as to why she wasn't being charged.

"I had the substance in your cell tested. It wasn't an illegal drug." Will said with a sigh as he rested his hands on his hips.

"Wait, what?" Stevie asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What was it then?"

"Talcum powder." Will replied truthfully.

"Talcum powder?" Stevie said, her tone turning sour.

"I just spent six days locked in this damn dungeon because of talcum powder?"

Will put up his hand in defense.

"If I hadn't tested it, you could have been down here a lot longer. I know this isn't ideal, but I do apologize." He really did feel bad for the young woman. Whatever her association was with Joan or Kath or whoever his former boss was, she didn't deserve this.

"I would like to file a formal complaint then. Against this prison and against Vera Bennett. She has been down here harassing me every night." Stevie said tersely as her nose wrinkled.

"Whatever you decide, I won't blame you." Will replied, not fighting her on it.

"Would you like to do that now or would you like to wait until tomorrow? We've had a request from your attorney to meet with you then."

"I'll wait until tomorrow then." Stevie replied. It worked out better for her anyways. She wanted to see Joan desperately.

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Joan was sitting and watching the blonde woman just across the way in the yard. She had recognized Eve Wilder but in the past three days Joan had tried her best to keep their interactions minimal. It was difficult to do since Eve was in the kitchen as well. They had placed her in H6 so at least Joan didn't have to deal with the woman constantly, but she could see that Eve Wilder did not believe Joan didn't remember who she was.

"I don't like her." Marie said, voicing her opinion as she sat beside of Joan on the bench.

"Yeah, she's kinda creepy, isn't she? Reminds me of Sheila over there." Reb said and pointed to the other blonde staring at their group.

"I don't know, but I'd keep my distance if I were you, Kath." Marie said, and Joan just nodded in response.

"Any news about Stevie?" Marie asked, concerned about the young woman.

"None." Joan replied and her nose twitched. It was the only sign she was upset over not only the lack of information but her distance from the younger woman.

"How do you think she even got the drugs?" Marie asked.

"I've asked around and no one knows anything about it. The flow has almost stopped since that Miss Reynolds took over."

"I don't believe she knew anything about them." Joan replied truthfully.

Before Marie could ask why Joan felt as she did, the call came for them to go inside. Joan looked once more at Eve before standing and following Marie and Reb inside. Joan could feel Eve Wilder's eyes as the woman followed her. Joan repeated the mantra that Dr. Miller had given her when she was feeling anxious for the millionth time in a row, her eyes shut as she tried to focus.

"Well look who's back!" Marie said, her voice lighting up as she stopped in front of Joan suddenly. Joan bumped into her back as her eyes were closed and she nearly toppled the shorter woman to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Marie, I wasn't..." Joan's eyes had bolted open, and she'd grabbed the other woman to keep her from falling, but her apology ceased when she looked up and her world stopped.