Scene Twenty-Eight

Nikki surprised herself with her own confidence as she finally came to take the bible in her hand and declaim the oath that was now becoming familiar to her. An almost unnatural calmness pervaded her system as she readied herself for the cross-examination and she wondered why this shouuld come to be. She stole a sideways glance at the appealing look on her lover's face as she stood in the dock and silently vowed to do her bit to defend her from coming to any harm. The particular form of her natural combativeness felt curiously right for her, cool and deadly to the opposition rather than hot blooded and emotional. Then she realised why her mood was right after stewing in the waiting room. It was all John's doing at the lunchtime break. At that moment she silently blessed the judge who was more of an older brother to her than her own wretched brother had ever been. She caught Jo's eye and was now ready and waiting.

"What is your name and occupation?"

'Nicola Wade, researcher for the Howard League of Penal Reform and formerly life prisoner at Larkhall Prison for three years," said Nikki smoothly.

"Ms Wade, it is to your period in Larkhall Prison I wish firstly to direct my questions. Do you understand this?"

"Perfectly."

"Can you explain for the benefit of the jury just how long were you incarcerated there?"

"Just over three years. I entered Larkhall Prison in May 1997 and was released on appeal on Friday Nov 24th 2000."

"What is your present occupation, Nikki?"

"I work as a researcher for the Howard League for Penal Reform, having had my record wiped clean on reappeal," Nikki said crisply, anticipating Jo's next question.

"For a start, were there any differences in the way Larkhall Prison was officially supposed to operate in comparison with the way it actually operated, Ms Wade?" Jo asked with a smile at Nikki's neat move.

"There were very considerable differences. For a start, as I understand it from my presently acquired knowledge, a prison officer was not supposed to surrender his or her keys on any occasion whatsoever to any unauthorised personnel and, if caught, this could result in severe disciplinary action. In reality, I know that on the event of Mrs Hollamby's thirtieth anniversary wedding celebration, the prison officer on watch let an agency nurse look after his keys so that he could get access to the bar."

"I object, your honour," lazily called the Sir Alan Peasemarsh."This is hearsay evidence. Ms Wade could not have possibly been in possession of such information that would only be privy to the nurse and prison officer concerned. I ask that it be stricken from the record."

"On the contrary, I was the prisoner concerned and I suggested this arrangement to Nurse Ford, an agency nurse. She used the prison officer's keys to allow me to escape from the prison for one night so that I could get to see Miss Stewart to explain away a stupid misunderstanding and repair the damage to our relationship. I walked through prison security as the prison officer on the gate added me on to the list of those nurses who had supposedly entered the prison at 12.30 that morning to make the record look right. How otherwise did I get through prison security? I tell you I was there."

The court gasped as Nikki reeled out her first hand evidence with such authoritative clarity that the jury instantly believed her. Sir Alan went red in the face as this smart woman slashed a great rent in the fabric of the case that he was trying to build up. Jo Mills deliberately allowed a few moments for Nikki's startlingly vivid evidence sink in and also to allow for her total admiration of the woman to cool down so that she could proceed.

"Just how easy was it for a prisoner like yourself to gain information as to how the prison actually operates in the way you have illustrated?"

"When a prisoner is first admitted to prison, she is very disorientated having been taken out of her normal environment. I speak both from personal experience and from recently talking to prisoners as part of my job. After a while, any prisoner will get to know the ropes and, in particular, find out how the prison operates. If the prisoner is lucky, she will get to know other prisoners on the wing who will 'clue them in' to what's going on. There is a high degree of female sisterhood in prison. You might hear stories of violence between prisoners and women who will scratch each other's eyes out given half a chance. I don't deny, both from personal experience and from my own studies that it happens on occasion. On the other hand, women will tend to help each other out to a far greater extent than you might think and not for any obvious sexual reason either……."

"My lord, I would like to know just where this line of questioning is proceeding," Sir Alan said with a deliberately exaggerated appearance of boredom.

"I think the witness will make everything abundantly clear given time," George replied in an amused tone of voice.

"Carry on, Ms Wade but try to stick to the point," Monty warned. He smiled inwardly as it occurred to him that it was normally for the barrister to be so advised. Ordinary witnesses just answered questions put to them but he knew very well that Nikki was definitely out of the ordinary and she could safely be allowed a certain amount of free rein.

