Part One Hundred And Twenty One
On the Tuesday morning, Karen received a phone call from Helen, certainly not a person she was expecting to hear from. The police hadn't been around since early last week, and after her date with John on Friday, Karen was slowly beginning to relax. She smirked wickedly at her reflection in the monitor of the computer as she thought of Friday night. No matter what did or didn't happen to her in the coming months, the memory of that evening was something she would cherish for ever. She was under no illusions about John whatsoever. What had happened between them on Friday would almost certainly never be repeated, but she thought they would stay good friends, which would be a first for both of them. He had probably never had a female friend that he didn't sleep with, and she could probably say the same with regards to male friends. but the note he'd left for her on the Saturday morning had made the probability of a continuing friendship extremely clear. Picking up the phone, she was surprised to hear the familiar Scottish lilt.
"Karen, it's Helen."
"Helen," Karen said in surprise, "I wasn't expecting to hear from you, though I can probably guess what it's about."
"I thought you could probably do with a chat," Said Helen succinctly. "I think we both could." Realising that Helen too would have some unfinished business with regards to her feelings about Fenner's death, Karen capitulated. Agreeing to meet in a wine bar after they'd both finished work, they ended the call, both thinking that it might be time for them to regain the friendship they'd tentatively begun, back in the days before Karen had fallen under Fenner's spell.
At around six that evening, Karen locked her office door and walked out to her car, and drove to where they'd decided to meet. When she appeared in the wine bar they'd agreed on, Helen was already there waiting for her. She waved Karen over to a corner table.
"Hi," She said, "Thought I'd get them in as I was here. Scotch, isn't it?"
"Yes," Said Karen gratefully, "And oh, how I need it," She groaned theatrically as she sat down.
"That bad?" Asked Helen with a small smile, remembering what a day on G wing could sometimes be like.
"Well, Di and Sylvia can't make their minds up as to which ex-con was responsible for Fenner's murder," She replied as she got out her cigarettes. "And I could swear that the Julies are taking advantage of the serious shortfall of officers to come up with some new scam."
"It never changes then," Said Helen with a smile. "Is Sylvia still refusing to even contemplate the idea of change?"
"Oh, yes," Replied Karen, "When we computerised the canteen over a year ago, Sylvia was so clueless, that the inmates managed to fiddle the stock right under her nose."
"So," Said Helen, helping herself to one of Karen's cigarettes, "How are you really?"
"Would it sound stupid if I said I was trying to keep a brave face on things?"
"No, of course not. Have the police been all over Larkhall?"
"No, not really. They were there for a couple of days, but not much longer. You remember those two dithering idiots that tried to pin Renee Williams' death on Shaz Wiley? Well, we had the joys of those two again. I don't know what Grayling said to them, but they seemed to go away perfectly happy about something."
"And how are things with Yvonne?"
"You say that like you already know the answer," Replied Karen dryly. Helen looked slightly sheepish.
"Yvonne did come to see Nikki, at the end of last week. I called you, because it struck me that she had someone to talk to, and you didn't." Karen was incredibly touched by this quiet admission.
"Well, thank you," She said. "Did his death come with as much shock to you as it did to me?"
"No," Replied Helen, signaling to the barmaid for refills, "But then, I'd never lived with him. Jesus, I never even liked him. But you did at one time, whether you like it or not." Karen briefly stared at Helen, suddenly seeing everything she'd missed when Fenner had forced their blossoming friendship apart.
"You always were a straight talker," Said Karen with a small smile.
"About the only thing about me that was, or is," Said Helen with a little smirk, attempting to lighten the situation. Karen laughed.
"You and me both, though Yvonne wasn't quite the first woman I'd looked at in that way."
"Nikki was," Said Helen fondly, "And she did her damnedest to make me believe it."
"I wish I could stay with Yvonne, but it's not as simple as that. I can't just put aside what she was prepared to do and did do after Lauren told us what she'd done."
"I know," Said Helen gently. "There wasn't much Nikki didn't tell me, and what she didn't fill in I can work out for myself. I'm guessing it was Yvonne's immediate reaction to get rid of as much evidence as possible."
