Ch.166Cowabunga! (4)

#166

As soon as Dexter opened the solitary cell door, a subtle fragrance of fruit and flowers wafted out—a scent that only someone who wasn’t a correctional officer would wear.

“Perfume?”

“I went through some trouble to bring it in.”

Caransa’s voice, admitting to using a prohibited item like perfume, was breathy and persistent.

With those words, Caransa took out a lipstick and a hand mirror—also contraband items—and then pursed her lips while looking into the mirror.

‘She’s applying lipstick in front of me?’

Dexter frowned at the sight of her applying lipstick in front of the person who had summoned her.

Camila Caransa.

She was a woman directly connected to El Firte, the boss of New Lomas, Mexico’s largest cartel.

“Inmate Caransa, I hear you’re practically the boss of Block 4.”

“How could the prison be mine, Officer Hughes? People just tend to follow me, that’s all.”

Looking at her, one might think she was an experienced professional at a job interview rather than an inmate.

Dexter was experiencing cognitive dissonance. He had expected the wife of a cartel boss to be vicious or unreasonable, but instead, she was showing gentle and soft behavior.

“Fine, whatever. Why did you call me?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“I was just told to meet you.”

Raymond wasn’t the type to explain things at length, and he probably thought Dexter would get an explanation when they met.

Seeing that Dexter had come without any explanation, Caransa changed her posture, sitting properly on the bed with her feet on the floor to give a proper explanation.

As Dexter, who was larger than most men, stood with his arms crossed looking at her, Caransa smiled subtly.

“I’m curious what you think about Turner. Could you tell me?”

“Turner? She’s dangerous. I believe she should be isolated not only from society but from other inmates as well.”

“I’m grateful that you think the same way, Officer Hughes.”

“No, you didn’t call me here just to ask that, did you? Tell me clearly why you called me.”

When Dexter, who detested beating around the bush, spoke bluntly, the smile gradually disappeared from Caransa’s face.

“This isn’t working.”

With those words, Caransa’s expression immediately turned sour, causing Dexter to chuckle.

“I thought as much.”

“It works on most officers.”

“Do I look like ‘most’ to you?”

“I thought you were just another muscle-head who likes to throw his weight around.”

Caransa, pressed against the wall, looked at Dexter with raised eyebrows and bluntly said:

“Get that bitch Turner transferred somewhere else.”

“I’m neither the chief officer nor the warden. How can I decide that on my own? And you’ve gotten quite casual with me, haven’t you?”

“You don’t seem susceptible to seduction, and we’re past the point of formalities, aren’t we?”

With those words, Caransa made a V-sign with her fingers toward Dexter and asked:

“Got a cigarette?”

“Of course not. And even if I did, I wouldn’t give you one.”

“Ah, picked the wrong person.”

Caransa, a heavy smoker, expressed her annoyance, and Dexter shook his head.

“You didn’t call me just to ask for an inmate transfer. And it wasn’t for cigarettes either. Besides, how does a Block 4 inmate know the name of a Block 2 officer?”

“Well, I heard about someone who handled a crazy woman in Block 2 quite well, so I wanted to see your skills for myself.”

“Crazy woman… Blueberg?”

“I heard her tits grew this big after getting involved with you.”

Caransa gestured with her hands to indicate breasts so large they would drag on the floor, making Dexter frown.

“She’s not a dairy cow. It’s not that extreme.”

“Anyway, I don’t think I’m wrong. When I listen to other officers or inmates from Block 2, they all tell similar stories.”

Caransa showed a lazy smile and said:

“I can see why Ray trusts you.”

“Ray? Raymond?”

“Yes, the chief officer. You should know there’s a connection between Raymond and me. Of course, I’d like to establish more of a connection with you too.”

When Caransa stared intently at Dexter’s lower body, he slightly turned his body to hide his private area.

“What connection? Getting friendly with you would probably start all kinds of rumors.”

“You’re underestimating me. I just told you—I have a deep connection with Ray, yet there are no rumors about it, to the point where you had to ask me about it.”

“Hmm, fine. Even so, why do you want to establish a connection with me?”

“You might not know, but you’re quite famous among the inmates. Your popularity might even rival the warden’s.”

“You’re comparing me to the warden?”

“They’re all criminals who know one thing but not another—they’re happy as long as they’re fed well. When you see someone crying because they ate roast beef for the first time last Christmas, you know what I mean.”

‘If nothing else, the warden does feed them well.’

The warden had said that just feeding them properly reduces fights by half.

That was something both Dexter and Caransa agreed on.

“People who mess with food are the worst kind of bastards.”

“You seem to understand criminals’ minds pretty well, so that’s why I’m making this offer.”

“Offer?”

“How about becoming a Block 4 officer?”

Caransa’s proposal.

It was possible to propose changing Dexter’s assignment, but the person making the offer was inappropriate.

“Why are you the one making this offer?”

“Because I effectively run Block 4. The reason I asked to be put in solitary was so I could make this offer.”

“You voluntarily asked to be put in solitary?”

“You didn’t know?”

Dexter chuckled at Caransa’s incomprehensible behavior, finding it absurd.

“For confidential conversations, a solitary cell where only certain people can enter is better than a communal cell where anyone can come in. It’s quieter too.”

“Wait. So you’re saying you can handle personnel matters related to Block 4 officers as you please? Just because you’re friendly with Raymond?”

“It’s not just because we’re friendly.”

Caransa’s activities weren’t limited to running a cartel within the prison.

“The current warden is going to retire, and Raymond has the highest chance of becoming the next warden, right?”

“That’s true, but so what?”

“Have you heard of any riots in Block 4 since you arrived, except for today, which is a once-in-a-few-years occurrence?”

“No. Problems only started after Turner was assigned to Block 4.”

