Joint Judgement (An Emma Harrison Mystery Book 3)

by Wendy Cartmell

  ‘Ah, Dr Fox,’ came the strident tone of Chief Robinson. ‘You’re urgently required in the education block. An inmate has been stabbed and needs immediate medical attention.’

  Geoff opened his mouth to reply, but the line had been cut at the other end. It didn’t really surprise Geoff, Chief Robinson was a man of few words and he’d long ago come to the conclusion that it wasn’t personal. The Chief wasn’t hoarding unspoken criticism of Fox as a doctor, or at least he didn’t think so. Hoped so. Oh bugger, he thought, just get on with it.

  Still rebuking himself for being paranoid, he grabbed his doctor’s bag, taking a quick look inside to make sure his medical supplies were in place. Satisfied, he began the tortuous journey from the hospital to education, his keys jangling with every step.

  Fox knew that something had happened in education earlier that morning, as the chief had been called away during the Titas situation, but he hadn’t taken much notice, nor checked what had been going on afterwards, his thoughts being consumed by the havoc wreaked in his hospital. He was therefore surprised to bump into officers hanging about in full riot gear. Bypassing them, he then encountered DI Briggs and Emma Harrison.

  ‘What?’ he asked, but the only answer to his question was Chief Robinson grabbing his arm and pulling him to the double door which was the entrance to the wing.

  ‘Right,’ the Chief said, ‘Sgt Williams of the Royal Military Police is in there, investigating the murder of Jack Walker.’

  ‘The what?’ Fox looked at the Chief in horror. Jack Walker? Murdered? It couldn’t be possible. This was a nice quiet establishment. Such things didn’t happen here. But one look at the Chief’s face, which seemed to be carved from granite, confirmed that the statement was true.

  ‘You heard,’ came the brusque reply. ‘Anyway, Sgt Williams is doing a pretty good job of the investigation, but now a young lad, Stan Smith, has been stabbed with some sort of homemade shiv and is bleeding to death in there. We’ve got permission for you to go in and help him.’

  ‘P…p…permission?’ Fox stammered.

  ‘Yes, from Memphis Colby.’

  ‘Dear God!’

  ‘That’s as maybe, but Sgt Williams and Stan need your help, so in you go.’

  ‘Has an ambulance been called?’

  ‘On its way - now you get on your way.’

  The chief nodded to the group of lads who were watching the conversation between the two men, and they moved out of the way and opened the door just wide enough for Fox and his cumbersome case to get through. Once in the main room, he saw a blond haired man kneeling over an injured boy, trying to staunch the blood coming from a wound that seemed to be in his back.

  ‘At last,’ said the man. ‘Here, I’ve tried to stop the bleeding. He’s unconscious but still breathing, but I’m worried about shock as well as the wound. I haven’t moved him; thought it best not to.’

  ‘Sgt Williams?’

  ‘Yes, but call me Billy.’

  ‘Geoff Fox,’ he introduced himself but passed on proffering his hand to shake and then joined Billy on the floor. As he peeled away the boy’s sweat shirt and tee-shirt Fox went into A&E mode.

  ‘I hope you can save him, doctor,’ said Billy. ‘I don’t want a death on my watch.’

  Chapter 34

  This was work that Fox understood and so, it seemed, did Billy. Not in the least bit squeamish, Billy kept the pressure pad in place over the boy’s stab wound as Fox put a tight bandage around his torso.

  Turning the boy over onto his back Fox said, ‘Do you know who did this?’

  ‘Yeah, a lad called Ethan Hall.’

  ‘Ah,’ replied Fox. ‘Drug addict and self-harmer. That boy’s got a lot of problems.’

  ‘Well whatever his problems are, they just got a whole lot worse.’

  ‘How is he?’

  ‘Having severe withdrawal symptoms, which probably accounts for the attack on Stan. I tried to get permission from Colby to let him out of here earlier, so he could see you for medical attention, but Colby flatly refused. And this,’ Billy indicated Stan Smith, ‘is the consequence.’

  ‘Fucking hell.’

  ‘My sentiments exactly,’ agreed Billy.

  Fox said, ‘Can you find something we can use as a stretcher? I need to get Stan out of here and given some proper treatment as soon as possible.’