"And I understand why she did that," Said Karen vehemently, "But I don't know if I can be in a relationship with someone who can go back to breaking the law at the slightest sign of crisis."
"You can't call finding out that your daughter's killed someone the slightest sign of crisis," Said Helen fairly, "But I do know how you feel."
"Do you?" Asked Karen, the despair at anyone knowing how she felt all too clear.
"Of course I do," Replied Helen. "Listen. When Nikki escaped on the night of Sylvia's party, it gave me the biggest fright of my bloody life. I don't know who I was expecting to see at that time of night, but it wasn't her. At first, I shut the door in her face, I wouldn't let her in. But you know Nikki, she doesn't go anywhere quietly." Karen smiled. "That turned out to be the best and the worst night of my life."
"That's why you were so close to the prison when I called you," Said Karen in sudden realisation, "You were on your way back with Nikki."
"Got it in one. Driving through the gates with her hiding in the back of my car was not an experience I'm eager to repeat. But it was all too much for me. Realising that Nikki and therefore Barbara knew that I'd broken the law, I couldn't deal with it. So, I took some space because I needed it, and that's what you're doing with Yvonne. She won't hold it against you, or if she does, she needs her bloody head testing."
"Maybe not," Said Karen ruefully, "But she would hold sleeping with someone else against me."
"What, and you think that's what I didn't do with Thomas Waugh?" Said Helen, not missing a beat. "When I called it well and truly off with Nikki after the riot, I needed something normal, something that couldn't possibly be construed as wrong, either legally or professionally."
"Jesus," Said Karen, looking thoroughly relieved, "Do you have any idea how it feels to know someone else can make sense of all this."
"Was it worth it?" Asked Helen, intrigued.
"Oh, yes," Said Karen firmly, "I wouldn't have missed that for anything. I do feel guilty, for having done that so soon after finishing with Yvonne, but at least I didn't actually cheat on her."
"Who was it?"
"Strange as it sounds, the Judge who presided over Snowball and Ritchie's trial. You could say I've got to know him pretty well since."
"A High court Judge, eh," Said Helen, sounding impressed, "You're going up in the world."
"Yeah, well, I doubt it'll be happening again. He's got at least one woman permanently on the go, and possibly his ex-wife at the same time, and I know both of them." Helen laughed.
"Karen Betts, you're incorrigible."
"I know, terrible, isn't it."
"No, not in the least," Said Helen, becoming serious again. "Like with me and Thomas, you needed to do something normal, something that you wouldn't have hesitated about doing before all this happened. With Nikki, I knew that I couldn't even think about pursuing anything with her until she was free. If you want some advice, though it doesn't sound like you need it, I'd wait until this thing's run its course before you even consider going back in to a relationship with Yvonne. What Lauren did, isn't going to go away. I have no idea how long it will take the police to work out the obvious, but they will, they nearly always do."
"why the obvious?" Asked Karen, wondering if Helen could possibly have guessed the real state of play.
"Fenner gave evidence at Ritchie's trial, which may or may not have helped to get Ritchie sent down. Lauren is Ritchie's sister, and may have wanted to settle her mother's score with Fenner once and for all." Karen gaped at her.
"You sure you're not working for the CPS?" She asked dryly.
"I wish I was," Said Helen regretfully, "They get paid more than I do. Working part time for an NHS psychology practice, and part time for an NHS drugs rehab clinic, certainly doesn't pay as well as area management used to. But at least in this job I feel like I'm doing some good for once." As Karen went to the bar to get another round, she wondered if she would ever feel like that about her job. Being a wing governor in one of Her Majesty's prisons, meant juggling ever increasing expenses with ever dwindling budgets. It meant coping with fractious inmates and surly officers, none of whom really wanted to be there. Looking back at Helen, Karen wondered if her life would ever achieve the same fairly happy existence as Helen's. A partner who loved her, a job she felt held at least a modicum of worth, and that oh so enviable feeling of being settled with who she was. Karen didn't feel like she would ever get to that stage in anything she did. Everything she seemed to touch just fell apart in front of her.
