OLIVER RYDER PAID NO attention to the footsteps that approached his cell, he had been checked on several times since he was put in there and was sure the steps merely preceded another check. His eyes flew open, however, when he heard the rattle of keys and the sound of the door being unlocked.
“What d’you want?” he asked sharply of Mitchell when he saw the sergeant in the doorway. “Isn’t it way past time an office monkey like you was home? You don’t normally work this late.”
“I’ll be on my way home soon,” Mitchell said. “I thought you’d want out of here first, though.”
Oliver looked at Mitchell in surprise, not sure he had heard him right. “What’re you talking about? You don’t normally release me ‘til you have to.”
“If you want to stay here, you can,” Mitchell told him. “I thought I’d
