Chapter
6
When
Helen returned to her flat on Sunday night there were three messages on her
answerphone. She poured a glass of wine and made herself comfortable before listening
to them. Two of the messages were from Phil Laine asking if she had made a
decision about the job yet and the third one was from Nikki. A smile lit up
Helen’s face as she listened to the husky voice of the woman she had, much to
her own surprise, grown to care about.
“It’s
me…Nikki,” as if she needed telling. “I hope you’ve been a good girl whilst
you’ve been away. I really miss you at weekends. I know I said I wouldn’t tell
you again but if I wait for you to tell me I could be waiting forever.” There
was an audible sigh. “I love you, Helen, more than anything or anyone in this
world. ‘Night.”
Helen
smiled at her words. “I love you too, Nikki,” she murmured softly. “Sleep
tight.”
As
Helen hurriedly crossed the yard the following morning, Nikki appeared from the
opposite direction.
“You’re
late!” Nikki accused as they met in the middle.
“Tell
me about it,” Helen replied impatiently. “I had a bloody puncture.”
“Bet
you fluttered your eyelashes at the first passing bloke and got him to change
the tyre for you.”
“I
did not,” Helen retorted. “I changed it myself and I chipped my nail polish.”
“You
bloody great puff!” Nikki joked.
“That’s
a good one coming from you,” Helen laughed, her earlier ill humour almost
forgotten. “I’ve got to go. I’m late, as you so rightly said.”
As
she hurried away Nikki called after her. “How did the weekend go?”
“Great,”
Helen called over her shoulder. “I’ll fill you in later.”
Helen
had brought her meeting with Phil Laine forward but she just had to see Nikki before
she left. She went into the dining room and found Nikki sitting at a table with
Barbara Hunt and the two Julie’s. “Ladies,” she smiled a greeting at the four
women. “Nikki, can I have a quick word, please?”
Nikki
rose and followed Helen out into the corridor.
“I
can’t stop, Nikki, I’ve got an urgent appointment and then I’ll be away for a
couple of days but I wanted to see you before I left. I wish I had more time, I
would have liked to see you alone.” Their eyes met and Helen’s look conveyed
more than mere words.
“Where
are you going?”
“I
can’t tell you at the moment. Suffice to say, I have big plans and they include
you.”
“You
mean you’re going to break me out of here?”
“Something
like that,” Helen smiled secretively.
“What
are you up to?” Nikki asked
suspiciously.
“I’ll
tell you soon. Meanwhile, you’ll just have to trust me, after all I am the Wing
Governor.” She looked up at Nikki. Her lips were aching and all she wanted to
do was press them against Nikki’s mouth. “See you soon. I’ve…”
“I
know,” Nikki interrupted. “You gotta go.”
Phil
Laine’s office was in a large rambling building overlooking the Thames. When
she was shown into his office he came from behind his desk and gave her a brief
hug. He was a tall man, well over six feet, painfully thin with an unruly
thatch of red hair. “Good to see you again, Helen. You’re even more beautiful
than I remembered. Not been snared yet I see,” he indicated her ringless fourth
finger.
“Actually,
I have,” she admitted.
“Well,
he’s a lucky man.”
She
shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Phil, I have to be honest with you even if
it costs me the job. He is a she.”
Phil
looked at her in disbelief. “Well, she
is a lucky woman then.” He laughed suddenly and shook his head. “I can’t
believe it. You went out with my room-mate, the rugby scrum-half.”
Helen
joined in his laughter. “You mean Gordon the Gorilla? Well, my taste has
improved since university.”
“Obviously.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Right, let’s get down to business. When can you
start?”
“You
mean I still get the job?”
“As
long as it doesn’t affect your work, what you do in your private life is no
concern of mine.”
Helen
took a deep breath. “There’s more, Phil. The woman is a prisoner at Larkhall.
At the moment the relationship is purely platonic, but I do love her.”
“And
for your next trick, you pull a rabbit out of a top hat,” Phil said jokingly.
“I’m
serious, Phil.”
Phil
pushed his fingers through his hair. “Why do you have to be so bloody honest,
Helen?”
“Would
you rather I’d just said nothing, then when the shit hit the fan, which it
probably will, we all got covered?” She started to rise. “I’m sorry I wasted
your time, Phil.”
Phil
motioned for her to sit down. “You still haven’t told me when you can start.”
“You
mean I still get the job?”
“You’ve
already said that,” Phil smiled. “You didn’t have to tell me any of this,
Helen, but I’m glad you did. It shows you have honesty and integrity. You said
the relationship was platonic, as long as it stays that way whilst the woman is
a prisoner then that is good enough for me. As far as I’m concerned you are
still the right person for this job.”
Helen
was on cloud nine as she drove back to her flat. She decided to forego the two days
leave she was owed and go into Larkhall the following day as normal. Only it
would be anything but normal. She would give Stubberfield her resignation first
thing and she couldn’t wait to see Nikki’s face when she told her.