“Right. So who do you think has been working to prevent riots, except for that crazy woman?”

As Caransa’s eyes gleamed with pride, asking to be acknowledged, Dexter snorted in disbelief.

“What are you, a Prohibition-era mafia? Should I call you Don Caransa?”

“I don’t like your tone. Are you refusing to acknowledge me?”

“I’m just dumbfounded.”

To Dexter, the atmosphere in Block 2 was so harmonious and docile that it hardly felt like a prison.

He was disappointed to realize that the cold, rigid prison atmosphere he felt when first entering Block 4 was actually created by Caransa.

“Anyway, whether it’s Block 4 or Block 2, keep your hands off my personnel matters.”

“You don’t want to come?”

“Let me be clear. I don’t want to be controlled by someone else. Besides, does it make sense for a criminal to have control over my job assignment?”

“Oh my. You’re cute, aren’t you?”

“Cute my ass.”

If Himena or Jesse had said that, he might have playfully slapped their behind and laughed it off, but Dexter openly showed his dislike at hearing such things from Caransa, an inmate.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’m leaving. I’ll talk to Raymond properly about Turner, so don’t worry.”

“Are you really not coming to Block 4?”

“I’m not interested in playing house with criminals. Leave me out of it and do whatever you want.”

Dexter had too many things to worry about to spare any attention for Caransa.

After giving a casual hand wave as a farewell, Dexter closed the solitary cell door and left without looking back, causing Caransa to raise one corner of her mouth and mutter to herself:

“Interesting man.”

No one had ever treated her so coldly before.

People usually reacted in one of two ways when they heard about her connection to Mexico’s largest cartel—either they became afraid or tried to befriend her.

But his reaction was neither, and he even flatly rejected her offer, which made her even more interested in him than before.

“I like him.”

The desire to possess Dexter began to burn in Caransa’s heart.

However, Caransa didn’t know that to realize that desire, she would have to go through four women.

Unaware of this fact, Caransa showed a twisted yet seductive smile.

* * *

“Did you take care of Jesse like this too?”

“That’s right. I switched shifts with Marsha back then too, just like today.”

Dexter, waiting at the intake and release facility, handed Emily a box containing various items.

“This is a taxi voucher to the nearby bus stop, but since Jesse said she’d pick you up, just keep it. These are the personal belongings that were confiscated when you were arrested.”

Emily, rummaging through the box Dexter handed her, said without taking her eyes off it:

“My lock picks and Guy Fawkes mask are missing.”

“They’re key crime tools—of course they wouldn’t be here.”

“Ah, I guess that makes sense.”

Seeing Emily now dressed in civilian clothes, Dexter nodded approvingly.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, I thought you might dress strangely, but you’re dressed quite normally.”

“If a thief dresses unusually, they attract attention and get caught, right?”

“That’s true.”

Emily’s outfit—a white short-sleeved T-shirt, black skinny jeans, a tan fedora, and sunglasses—was a fashion style commonly seen on the Las Vegas Strip.

“The clothes are a bit loose.”

“Aren’t they supposed to be tight?”

“I guess it’s because I do yoga often.”

After receiving her wallet, handbag, and cell phone, Emily looked at Dexter and said:

“So officially, we can only meet after you get off work.”

“That’s right.”

Emily continued to look at Dexter with her usual expressionless face before turning to look at the glass door of the exit.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Huh? Don’t you have anything else to say?”

“We’ll see each other at home anyway.”

“That’s not wrong, but it feels a bit off.”

Dexter gave a hollow laugh at her cold response, and Emily waved her hand lightly as she headed for the exit.

“See you later.”

Jesse’s car, a Stingray, was waiting in the parking lot in front of the prison, and Emily got in and headed straight home.

Dexter, who had expected her to say something more, was feeling a mix of relief and disappointment when he saw Jesse, who had come to pick up Emily, kiss her on the cheek while waiting for a traffic light.

“Our Emily, you’ve been through a lot!”

“Jesse, the light’s green.”

“How do you maintain the same expression even after being released?”

“It’s not that exciting. It feels like I just came back from a vacation on a deserted island.”

“…Well, you are quite unique.”

Jesse shook her head at the predictable response, and Emily, still expressionless, asked Jesse a question:

“Himena is coming today too, right?”

“Yes, now that you’re out, you need to participate in the meeting.”

Jesse said this with a smile, but it was only her mouth that was smiling—her eyes remained unchanged.

Though it didn’t have an official name yet, it would soon be called “Ladies Night.”

It was an unofficial meeting that Dexter naturally had no right to participate in, where the main agenda was usually deciding who would spend time with Dexter based on a rotation system.

Of course, it also served as an intelligence agency, collecting and sharing information about women around Dexter to prevent new competitors from emerging.

“Himena said she’s getting off work earlier than usual today, so you, me, and Himena will go shopping together and then discuss the most important agenda item around dinner time.”

“Important agenda?”

“I talked about it on the phone, remember?”

“Ah, I remember. Officer Judy, right?”

Jesse nodded ambiguously at Emily’s words.

“It’s hard to figure out Dexter’s type. There’s not much in common between the four of us—me, Himena, you, and Judy—except for gender.”

“I wonder what he liked about Judy?”

“That’s something we need to figure out in this meeting. We also need to think about how to bring Judy over to our side.”

Then Jesse grumbled:

“Dexter isn’t a pie, but here we are thinking about sharing him. It’s not even funny.”

“You have to admit he’s an extremely delicious pie.”

“The problem is that neither you nor I can give up that pie.”

“It’s not Dexter’s fault he’s so charming.”

“Exactly.”

Jesse sighed, and Emily stared blankly out the car window, imagining how the Ladies Night would unfold that afternoon.