It was decided that they should hold Denny's case conference on the Tuesday morning, as the Monday was a bank holiday. So, at ten on the Tuesday morning, Karen, Gina, and Dr. Waugh met in Karen's office, and Dominic went down to the gate lodge to escort Yvonne up there too. Karen, Yvonne and Gina lit cigarettes, over which Thomas and Dominic exchanged rueful glances. Yvonne had been shocked to see the mess Denny had made of Karen's face, feeling that inexplicable sense of guilt and embarrassment that comes from one's child doing something terrible. "Jesus," she said, as soon as she walked into Karen's office. "Did Denny really do that?" "We wouldn't be here if she hadn't," Karen said dryly.
Once Karen's secretary had brought in some coffee, Karen began. "We are all here, because as far as I can see, every lenient, non-punitive tactic has been tried with Denny, and none of it has worked. No matter what exchanges of trust I may have achieved with her in the past, she has started using drugs again, as can be seen by the results of her mandatory drug tests." "We put Denny on the frequent testing programme," Gina explained to Yvonne. "But that hasn't stopped her from taking anything she can get her hands on, even though she knows we'll find out about it." "She's had an awful lot of contact with Al McKenzie lately," Dominic put in. "Which most of the women only ever do, if they're after drugs. Al took over from Buki as the regular wing dealer a long time ago. We do plenty of random, frequent drug tests, plus cell and strip searches, and sometimes we find the odd stash, but we're not catching most of it." "Denny's had three days down the block doing cold turkey," Thomas added. "And she's going to be getting very twitchy by now. If no one objects, I'd like to recommend that she has a spell in the psychiatric unit." At Yvonne's aghast look of horror, Karen strove to reassure her. "It's not the same as it was in your day, Yvonne," She said kindly. "Denny will be looked after while she gets clean, I promise." "And getting her clean is the most pressing concern," Thomas added. "If drugs weren't involved," Yvonne asked, looking at Karen. "What would you do with her for assaulting the Governor?" "I would give her at least a fortnight in solitary," Karen said without apology. "I will not put up with behaviour like that towards any member of prison staff, whether that be myself or someone else. Denny needs to understand that. Once Al McKenzie's ribs aren't in danger of causing her further injury, she'll be getting her own stint of segregation, though for obvious reasons, it wouldn't be as long as Denny's. The extent of her injuries that she received from Denny, is something of a punishment in itself." "Al McKenzie should be able to be discharged from the hospital wing some time today," Thomas put in. "What will happen to Denny, if she is put in the psychiatric unit?" Yvonne asked, only just managing to stop herself from calling it the muppet wing. "She'll be kept in a cell on her own," Thomas told her. "Because people who are either mentally disturbed, or coming off drugs, can pose a significant risk to both prison staff and other inmates, if they are allowed to have association. She'll be given any medication necessary to make her detox easier, and she will be given the opportunity for some cognitive behavioural therapy, as well as daily sessions with a councillor specialising in drug addiction. She will be tested daily, to make sure that she isn't getting any access to any drugs, though this is only a precaution, as she won't be having any contact with any other prisoners while she is there. I would recommend that she stays there for a fortnight, but that the situation is reviewed after a week, just to see how she is getting on." "When she eventually comes back onto the wing," Gina suggested. "Might it be a good idea, to continue to test her on a daily basis, at least for a couple of months, just to make sure she isn't going right back to square one?" "I don't see why it can't be arranged," Thomas replied. "After this little stunt," Karen put in. "I'd like Al McKenzie placed on a daily testing programme as well." "That's a bit like shutting the door on an empty stable, that is," Dominic said cryptically. "Al might be our dealer, but it's not that often that she actually uses." "I think we might have approached that point of no return," Gina said gloomily. "We need to do the one thing that is ninety percent sure to cause a riot. We need to do a random, or at least unexpected, thorough cell search of the entire wing, all in one go." "I don't envy you that one," Yvonne said dryly. "But as long as you don't let one hint of it slip out in advance, it might be the way to clear the wing thoroughly of any drugs. I wouldn't bet on it that it would last, but it might help." "We'd need to put