  ‘No worries,’ Billy said and left Fox alone.

  Glancing over his shoulder, the doctor saw that he was the focus of attention, but also the boys were keeping a respectful distance, which helped to ease his anxieties of being in an unprotected environment. Smith, meanwhile, was looking more dead than alive. His pale face was emphasised by his dark hair and his lips were turning an alarming colour, reminding Fox of the shade of flowering purple heather. But his pulse was strong and his breathing wasn’t restricted. After collecting an antiseptic wipe, syringe, cannula and fluid bag, he went to work. The needle slid easily into the back of the boy’s limp hand and it took no more than a moment to have him hooked up to a saline drip. Stan Smith’s eye lids began to flutter and he started moaning and moving jerkily around. It was a good sign that the boy was regaining consciousness and feeling pain, but Fox couldn’t have him writhing around and doing internal damage. The stab entry point wasn’t far from Stan’s kidneys and Fox had no way of knowing how much damage or bleeding was going on internally. So it was imperative that he be kept as still as possible. That meant morphine, and that meant another needle. Forcing away his fear of the lads overpowering him to get at the drugs he carried, Fox concentrated on the job in hand, pulling a vial out of his bag.

  A shift in the attention of the crowd made Fox quickly look up, fright making his hands tremble. But it was only Billy returning with an inmate, and between them they were carrying a door.

  ‘Aiden and I grabbed this from a store room in the computer room. Reckon it should do.’

  Fox nodded and mumbled his thanks.

  ‘Ready to get him out of here?’

  ‘Just a minute,’ replied Fox and pushed the plunger that injected the morphine into the boy’s blood stream via the cannula. Within a few seconds Smith stopped writhing and his breathing began to steady. Fox knew that the dose he’d given would take effect within 30 seconds to one minute and would help calm the boy down as well as ease his pain. Carefully placing the used vial and needle back inside his case, he snapped it closed and stood up.

  ‘Right,’ he said, ‘let’s have that door on the floor so we can transfer Stan onto it.’

  Billy and Aiden did as they were told, then Billy and Fox - one at each end of the boy - picked him up and placed him on the wood. Moving away, Fox allowed Aiden to take one end of the door while Billy took the other. Fox grabbed his medical case, held aloft the saline bag that was dripping precious fluids into Stan, and the four of them made their unwieldy way towards the exit.

  Just as they arrived at the double doors, Stan roused himself from his drug-induced stupor and tried to sit up, causing the board to wobble dramatically, taking Billy and Aiden by surprise. Putting a reassuring hand on the boy’s chest, Fox was just about to tell Billy and Aiden to carry on, when Stan tried to speak. His mumbled whispers were unintelligible, so Fox bent over and placed his ear by the boy’s lips.

  ‘Doc,’ Stan managed, the strain of uttering just that one word showing on the grimacing face and fluttering eye lids. ‘I saw… who killed… Mr Walker. It was…’

  Chapter 35

  If Fox thought he was having a bad day so far, it had just got a whole lot worse. He was now faced with a moral dilemma. Should he stay and help Billy? Or should he walk out of there with his patient? Was the murder of Jack Walker none of his business? Or was it his duty as part of the management team of the establishment to stay inside the education block and try and help Ethan Hall? Sgt Williams was exhibiting the sort of bravery Fox had always aspired to but never quite achieved. The man was alone with 50 inmates and desperately trying to investigate a murder. And now Fox had t
he culprit’s name and the skills that could help a troubled inmate.

  As they approached the exit, Fox knew he could tell the chief and Billy what he knew, and then walk away with Stan Smith to the waiting ambulance. But that was the cowardly way out; at least he was sure that was how his colleagues would see it, and Fox’s reputation would be further tainted. Perhaps by helping Billy he could wipe away some of the black marks he was bound to have collected from the Titas disaster. But, when it came down to it, was he courageous enough to do the right thing?

  As the boys guarding the exit opened the doors wide enough for the impromptu stretcher to go through, Geoff Fox handed the bag of saline to Chief Robinson. ‘Keep this higher than his head and tell the ambulance I’ve given him morphine. There’s a pressure pad on the stab wound in his back. He’s lost a lot of blood and is going into shock.’

