Part Twenty Five
On the Thursday morning, George was sitting drinking Tea at the kitchen table, mentally preparing for her visit to Connie later that day. She didn't have an awful lot of news for her, but she thought that a visit from just about anyone might raise Connie's spirits a little. She didn't really know how to help Connie through this long and drawn-out turmoil, because criminal work hadn't usually been her forte. She had defended and prosecuted civil clients, those who had money and weren't afraid to pay for her services. She was no different from a prostitute in some ways, she reflected to herself as she nibbled on some toast, selling to the highest bidder, though Connie's case could be said to be her one exception. It went without saying that she would obviously charge Connie, who was certainly in a position to pay for a good defence barrister, but she was also working Connie's case because Connie was becoming a friend. This had initially come as something of a surprise to George, because her dealings with Connie hadn't begun under the most auspicious of circumstances. But now here she was, trying to defend and support Connie to the utmost of her ability.
But as she sat there, reflecting on the working day to come, the phone rang. It was John.
"This is a nice surprise, darling," She said on hearing his voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You're going to see Connie today, aren't you?"
"Yes, this afternoon. Why?"
"I want to come with you," He said, not banking on the argument he was about to receive.
"John, you are going to be one of the judges overseeing Connie's eventual trial, which you very well know means that you can't go anywhere near her. What possessed you to suggest such a thing?"
"Because I want to see her," He protested. "I want to see how she's doing, and to offer what little support I can."
"You will be supporting her by sitting as a winger in her trial, and I can tell you how she is. Connie is bored, tired, frustrated and angry. It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You really ought to know better than to attempt to have contact with a defendant prior to her day in court."
"Nobody needs to know that I've seen her," He continued, determined on this occasion to have his way.
"I would know, and I'm not willing to jeopardise my professional integrity, by allowing you to do this."
"I'll see you at the prison," He startled her by saying. "That way you can act as though you didn't know I was coming." When he put the phone down on her, George slammed the receiver back into its cradle with exasperation. He would have to do this to her, wouldn't he, take the rules of the brethren into his own hands, just to satisfy his own curiosity.
When George arrived at the prison, she wasn't at all surprised to see John's car there waiting for her. She prayed that nobody who knew either of them would see them together here, as she really could end up in an awful lot of trouble for being seen to allow the judge access to her client. When Karen came down to the gate lodge to let them in, she was also surprised to see John.
"Aren't you breaking every rule in the book by insisting on seeing Connie Beauchamp like this?"
"Yes, yes, I know," He responded tartly. "But unless one of your staff turns grass for the LCD, I'll be quite safe. I want to see Connie, just to see how she's doing, that's all."
"And unfortunately, I never seem to be able to deny you anything," Karen replied, wholly disappointed with herself for giving in like this. "You can both come to my office and I'll send down to G wing for someone to bring her up. It'll be a lot more discrete than seeing her in one of the legal visits rooms." As they followed Karen through the corridors and locked gates, neither John nor George said a word to each other. They were in resolute disagreement over this, and neither was about to budge.
Whilst they were waiting for Connie to be brought up from the wing, Karen made to arrange for some coffee to be brought in. Remembering what had happened last time Connie was in contact with coffee, George said,
"I think it had better be tea rather than coffee. The smell of it made her throw up when I last had some here."
"Oh yes, of course," Karen replied, obviously knowing by now that Connie was pregnant.
"Am I missing something here?" John asked, getting a distinct feeling that he had been left out of the loop somewhere.
"Connie is currently a few weeks pregnant," George told him regretfully, not really having wanted to reveal this without Connie's consent.
"When on earth did that happen?" John demanded incredulously.
"Not inside my prison, I can assure you," Karen said a little defensively.
"Did she know, when she first arrived, I mean?" John asked, trying to put this latest revelation with the Connie he thought he knew.
"She does now," George replied dryly. "And don't you dare bring it up when we see her. She's still very sensitive about it and I don't want her upset more than is absolutely necessary." John smiled inwardly at her ferocious protectiveness over her client, not something he was used to seeing in her.
"There's something else you both might as well know before you see her," Karen said, thinking of Connie's performance in the visits' room. "Michael came to see her a couple of days ago."
"Michael is Connie's less than useless husband," George filled in for John's benefit.
"They got into a fairly hefty row," Karen continued. "Which isn't all that surprising, since that was the first time he'd made contact with her. She ended up slapping him, a real back-hander right across the face, and I had to remove her immediately."