everyone either in the gym, or the exercise yard while we do it," Dominic contemplated, thinking that this was sounding more and more like a suicide mission. "The point is," Gina clarified. "Nothing will be achieved by putting Denny through detox, or anyone else for that matter, if they can come back to the wing and get a new supply as soon as they get out." "If Denny's going to be segregated while she's in detox," Yvonne asked. "Does that count as her punishment, or not?" Karen thought about this. "Let's see how she gets on with detox first. If she puts some effort into dealing with it, and attempts to take some responsibility for her actions, then yes. But if there's just one positive drugs test after she's completed the detox programme, then she will be back down the block. She will obviously get the forty-two days loss of remission, plus forty-two days loss of personal spends, as will McKenzie. That is all I can really do to either of them. But I have to warn you, Yvonne, that if Denny does anything like this again, I may be forced to consider having her transferred, and not just to another wing, but to another prison. If I don't recognise the severity of her actions, I will be undermining the authority that the officers have over the inmates, and I have a duty to avoid that wherever possible. The only reason that I am not shipping her out immediately, is that because of the speed, I don't think she was entirely in control of her own actions, and because I will not wash my hands of her, until we've tried everything there is." "You can't say fairer than that," Yvonne told her, knowing that Karen had been put in an impossible position by Denny's hitting her, and that she was trying to do her job, whilst trying to keep Denny somewhere where Yvonne and Lauren might be able to have something of a positive influence on her.
When everyone including Yvonne had gone, Karen asked Dominic to bring Denny to see her. Denny was visibly trembling when she was led into Karen's office, with all the pallor of one who had been buried alive. She looked quite literally like death warmed up, and Karen could see that she was suffering. "Give me ten minutes," She said to Dominic, who left to wait outside the door, taking the opportunity to mildly flirt with Karen's very pretty secretary. Denny stood in front of the desk, entirely unable to keep still, whether from the incessant shaking, or the twitch of needing a fix, Karen wasn't sure. Karen simply waited, looking Denny over as she stood there, but eventually Denny looked up to meet her gaze, taking in the bruise that was beginning to fade under Karen's eye. "Shit," She said dully. "Did I do that?" "Yes," Karen told her quietly. "Not one of the nicest days of my life. How do you feel?" "Like Fenner, I guess," Denny said bleakly. "When Lauren killed him. Sorry Miss," She said, seeing the look of distaste on Karen's face. "And I'm sorry for giving you the shiner. I don't really remember doing it. I was a bit out of my head that day, innit." "Yes, on speed," Karen replied, waving the results of the drugs test at her. "Not a very clever way to stay out of trouble, is it. Now, are you going to tell me why you did this, so that we can perhaps think about having a civilised conversation, or am I simply going to tell you what your punishment is." "Just get it over with," Denny said belligerently, in no mood to co-operate with anyone. "Fine," Karen said a little bitterly. "For the next fortnight, you will be under the care of the psychiatric unit." "No way," Denny said in horror. "You ain't putting me on the muppet wing. Don't you remember what they did to Shell when she was down there?" "Denny," Karen insisted firmly. "You need to go through detox, and you need some help to do that." "You ain't doing that to me," Denny protested vehemently. "I ain't going down there, not ever, not for no one." Hearing the raised voices, Dominic appeared in the doorway. "Denny," He said, trying to draw her attention away from Karen. "Yvonne thinks you should." This brought tears to Denny's eyes, tears of sheer, bewildered betrayal. "No," She said, the tears beginning to coarse down her cheeks. "Yvonne wouldn't do that to me." "It's for your own good, I promise you," Karen said a little more gently. "Denny, I can't have you doing what you did last week. I'm trying everything possible here, because the only other option I've got left is to ship you out, and I'm sure you don't want that, do you." "No," Denny replied miserably, seeing that fighting was no use. Karen walked with them as Dominic escorted Denny down to the psychiatric unit, desperately hoping that this time, something would work. Karen knew she would do everything possible not to have Denny transferred, but there was only so much she could do, before her staff began to seriously question her judgment.