"Don't look so gloomy," Said Helen when Karen returned to the table with their drinks. "You will get there, believe me."
"Now I know why you spend your days deciphering other people's thoughts," Replied Karen dryly. "If you can interpret my rambling sparks of brain activity across a crowded room, I guess you can sort anyone out."
"For a start, it isn't that simple and you know it," Said Helen, half smiling half serious, "And second, you're not half as tangled up as you think you are."
"I'll take your word for it," Said Karen, lighting another cigarette. "What did you think when you initially heard about Fenner?" she asked, bringing them back to the discussion not far below the surface of either of their thoughts. Helen took a contemplative drag of yet another of Karen's cigarettes. "You didn't used to smoke," commented Karen dryly, when Helen didn't immediately answer. Helen grinned.
"blame that on Nikki. It's a Larkhall habit she's never quite left behind. I tell myself that if I don't buy them, then I'm not a smoker."
"The first step on the slippery slope," Karen confirmed.
"When we saw it on the news," Said Helen, returning to the subject, "At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I think Nikki's words were, someone's finally got the bastard." Karen smiled ruefully. "But I think I just knew that there had to be more to it than some random killer. What about you?"
"I was stunned. Lauren had just strolled in to the house, as high as a kite, and casually carrying a gun for all to see. I felt like I was watching some far too real horror film. when she told us what she'd done, I think part of me couldn't quite take it in. Watching Yvonne clean that gun isn't something I'm going to forget in a hurry. She did that like it was second nature to her, which in a way I suppose it was. She reverted to her pre-Larkhall days without a moment's thought. She knows I can't deal with what she was prepared to do for Lauren, and right now that's hurting her more than I ever thought it would. But, as you said, this isn't going to go away. Lauren will have to account for her actions at some point, and there's nothing anyone can do to prevent that." As they sat there a good while longer, drinking, smoking, and catching up on nearly two years of missed friendship, they both felt that in spite of Fenner's determination to separate their combined will to make the prison service a better place, they could and would pick up where they'd left off.
On the Tuesday morning, Karen received a phone call from Helen, certainly not a person she was expecting to hear from. The police hadn't been around since early last week, and after her date with John on Friday, Karen was slowly beginning to relax. She smirked wickedly at her reflection in the monitor of the computer as she thought of Friday night. No matter what did or didn't happen to her in the coming months, the memory of that evening was something she would cherish for ever. She was under no illusions about John whatsoever. What had happened between them on Friday would almost certainly never be repeated, but she thought they would stay good friends, which would be a first for both of them. He had probably never had a female friend that he didn't sleep with, and she could probably say the same with regards to male friends. but the note he'd left for her on the Saturday morning had made the probability of a continuing friendship extremely clear. Picking up the phone, she was surprised to hear the familiar Scottish lilt.
"Karen, it's Helen."
"Helen," Karen said in surprise, "I wasn't expecting to hear from you, though I can probably guess what it's about."
"I thought you could probably do with a chat," Said Helen succinctly. "I think we both could." Realising that Helen too would have some unfinished business with regards to her feelings about Fenner's death, Karen capitulated. Agreeing to meet in a wine bar after they'd both finished work, they ended the call, both thinking that it might be time for them to regain the friendship they'd tentatively begun, back in the days before Karen had fallen under Fenner's spell.
At around six that evening, Karen locked her office door and walked out to her car, and drove to where they'd decided to meet. When she appeared in the wine bar they'd agreed on, Helen was already there waiting for her. She waved Karen over to a corner table.
"Hi," She said, "Thought I'd get them in as I was here. Scotch, isn't it?"
"Yes," Said Karen gratefully, "And oh, how I need it," She groaned theatrically as she sat down.
"That bad?" Asked Helen with a small smile, remembering what a day on G wing could sometimes be like.
"Well, Di and Sylvia can't make their minds up as to which ex-con was responsible for Fenner's murder," She replied as she got out her cigarettes. "And I could swear that the Julies are taking advantage of the serious shortfall of officers to come up with some new scam."
