Corrupted by Lisa Scottoline Read Free Book Online

no sign.”
    â€œThey don’t need one. Everybody knows what it is.”
    Bennie turned onto the driveway, which wound around the side building, going straight up to the peak of the hill, with a wall of black rock on the right and a guardrail on the left. She spotted a grimy old redbrick building, which looked to have three or four stories, with bars over the windows. It was shaped like a rectangle with a wing at either end, and she drove around to the left wing, since that was where the driveway led. There was a small parking lot near the entrance, and Bennie pulled in, cutting the ignition.
    *   *   *
    â€œI appreciate you doing this.” Matthew pressed his glasses up on his nose. In his lap sat a white plastic bag he was bringing Jason, which contained socks, long underwear, and Legos. “We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t read the riot act to that lady.”
    â€œIt’s my job.” Bennie had insisted on seeing Jason outside of visiting hours, arguing that as his counsel, she couldn’t be denied. She grabbed her purse and messenger bag, then turned to Matthew. “I hope you don’t mind my meeting with him alone.”
    â€œNo, I’ll say hi, then I’ll say I have to go to the bathroom. Give you two some time.” Matthew opened the car door, clutching the white plastic bag.
    â€œLet’s go.” Bennie got out of the car, catching a frigid gust of wind in the face as she closed the door behind her. She looked down to the river, which snaked thick and black at the foot of the hill, and she saw a large dark building, its roof ringed with concertina wire, along the riverbank. It had an older portion in back, of lighter tan brick, and its roof looked like an ancient medieval castle with turrets at the corners. Story-high cyclone fencing and barbed wire surrounded the entire compound.
    â€œThat’s the adult prison,” Matthew said, his breath wreathing his head in the cold.
    Bennie shuddered, then turned around. LUZERNE COUNTY DETENTION CENTER , read a white sign beside a rusted double door with peeling green paint, set under a green metal awning. A single light flickered above the door, and down the left side of the building was a tiny yard with cyclone fencing topped with concertina wire. Brutal wind and icy snow swirled off the river, making the setting grimly Gothic. The sky was completely black and starless.
    Matthew shoved his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. “I can’t believe my boy is here, I just can’t believe it.”
    â€œI know.” Bennie couldn’t believe any kids were in such a horrible place. Matthew gestured her ahead, and they climbed the few concrete steps to the doorway, where they pressed an aged buzzer. There were no security cameras, and in the next few moments, an older guard in a blue uniform came to the door, unlocked it, and opened it narrowly, blinking against the snow.
    â€œHello, I’m Bennie Rosato, counsel for Jason Lefkavick, and this is his father, Matthew Lefkavick. We called ahead.”
    â€œOh, you’re the one.” The guard looked from Bennie to Matthew, then opened the door. The doors emptied into a grimy vestibule with a worn linoleum floor and walls of peeling gray paint, and after they produced IDs, they were led down an equally run-down corridor to a small visiting room that contained a few battered wooden tables with mismatched chairs. The guard left them to retrieve Jason.
    Bennie sat down, setting her things on the table, while Matthew remained standing, gazing expectantly at the door on the other side of the room. He was in motion as soon as the door was opened and Jason was led into the room by the guard. Bennie was struck immediately by how little Jason was, not even five feet tall. His chubby, prepubescent frame filled out the blue jumpsuit, and his brush haircut showed a child’s indifference to appearance. The instant Jason saw his father, he