Chapter 3
Sylvia
dunked her Kit Kat finger in her cup of tea then licked off the melted
chocolate. Until they got a replacement for Dominic, they all had to work
overtime and she’d pulled a double shift. Still it beat going home to an empty
house. She popped the rest of her Kit Kat into her mouth and chewed it
thoughtfully.
“Any
tea going, Sylvia?” Jim Fenner asked as he came into the office.
“Hm,
kettle’s just boiled,” she informed him absently.
Fenner
looked at her curiously. He was quite fond of her, even though she was a
moaning old bat sometimes, and something clearly wasn’t right with her. “You
alright, Sylv?” He asked as he poured boiling water over the tea bag in his
mug.
“Oh,
I don’t know, Jim. I think I’m getting too old for all this malarkey.” She took
a sip of tea. “Well, you don’t need it when you get to our age, do you?”
Fenner
raised his eyebrows. Sylvia was at least ten years older than he was. He
dropped down into an armchair opposite her. “It’s not like you to be so
defeatist. Somebody been upsetting you?”
“No
more than usual. I sometimes think I’d be better thought of if I was locked up
instead of doing the locking up. The cons get better treatment than we do,” she
replied tartly. “Mind you, it makes you wonder what really happened to Dockley,
doesn’t it?”
“How
do you mean?”
“Well,
she said she tripped and fell but with the amount of damage she’d done to
herself, she must have done action replays as well.” She nodded sagely. “You
mark my words, Jim, somebody will be for the high jump when Miss Betts finds
out who did it!”
Fenner
sipped his tea thoughtfully. “So, you think somebody beat her up then, Sylvia?”
“Why?
Don’t you?”
Fenner
shrugged. “If you’re right, Sylvia, and Dockley was beaten up, it can only have
been an officer because it was after lock-up.”
Sylvia
looked at him sharply. “How do you know it was after lock-up?”
“Well…I…er…I
don’t,” Fenner stammered. “I just assumed.” He would have to be careful what he
said around Sylvia. She wasn’t as green as she was Cabbage-Patch doll looking!
“I
mean, it didn’t have to be after lock-up.” Sylvia was rambling on. “One of the
cons could have beaten Dockly up and gone out and pulled the door to behind
them. Be honest, Jim, how many times have you locked the door and not checked
to see if there’s a con on the other side of it?”
“Two
or three,” he agreed.
“Two
or three dozen more like,” she chuckled. “But there is another possibility that
no one seems to have thought of.”
“And
what’s that, Sylvia?” he asked condescendingly.
“Nikki
Wade did it!” she declared triumphantly. “She must have had a key to her cell and she was wandering round after
lock-up. She might have had a key to Dockley’s cell as well.”
It
was all Fenner could do to restrain himself from jumping up and hugging Sylvia.
He was enjoying baiting both Wade and Stewart and he’d make the bitches sweat
before he let them off the hook. He had fourteen years in the prison service
and Stewart was just a posh cow with a degree but she had got the job that
should have been his! If he could convince Sylvia to go to Karen Betts with her
theory then maybe he could get rid of both Wade and Stewart. “You could be
right, Sylvia. Have a chat with Karen and see what she thinks.” In the
meantime, he would have a little pillow talk with Karen tonight and add his own
twopenn’orth!
Sylvia
drained her cup and stood up, brushing crumbs from her uniform. “I’m just off
to do my rounds, Jim.”
“See
you later, Sylv.” He gave a sly smile as he watched her go. This couldn’t be
working out better if he’d planned it. Once he’d paid back Wade and Stewart,
that just left Karen Betts standing in his way and as soon as he got rid of her
the Wing Governor’s job would be his.
He
looked up as the object of his thoughts appeared in the doorway.
“Are
we still on for tonight?” she asked, giving him a sexy smile.
“Wouldn’t
miss it, darlin’,” he beamed back at her.
“See
you later then.” She gave him another sexy smile then strolled off.
Jim’s
face became serious. He enjoyed bedding Karen Betts but like all women, she was
dispensable, just like his mother had been!
He
was only seven years old when he’d found his mother in bed with the next door
neighbour. She’d pleaded with him not to tell but he couldn’t lie to his dad.
He’d told his dad as soon as he’d come in from work, then he’d been sent to his
room. He could hear his parents now, arguing and shouting. The next day, when
he came home from school, his mother had gone. Run off with the man next door
but they’d managed without her, him and his dad. They didn’t need women. He’d
never have married Marilyn, if she hadn’t got herself pregnant. Women were only
good for one thing and some of them weren’t any good at that, apart from Shell
Dockley. You could say what you like about Shell but she knew how to satisfy a
man and when he was Wing Governor she’d find her time fully occupied! Then when
Stubberfield retired he’d got enough on the Old Man to make sure he was highly
recommended as his replacement. Sooner or later, he would be Number One at
Larkhall and nothing and no one would stand in his way!
There
was a knock on Helen’s office door. “Come in,” she called, looking up
expectantly. She hoped it might be Nikki but it was Karen who opened the door.
