Page 57 of Guess Again

Boscobel, Wisconsin Thursday, July 31, 2025

FRANCIS WAS SITTING ON HIS BED IN THE WINDOWLESS CELL WHEN the buzzer rang, indicating that his door was about to be opened.

This was the formal way prison guards entered his cell, not the way Andre Monroe did late at night.

Since early summer, the head guard had been sneaking into Francis’s cell and offering a continuous flow of news on Ethan Hall’s investigation into Callie Jones, and updates on the latest developments with the Portia Vail case.

In exchange, Francis gave Andre Monroe what he wanted.

Refusing Mr. Monroe would bring a beating that Francis could not chance. An extended stint in the infirmary would disrupt his plans, so Francis had succumbed to Andre Monroe’s demands. Today, though, something else was happening.

“Kneel in the corner,”

a guard yelled through the intercom system.

Francis stood from his bunk.

“Face the wall and place your hands behind your back.”

Francis knelt in the corner, placed his forehead against the wall, and extended his hands behind him.

Guards entered and cuffed his hands before lifting him off his knees.

When he turned around, Andre Monroe was in his face.

“You’ve been summoned, Francis.”

Francis stayed silent.

An image from two nights earlier flashed in his mind of Andre Monroe with his pants to his knees grunting as he stood over Francis.

“The shrink wants a word.

Probably worried that you’re going to kill yourself.”

The head guard leaned closer.

“Do you want to kill yourself, Francis?”

Francis stared past him and did not answer.

Andre Monroe’s voice took on that of a child.

“Do you need to talk to someone about your feelings?”

No answer.

“Get him out of here,”

Andre said.

The two guards on Francis’s arms led him out of the cell.

As he passed through the threshold, Francis knew Ethan Hall had started the transfer process.

He had three more days in this hellhole.