Chapter 14
“Babs.
Me and Ju, we was thinking,” Julie Saunders looked around her to make sure she
couldn’t be overheard. “About having a leaving do for Nikki.”
“Good
idea,” Barbara agreed. “What were you thinking of doing?”
“We’re
not sure yet, are we, Ju?”
“Nah!
We thought Miss Stewart might bring something in,” Julie Johnson replied.
Barbara
looked at the two of them in amusement. “It’s hardly likely that someone who
has been a Wing Governor and an acting Number One will bring contraband in.”
“Yeah,
but it is for…”
“…Nikki.”
“And
she really likes her.”
“Not
even for Nikki,” Barbara said decisively. “So I’d think again Julies if I were
you.”
Julie
S looked at her pleadingly. “But there must be something we can do, Babs. Nikki’s
been a good mate to us.”
“A
real good mate,” Julie J supplied.
“Why
don’t you go and see Miss Betts. She’s not unreasonable. Ask her if you can
make Nikki a cake.”
“That’s
it…a cake!”
“Right,
Julies, what did you want to see me about,” Karen asked pleasantly.
“It’s
like this, Miss Betts,” Julie S began. “It looks like Nikki might be getting
out tomorrow…”
“Hopefully,”
Karen interjected.
“We
was wondering if we could make a cake for her.”
“And
have a little party,” Julie J put in hopefully.
“I
don’t see why not,” Karen mused. “What sort of cake did you have in mind?”
“Oh,
nothing flash,” Julie S said excitedly. “Just a sponge…”
“…with
a little jam.”
“…maybe
a bit of cream.”
“…hundred
and thousands.”
“…a
few cherries.”
Karen
looked from one to the other as if she was watching a rally at Wimbledon. “How
many tiers would you like?” she asked sarcastically.
“Tiers?
Hadn’t thought of that, had we, Ju?”
Karen
looked at them sternly and the two women looked at each other. “Nah!” they said
in unison.
Nikki
paced restlessly around her cell as she waited until it was time for her to
leave for court. Karen Betts was taking her but Helen said she wouldn’t be far
away. As if on cue, the door opened and Helen entered.
“Well,
look at you!” she said appreciatively, taking in Nikki’s well-cut black trouser
suit and black crew-neck sweater.
“I’m
glad to see you too,” Nikki told her happily.
“I
gather they had a leaving do for you last night,” Helen said with a smile.
Nikki
raised her eyebrows. “Courtesy of the two Julies. They badgered Miss Betts into
letting them bake me a cake. That and a few…” she cleared her throat noisily,
remembering just in time that Helen was still a Home Office employee and it
wasn’t the done thing to tell her about the minatures Yvonne Atkins had so
generously supplied. “It was very enjoyable,” she finished lamely and received
a suspicious look from Helen.
“So,
are you all set then?”
She
nodded. “Hope you’ve got your fingers crossed for me.”
“I’ve
got everything crossed for you,” Helen assured her, holding up both hands to
prove it.
Nikki
sidled up to her, a mischievous look on her face. “Well, I hope you’ve
uncrossed your legs before tonight.”
“Count
on it,” she told her with a sexy smile.
“What
are we going to do if I don’t get out today?” she exhaled noisily.
“Try
and carry on as we always have done. At least with Fenner gone we have a chance
now.” She placed her hands on Nikki’s waist. “I love you and I’ll wait for
you…forever, if necessary but it won’t come to that. With all the new evidence
Claire has collected, it’s a dead cert.”
“But
just supposing it doesn’t go my way,” Nikki persisted, moving away from
her.
“Stop
being so negative,” Helen chided her. “We’ve still got more than most people
have in this world. We’ve got each other.”
“We
have, haven’t we?” she replied, her face relaxing into a smile. “I want you to
know, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“Well,
when you come home, you can prove it to me.” Helen raised suggestive eyebrows.
“All night, remember?” She slid her arms around Nikki’s waist. “Good luck,
sweetheart,” she said softly, as she reached up and kissed her.
Nikki’s
arms went around her, holding her as if she would never let her go. They drew
apart guiltily as the cell door opened and Tommo entered. “Sorry, Miss Stewart,
I didn’t realise you were in here,” she apologised.
