The Warden by Madeleine Roux Read Free Book Online Page B

and I can hardly describe the feeling. Elation. Relief. Patient Zero has surfaced and now my work truly begins.
    â€”Excerpt from Warden Crawford’s journals—May

T he hammer blow of punishment never fell. Still, Jocelyn waited for it. She waited for days. She went to bed jittery and rose from restless sleep in a fog, so distracted that even Mrs. Small in the grips of her dementia noticed and commented on her demeanor. During breakfast she heard the whispers of the nurses as they gossiped about the now infamous jailbreak, keeping their distance so as not to be implicated, but none of them were ever called to Warden Crawford’s office for discipline.
    When he mentioned it, he simply referred to it as “that little incident” and carried on.
    It made Jocelyn sick with anxiety, and it also made her realize that she really had been trying to get them all fired. It was sabotage of the most obvious kind, and it had gone completely ignored.
    Jocelyn sat on her bed before another full day, braiding her hair into one plait before looping it into a bun and pinning it. The spring rain had started up again, softer now that a few weeks had gone by and May was approaching. Madge stood at her wardrobe, picking out a pair of nylons for the day.
    â€œThis poor little thing,” Jocelyn said, finishing with her hair and reaching over to the bedside table for the cracked MinnieMouse statue. “Did I tell you? I broke this the first night we were here. You slept right through it.”
    She had even asked Nurse Kramer if she could borrow some of the patient craft supplies to fix the chip, but she was told curtly that “Therapeutic arts and crafts materials are not for frivolous use.”
    Somehow she got the feeling that if any other nurse had asked, the request would have been granted.
    â€œMm. I think you told me that.”
    â€œThat’s it? Usually I get an earful for telling you something twice.” She laughed, but it died slowly as she looked from the figurine to her friend. Before, she hadn’t really given a thought to how Madge picked out her nylons, but now she watched more closely, realizing that Madge had picked up each clean pair in succession, held it briefly, and then put it back. She repeated the same odd ritual three more times before Jocelyn finally spoke up.
    â€œMaybe we should get to bed earlier,” she suggested, putting Minnie back on the table and standing. She smoothed down the front of her uniform. “You’re practically sleepwalking.”
    â€œAm I?”
    Jocelyn frowned, joining her friend at the wardrobe and picking up a pair of plain, nude nylons. “These are fine. The ones with the seam up the back just seem a little . . . racy. Save those for date night.”
    â€œFine,” Madge said, ripping the nylons out of her grasp. “We should get down to breakfast. I’m half-starved.”
    Jocelyn nodded, retreating to the door while her friend finished dressing. She had tried not to notice the change in Madge,who treated Jocelyn so similarly to the way the other nurses treated her now. Taking Lucy on that wheelchair ride had made Jocelyn a pariah, but she never expected to feel it from Madge, too. The change might have been subtle, but she felt it. How could she not? Madge was her only ally in the place. It did seem like it wasn’t just an attitude shift. . . . Madge seemed to be smoking more, popping out for more frequent breaks, and she carried around a little package of lozenges everywhere, chewing them constantly, sometimes so loudly it made Jocelyn want to climb up the walls.
    The one time she asked for one, Madge shot her a glare and flatly refused.
    At least Tanner still spoke to her occasionally.
    Everyone here is so wonderful, Mom. Just so warm. Kind, really. You’d be so proud of how Madge and I are doing. The warden has taken a shine to us, and I think this points to a bright future for us both.
    She winced at the memory of