  The wooden door holding Stan Smith was quickly taken from Aiden and Billy, who promptly shook their hands out, trying to get the circulation going again. Geoff realised that they’d been holding the door so tightly their fingers had gone white.

  ‘Is everyone else alright in there?’ the Chief asked Billy.

  ‘Yeah, pretty good,’ he answered, but Geoff Fox could see the strain in the young man’s pinched white face, and thought that Billy didn’t look the best himself. He then caught a look that passed between Billy and Emma Harrison. Emma was scanning Billy’s face and raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question. Seeing the smile that softened Billy’s face in return clinched it. The two were clearly an item and it struck Fox that they were far braver and far less selfish and self-centred than he. In that instant, his decision was made and when Billy and Aiden slipped back through the doors, he went with them.

  ‘What the?’ said Billy.

  ‘I thought you could do with some help,’ explained Fox. ‘And so could Ethan Hall.’ Fox nodded in Ethan’s direction. The boy was still standing in the middle of the open area, splashes of blood on his hands and shoes. His eyes were blank and as they watched, tremors passed through him at intervals.

  ‘Well, you’re not wrong, but I better go and speak to Colby. I don’t want him getting angry that you came in without his permission. I’ll focus on the fact that you volunteered to come to the aid of an inmate, as he wouldn’t let Ethan out.’

  ‘Oh God, I never thought of that. In fact, I didn’t really think, I suppose. I just came.’

  ‘And I’m bloody glad you did. Look, you go and help Ethan, Aiden can stay with you. And don’t worry about Colby.’

  But as Billy walked over to the art room door, Fox was worried about Colby. How could he have been so stupid? Jesus, couldn’t he get anything right?

  ‘Doc? Shall we go to Ethan now?’ Aiden asked.

  ‘What? Oh, yes, come on,’ and Fox hurried to do the one thing he could do right. And after that he’d have to get Billy on his own and pass on the name Stan Smith had given him.

  Chapter 36

  ‘How’s Ethan?’ Billy asked Fox as the doctor joined him in the art classroom after ministering to Ethan Hall.

  ‘He’s calmer now. I’ve given him some fluids.’ At Billy’s arched eyebrows, he quickly said, ‘An electrolyte drink, not a saline drip, and also Valium. Christ - is this where it happened?’ Fox looked around the room, his eyes finally falling on the covered body of Jack Walker.

  ‘Yes, Mr Walker was stabbed at the start of the art class this morning.’

  ‘And you volunteered to come and find the killer, I understand.’

  Billy nodded, ‘And now I need to test this,’ and he showed Fox the home made shiv that had been used to stab Stan Smith, and that he’d taken from Ethan Hall. Turning to a table where his equipment was laid out, Billy started to dust for fingerprints.

  Clearing his throat, and after a surreptitious look at Memphis Colby, who was still guarding the door, Fox said, ‘About that…’

  ‘About what?

  Leaning into Billy he whispered, ‘The murderer. Stan Smith gave me a name while we were at the door. He said that Ethan Hall had stabbed Mr Walker.’

  ‘Um,’ said Billy, continuing to flick his brush over the implement in front of him. ‘I can see why he said that.’

  Fox wondered what the hell was going on. Why would Billy be so blasé about being given the name of the boy responsible for the murder of Jack Walker? ‘Isn’t that what you needed to know?’ he hissed. ‘Look here, I’ve given up my freedom to come back and give you vital information and that’s all you can say? Um?’

  ‘Well I really appreciate the sacrifice,’ said Billy and Fox was sure he could hear sarcasm in the man’s voice, ‘but I thought you also came to help Ethan Hall, didn’t you?’

  Trying to recover both his frayed nerves and composure, Geoff said, ‘What? Oh yes, of course I did. But why aren’t you more interested in what Smith said?’

  ‘Because I don’t think Ethan did kill Mr Walker.’

  ‘But Smith said he did and Ethan stabbed him. How much clearer can it be?’

  ‘I see you’ve not much experience of investigations,’ Billy said as he painstakingly began to lift prints off the shiv.

  ‘Well, no.’

  ‘The first thing you can’t do is to jump to conclusions. Just because someone says something, doesn’t mean it’s so. You have to listen to the evidence as well as to witnesses and informants.’