“It’s
alright, Catherine. I was just leaving.” She gave Nikki a loving smile.
“See
you in court,” Nikki murmured.
“Front
row seat,” she promised. “See you later, Catherine.”
“Not
long now, mate,” Tommo remarked, when she and Nikki were alone. “How are you
feeling?”
“I’m
scared stiff!” she said honestly. “I’ve waited so long for today, I don’t know
what I’ll do if I have to serve the rest of my sentence. To be honest, Tommo, I
don’t think I could stand it.”
“Well,
Nikki, much as it pains me to say it, I don’t think you’ll be coming back here
tonight,” she told her confidently.
“I
hope not,” she replied anxiously. “I’d miss you and Barbara and the Julies but
I certainly wouldn’t miss this bloody place! You will come and see me won’t
you, Tommo?”
“Try
and stop me. Will your address be the same as Miss Stewart’s?” she asked with a
sly smirk.
She
nodded and laughed. “Helen’s asked me to go and live with her, so I’m not daft
enough to refuse.”
Tommo
held out her arms. “Give us a hug.” The two women embraced and as they drew
apart Tommo gave her a tearful smile. “Come on then, Wade. The other women want
to wish you ‘good luck’.”
Nikki
gave her evidence, nervously but calmly, taking comfort from the knowledge that
if everything went well, she would be going home with the woman she loved. She glanced
frequently at Helen – sitting where she had promised – mainly when she thought
she was starting to become rattled by the prosecutors probing questions and
received an encouraging smile in return. She breathed a sigh of relief when she
was told to ‘step down’.
The
judge was summing up. Nikki’s heart almost stopped as she awaited his decision.
“Having listened to the evidence given here today, we find the defendant,
Nicola Wade, did not intend to kill Detective Sergeant Gossard when she struck
the fatal blow. The original charge of murder is therefore commuted to
manslaughter for which you will receive a reduced sentence of three years. In
view of the fact that you have already served thirty months, you will be
returned to HMP Larkhall where you will serve the remaining six months of your
sentence.”
Nikki
looked at him. She couldn’t be hearing this. He was sending her back to prison!
She started to rise but Claire gripped hold of her hand.
“Don’t
do anything stupid, Nikki!” Claire warned. “Not now or he’ll hold you in
contempt.”
Nikki
turned and looked at Helen. There was a stunned expression on Helen’s face then
she smiled.
Nikki
went onto G-Wing, ignoring the concerned enquiries from the other women and
into her cell. When they had left court, she had thanked Claire for all her
help and then almost dragged Karen back to the waiting car, ignoring the
thronging media. She hadn’t waited for Helen. The disappointment at not being
able to go home with her was almost more than she could bear.
“What
happened, Nikki?” Barbara Hunt asked quietly behind her. “I really thought you
wouldn’t be coming back.”
“The
bloody judge sent me back for another six months!” she retorted.
“Six
months then after that you’re free?” Barbara replied incredulously. “But that’s
wonderful!”
“Babs,
I really thought I would be going home with Helen tonight,” she said tearfully.
“And he sent me back.”
There
was a tap on the door and Helen entered. “Are you alright, Nikki?” she asked
with concern.
“I
think she’s a bit upset, Miss Stewart,” Barbara told her kindly. “I’ll see you
later, Nikki.” She touched her friend’s arm then left the cell.
Helen
wrapped her arms around Nikki, holding her close. “It will soon pass,
sweetheart, then you’ll be free to come home and we can do whatever we want.”
Nikki
nodded. “I know and I’m grateful for everything you and Claire did but I just
wanted to be going home with you tonight.”
“I
wanted you to be going home with me as well. You don’t know how much but I guess
we’ll just have to control our hormones for a little bit longer.” She gave
Nikki teasing smile.
“And
you’ll bloody chuck me out of the lifers’ group now!” she exclaimed sulkily.
Helen
burst out laughing. “You’re a miserable bugger sometimes, Nikki Wade, but I do
adore you.”
A
smile started to form on Nikki’s lips. “Aren’t I just?” she admitted honestly.
“Don’t worry, when I get out I’ll show you a good time.”
“So
you keep telling me,” Helen remarked sarcastically. “I just hope you can live
up to all these promises.”
“Watch
me!” Nikki smirked confidently.
