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Da
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A KEY TURNED in the lock and the heavy iron door was pulled open.
"Cartwright, you're on the chain gang. Report to the duty officer immediately."
"But-" began Da
"No point arguing," said Nick as the officer disappeared. "Stick with me, and I'll show you the drill."
Nick and Da
"What the 'ell is that?" asked Da
"That's the bubble," said Nick. "The screws can always keep an eye on us, but we can't see them."
"There's screws in there?" said Da
"Sure are," replied Nick. "About forty, I'm told. They have a clear view of everything going on in all four blocks, so if a riot or any disturbance breaks out, they can move in and deal with the problem within minutes."
"Ever been involved in a riot?" asked Da
"Only once," replied Nick, "and it wasn't a pretty sight. This is where we part company. I'm off to education, and the chain gang is in the opposite direction. If you carry on down the green corridor, you'll end up in the right place."
Da
When Da
"Where do I sit?" asked Da
"Wherever you like," said an officer. "It won't make any difference."
Da
"You're new," said the man seated on his left.
" 'Ow do you know that?"
"Because I've been on the chain gang for the past eight years."
Da
"Da
"You Irish?" asked Liam.
"No, I'm a Cockney, born a few miles away from 'ere, but my grandfather was Irish."
"That's good enough for me," said Liam with a grin.
"So what 'appens next?" asked Da
"You see those cons standing at the end of each table?" said Liam. "They're the suppliers. They'll put a bucket in front of us. You see that stack of plastic bags at the other end of the table? They'll be passed down the middle. We drop whatever's in our bucket into each one and pass it on."
As Liam was speaking, a klaxon sounded. Brown plastic buckets were placed in front of each prisoner by inmates with yellow armbands. Da
"They'll be sent off to another prison," Liam explained, "and end up as some con's breakfast about this time next week."
Da
"Have I told you about the time the screws found a bottle of Gui
"No," replied Da
"Of course I was put on report, but in the end they couldn't charge me."
"Why not?" asked Da
"I told the guv'nor a screw planted the bottle in my cell because he had it in for me."
"Because you're Irish?" suggested Da
"No, I'd tried that line once too often, so I had to come up with something a little more original."
"Like what?" said Da
"I said the screw had it in for me because I knew that he was gay and he fancied me, but I'd always turned him down."
"And was 'e gay?" asked Da
"Of course not, you muppet," said Liam. "But the last thing a guv'nor needs is a full investigation into the sexual orientation of one of his screws. It only means mountains of paperwork, while the screw's suspended on full pay. It's all spelt out in prison regulations."
"So what 'appened?" asked Da
"The number-one guv'nor dismissed the charge and that screw hasn't been seen on my block since."
Da
"Don't look up," whispered Liam as a fresh bucket of teabags was placed in front of Da
"Why?" asked Da
"His name's Kevin Leach. Avoid him at all costs," said Liam. "He's trouble-big trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" asked Da
"He came home early from work one afternoon and caught his wife in bed with his best mate. After he'd knocked 'em both out, he tied 'em to the bedposts and waited for 'em to come round, then he stabbed 'em with a kitchen knife-once every ten minutes. He started at their ankles, and moved slowly up the body till he reached the 'eart. They reckon it must have been six or seven hours before they died. He told the judge he was only tryin' to make the bitch realize how much he loved 'er." Da
Spencer Craig was not a man who suffered from self-doubt or who panicked under pressure, but the same could not be said of Lawrence Davenport or Toby Mortimer.
Craig was aware of the rumors circulating around the corridors of the Old Bailey concerning the evidence he had given during the Cartwright trial; they were only whispers at the moment, but he could not afford for those whispers to become legend.
He was confident that Davenport wouldn't cause any trouble as long as he was playing Dr. Beresford in The Prescription. After all, he adored being adored by millions of fans who watched him every Saturday evening at nine o'clock, not to mention an income that allowed him a lifestyle that neither of his parents, a car-park attendant and a lollipop lady from Grimsby, had ever experienced. The fact that the alternative could well be a spell in jail for perjury concentrated the mind somewhat. If it didn't, Craig wouldn't hesitate to remind him what he could look forward to once his fellow cons discovered he was gay.