"It never changes then," Said Helen with a smile. "Is Sylvia still refusing to even contemplate the idea of change?"
"Oh, yes," Replied Karen, "When we computerised the canteen over a year ago, Sylvia was so clueless, that the inmates managed to fiddle the stock right under her nose."
"So," Said Helen, helping herself to one of Karen's cigarettes, "How are you really?"
"Would it sound stupid if I said I was trying to keep a brave face on things?"
"No, of course not. Have the police been all over Larkhall?"
"No, not really. They were there for a couple of days, but not much longer. You remember those two dithering idiots that tried to pin Renee Williams' death on Shaz Wiley? Well, we had the joys of those two again. I don't know what Grayling said to them, but they seemed to go away perfectly happy about something."
"And how are things with Yvonne?"
"You say that like you already know the answer," Replied Karen dryly. Helen looked slightly sheepish.
"Yvonne did come to see Nikki, at the end of last week. I called you, because it struck me that she had someone to talk to, and you didn't." Karen was incredibly touched by this quiet admission.
"Well, thank you," She said. "Did his death come with as much shock to you as it did to me?"
"No," Replied Helen, signaling to the barmaid for refills, "But then, I'd never lived with him. Jesus, I never even liked him. But you did at one time, whether you like it or not." Karen briefly stared at Helen, suddenly seeing everything she'd missed when Fenner had forced their blossoming friendship apart.
"You always were a straight talker," Said Karen with a small smile.
"About the only thing about me that was, or is," Said Helen with a little smirk, attempting to lighten the situation. Karen laughed.
"You and me both, though Yvonne wasn't quite the first woman I'd looked at in that way."
"Nikki was," Said Helen fondly, "And she did her damnedest to make me believe it."
"I wish I could stay with Yvonne, but it's not as simple as that. I can't just put aside what she was prepared to do and did do after Lauren told us what she'd done."
"I know," Said Helen gently. "There wasn't much Nikki didn't tell me, and what she didn't fill in I can work out for myself. I'm guessing it was Yvonne's immediate reaction to get rid of as much evidence as possible."
"And I understand why she did that," Said Karen vehemently, "But I don't know if I can be in a relationship with someone who can go back to breaking the law at the slightest sign of crisis."
"You can't call finding out that your daughter's killed someone the slightest sign of crisis," Said Helen fairly, "But I do know how you feel."
"Do you?" Asked Karen, the despair at anyone knowing how she felt all too clear.
"Of course I do," Replied Helen. "Listen. When Nikki escaped on the night of Sylvia's party, it gave me the biggest fright of my bloody life. I don't know who I was expecting to see at that time of night, but it wasn't her. At first, I shut the door in her face, I wouldn't let her in. But you know Nikki, she doesn't go anywhere quietly." Karen smiled. "That turned out to be the best and the worst night of my life."
"That's why you were so close to the prison when I called you," Said Karen in sudden realisation, "You were on your way back with Nikki."
"Got it in one. Driving through the gates with her hiding in the back of my car was not an experience I'm eager to repeat. But it was all too much for me. Realising that Nikki and therefore Barbara knew that I'd broken the law, I couldn't deal with it. So, I took some space because I needed it, and that's what you're doing with Yvonne. She won't hold it against you, or if she does, she needs her bloody head testing."
"Maybe not," Said Karen ruefully, "But she would hold sleeping with someone else against me."
"What, and you think that's what I didn't do with Thomas Waugh?" Said Helen, not missing a beat. "When I called it well and truly off with Nikki after the riot, I needed something normal, something that couldn't possibly be construed as wrong, either legally or professionally."
"Jesus," Said Karen, looking thoroughly relieved, "Do you have any idea how it feels to know someone else can make sense of all this."
"Was it worth it?" Asked Helen, intrigued.
"Oh, yes," Said Karen firmly, "I wouldn't have missed that for anything. I do feel guilty, for having done that so soon after finishing with Yvonne, but at least I didn't actually cheat on her."
"Who was it?"
"Strange as it sounds, the Judge who presided over Snowball and Ritchie's trial. You could say I've got to know him pretty well since."
