“I can't tell you about cell block C either. What I hear from my patients is a secret. This is part of medical confidentiality. Everything else ... are probably the same rumours you know.”

David had already expected such an answer. "By rumours you probably mean the stories about the mafia and the undercover cop."

Dr. Novak took a deep breath. “There are rumours like that in every prison. I previously worked in another prison. The same rumours, the same people.”

"So you think there is nothing there?"

Suddenly her smile came back. But she still seemed unsure because the corners of her mouth twitched uncomfortably. “Maybe there's a mafioso somewhere in block C. Maybe he is selling his drugs somewhere. I've gotten a lot of heroin addicts in lately.”

David was listening. That was exactly the information he wanted to hear. So heroin. Money laundering would certainly not be far away.

“I'm assuming the rumours are half-truth, David. But if you are not directly involved, leave it like that.”

“Sometimes you don't really have a choice here. Mr. Perez put me in exactly this situation. I would just like to avoid something like that happening again. And when everyone around me talks so intensely about this one man who supposedly does bad things to inmates ... at least I want to know what to watch out for to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.”

Dr. Novak nodded weakly and looked at her laptop. "I understand that…"

"I was honest with you," David began, leaning forward a little, "are you honest with me now?"

Her amber eyes suddenly looked duller in the bland neon tube light of the bare room than usual when she struggled to smile again. “You seem to have a strong sense of justice, David. My tip for you? Let it go. You won't find justice here. Only punishment if you don't dance by the rules.”

David frowned. But before he could say anything, Dr. Novak leaned forward again and started typing something on her laptop.

“Stay out of the things you don't care about. Be good. Don't break anything," she murmured as she typed something. "Stay covered. Then I can guarantee that you will be left alone," and then she pushed the laptop a little bit in David's direction so that he could see the screen.

The room is bugged

David's heart suddenly pounded faster. He looked at Dr. Novak, who was watching him with wide eyes. Eventually he nodded and slowly leaned back in his chair. "If you say so, I take this as a valuable tip."

This room was bugged? Always? Then there were surely microphones in other rooms. He even secretly wondered if anything was wired anywhere near the showers.

Dr. Novak pulled her laptop back to her with a shaky smile and erased the written words. "I can help you deal with fear, but I can't take it from you," she said, looking sternly in David's direction.

"Okay? And what exactly does this include?”

She closed the laptop and released pent-up air from her nose. Suddenly she got up. “I saw that your neck was scratched. Do you want me to take a look? One seems to be particularly deep. There is some blood on your collar.”

David probably didn't quite understand her hidden statement, which is why she immediately redirected the topic. But scratches? Blood on his collar?

He nodded and wanted to get up when she indicated that he should stay seated. She opened one of the small dressers and pulled out plasters and wound healing cream. Armed with a swab, she began to drive over David's neck.

Indeed, it burned. "Shit," David said.

“Who scratched you? Or was it an accident?” she asked calmly and dabbed on happily, although David had to hold on to the chair so as not to jump up.

James. "I don't know ..." David murmured, closing his eyes. "Must have happened at a brawl."

"You know that," she began, putting the swab down to pull David's collar down a bit, "sexual activity is prohibited here."

Then David laughed. Even if his laugh stopped immediately when Dr. Novak applied another swab. "It's funny that everyone tells me about this rule and I still see a lot of sex."

Dr. Novak didn't answer, but came to an end with disinfecting the area. Her hands were on his shoulders with some force. Finally he heard her take the tube and gently dab cream on the wounds with a cotton swab. “Another tip from me: stay away from something like that. Such relationships are often the beginning of serious problems in everyday life. Especially when there is a breakup.”

David had to admit again that the woman was good. She had probably dealt with patients who came in with strange scratch marks on their backs and were later found dead because a selfish ex-boyfriend couldn't handle the separation.

It was the first time that David was beginning to have doubts about this whole thing with James. He didn't look like someone who would just tolerate a no. On the other hand, he still seemed more sensible than the acquaintances he had made so far.

"I'll try, thanks," David finally murmured and felt a plaster sticking on his skin.

"Try to leave the patch on for at least a few more hours so the cream can soak in," she said, slowly pulling David's collar back up. Lastly, she put all the utensils away.

"Thank you very much," said David, getting up. "Do you think it makes sense if we schedule more hours?"

"It depends on you." She put her hands in the pockets of her coat. “If you think therapy would help you, then of course it would. Otherwise I would herewith release you again. We still have two probationary sessions.”

Since the room was being listened to, it probably made little sense to conduct the conversations as therapy. The good lady knew something, otherwise she would not have reacted so harshly to the truth. Keeping herself covered meant that she was either dealing with someone who was working with the mafia, or she was under Candy's wing. Or both - David could not rule it out yet. Of course, wanting to help was a desirable but unlikely option.

"I'd like to continue with the two sessions left," David said, trying to figure out how to communicate well without spoken words, without evidence like paper or recoverable Word documents.

Dr. Novak nodded slowly and smiled hesitantly. “But I cannot and will not be able to give you answers to your abstruse stories. I hope you are aware of that.”

"Absolutely. I think dealing with my fear would be a good start. And maybe you can help me deal with my emotional blindness as well.”

Then her eyes lit up again. Treating David as an interesting case seemed to captivate her. "With pleasure."

On the way out, however, she held onto his sleeve again and leaned close to him. “Don't do anything unreasonable, David. Stay out of these rumours. I have read your file. If you do it well, you'll be out in about three or four months. Just keep track of time and try not to make relationships that make you dependent.”

Her advice was kind. She was probably right. The soft whisper led David to suspect that microphones had also been installed in the corridor.

So much for discretion towards the management. David was sure that the microphones would go straight into Mr. Hook's ear. That's why he knew so much about his prison. A cunning, sneaky man.

"I'll try, thanks," David whispered, leaning toward her so that it looked like he was kissing her. "If you want to help me, just let me know."

He smiled politely at her again and finally walked down the aisle.

On the way to his cell, he watched the corridors a little more closely. Cameras, probably without microphones. But he couldn't be sure.

Maybe James had an idea.