A Brief Moment in TIme by Jeane Watier Read Free Book Online Page A

conference and then addressing the men in an assembly format,” she added, knowing that Adele was as aware of the details of this important first morning as she was. “I’d like to get a look at the facility while we’re there, too.” They were joined then by the two men that would be completing their team for the project, and the four of them left for the prison.
    Kathryn’s excitement was coupled with nervousness. She was confident as a public speaker, but this was new territory for her. Her audience was typically made up of peers in the mental health profession or graduate students wanting to expand their knowledge, not men being held against their will—forced, or as the warden had put it, “strongly encouraged” to participate in the program. It gave a whole new meaning to the term captive audience . Nevertheless, she was ready. She’d been preparing for this moment for a long time. She not only knew the material backward and forward, she believed in it wholeheartedly. She truly believed that she would see lives changed for the better.
     
     
    GAVIN HALF LISTENED as announcements were made after breakfast. But when the warden began talking about a rehabilitation program being initiated at Swenton, he had Gavin’s full attention. Frowning, he looked around to see what the men’s response was. All he saw was the usual look of disinterest in their faces as the warden talked about incentives and told the men that the program was to begin that morning with a lecture in the prison auditorium.
    “What the hell?” Gavin said just loud enough for Stubby to overhear.
    “Yeah,” Stubby whispered back. “I don’t know what they think they’re gonna accomplish with that. It’s just another waste of Joe Taxpayer’s money.”
    “But we already have a rehab program.”
    “Since when?”
    Gavin glanced over to see if Stubby was playing him, but his look was dead serious.
    “The rehab program,” Gavin repeated. “It’s been running for weeks already.”
    “Shit, Gavin,” Stubby frowned. “You’ve been in the infirmary for nearly three weeks. You must have been hallucinating or something; Bruno said you were in pretty rough shape.”
    “Three weeks?” Gavin shook his head. “I don’t remember…”
    The men were beginning to file out of the dining hall, and Stubby stood up to leave. Gavin followed numbly. What he was hearing made no sense; he was more confused than ever.
    “You got that weird virus,” Stubby explained. “They didn’t tell you anything?”
    Gavin shook his head.
    “About half a dozen others did, too. They quarantined the whole place. Yesterday was the first day we could have visitors. Word is several people in the city died from it—mostly old people, though.”
    “I had a virus?”
    “They’re calling it some fancy name, but it’s a virus, and apparently it spreads as easy as the common cold. Had the whole city in a panic for a while.”
    “And we don’t already have a rehab program?”
    Stubby frowned at him again, and Gavin started to think he’d better keep his inquiries to himself. There was just one more thing he needed to know. “The new kid…Ryan. Did he really do himself in?”
    “Who?” Stubby shook his head. “I think you need to recuperate a few more days, buddy. We don’t want rumors spreading. Keep this up,” he laughed, “and the only day pass you’ll be eligible for is to the psych ward at Dellberg.”
    While Kathryn and her associates waited in the wings, she listened to the men assemble. Talking and laughter filled the auditorium, chairs were being moved, and guards barked out commands. Once the men settled down, the warden nodded for her to begin. They had decided to forgo an introduction; she simply walked to the center of the platform where a small podium stood.
    She’d been warned about the response she was likely to receive but was still surprised when the men responded with cheers, whistles, and even catcalls. It took a few moments before the