By
Jan
Chapter 14
Nikki
listened sadly as the haunting sound of Crystal Gordon singing ‘Amazing Grace’
echoed around Larkhall.
All
but the hardest heart was moved by the knowledge that a young mother, Rachel
Hicks, had taken her own life.
That
morning at breakfast, she had given vent to the anger they were all feeling,
castigating the officers for their callousness towards the inmates, her own
heartbreak over Trisha momentarily forgotten.
Helen
gave a deep sigh as she listened to the report of Rachel’s suicide on her car
radio as she drove to work. It just seemed to be one nightmare after another,
first the Carol Byatt incident and now this.
Jim
Fenner had made it clear he blamed her for Rachel’s death. ‘You told us to keep
an eye on Wade last night when you knew Rachel was having problems but clearly
a murdering dyke was more important than a young kid!’ he had retorted
accusingly.
‘I
had good reason to believe that Nikki Wade might try to harm herself,’ had been
her only defence.
She
drew into her reserved parking space outside the prison and, after signing in,
hurried quickly to her office. She had a meeting with Stubberfield and she
wasn’t looking forward to it one bit.
Nikki
was having her own nightmare. As she waited in the queue for breakfast, she
could hear Zandra Plackett again recounting the details of how she had woken up
to find Rachel hanging from her bunk. Bewailing the fact that her nerves were
shot to pieces and they wouldn’t give her anything for them. Nikki smiled
wryly. No doubt she would soon procure something in this place to ‘calm her
nerves’!
“It’s
a real tragedy,” the grating tones of Shell Dockley reached her ears. “Nice kid
an’ all. Still got to look on the bright side,” she gave a shrill brittle
laugh. “It means there’s an extra portion this morning.”
“Why
you bloody bitch!” Nikki’s composure finally slipped and she launched herself over
the servery, knocking a surprised Dockley to the ground.
Urged
on by the other women, they fought for several seconds, attacking each other
physically and verbally, until the officers dragged them apart.
Helen’s
misgivings about the meeting were well founded because, to her dismay, Jim
Fenner was also present and he wasted no time in laying the blame firmly at her
door. As she read the preliminary report of the investigation, she could hear
Fenner making scoffing noises beside her.
“So
we still don’t know why it happened?” Stubberfield demanded when she had
finished reading.
“It
happened because we didn’t care,” Fenner interjected smugly before Helen had
time to speak. “She’d had some bad news during the day about her little girl so
what do we do? We move her onto basic and put her in with a couple of druggies
and a religious nutter!”
“She
smashed up her cell and she should have been on the block,” Helen replied
defensively.
“Instead
you put her in a cell where she killed herself,” Stubberfield interposed
accusingly.
Helen’s
lips pursed angrily. She was never going to win against these two. They were of
the ‘old school’ and closed ranks on her whenever possible. “If that’s all,
Simon, I have a meeting with Mrs Hicks this morning,” she said stiffly.
“You’d
better be in on that, Jim.”
“Whatever
you say, sir,” Fenner replied smugly.
“I
think I can manage on my own, Simon!” Helen retorted, trying to keep her anger
in check.
“That
will be all, Jim.” Stubberfield looked at the principal officer apologetically.
“And thanks for coming.”
“Sir,”
Fenner replied with a sly smirk at Helen before he left the office.
“Are
you and Jim getting on alright?” Stubberfield asked regarding her intently.
“Yes,
sir,” she muttered.
“Well,
it doesn’t look like it to me!” he retorted. “Your inexperience is showing,
Helen, and I think a seasoned officer like Jim could teach you a thing or two.”
Helen
bit back an angry retort. She had seen Fenner’s methods and she didn’t want any
truck with them.
“Alright
then, run along and let me know how you and Jim get on with Mrs Hicks,” he
replied patronisingly.
She
left the office, just resisting the overwhelming urge to slam the door.
“Nikki
Wade’s been put on the block, ma’am,” Lorna Rose informed Helen as she handed
her a pile of reports. “ She attacked Shell Dockley.”
