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“That’s why the sheriff went back there?” Shaw asked. “Routine?”
“And we have floor deputies in the rec room, the yard, the canteen,” Lang said. “But that’s only during the day, before lockdown.”
“That’s our best guess,” Weiss said. “A routine check, and Welch got the jump on him. But, like I said, Glover isn’t talking.”
“So, whoever did the rounds before the sheriff must have unlocked the cell doors,” North said.
“Not necessarily,” Lang said. She gave him the eyebrows again. “They could have been unlocked for hours. It’s not like we rattle the doors every time we do rounds.”
Shaw caught North’s eye and shook his head.
“Anything else we should be asking?” North said.
“About the jail?” Weiss frowned. “The only thing I’d say is that Welch had to know somebody was coming. Fifteen-minute intervals, right? As soon as someone did rounds, he would have killed Mr. Weber. Then he waited for the next deputy to do the rounds.”
“So, it wasn’t heat of the moment,” North said. “It was an ambush.”
“The real question,” Shaw said, “is did he know it would be the sheriff.”
Nobody seemed to have an answer for that.
“Let’s see what else you’ve got,” North said.
Weiss settled them in an office that was so spartan that it had to be communal: a particleboard desk, two back-punishing office chairs, another piece of non-art (a print of a waterfall), and a poster, black with yellow letters, that said, PRISON OFFICER—BECAUSE GOD WAS ALREADY TAKEN. North’s eyebrows went up at that.
“I’ve already got the visitor logs,” she said, pointing to a binder on the desk.
“That was fast,” North said with something like approval in his voice.
“It wasn’t hard. We’ve had Welch for a couple of weeks, but Weber’s only been here a few days. That’s the last six weeks. It’s not like we’re the Ritz.”
“We can take this?” North asked.
Weiss laughed.
“It was worth a shot,” North said with a grin. “Copies?”
“I’ll make them before you leave. Chief Somerset has their files already; he took them with him.”
“He let us look at them,” North said.
Weiss moved the binder aside and revealed a folder underneath. She opened it to reveal what appeared to be printed stills from security cameras. The images were in black and white and suffered from the usual graininess that could be attributed to government spending and outdated technology, but they weren’t terrible. Weiss flicked through them, and Shaw glimpsed several high-angle shots of a man in a suit.
“I did my best to match the face to the name,” she said. “I went by the sign-in time. I guess it’s possible the logs aren’t accurate, but we’re pretty good about that. You might find that hard to believe after tonight, but it’s the truth.”
North’s eyebrows went up again. “That’s helpful.”
“Welch only had the one visitor, you see.” She slid the folder of security stills aside and opened yet another folder. This one held phone records, with several lines highlighted. “He spoke on the phone to a few different people, but he only had the one visitor.”
“Thank you for doing this,” Shaw said.
“How’d you have time?” North asked.
Weiss snorted. “What was I supposed to do? Walk around in circles out there so everyone can see how useless I am?”
“You’d be in good company.”
“You’ve got no idea.”
