Page 59 of Guess Again

Madison, Wisconsin Friday, August 1, 2025

THE MEETING WAS ORGANIZED AGAIN AT THE EDGEWATER HOTEL IN Madison.

It was Friday afternoon.

Ethan stood with Pete Kramer as the door to the suite opened and Mark Jones walked in.

He held a manila file in his hands.

“Gentlemen,”

Mark said.

“Let’s sit.”

They all took seats around the conference table.

“Ari Cutlass is the warden over in Boscobel.

He and I go back a ways so I called in a favor.

He agreed to the transfer on Monday, but only if he could get one of the prison shrinks to sign off on it.”

“In case there’s blowback?”

Pete said.

“Exactly.

Ari’s worried that after so many years in solitary confinement Francis will lose his shit when they place him in gen pop.

And if he kills someone, Ari doesn’t want to be on the line for the repercussions.”

“Did you arrange the psych eval?”

Ethan asked.

“Yesterday,”

Mark said.

“The son of a bitch not only passed, he did so with flying colors.”

“So we have everything we need to process the transfer?”

Pete asked.

The governor looked at Ethan. “Almost.”

Ethan nodded, pulled an envelope from his back pocket, and slid it across the table.

“My letter,”

Ethan said.

“To the parole board, the warden, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections expressing my wish for Francis Bernard to be transferred from the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility to Columbia Correctional Institute in order to provide him with better living conditions and more freedoms after thirty-two years of rehabilitation.”

Ethan swallowed down the rancid stomach acids that climbed his esophagus.

The governor took the envelope.

“Thank you,”

Mark said.

“I know writing that letter was not easy.”

“The bottom line is that the scumbag is still going to be behind bars,”

Ethan said.

“And if this gets us information on your daughter’s killer and the location of Portia Vail, it’s worth the pain it caused to write it.”

Ethan didn’t mention that in the back of his mind existed the hope that Christian Malone would come through for him and find the identity of Lindsay Larkin’s anonymous client before Monday morning.

There was still a chance he’d stop Francis from going anywhere.

The governor placed Ethan’s letter into the folder, adding it to Francis Bernard’s psychiatric evaluation and the formal letter from the governor’s office.

It completed the file and, once delivered to the prison, would begin the expedited process of transferring Francis Bernard to Columbia Correctional on Monday.

“So how is this going to work?”

Pete asked.

Ethan cocked his head.

“Francis said that once the transfer order is complete and he’s on his way to Columbia, he’ll tell me everything he knows about Callie’s killer and Portia Vail’s whereabouts.”

“Bastard is going to wait to the last minute,”

Mark said.

“And according to Ari Cutlass, Francis is going to have his attorney look over the documents to make sure the transfer happens and we’re not just baiting him into giving up information.”

“What a wonderful justice system we have,”

Pete said.

“Where a cop killer can manage to wield such power from inside a prison cell.”

Mark looked at Ethan.

“Any movement on figuring out how Francis knows anything about my daughter or Portia Vail?”

Ethan shook his head.

“Nothing so far.

Pete’s been keeping an eye on Eugenia Morgan.”

“Not much there,”

Pete said.

“She purchased a gun this week but hasn’t gone near the warehouse that Francis sent Ethan to.

If the woman has anything to do with feeding Francis information, we can’t figure out what it is.

And Eugenia Morgan has been a dead end when it comes to linking her to Portia Vail in any meaningful way.”

The room went silent for a moment as they all allowed the weight of the situation to sink in.

“What’s our play here, gentlemen?”

Ethan asked.

“I’ll formally put the transfer through,”

Mark said.

He looked at Ethan.

“I’ll need you in Boscobel Monday morning to speak with Francis before the transfer and get the information he’s dangling in front of us.”

Ethan nodded.

Come on Christian.

Work your magic.