"A High court Judge, eh," Said Helen, sounding impressed, "You're going up in the world."
"Yeah, well, I doubt it'll be happening again. He's got at least one woman permanently on the go, and possibly his ex-wife at the same time, and I know both of them." Helen laughed.
"Karen Betts, you're incorrigible."
"I know, terrible, isn't it."
"No, not in the least," Said Helen, becoming serious again. "Like with me and Thomas, you needed to do something normal, something that you wouldn't have hesitated about doing before all this happened. With Nikki, I knew that I couldn't even think about pursuing anything with her until she was free. If you want some advice, though it doesn't sound like you need it, I'd wait until this thing's run its course before you even consider going back in to a relationship with Yvonne. What Lauren did, isn't going to go away. I have no idea how long it will take the police to work out the obvious, but they will, they nearly always do."
"why the obvious?" Asked Karen, wondering if Helen could possibly have guessed the real state of play.
"Fenner gave evidence at Ritchie's trial, which may or may not have helped to get Ritchie sent down. Lauren is Ritchie's sister, and may have wanted to settle her mother's score with Fenner once and for all." Karen gaped at her.
"You sure you're not working for the CPS?" She asked dryly.
"I wish I was," Said Helen regretfully, "They get paid more than I do. Working part time for an NHS psychology practice, and part time for an NHS drugs rehab clinic, certainly doesn't pay as well as area management used to. But at least in this job I feel like I'm doing some good for once." As Karen went to the bar to get another round, she wondered if she would ever feel like that about her job. Being a wing governor in one of Her Majesty's prisons, meant juggling ever increasing expenses with ever dwindling budgets. It meant coping with fractious inmates and surly officers, none of whom really wanted to be there. Looking back at Helen, Karen wondered if her life would ever achieve the same fairly happy existence as Helen's. A partner who loved her, a job she felt held at least a modicum of worth, and that oh so enviable feeling of being settled with who she was. Karen didn't feel like she would ever get to that stage in anything she did. Everything she seemed to touch just fell apart in front of her.
"Don't look so gloomy," Said Helen when Karen returned to the table with their drinks. "You will get there, believe me."
"Now I know why you spend your days deciphering other people's thoughts," Replied Karen dryly. "If you can interpret my rambling sparks of brain activity across a crowded room, I guess you can sort anyone out."
"For a start, it isn't that simple and you know it," Said Helen, half smiling half serious, "And second, you're not half as tangled up as you think you are."
"I'll take your word for it," Said Karen, lighting another cigarette. "What did you think when you initially heard about Fenner?" she asked, bringing them back to the discussion not far below the surface of either of their thoughts. Helen took a contemplative drag of yet another of Karen's cigarettes. "You didn't used to smoke," commented Karen dryly, when Helen didn't immediately answer. Helen grinned.
"blame that on Nikki. It's a Larkhall habit she's never quite left behind. I tell myself that if I don't buy them, then I'm not a smoker."
"The first step on the slippery slope," Karen confirmed.
"When we saw it on the news," Said Helen, returning to the subject, "At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I think Nikki's words were, someone's finally got the bastard." Karen smiled ruefully. "But I think I just knew that there had to be more to it than some random killer. What about you?"
"I was stunned. Lauren had just strolled in to the house, as high as a kite, and casually carrying a gun for all to see. I felt like I was watching some far too real horror film. when she told us what she'd done, I think part of me couldn't quite take it in. Watching Yvonne clean that gun isn't something I'm going to forget in a hurry. She did that like it was second nature to her, which in a way I suppose it was. She reverted to her pre-Larkhall days without a moment's thought. She knows I can't deal with what she was prepared to do for Lauren, and right now that's hurting her more than I ever thought it would. But, as you said, this isn't going to go away. Lauren will have to account for her actions at some point, and there's nothing anyone can do to prevent that." As they sat there a good while longer, drinking, smoking, and catching up on nearly two years of missed friendship, they both felt that in spite of Fenner's determination to separate their combined will to make the prison service a better place, they could and would pick up where they'd left off.