  ‘The evidence?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Billy. ‘Like these finger prints I’m just sending over for identification.’

  Fox watched on in fascination as Billy scanned the prints into a small machine and then pressed the ‘Send’ button.

  Straightening up and arching his back Billy said, ‘We should have the names behind those prints pretty quickly. Reading Police only have to check them against the inmates here.’

  ‘Prints, plural?’

  ‘Yeah. Right, let’s see what Ethan has to say for himself. Memphis,’ Billy raised his voice, ‘can someone get Ethan Hall for us please?’

  Memphis gave a mock salute and then nodded for a minion to get the boy.

  Despite his ministrations, Fox thought Ethan still looked distressed. His hair was all over the place, as where his eyes, and he kept wringing his hands together, as though trying to wash away the stains of his crime.

  ‘So, Ethan,’ Billy began. ‘How are you doing?’

  ‘Bit better, thanks to Dr Fox.’ But shudders still racked his body periodically.

  ‘Can you tell me what happened?’

  Ethan nodded. ‘We was in the maths room, talking to some of the boys, when Stan Smith turned round and said I’d killed Mr Walker. Everyone turned to look at me and then they started shouting that it was all my fault that they were in this mess. I… I didn’t know what to do. They wouldn’t stop going on. Stan Smith wouldn’t stop jeering at me and it made my head hurt. Then he said he was going to tell on me, because everyone wanted to get back to their cells. They were all getting bored and fed up, so they decided to pick on me.’

  ‘But why would they say you killed him?’ Fox asked, feeling sorry for the poor boy. He knew that Ethan had tried several times to get off the drugs in the past, but as soon as Fox got him clean and sent him back onto the wing, Ethan was tempted once again. He was like a hamster on a wheel, not able to get off, and despite frantic pedalling, getting absolutely nowhere.

  ‘Because I had a weapon, like. But I didn’t kill Mr Walker, honest, Dr Fox.’

  Fox looked into Ethan’s eyes but all he saw was panic and pleading, not guilt and scheming, and he was inclined to believe the boy.

  ‘I know you didn’t, Ethan,’ Billy said.

  ‘You do?’ Ethan and Fox said, one an echo after the other.

  Billy nodded. ‘Where did you find the shiv, Ethan?’

  ‘In the toilets when I was being sick. I was in a cubicle and I heard someone coming in, heard a chink or two and then the person left.’

  ‘Do you know who that was?’

  ‘No, Dr Fox,’ Ethan said. ‘I didn
’t see him. I had my head down the toilet, like.’

  Geoff pushed away that particular image and said, ‘So once you left the cubicle?’

  ‘I went to see what the noise was.’

  ‘And it was the weapon?’ asked Billy.

  ‘Yeah, it had been hidden behind the cistern in the next cubicle.’

  ‘What did you do then?’

  ‘I hid it in my pants, like, didn’t I? Thought it might come in useful.’

  ‘And it did.’

  ‘Yes,’ Ethan had the good grace to look abashed. ‘I know I hurt Stan, but I just wanted to shut him up. It wasn’t true that I’d killed Mr Walker. I just found the weapon.’

  ‘I know,’ Billy said and Fox detected a note of kindness in the man’s voice. Someone who treated the boys with a modicum of respect was sometimes hard to find in this awful place, and so Fox was beginning to have a grudging respect for the military police detective.

  ‘You do?’ hope glowed in Ethan’s eyes as he looked at Billy as though he were his saviour, which in a way he was, supposed Fox. ‘You know I didn’t kill him?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘I listened to the evidence, that’s how.’

  Despite further questions from Fox and Ethan, Billy would say no more and he went to talk to Memphis Colby about getting Ethan out of the education block.

  Chapter 37

  Chief Robinson had just finished liaising with his officers and confirming that all the inmates were now back in their cells. Once the riot officers had managed to put Titas safely into solitary, all work detail had been cancelled and the inmates escorted back to their wings and banged up in their cells. That had taken the immediate pressure off his officers. He still had a full complement of riot officers waiting around the corner should they be needed, but at the moment he was happy with how things were going. But the crackle of his radio put his stress level back up a few notches.