Helen
leant on her car and waited patiently outside the prison for Nikki to appear.
With no Fenner or Dockley to wind her up, Nikki had been able to keep her nose
clean for the past six months. In fact, she had been moved onto enhanced for
the last month of her sentence.
The
door opened and a smiling Nikki came out. She walked up to Helen and stood in
front of her. “You don’t know how good you look,” she said softly.
They
stood kissing each other, only their lips touching. “Do you want to come back
to my place?” Helen asked eventually.
“Thought
you’d never ask. At least I’m sure of a better reception this time,” she
replied with a cheeky grin. “Would you do me a favour first? Run me round to Trish’s.”
Helen
looked at her dubiously. “Trish’s?”
“Honestly,
Helen, it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to,” Nikki assured her. “I just
wanted to pick up some clothes. It would be nice to dress in something that
doesn’t stink of Larkhall.”
“OK,
then,” she agreed somewhat reluctantly. She had only caught fleeting glimpses
of Trisha and she wasn’t looking forward to coming face-to-face with her but
she could understand Nikki wanting to rid herself of Larkhall.
They
climbed into the car and Nikki tossed her bag of belongings onto the back seat.
As they drove she kept her eyes firmly fixed on Helen’s profile.
Helen
gave her a sideways glance. “Have I got a smudge on my face or something?”
Nikki
smiled and tucked Helen’s hair behind her ear, as she had seen her do so often.
“No, I just can’t believe I’m finally here with you.”
“Well,
you’d better believe it,” Helen replied. She drew into the side of the road
without indicating and a horn blared as an irate driver roared past her. “Piss
off!” she muttered.
“It
was your own fault, you should have indicated,” Nikki told her cockily.
“Don’t
start picking spots off my bloody driving,” she retorted. “Or you’ll be walking
back to my place then we’ll see how much energy you’ve got!”
Nikki
laughed happily. “What did you stop for anyway?”
Helen
held up a letter and pointed to a post box. “Will you pop that in there for me,
please?” She watched with a secretive smile as Nikki walked to the post box.
“Right, then,” she said as Nikki re-fastened her seat belt. “I’ll take you to
Trish’s.”
Following
Nikki’s directions, she was soon pulling up outside a semi-detached house in a
quiet suburban street.
“Come
in with me?” Nikki looked at her questioningly.
“I
don’t know. I…” Helen began hesitantly then she felt Nikki’s hand grip
hers…strong and comforting.
“It’s
you I love, Helen,” she said softly.
She
heard the way Nikki stressed the ‘you’ and smiled lovingly at her. “Alright,
I’ll come in with you.”
As
she rang the doorbell, Nikki again caught hold of Helen’s hand. “Won’t be long.
I rang Trish and asked her to pack a couple of bags for me.”
They
heard footsteps inside and Helen gripped Nikki’s hand tightly, receiving a
reassuring squeeze in return, as Trish opened the door.
“Nikki!”
she said delightedly, when she saw who was standing there. She hugged Nikki
then looked questioningly at Helen.
“Hiya,
Trish, this is Helen,” she turned to Helen and smiled. “My partner.”
“Partner?”
Trish echoed. “But don’t you work at Larkhall?”
“Worked,”
Helen corrected her. Nikki looked at her in surprise. “The letter you posted…it
was my resignation!”
They
were once more seated in Helen’s car. Nikki turned to her with a serious look
on her face. “I can’t believe you gave up your job, just like that,” she said
incredulously.
“As
soon as you were released, I had every intention of resigning. I think I’ve
broken enough rules for one lifetime,” she remarked wryly. “Anyway, I don’t
want the Home Office breathing down my neck every time I turn around.”
“What
are you going to do now then?” Nikki asked then her face broke into a smile.
“How do you fancy being a kept woman?”
“What?
You?” Helen asked incredulously.
“I’ve
got a few quid.” She reached out and stroked Helen’s cheek. “I’ll take care of
you until you decide what you want to do.”
“And
what about you? Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“I
know what I’d like to do right now,” she chuckled.
Helen
tutted. “Don’t be saucy,” she said with a smile.
“You’ve
got a dirty mind, Helen Stewart.” She leaned across and planted a kiss on
Helen’s lips. “Why don’t we go home and see how dirty?” she whispered
suggestively.