‘I need to inspect your tattoos.’
The man looked at his clipboard, which had a piece of paper with an outline of a man printed on it and a list giving the type and position of Barry’s tattoos.
‘Keep calm, keep calm,’ Colin repeated to himself in his mind as the officer glanced at his arm and then looked more closely at the mermaid before he pulled the curtain closed. Colin breathed a sigh of relief, swallowed hard and reached over to pick up the well-worn T-shirt. It had a faded logo of a Coke can on it. He tried to ignore the foul smell as he put it over his head and then pulled it down to cover the top of the jogging pants. He folded the prison clothes into a neat pile and then carried them back to the counter. The tattoo check was over and his confidence was growing that Barry’s insane plan would actually work.
Chapter ten
Colin handed the prison clothes to an officer and they were also tossed into the laundry bin. He was told to sit on the bench again and wait. Within a few minutes, another officer picked up Barry’s release file from the pile on the counter.
‘Prisoner 8274 Marsden, step forward.’
Colin went to the counter, where he was asked for his address, his family’s address and where he was born. While he was able to answer with ease, he was now tense because the officer was ticking off his questions and turning the page to Barry’s prison photograph. Colin was filled with fear. Even though he’d got away with the tattoo check and being questioned about Barry’s family, he had not thought this would happen.
In the next instant, all of his plans for escape could end in disaster, and any hope he had of seeing his newborn child be ruined. All he could do was pray that Barry’s glasses would be enough to fool them.
‘You look as if you’ve lost weight. We’ve got you down here as fifteen stone.’
‘Yes, sir, I was charged with nickin’ food from McDonalds. That was all I ever ate, so since I’ve been here, I’ve lost a few pounds.’
The officer laughed, and was about to look at the photograph, when all hell broke loose. One of the new prisoners had thrown a punch and was screaming and shouting. The distraction was enough to make the officer tell Colin to take his release documents and wait in the holding area.
‘Get a move on. You’ve got a taxi waiting and an officer will take you to court.’
The fight grew worse and no one paid any attention as a relieved Colin grabbed the release documents and walked out into the holding area. He was dying of thirst but had to wait in line. The inmate ahead of him was handing over his documents and being released, having served his sentence. The electric metal door opened and the ex-prisoner began to sing at the top of his voice as he danced across the yard towards the next and final exit to the outside world.
Colin hoped he would be as lucky. He handed over his file and a muscular, grizzled and grey-haired senior officer briefly checked the forms. He stamped a piece of paper, handed it to Colin and dropped the rest of the file into a plastic tray marked COURT RELEASES.
‘You got a taxi and an escort officer waiting in the yard by the exit gate,’ he said.
‘Thank you, sir.’
Colin stepped forward, but the big man put out his arm.
‘Not so fast, son, just let me make sure they’re ready for you.’
He spoke into a radio microphone, announcing Marsden was ready to go and would be the next prisoner to exit.
Colin had the release form, Barry’s wallet and key ring in one hand and was holding up the loose jogging pants with the other. A blast of cold air took his breath away as the gate opened. He gingerly stepped into the courtyard and his spirits rose when he saw the massive set of wooden gates. Another female officer was standing by a local taxi firm’s rather beaten-up Volvo and an officer with an Alsatian on a lead was checking the car over. Colin handed her the release form.
‘I’ve been waiting for you, and at this rate we are going to be late for your hearing at Clapham,’ she said as she opened the rear door of the taxi. Colin went to get in, but she stepped in front of him and got some handcuffs out of a pouch on her belt.
‘Hold your hands out please.’
Colin felt dejected as he hadn’t expected to be handcuffed. It wasn’t as if Barry was some big-time dangerous criminal. He was just a small-time thief who liked to nick fast food. Colin put out his hands for cuffing and could now only hope that they would be removed when he got to court. He got into the back of the Volvo and the female officer sat beside him. She was a pleasant-looking blonde, in her late thirties. The officer with the dog opened the main gate and the taxi drove out.
Colin couldn’t believe he’d got this far, as the officer turned to speak to him.
‘This is my second trip to the courts this morning, so I had the chance to speak with your solicitor. You’re on remand, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, ma’am, I’m going to be committed for trial today.’
‘Well, your solicitor wants you to change your plea to guilty this morning. Because you’ve been at Barfield for a month, there’s a good chance it will count as time served and you’ll be released from custody at court. He also said the magistrate will give you credit for the other offences you’ve admitted.’
‘That’s good,’ Colin said happily, realising that he now had a way of walking out of court legally rather than having to escape by doing a runner. His excitement was short-lived though, as it dawned on him that the solicitor was another problem he and Barry had overlooked. Barry had never even mentioned him, let alone described him. He’d only told Colin that his solicitor had suggested that he should be medically assessed for his fast-food obsession and his learning difficulties, which were due to lack of schooling. These could be used to get a lesser sentence.
Colin knew Barry was not the brightest spark and had noticed that he struggled with reading. He seemed only ever to look at comics, saying that he liked the pictures. Colin also knew that if Barry appeared before the magistrate, he’d never change his plea to guilty. He desperately wanted a trial and to be found guilty so he could stay in prison. Colin thought it was harsh for someone like Barry to be locked up with tough criminals for such a petty crime as stealing food, and really he should have been sent to a hospital for treatment instead.
‘You’re very quiet, Marsden,’ the officer said, giving him an encouraging smile.
‘Yeah, lot of things on my mind,’ he replied and then asked how long before they got to court.
‘Be about another fifteen minutes.’
However, it took a lot longer as they got stuck in a traffic jam because of road works. It wasn’t Colin who began to get agitated but the prison officer. She kept on looking at her watch, shaking her head and moaning about the hold-up. They were crawling along and she was worried that, if he missed his time slot in court, they might have to delay the hearing and that would ruin her whole timetable.
‘I’m getting worried. Maybe I should contact your solicitor?’
That was the last thing Colin wanted. The solicitor might ask to speak to him and that could give the game away.
‘Don’t they turn off their mobiles when they are in court, ma’am?’
She sighed and looked at her watch again.
‘I don’t know what to do. You see, I’ve only just completed my training and I’ve been working at Barfield for just six weeks. I used to work in a dry cleaner’s, but I’m a single parent so I really needed a better wage packet.’