Not
again, Helen thought irritably but said aloud, “Bring Nikki to my office at
eleven-thirty.”
“Are
you sure, ma’am?” Lorna looked at her quizzically. “I mean, what about her adjudication?”
“I
don’t need you to tell me how to do my job, Lorna!” Helen exclaimed. “When they
make you the Wing Governor, you can make the decisions! Bring Nikki Wade to my
office at eleven-thirty!”
“Yes,
ma’am,” Lorna agreed nervously and scurried out of the office.
Helen
exhaled noisily. She had just taken it out on Lorna for Stubberfield and Fenner
but she was growing sick and tired of her every order and decision being
questioned.
At
eleven-thirty there was a knock on her door and Lorna ushered Nikki in. It had
been a long morning. The meeting with Mrs Hicks hadn’t gone well and as usual
Fenner had come out of it smelling of roses.
“Sit
down, Nikki,” she said with a faint smile only to receive a look of derision
from the tall inmate. “I said, sit down!” she repeated forcefully. Their eyes
locked in a battle of wills until Nikki sank sulkily onto a chair. “Thank you.
Now, do you want to tell me why you attacked Michelle Dockley?”
“No!”
“I’m
getting sick and tired of this, Nikki. Just lately, every time there’s trouble
in here, you’re at the centre of it.”
“Can
I help it if I’m popular?” Nikki replied with a sarcastic smirk.
Helen
glared at her. “I’m sure a transfer out of here would wipe that smile off your
face.”
“Go
ahead!” Came the defiant reply. “Why don’t you do us both a favour?”
The
Wing Governor shook her head in disbelief. “Is that what you really want? To go
away from Trisha?”
Nikki
shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me. I’ve dumped her anyway.”
Helen
studied the inmates for a few moments before replying. Behind the bravado she
could see pain in Nikki’s brown eyes. “Had you been together a long time?”
“What’s
that got to do with anything?” Nikki snapped. “We’re only dykes so it doesn’t
count, does it? But for your information, it was nine years.”
“I’m
sorry. I…”
“I
don’t need your sympathy!” Nikki exclaimed.
“You
love playing the martyr, don’t you, Nikki?” She stood up and paced around the
room before leaning on the desk, her hands splayed and looked Nikki squarely in
the eye. “Well, not this time. You can go.”
Nikki
looked at her in surprise. “Go? But…”
Helen
suppressed a smile. “What’s wrong? Spoilt your plans, have I, Saint Nikki?”
“No,
I…”
“Well,
this is a first, Nikki Wade lost for words,” she said mockingly. “I’m sticking
my neck out for you, Nikki. God knows why but I am!”
Nikki
rose slowly to her feet. “Yes, miss. Can I go now…please?”
Helen
nodded and gave herself a mental pat on the back. It looked as if something had
finally gone right for her today. Nikki Wade…humbled! She frowned. Somehow that
thought didn’t give her as much pleasure as it should have done.
At
the door, Nikki turned and looked at her, confusion masking her lovely face before
she quietly left the office and went back to her cell. She dropped down onto
her bunk and stretched out. Just when she thought she had Stewart sussed she
went and did something unpredictable. Tears stung the back of her eyes. It was
the first real kindness anyone had shown her in this place. She had even seemed
genuinely sorry about her break up with Trisha.
“What
the ‘ell you doin’ back ‘ere?” Dockley demanded from the doorway.
“Wing
Governor’s orders,” Nikki replied with a mocking smile.
“You
should be on the block for what you did to me? You must be shaggin’ ‘er!”
Dockley shrieked before flouncing off, no doubt in search of her pet screw,
Fenner.
Nikki’s
fists tightened at the inmate’s words then a picture of Helen Stewart came into
her mind and a faint smile played around her lips. Why didn’t the accusation
upset her like it should have done? She took out a cigarette and lit it slowly
and deliberately and her smile broadened. Because Helen Stewart was bloody
gorgeous, that’s why!