"You didn't put her down the block, did you?" Asked George in concern.
"No, because I totally agreed with her," Karen replied with a slightly rye smile. "I took her to the gym where she took it out on a punch bag. It seemed to do her some good."
Just then, there was a knock on Karen's door and Dominic showed Connie in. Connie had been a little surprised to be shown up to the Governor's office rather than one of the legal visits rooms, but she had learned quickly that to ask a question in this place was pointless. If she needed to know anything, she would find out soon enough.
"Mr. Justice Deed," She said on seeing him, not having expected this at all.
"Mrs. Beauchamp," He replied just as formally, seeing this as Connie's way of keeping some of her dignity intact.
"I'll leave you to it," Karen said, getting up from her desk and making for the door. "You've got an hour."
When the door had closed, George told Connie to sit down.
"Should you really be here?" Connie asked John as she took a chair between them, and George poured her a cup of tea from the pot on the table.
"Not strictly, no," John admitted without a flicker of conscience. "But I wanted to see you, to make sure you're all right."
"All right," Connie responded caustically. "In this place? That's a laugh if ever I heard one. I'm bitterly angry at the injustice that's being done to me, I'm frustrated with the lack of urgency that takes place around here, and I just want to get back to my ward and to my theatre, where I might actually be able to do something useful."
"Connie," John tried to assure her gently. "Everything that can be done is being done, I promise you."
"Yes, so George keeps telling me, but I'm not seeing much sign of it.. I'm sorry," She said to George. "I know that you're doing everything in your power to help me, plus an awful lot that definitely exceeds what should be expected of a top barrister, and I'm incredibly appreciative of everything you are doing. It's just so easy to get wound up in this place. It's so frustrating not being able to move things forward. I nearly got into a fight yesterday just because I couldn't prevent myself from verbally soaring over a particularly irritating inmate."
"Connie," George said in concern. "I don't think you need me to tell you that a fight in your condition wouldn't exactly help the situation."
"And I thought we'd agreed not to talk about that for the time being," Connie said, glancing at John to see only concern in his eyes.
"I know,#" George agreed. "And I'm sorry. I just want you to be careful, that's all."
"So," Connie said, trying to alter the direction of the conversation and looking straight at John. "Am I right in assuming that you will be sitting up on your throne on high for my trial?"
"Partly," John told her. "Jo Mills will hopefully be sitting as trial judge, and I will be sitting as a winger."
"That sounds like a novel approach," Connie said distrustingly. "Why can't you sit in your usual seat?"
"This arrangement is as a result of our previous…" He stopped, trying to think of the right way to describe the hour he'd spent with Connie, unclothed on his sofa.
"…Session in chambers?" Connie supplied bluntly.
"That's one way of putting it," George said dryly.
"It means that I would be far too involved with the defendant," John explained. "I doubt that even I would be able to remain entirely impartial."
"As long as Mrs. Mills can maintain the correct level of impartiality whilst being aware that I have slept with her lover," Connie replied thoughtfully. John and George glanced at each other, knowing that this was yet another bridge they would have to cross some time in the next few months.
"Something else that we need to discuss," George put in, wanting to get Connie off this possible difficulty. "Is what Karen told us just before you arrived. She said that you had a particularly difficult visit from your husband."
"Difficult is one word for it," Connie said with a dark look in her eyes. "The little weasel is being leaned on by your ex of all people, to have no contact with me either before or during the trial. Neil Haughton seems to think that it wouldn't do the government any favours if it were known that one of its up and coming ministers was entangled with someone who may have murdered her patient."
"Neil?" George said in shock. "He hasn't got anything to do with the Department of Health."
"But the powers that be are obviously aware that Michael is a friend of his."
"Miserable cretin," John muttered darkly. "The current Home Secretary," He qualified hurriedly. "Not your husband."
"I've been known to think the same of Michael many a time," Connie replied with a dismissive shrug to her shoulders.
"I think this calls for some evasive action," George put in determinedly. "It might not be a bad idea for someone to make sure he keeps his hands off this case."
"And just how do you plan to achieve that?" John asked her, knowing that only a selected few might be able to force Neil Haughton's hand on anything.
"A visit from me might not go amiss," George dropped into the conversation without any prior warning.
"Absolutely not!" John told her firmly. "You aren't going anywhere near that man, whatever the reason."
"I think I'll decide that, thank you," George responded tartly. "It might just do the trick, you never know."