by Jacqui Rose
Emma paled as Officer Brown continued. ‘It’s for that reason you’ve got to go by your maiden name of Walsh. So don’t mess this up by mouthing off. They’ve cocked up sending you here, and they’ll probably soon transfer you to a prison up north, but until then, keep your head down.’
‘I need a drink …’
‘Will that be a piña colada or a double whiskey?’
Enraged, Emma growled, ‘This isn’t funny. Look at me, I’m shaking.’
Unsympathetically, Officer Brown said, ‘You can see medical later for that. They’ll give you something to stop the shakes. You should’ve asked them for something when they checked you in.’
‘What, and have everybody talking about me? I don’t want my private affairs broadcast.’
Officer Brown shook her head and chuckled. ‘This is prison and the moment you came through those gates you gave up anything near private. You’ll shit in front of the other women, you’ll piss in front of them, you’ll eat and shower in front of them and no doubt you’ll cry in front of them, so whether they know you like your booze or not is really not such a big deal when you think about it.’
Not liking what Officer Brown had to say, Emma snapped, ‘I want to see my husband.’
Officer Brown looked puzzled. ‘Why? What’s he going to do for you? There’s nothing he can do for you in here. The police have no jurisdiction in prisons, and anyway, from what I hear, he was hardly trying to keep you out of this place was he?’
‘What are you talking about?’
Officer Brown blinked a couple of times and then she smiled nastily. ‘You don’t know do you?’
Emma retorted, ‘I don’t know what?’
‘I think you need to talk to your solicitor – he can fill you in.’
‘Just tell me!’
Leading Emma out of the side room, Officer Brown said, ‘From what I hear from the police officer who escorted you in, your husband gave a pretty damning witness statement. Apparently, he was adamant that you attempted to kill the woman he was with.’
Having put Emma in a cell further down the landing, ten minutes later Officer Brown stood in the open doorway of Franny’s cell with two of her subordinate officers behind her. ‘You think you’re clever, don’t you, Doyle?’
Sitting on her bed, Franny gazed up at her and sighed. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.’
Officer Brown nodded to her officers who walked into the cell as she continued to talk. ‘I think a search is needed, don’t you?’
Franny shrugged, confident the phone she’d hidden wouldn’t be found by the officers who only really gave a half-hearted search. ‘I’ve got nothing to hide. Have a look. Search the cell for all I care – you ain’t going to find anything.’
‘You can’t be too careful especially after a visit. We’re cracking down. Too many prisons have drugs floating about. But that’s not going to happen in my prison.’
Franny looked puzzled. ‘You know I don’t do drugs.’
‘You could sell them though.’
Franny shook her head. ‘Not my style, I’m afraid. So you’re just wasting your time and mine,’ she said, nodding in the direction of the officers.
Officer Brown smirked. ‘We’ll see. Come with me. And no, Doyle, it isn’t a request, it’s an order.’
The room Franny stood in was no more than twelve feet by twelve feet. In one corner there was a steel toilet and in the other corner Officer Brown stood with her arms crossed and her hands covered in latex gloves. ‘Take your clothes off, Doyle.’
‘You’ve got to be joking.’
‘Nope, afraid not. You should’ve had this done before but sometimes my officers aren’t as thorough as me.’
Franny stared at Officer Brown, her hatred for her oozing from her eyes. ‘They already checked me. You know that.’
‘Maybe not as thoroughly as they should. Like I say, I don’t want my prison to be flooded with drugs.’
‘This isn’t about drugs. You’re getting off on this, ain’t you?’
‘Just doing my job, Doyle. Now get your clothes off.’
Franny shook her head and then slowly unbuttoned her top before slipping it over her head. She undid the button and zipper on her trousers, dropped them to the floor and stepped out of them. ‘Satisfied?’
Nastily, Officer Brown shook her head. ‘You’ve only been here a short time and you’re already causing trouble. I don’t like women who think they can come into my prison and throw their weight about. Now take your bra off.’
Franny held Officer Brown’s stare then slowly unclipped her bra.
‘Don’t be shy. Hands up in the air, Doyle.’
