Song of the Blackbird (Albatross Prison #1) Read Online Free Page B

home?”
    “The guards at the gate will make you bring them back, even if it’s the middle of the night.”
    “That’s a little excessive, isn’t it?”
    “It’s for the security of the prison. They want all the keys accounted for to make sure none goes missing. And it’s how they keep track of who’s here and who’s not.” Julien shook his set of keys. “If you don’t return them, they’ll assume that you’re still here on the grounds somewhere, especially if they can’t reach you at home. And if you ever lose your keys, you have to report it immediately.”
    “Immediately?”
    “Yes. They’ll shut everything down to find them. No one wants an inmate to get a hold of them.”
    “That’s good to know.” Emma reached into her pocket to make sure her keys were still with her.
    Julien unlocked the gate. “We’re leaving SNY and going to the admin building.”
    “Does this lead to the outside parking lot?” They’d taken so many turns, she was losing her orientation.
    “No. We’re still in a restricted part of the prison.” Julien locked the gate after them. “You can leave the prison by only two gates. The Falcon Port way down the hill on the west side and the Eagle gate up here. You entered the Eagle gate this morning, right?”
    Emma nodded. “It’s close by, isn’t it?”
    “Yes.” Julien gave her a sympathetic look. “I know, it’s confusing but you’ll get used to it. From the Eagle gate, you have to climb up a flight of stairs to reach Units 1 and 4 and then down a hill to reach Units 2 and 3. Anyway, now we’re heading to the White House, as some people call it. That’s where the head honchos sit.”
    “You mean the warden?” Emma’s stomach knotted. She wasn’t looking forward to spending any more time around Maxim Chambers.
    “The one and only. He likes to attend our meetings,” Julien said. “We have meetings every day to talk about patients. Dr. Kaye, the CMO, will be there.”
    “CMO?”
    “Chief medical officer. Didn’t she interview you?”
    “No. Only Regionals interviewed me.”
    “No worries. I forgot they’re shifting power to Regionals now.” Julien rubbed his bald head and kicked a small pebble out of the gravelly path they were on. Locked gates still surrounded them but they were now in a separate fenced off section next to the SNY yard.
    “What does Regionals do exactly?” Emma asked.
    “Sacramento wants to hire more qualified doctors, so they set up Regionals to do the hiring,” Julien said. “Used to be the CMOs could hire anyone they liked, even if the person wasn’t that good. Now only the regional departments get to do the hiring. It makes everything more uniform among the thirty-three state prisons.”
    “I guess that’s a good way to get better doctors.” Emma followed the chief up a ramp into an old office building.
    “Yes, but Kaye is probably upset Sacramento took the hiring power from her so don’t be surprised if she’s a little snippy.” Julien lowered his voice. “And before I forget, I wouldn’t go bad-mouthing Chambers around Kaye.”
    “They’re pretty tight?”
    Julien nodded. “She believes he walks on water. Major crush on him. But you didn’t hear it from me.” The chief winked and pressed his lips together with his fingers. He motioned for her to proceed down a long hallway. “And you should know Kaye is in charge of medical but Chambers is in charge of all of us. And the man’s a stickler for protocol. Wants everyone to be on time.”
    Julien led Emma down a dim-lit hallway into a large conference room. The room was at least twenty feet long, with an elongated oak table in the middle flanked by an array of soft blue chairs. All the chairs were taken except for the two closest to the front.
    “You’re late.” Chambers glanced at his watch and frowned from the head of the table. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come sit down.”
    And a good morning to you, too. Emma walked behind Julien and clenched her