Room 186

Chapter 26

Lyric's eyes shot open. He was on the floor of the prison, with Addison hovering over him anxiously. "Mr. Williams! You're awake!"

"What happened?"

"You passed out after receiving a messagewind," Addison explained. Judging off his sad expression, Lyric knew that Addison knew why his meeting had been cancelled.

Lyric stood up shakily. "I have to see his body," he whispered.

"I'm sorry?" Addison asked

"I have to see him." Lyric turned to Addison. "What cell was Mr. Griffin - sorry, Victor Griffin - what cell was he in?"

"One-nine-nine-three-two-zero-two-zero," Addison said after a few taps at the stone. "He requested the cell number. Why do you ask?"

Lyric frowned. Why did those eight numbers sound familiar? "Do you know how I can get there?"

Addison looked very uncomfortable. "I'm sorry to inform you, Mr. Williams, but you can't visit after a cancelled appointment."

Lyric swallowed. Time to play the trump card. "Do you think you could pull a few strings? I'm his son, you see. It's very important to me to pay respects - alone."

Addison's face softened. "In that case, I will accompany you and ask the investigators to leave you alone. Come with me."

Lyric hurried to keep up. For a five-foot, two-inch seventy year old, Addison moved very quickly.

As they neared Mr. Griffin's cell, Lyric slowed down. At least five investigators were crowded around the cell door.

Addison put on a sorrowful expression and walked toward them. After a quiet exchange, the group walked away from the doors. "I'm so sorry," a tall, willowy person whispered to Lyric as they walked by. "This must be very hard for you."

Lyric nodded distractedly to them as they left. What did Addison tell them?

As the last people cleared away, he hurried to the cell.

Mr. Griffin was in the center of the floor, curled up in the fetal position. Lyric couldn't see any wounds, so he pressed two fingers just below his jaw to feel his pulse.

Nothing.

Lyric's breath started coming faster. He held his hand in front of Mr. Griffin's mouth and nose, hoping to find the faint warmness of an exhale.

Nothing.

Lyric slumped to the floor and stared at Mr. Griffin's calm face. With a shock, he noticed the similarity from his position to the pose Mr. Griffin had been in the last time Lyric had seen him alive. He jumped up and began to pace.

Who would want to kill Mr. Griffin?

That was easy. He knew that numerous people in the prison would kill Mr. Griffin for falsely imprisoning them, if word had gotten out about the connection and they'd put two and two together. In such a crowded place, it wasn't an entirely implausible hypothesis, but Lyric also knew about the level of separation between inmates and the tight security when they were together, like during mealtimes and walks around the yard. It was highly unlikely that anyone would have had an opportunity to kill him.

That left only two options.

Lyric gripped his hair as he paced. He couldn't believe that Mr. Griffin would kill himself, so he turned his attention to the other possibility. Mr. Griffin was entirely healthy, to Lyric's knowledge, until, of course, he had died. Strokes, heart attacks and the like did happen without cause. Lyric also knew that. But the peaceful expression on Mr. Griffin's face and his tight fetal position also made it unlikely that he'd died of natural causes, or without planning his death - to some extent, at least.