Again, Franny’s movements were slow as she raised her arms. She spat her words. ‘Nothing, see. So your playtime’s over.’
Officer Brown stepped into her space. She pushed her face into Franny’s. ‘I’ll be the judge of that. Now take your knickers off.’
Franny felt the anger rush through her body. She breathed heavily, willing her temper to stay even, because she knew losing it was exactly what Officer Brown wanted. Keeping her voice steady she said, ‘You know that’s not how it goes. You’re supposed to give me my top back first before I take my bottoms off.’
‘Oh I know but it’s more fun this way. It’s more fun to see you squirm and let’s face it there’s nothing you can do about it: you’re not leaving this room until you do what I say. It’s about time you started listening, Doyle. So come on, I haven’t got all day … though I guess you have.’
Knowing that Officer Brown wasn’t going to budge on this, Franny slowly pulled her pants down, and stood in the middle of the room completely naked as Brown made her way behind her.
‘Now squat.’
Quickly Franny swivelled around to face Officer Brown. ‘What?’
‘Don’t pretend you didn’t hear. Who knows what else you might be hiding up your arse, because I already know there’s a lot of bullshit.’
It was Franny’s turn to step forward. She was so close she could smell the toothpaste from Officer Brown’s mouth. ‘You’re not worth what I want to do to you. Not now anyway. It can wait.’
Officer Brown smiled. ‘The years you’ll get, Doyle, when they find you guilty, I think I’ll be waiting a long time, don’t you? But in the meantime, you’ll do as I say … unless you want more trouble …? No, I thought not. So come on then, squat, Doyle. Squat and cough.’
And as a naked Franny, slowly and full of humiliation began to squat, not for the first time that day she vowed to bring Vaughn down once and for all.
30
The next day on Tuesday afternoon, Vaughn stomped down the hallway.
‘Shannon! Shan! You’re needed out here. I want to talk to you!’ He shouted through the thick, wooden door. His knock was full of irritation. ‘For fuck’s sake just come out here. I’m sick of having to talk to you through the door.’
Shouting back, Shannon – who leant on her bedroom door, shaking – stared at her uncle, who’d fallen asleep the night before, but when he had eventually woken up, had refused to leave. And although the place was huge, to make matters worse, her bedroom was the only bedroom without an en-suite bathroom.
When she’d first moved in Vaughn had given her the choice of bedrooms but instead of choosing the ones that not only had their own bathrooms but also their own walk-in wardrobes, she’d chosen the smallest room, because she’d fallen in love with the view that looked out across the rooftops towards Soho, reminding her of the life she’d left behind, knowing she never wanted to go back there.
But ultimately what it had meant was she’d had to bring Charlie a bucket to use as a toilet, which had not only been disgusting but for some reason it’d made her sad. Her happiness felt like it was dripping away and it was all getting too much for her.
And on top of the stress of being with Charlie, she’d also had to keep rushing between Vaughn asking her to help him with Mia and running back t
o her room to make sure her uncle wasn’t about to blow their cover. ‘I’m coming!’
‘I don’t get why you have to keep this door locked. You never did before!’
Still shaking as she yelled back, Shannon fought her tears. ‘I just like a bit of privacy that’s all.’ She turned her attention back to her uncle, who was now sitting on the edge on the bed dressed in just his Y-fronts. ‘Don’t move, you hear me? Don’t move a muscle. And later I want you gone.’
Charlie grinned. Talking in the smallest of whispers, he said, ‘I can go now if you like. How about I do that? I can have a little chat to Vaughnie on the way out.’
As Charlie went to get up, Shannon grabbed hold of her uncle. ‘Don’t! Just stay there! Please.’
Mocking her, Charlie smiled. ‘Make up your mind, Shan. One minute you want me to go and the next you’re begging me to stay. I always knew you couldn’t do without me.’
‘Shannon!’
‘Sorry, Vaughn, I’m coming!’ Without answering her uncle, Shannon ran for the door and stepped out of her room straight into Vaughn who was standing waiting for her. He stared suspiciously at her as she pulled the door shut behind her.