"I understand. I was lucky in being friends with prisoners like Yvonne Atkins, Barbara Mills, Julie Johnson and Julie Saunders amongst others. The first was the very sharp wife of a gangland boss, the second a civil servant and the other two were kind -hearted prostitutes. all of them who hear and see everything. I was also on good terms with prison officers like Dominic Mc Allister, Gina Rossi besides, of course, Helen Stewart. The normal kind of 'old girl's network', or the 'old boy's network' for that matter, is normally limited to the nine to five Monday to Friday work routine. In a prison, we don't go out to home at the weekend- there isn't one. Because prison life involves a considerable amount of boredom and dead time, there's all the time in the world to find out from a number of sources what's going on. On top of that, each prisoner has a personal officer and sometimes they say more than they should do to a prisoner and that is fed round the prison gravevine. Finally, I must emphasize that Yvonne Atkins has the most unbelievably retentive mind imaginable and she has an absolutely rock solid sense of what is truth and what is lies. I am proud to say that I was a very good friend of hers……..The point I'm getting at is that official rulebooks of prisoner's supposedly lowly status count for nothing if you're in that kind of circle of friendship as I've described. The truth gets out bloody quickly, one way or another. I know I've gone on a lot but I hope I have explained the situation clearly, My Lord," Nikki finished, her voice trailing off, as she wanted to ensure that she had got her message over.

"Everything you say is crystal clear to me, both counsels and the jury, Ms Wade," Monty Everard said with great satisfaction. He admired the way this woman paced the content and delivery of her evidence just right.

"So on the specific charges in the indictment against Ms Stewart, what were your sources of information for your report?" Jo Mills asked while George sat back in fascinated interest.

"I have worked as a researcher for the Howard League for Penal Reform since June 18th 2001 and it includes work out in the field and, in particular, I visited Larkhall Prison on August 24th 2001 and investigated a sample wing, G Wing. To put it in a nutshell, I crosschecked over three years of my own experience against my academic studies of the penal system in general, kept my ears and eyes wide open when I visited the place and pulled all these lines of thinking together. I also questioned Neil Grayling and Dr Nicholson at length and got to hear what I wanted to know, more than they expected to divulge to me. To sum up, I had a fair idea where the bodies were buried, so to speak. As I knew what there is to look for, I was better placed than most to know how to find it if I do say that myself."

"Nikki, did anyone see your report and suggest any alterations and if so, what alterations did they suggest?"

"My partner Helen gave me a lot of emotional support while I was writing the report as she knew more than anything else, that it touched on emotional raw edges," Nikki said, selecting her words with care. "This has been my first major project with the Howard League so I was feeling nervous. She helped me to have the confidence to set down on paper what I already really knew. Finally, my boss Paul Williams also checked over the report to ensure there was nothing in it that I hadn't backed up with evidence and fitted in with his own broad and extensive knowledge of the prison system."

"Finally, can you give for the benefit of the jury your general impressions of Larkhall Prison, both from when you were an inmate and on your inspection in your official capacity," Jo asked in smooth terms. George grinned at the neat way Jo emphasized Nikki's present status.

"My Lord, that cannot possibly help as it is clearly detailed in the bundle of evidence, item NW1-50. To go down that line of questioning would merely duplicate what is on record," Sir Alan angrily contested. Everything around him was sliding into a sea of anarchy and disorder. Immediately, George jumped up to counter this ploy as Nikki's investigation cut to the heart of the case.

" I submit that the report was designed for an academic audience and wouldn't include how Ms Wade was treated by both prisoners and prison officers alike. The court needs to hear first hand evidence for themselves ," George cut back with a twinkle in her eye at Nikki. George knew very well how Nikki would behave, and trusted that her sense of judgment would know just how best to pitch her reply.

"The question is a legitimate one but try and be concise, Ms Wade."

"I'll keep it short and sharp. When I visited Larkhall Prison, I got the truth from the prisoners and nearly all the prison officers tried to sweep it under the carpet. Helen Stewart had battled for years to try and make prisons a just and civilizing place and had made some headway. Those restraining forces for good had been removed and only the law of the jungle remained, leaving a mixture of inefficiency, prejudice and injustice to run riot. Is that concise enough for everyone?"

Jo sat down quietly sedately as Nikki's ringing tones reverberated through the court. The dark haired woman became highly aware of this opposing barrister. His manner was conceited and priggish. She knew that she was in for a gruelling time of it but resolved to give as good as she got. Be armed with the truth, she murmured to herself and it will set you free. The first blast of the assault came rapidly.

"Let's get things right, Ms Wade, would it be true to say that you are currently living with the defendant?" Sir Alan Peasemarsh demanded in as a peremptory tone as he might have acted in the corridors of power.

