off. ‘Thank you, Vic, you’re right. I’m so out of my comfort zone, I’m scared to death, to be honest. Those women look as though they could eat me for breakfast.’ She looked back at the coven of inmates whispering in their little circle.
Vic laughed out loud. ‘That lot are a bunch of fucking pussies, but ganged together – ’cos they can’t fight one-on-one – they are nasty. You stick with me and you’ll be all right … Aw, before I forget, ol’ Deni is sick. She ain’t left her cell. In agony, she is, the poor cow. The doc reckons she’s got a migraine, but I’ve never seen her cry in pain before, so take a look for us, will ya?’
‘Deni?’
‘Yeah, everyone calls her Deni. Her real name is Denise Rose Denton – famous, her crime, ya know.’
Kara swallowed hard. She wasn’t a GP and had only received three years’ training in medicine before she became an epidemiologist, but how could she say no? ‘Yes, of course, I’ll take a look.’ Her upbeat tone, she thought, should instil confidence, if not in herself, at least in Vic. She closely followed her new best friend, hoping that she wouldn’t get stopped by one of the officers because she had absolutely no idea of the rules. She was still in shock and struggling to take it all in, although she needed to learn fast.
However, Vic seemed to know the ropes. She wondered what she was inside for. It must have been pretty bad, if she’d spent most of her life locked up. Her thoughts returned to her own predicament and what her life had mapped out for her. She wouldn’t hold her breath, that was for sure.
Just as they were about to enter B Wing, an officer, Vic’s personal officer, came up behind her. She was a tall long-legged woman, with a red short-back-and-sides style, thin features, and eyes that turned down at the corners. ‘Meadows! A woman called Julie Meadows has arrived from court this morning on remand. She says she’s your sister. I’ll put her in with you, yeah?’
Kara stepped back. This was none of her business. The officer looked her up and down. ‘What are you doing here? This ain’t your wing, is it?’
Kara put her head down, not knowing what to say or do. The tall woman looked spiteful and ready to lay down the law.
‘Look, Gov, she’s on B Wing to see Deni, her aunt. All right with it, are ya?’ dared Vic, giving the officer a hard stare.
‘Her aunt? Oh, yes, and me mother’s a monkey’s uncle,’ snorted the officer.
With a quick laugh, Vic replied, ‘Well, with a face like yours, it don’t surprise me, and no, Julie ain’t sharing with me. For Christ’s sake, what has she gone and done now?’
The officer shrugged her shoulders. ‘Not sure, GBH, ABH, maybe. Well, anyway, I’ll tell her she’s on her own, on C Wing. Right, you take this inmate over to see Denton. Her aunt, my arse. Don’t like your sister, I take it?’
Vic slowly looked the officer up and down. ‘Barbara, listen to me. I like to be on me own in me own cell. It don’t mean, I don’t like me sister, so don’t go spreading dirt, all right?’
Barbara gave Vic a sneering look and stomped away.
‘Fucking no-good shit-stirring screw – I hate her. She’s the only screw we have to call by her first name. She hates her last name, it’s Pratt, but she is a prat an’ all. Ya wanna stay away from her. She loves a good ruck and stirs the shit spoon just to get the girls wound up. I swear to God, if I came across her in the street, I would cut her fucking pointed hooter clean off.’
For the first time, Kara found herself laughing, which spurred Vic on to make her laugh even more. ‘She walks around like she’s got a carrot shoved up her arse and talks like she’s chewing a fucking lemon.’
The interaction between Barbara and Vic intrigued Kara. She assumed that she would get into serious trouble if she so much as answered any of the officers back. ‘I can’t believe you got away with saying that stuff to an officer.’
‘Ahh, see, this is where you have a lot to learn. Firstly, I keep some kind of order on this wing, and they know it. Barb is one ’orrible screw, and even her own kind don’t like her. I won’t take any shit because they fucking know that throwing me in solitary does fuck-all other than leave the girls on the wing restless. The truth is, kiddo, I came from a big family, piss-poor, had me baby took from me, got beat near to death by me ol’ man, learned to fight to stay alive, and then I ended up in ’ere on an attempted murder charge. So, what do I have to lose? There ain’t much the prison can throw at me that I can’t handle.’
She sucked her back teeth and then winked. ‘But I ain’t no bully, and see, the likes of you, I know, don’t belong ’ere, so I’ll watch out for ya.’
The change in Vic when she was away from the others was remarkable. She had a softer side and a sense of humour, and she was obviously a good judge of character too.
Kara felt at ease. ‘Vic, I’m grateful you know, well, just to have some support. It must be nice having a sister. I was an only child, you see.’
‘A sister? More like bleedin’ three sisters and two brothers. Me mum was Catholic. Either that or she liked a good bunk-up. Yeah, Julie is a feisty bitch. She’s a few years younger than me. Got a baby. But she’s a bit handy with her fists and has a mouth on her. She reminds me a bit of meself, a few years back. I just wish she would keep a lid on her temper. I don’t want her in here on the same charges as well.’
They continued past the heavy painted doors and up the metal staircase to another row of cells. It was much like her own wing – dull, grey, and depressing. They stopped outside a cell six along from the staircase. Kara expected Vic to knock or something, but instead, she barged straight in. The room was the same size as hers, and yet there were pictures on the walls, a few books neatly lined up along the shelf, and a few knick-knacks – family photos, a pottery cat, and some lipsticks. The clothes were neatly folded on the opposite bed, and the sink and toilet looked immaculate, very different from Colette’s cell. It even smelled better.
Kara’s eyes settled on the older lady who was lying flat on her back with her hands over her face. She was roughly sixty years old, plump around the middle, and her ankles were swollen. Her toenails were yellow and in need of a serious pedicure.
Vic sat on the edge of the bed and slowly the older woman removed her hands. ‘Gawd, girl, how long you been sitting there? I was just dozing off. This bleeding headache, and my eyes, they’re killing me, Vic.’
As Vic looked up at Kara, her hard features softened, as if she was tending to a sick mother. ‘Can ya have a look, Posh?’
Deni tried to sit herself up but wobbled and needed aid from Vic. ‘Oh, my living. Is this what it’s like to get fucking old? Ain’t nuffin graceful about that, eh?’ She blinked, and her eyes streamed. That was when Kara noticed the tiny blisters. As she peered down to get a closer look, Vic got out of the way.
‘Posh wants to have a look.’
Finally, sitting up straight, Deni looked worn out. Her wiry grey hair was flat at the back from lying down. ‘I ain’t mutton, Vic, I can ’ear ya.’
As Kara sat down gently on the bed, she moved Deni’s hair away from her left eye and then she searched her head, like a monkey defleaing her baby.
‘’Ere, what ya doing?’
‘Is it your