‘Are you all right, Shan? You look jumpy.’
Wringing her hands and feeling the sweat run down her back, Shannon stared down at the floor. ‘I’m fine, Mia was up in the night and I’m just tired.’
Vaughn frowned. ‘I never heard her.’
Snapping, Shannon began to cry. ‘I guess that’s the good thing about having such thick walls, ain’t it. And most of the time you forget to put the baby monitor on so it’s me that gets up for her whilst you just snore your fucking head off … Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean that. Like I say I’m just tired.’
Vaughn, hating to see Shannon upset, put his arms around her. ‘It’s fine. Her cry can make a grown man weep. No wonder you’re tired if she was at it all night. I’m useless, I’m sorry, I just ain’t used to this baby lark.’
‘It’s okay, really. I shouldn’t get angry just cos I’m tired.’
Feeling guilty for leaving a lot of Mia’s care to Shannon, Vaughn smiled. ‘I’m worried about you, that’s all. Past few days you’ve been in that room a lot and you look like you’ve got something on your mind … I tell you what, how about you and Mia go out and get some fresh air? Get yourself something to eat. Take this.’ He pulled out a fifty-pound note from his pocket and handed it to her. ‘Treat yourself to something.’
Shannon shook her head. ‘I’m fine. I’d rather stay in.’
Noticing the dark circles around her eyes, Vaughn gently said, ‘I can see how tired you are, Shan; you look like you’ve been keeping the vampire hours. Go on, a bit of sun will do you good.’
Shannon shrugged as she stared down at the floor, tears escaping once again. For the first time in forever she’d been happy. With Vaughn. With Mia. Just the three of them. Until her uncle had come and ruined everything. She didn’t know what she was going to do because one thing she knew about her uncle was how much he enjoyed playing games.
It was too late to tell Vaughn now. Who would believe that she had nothing to do with Charlie staying and making himself at home? Especially as she knew her uncle would make it sound like it was her idea in the first place.
She was scared and she felt lost because she had no one to tell her secret to, no one to help her. So, the way it stood at the moment, it was down to her to try to get her uncle to leave – but for now she needed to try to act as normal as she could …
Looking up at Vaughn, Shannon tried a smile. ‘Okay, I’ll take her out.’
Only just noticing her tears, Vaughn said, ‘Hey, Shan, why are you crying? Are you that unhappy here?’
Shannon shook her head furiously, bursting into tears again. ‘No, no. I love it here. I love Mia, and I love …’ She stopped before she said the words ‘I love you too.’ But she did love him; she loved him so much it almost hurt – though she couldn’t tell him. Not yet anyway. First things first: she needed to get rid of Charlie.
‘I … what I mean is: it’s great here and I don’t want you to think that I’m being ungrateful.’
Vaughn gave her a hug as he said, ‘I don’t, sweetheart … Anyway, come on or the sun will have pissed off by the time you get out there.’
Smiling she turned and pulled out a key from her pocket and began to lock her bedroom door. Watching her curiously, Vaughn frowned. He didn’t say anything; instead with various thoughts rushing through his mind, he went to get Mia ready.
Fifteen minutes later, having had to search the flat for Mia’s favourite dummy, Vaughn waved to Shannon and Mia. The minute they had gone, he rushed back along the hallway to the kitchen.
Pulling open a drawer he pulled out a thin flathead screwdriver before running back out of the kitchen to Shannon’s room.
Putting the screwdriver in the crack of the door, he hurriedly wiggled the lock, rattling the door handle. As much as he wanted to trust Shannon she was definitely hiding something and one way or another he was going to find out exactly what it was …
31
Detective Balantyne hadn’t slept. All he could think of was the dashcam.
He’d spent the whole night in the hospital, partly to make sure that Claire’s emergency surgery had gone all right – which it had, and although she was still unconscious, they’d told him the baby was all right. But the main reason he’d been awake was because he’d spent the night making discreet phone calls to find out where they’d taken Claire’s car.
Then less than five minutes ago he’d found out and now the most important thing was to get there before they started checking it.