"That's right, your honour."

"And when did this relationship commence, Ms Wade?"

"You mean when I fell in love with Helen or when Helen fell in love with me? Prison is hardly the ideal place to consummate a relationship," Nikki said calmly.

"When both of you knew of your feelings for each other, Ms Wade," came the stony reply. It was clear that Sir Alan had not thought of these peculiar logistics of courtships.

Nikki reflected awhile as she tried to place just when such an amorphous date took place, particularly as days at Larkhall flowed on with nothing to mark them, calendars made little sense and even the humble clock was nowhere to be seen.

"My answer is rather approximate. I'm trying to place it by working backwards in time. Let's see. I was released from prison on Friday Nov 24th 2000. Helen first kissed me on the day she resigned as wing governor so let's say that makes it August to September 1999. She didn't return to Larkhall on her Home Office project till some time in February 2000 and even then, she wasn't there all the time."

"Aaaah," Sir Alan said triumphantly," So there was plenty of time for pillow talk to develop, certainly in view of the fifteen months that you were in a lesbian relationship with the accused."

"Pillow talk? In a woman's prison? You've got to be kidding," Nikki replied incredulously to generalized laughter round the court. She deliberately waited for that moment to sink in before charging ahead on her own line of explanation.

"Look, let's get to the point. The substance of our relationship was a deep emotional intimacy. Helen had the foresight to see behind my 'hard case' exterior, that I gave Helen the love and support that she wasn't getting from elsewhere, certainly not from those under her who were sabotaging everything she was trying to achieve and certainly not from her fiancée. I saw in Helen the sheer courage and sincerity that I deeply respect."

"So what form did your 'intimate exchanges' take?" came the next question with heavy sarcasm.

"I remember clearly when Helen first took me into her confidence. She came to see me when a fellow prisoner Monica Lindsay was depressed over the sudden death of her Down's syndrome grown up son and refused to pursue her appeal. Helen had tried every official approach under the sun, including the personal officer, and laid out the problem to me as she knew that I was on good terms with Monica……."

As Nikki tailed off, she couldn't resist being cheeky and adding "I suppose you could say that was an official secret that she divulged to me. I can only say in my defence that my intervention did do the trick….."

The jury laughed openly at Nikki's jibe. In turn, she reflected on the fact that John Deed was definitely becoming a bad influence on her as she spotted his impish grin. Helen was totally dumbstruck watching how astutely her partner stood up so out and proud and she loved Nikki with all her heart all over again.

"So you insist that all you heard from the defendant was to enable the pair of you to 'do good works' around Larkhall Prison?" Sir Alan shot back with heavy sarcasm.

"Precisely so," came the calm answer." I mean, why not?"

"I put it to you that you couldn't possibly have made such detailed observations of internal management at one of Her Majesty's Prisons without some inside assistance," shot back Sir Alan nastily.

"You admit that what I'm saying is true?" Nikki retorted calmly, causing Sir Alan to turn red in the face and run his hand feverishly through his hair. He had stepped straight into the trap which Nikki had sprung snap on him. George and Jo grinned openly and helped make Sir Alan look as if he were ready to explode inside with frustration. He was so far away from maintaining his languid Old Etonian aristocratic manner ."I thought I listed very clearly the inside information earlier on but perhaps if I could explain it again. If the policeman had troubled himself to ask me all this when he was busy putting Helen through the third degree, I would have quite happily told him."

"Ms Wade, the whole tenor of your argument is that you simply did not need your partner to let you know what was going on in Larkhall. That's hardly flattering to her, that somehow you didn't need her," Sir Alan fired at her, this being the last shot in his locker.

"Mr. Peasemarsh,"Nikki cut back with strained patience which caused a ripple of amusement round the court and a visible grin on John's lips," I owe Helen Stewart my life as she worked her arse off, pardon my language, in petitioning the Home Office for my appeal to be heard. Even now, after all this time, whenever I wake up beside her in the morning, I remember everything she ever did for me.. I know now that Helen tried to battle with the unhealthy power imbalance of herself as prison governor and me as prisoner. This report was essentially all my own work. There were no 'official secrets' that were divulged. That is the truth."

"Have you any questions to ask your witness, Mrs Mills?" Monty drawled the customary words, trying to keep a straight face.

"No more questions, my Lord," Jo said immediately.

She and George had been watching with total fascination at the way Nikki's testimony was shredding the prosecution case to pieces. The tide was running in their favour but knew that everything now hung on how Helen would now shape up.