Chapter 3 - Martha’s Memory
Sarah did not go directly to Holt’s office.
She went to medical.
That alone violated the warden’s order.
She no longer cared.
Martha Hayes sat on the edge of an infirmary bed while a nurse checked her blood pressure.
At seventy-one, Martha had thin silver hair, deep-set brown eyes, and an expression that made most officers think twice before speaking down to her.
She had been convicted eight years earlier in a financial-fraud case involving the nursing home where she once worked as an administrator.
Sarah knew the file.
Martha admitted falsifying invoices to cover facility debts.
She still insisted she never stole for herself.
The court had disagreed with parts of her story.
None of that mattered now.
Prison did not erase bodily autonomy.
“Martha.”
The older woman looked up.
“You’re supposed to call me Hayes when cameras are on.”
Sarah checked the hallway.
“I need to ask you something privately.”
Martha studied her.
“You finally believe me?”
Sarah felt shame.
“I should have sooner.”
Martha’s expression changed.
The nurse left at Sarah’s request.
Sarah sat.
“What do you remember about the nights you were taken out of isolation?”
Martha’s hands tightened.
“I told Dr. Ward.”
“I know.”
“She said I dreamed it.”
“Tell me.”
Martha looked toward the ceiling.
“The first time was maybe five months ago.”
“Before isolation?”
“Just after they moved me there.”
“Why were you moved?”
“They said I threatened another inmate.”
“Did you?”
“I told her I’d break her radio if she played gospel music at two in the morning.”
Sarah almost smiled.
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Apparently here it is.”
Then Martha became serious.
“One night Mark came.”
Sarah kept her expression neutral.
“With a wheelchair.”
“Were you awake?”
“At first.”
“What happened?”
“They said I needed an imaging test.”
“At two in the morning?”
“I asked that.”
“What did they say?”
“Equipment was only available then.”
“Who was with Mark?”
“A woman from medical. Mask. I thought Ward.”
“Did you recognize her?”
“Later.”
Martha rubbed her hands.
“They gave me something. Said it would help me relax.”
“Did you agree?”
“To something for anxiety, yes.”
Sarah was careful.
“And anything else?”
“No.”
“What happened after?”
“I remember a room.”
“What kind?”
“White walls. Machine noises. Dr. Ward arguing with a man.”
“Words?”
Martha closed her eyes.
“‘Baseline too low.’ Something about response.”
“Anything else?”
“Everlife.”
Sarah felt a chill.
“What did it mean?”
“I thought I heard wrong.”
“You didn’t.”
Martha opened her eyes.
“You know?”
Sarah nodded.
“Some.”
Martha’s face hardened.
“Then tell me.”
Sarah hesitated.
She was not a doctor.
She did not know enough.
“I think the medical contractor has been conducting unauthorized reproductive research.”
Martha stared.
Then laughed once.
It was not humor.
“I’m seventy-one years old.”
“I know.”
“When Dr. Chen told me I was pregnant, I told her she needed a vacation.”
Dr. Amelia Chen was a staff physician not employed by Northstar, the one who discovered Martha’s pregnancy.
“She tested me three times.”
“I know.”
“Then Ward came in and said we should keep it private.”
“What reason?”
“She said media attention could hurt me.”
Martha looked at Sarah.
“Everything in this place is always for our own good when they want us quiet.”
Sarah swallowed.
“Do you remember signing research consent?”
“No.”
“Anything about fertility treatment?”
Martha’s laugh disappeared.
“No.”
“Ever receiving hormone medication?”
“I took pills for bone health.”
That clicked.
“New medication?”
“Started six months ago.”
“Before pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
“Who prescribed?”
“Ward.”
Sarah wrote nothing.
No notes that could be seized easily.
She committed details to memory.
Then Martha asked:
“Is Evelyn pregnant because of this too?”
“I believe so.”
“Dolores?”
“Yes.”
Martha looked toward closed door.
“What are you going to do?”
“Report outside.”
“Warden?”
“No.”
Martha nodded slowly.
“Good.”
Sarah was surprised.
“You suspected Holt?”
“I’ve been in institutions longer than you’ve worked in them.”
Martha leaned closer.
“People at the bottom can’t hide this much without somebody at the top deciding not to look.”
Sarah thought of Holt watching access logs.
Then Martha added, “If you’re going outside, use my name.”
Sarah frowned.
“Your medical information is private.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because they’re counting on shame.”
Sarah understood.
The pregnancies had been hidden partly because administrators believed elderly prisoners would be too humiliated or frightened to speak.
Martha continued.
“But Evelyn decides for Evelyn. Dolores decides for Dolores.”
“Absolutely.”
“Don’t turn us into a group without asking.”
Sarah nodded.
Martha had been controlled enough.
Then the infirmary door opened.
Dr. Celia Ward entered.
She stopped when she saw Sarah.
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking on an inmate.”
“That is medical staff responsibility.”
Sarah stood.
“Martha is still in custody. Officers can speak with her.”
Ward’s eyes moved toward Martha.
“What did you discuss?”
Martha smiled coldly.
“Gospel music.”
Ward did not smile.
“Officer Collins, Warden Holt wants you upstairs.”
“I know.”
“You’re already late.”
Sarah moved toward the door.
Ward stepped aside.
Then whispered, “Be careful what you think you know.”
Sarah stopped.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
Ward’s voice remained calm.
“It’s advice.”
Sarah turned.
“Did Martha consent?”
Ward’s face went completely still.
“To what?”
Sarah held her gaze.
“You tell me.”
Ward said nothing.
Sarah left.
In the hallway her phone buzzed.
A personal phone she was not supposed to carry inside secure areas, hidden beneath her uniform because she no longer trusted prison devices.
A text from Lena:
HOLT TOOK THE OFFICIAL DRIVE. SHE SAYS THE CAMERA WAS UNAUTHORIZED AND MUST BE DESTROYED.
Sarah’s heartbeat accelerated.
Then a second text.
CALEB MOSS JUST ENTERED THE SERVER ROOM WITH A WIPE AUTHORIZATION.
Evidence was disappearing.
Sarah looked back toward Martha’s room.
Ward was still watching through the small glass window.
Sarah walked faster.
She needed to get the second copy outside the prison.
But as she reached the staff exit, her badge flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED.
The door remained locked.
A speaker above her clicked.
Warden Holt’s voice filled the vestibule.
“Officer Collins, report to my office.”
Sarah stared at the locked exit.
Then Holt added:
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“Bring everything you copied.”
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