He was mad at himself – how could he have been so stupid as to forget to take the card out of the dashcam? In truth he hadn’t even thought about it; everything had happened so quickly. But now there was no time to waste – if they saw the footage or listened to the recording it wouldn’t be Emma banged up for life, it would be him.
And with that thought, Balantyne switched the blue light on and sped out of the hospital car park.
Across in Hartwood prison, Franny was marched down to the visitors’ room by Officer Brown. ‘You better make the most of these visits, Doyle. Don’t get too used to them, will you? You might be able to get as many visits as you like when you’re on remand but once you’re convicted it won’t be like this.’
‘Then it’s a good job I ain’t going to get convicted, isn’t it?’
Brown chuckled. ‘Keep on telling yourself that, Doyle, if it makes it easier for you. But we both know the truth. We both know what’s going to happen.’
Deciding not to answer Officer Brown anymore, Franny continued to walk down the long corridors. She passed Christine Lucas who she hadn’t seen for a couple of days due to Christine being sent to seg for starting a fight in the library. As expected, Lucas chirped her greeting.
‘Hello, Franny, good to see you. I’ve missed you. Why don’t you come by and pay me a visit?’ Along with the other group of women on the landing, Christine cackled, winking and licking her lips at Franny who ignored her and continued to follow Officer Brown.
As she walked through the various corridors, hearing the usual bangs and clatters and shouts of the prison, Franny stared at the back of the officer’s head and breathed deeply, overcoming her temptation to give Brown a taste of her own medicine. Instead, she stayed silent and focused on her goal of getting out of there rather than adding any more charges to the ones she already had.
She hadn’t heard from Alfie since he’d been to see her and when she’d tried to call him on his phone, he’d either not answered or rejected her call. She’d tried not to panic; after all she knew what Alfie was like – he’d go away and ruminate before deciding what to do. But hopefully she’d dangled enough of a carrot for him to be more than tempted to help her, and to be honest he really didn’t have many other options. He knew that and she most certainly did.
Walking into the visitors’ room, Franny froz
e. She’d been told it was her solicitor’s paralegals wanting her to sign some papers, but looking at the man sitting at the table, he couldn’t be less legal if he tried.
Throwing a quick glance at Officer Brown, who was now in the midst of gossip with one of the other officers, Franny walked over to the table and pulled out the chair. Sitting down she hissed, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
Franny stared at Mr Huang, who was as always dressed immaculately in a three-piece grey-striped suit. He pushed his glasses up his nose as he stared at Franny, a tiny smile dancing at the corners of his mouth. ‘Ms Doyle, that’s no way to greet me. After all I thought you and I were friends.’
‘I’m not your friend, Huang, and it’s not very clever to come in here and pretend you’re one of my solicitors.’
Huang grinned. ‘Why not? It worked; I’m here aren’t I?’
‘Did it ever occur to you that I don’t want you here? What if you’d bumped into Alfie?’
‘Ms Doyle, I can’t work on what-ifs. I don’t work on what-ifs. He’s not here so there’s no issue, and besides, Mr Jennings seeing me isn’t a problem to me, it’s a problem to you.’
Seething Franny said, ‘Whilst we’re on the subject, why the hell did you do that to his face? He looked like he’d been hit by a car.’
‘I have to make it look authentic. Don’t you think it would be suspicious if I didn’t do anything? After all I also have a reputation to keep up – I can’t be seen to be soft. Anyway, what do you care?’
‘Believe it or not, I care for Alfie.’
Huang stared at her for a moment before saying, ‘You have a funny way of showing it, Ms Doyle. I wouldn’t like to be your enemy if this is what you do to the people you care for. Maybe you and I are more alike than we thought.’
Franny’s face darkened. ‘I’m nothing like you. Now just leave him alone. Hurting him wasn’t part of the deal.’
Huang leant over the prison table and clutched Franny’s hand hard. Too hard. ‘I beg to differ. The deal was you pay me the money Alfie owes me and I keep quiet about it. How I do that is down to me, and if I choose to go and give Mr Jennings a little warning to keep it real, as they say, then that’s my call. If you don’t like it, then why don’t you confess all to him?’