“Hi, Karen. What can I do for you?” she asked pleasantly, trying to keep the
disappointment out of her voice.
Karen
closed the door then sat on a chair in front of Helen’s desk before speaking.
“It’s more what I can do for you. Sylvia Hollamby has just been to see me. She
thinks Nikki might have beaten up Dockley.”
“Karen,
that’s preposterous!” Helen exclaimed.
“I
agree but I’ve still got to look into her allegations.” She looked at Helen
hesitantly before continuing. “Christ, this is difficult! Look, Helen, I’ve got
to ask even though I know what your answer will be. Did you help Nikki escape?”
“No,
I bloody didn’t!” Helen retorted. “Why the bloody hell would I send her back if
I helped her escape?”
“I
know and I’m sorry to put you on the spot but I can only help if I know all the
facts,” she replied defensively. “Do you know if Nikki had a key to her cell?”
“I’ve
no idea, Karen. She didn’t get it from me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Do
you know if anyone helped her?” Karen persisted.
“Karen,
I’ve told you I don’t know anything!” Helen replied impatiently. “You know how
loyal Nikki is. If anyone had helped
her escape, she wouldn’t lag on them.”
“I
know. Her mouth was as tight as a gnat’s arse when she was interviewed by the
police.”
Helen
nodded grimly. She knew only too well how stubborn Nikki was. “Have you spoken
to her about Sylvia’s allegations?”
“Not
yet.” Karen shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I was hoping you might sit in
on it with me. I know it’s asking a lot, particularly the way things are
between you.”
“I
will, if you really want me to,” she agreed reluctantly. “But I don’t think my
presence will make her any more co-operative.”
“Do
you mind if we have her in here?” Her mouth creased into a smile. “Or have you
already had her in here?” she asked with a sly dig.
“Karen!”
Helen exclaimed, shock registering on her face.
“Sorry,
that was a cheap shot,” Karen apologised. “But I wouldn’t blame you if you had.
She is very attractive.”
“Well,
I bloody well haven’t!” Helen retorted. “And I know she is.” Her lips started
forming into a smile. “Once and once only – well, one night only – the night
she escaped.” She looked at Karen sharply as the other woman opened her mouth.
“And, no! I don’t want to talk about it!”
Karen
laughed. “Alright, getting back to my original question, can we use your
office?”
Helen
sighed deeply. “If you really must but you’re the one who’s going to have to
make the call.” She picked up the receiver and regarded Karen with raised
eyebrows as she handed it to her.
“Coward!”
Karen muttered as she snatched the receiver from her.
Barbara
approached Nikki’s cell with trepidation. She hadn’t spoken to her since the
argument the day before and Nikki had deliberately ignored her at breakfast but
she hated the unpleasantness between them. As she neared the doorway, she could
see Nikki leaning on the wall opposite smoking a cigarette. When she saw
Barbara, she turned away and stood looking through the window up at the sky.
“May
I come in?” Barbara asked tentatively. Receiving no response, she moved further
into the cell. “Nikki, about what happened yesterday. The conversation you
heard, it wasn’t what you thought.”
“Oh,
you mean I didn’t hear two back-stabbing bitches discussing my future!” Nikki
flung over her shoulder. “Hearing Stewart say she wanted me out of Larkhall was
all in my imagination, was it?”
“No,
it wasn’t but you heard it out of context. If you had heard the whole
conversation, you would realise how very much Helen loves you.”
Nikki
rounded on her, her eyes blazing angrily. “Bollocks! The only person Helen
Stewart loves is herself!”
Barbara
looked at her sympathetically. “Nikki, I know how much you’re hurting…”
Nikki
laughed bitterly. “Wrong again, Barbara. To be hurt, you’ve got to care and I
don’t care anymore. Now, why don’t you piss off back to enhanced where you
belong!” She saw the pain in Barbara’s eyes, just before the older woman turned
away, and hardened her heart. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she wiped
them away hurriedly as Officer Di Barker came into the cell.
“Are
you alright, Nikki?” she asked with concern.
“Yeah,
why shouldn’t I be?” Nikki muttered.
“I
just thought you looked a bit upset.”
“Look,
did you want something?” she demanded irritably.
“Miss
Betts wants to see you,” Di informed her. “Come on, I’ll take you to her.”
“I
thought you said Betts wanted to see me, not bloody Stewart!” she said
accusingly as Di turned into the corridor leading to Helen’s office.
“Yes,
Miss Betts does want to see you but
she’s in Miss Stewart’s office.” Di
smiled at her sweetly as she emphasised the two women’s titles. She knocked on
the door then, having been told to ‘come in’, opened it and ushered Nikki into
the office.
Nikki
looked at the two women in front of her. Karen Betts was sitting behind Helen’s
desk and Helen was hovering just behind her, arms folded, staring at the floor.
Her eyes lingered momentarily on Helen. She couldn’t believe she really had
done it! She was being sent away from Larkhall and the woman, even now, she
couldn’t stop loving. Her eyes flashed defiantly. Well, if she was leaving Larkhall, she sure as hell
wasn’t going to be the only one!