"Miss Doyle?" A tall greying man with a kind face, asked Frankie as she entered the tavern and found three people, including Mike sat at a table covered in paperwork.
"Yes, hello. You must be Mr Brown?" Frankie asked as she took his offered hand and shook it firmly.
"Indeed, I have to say, your reputation of late is incredible. You have been taking the Australian Legal Society by storm, you're the topic of almost every conversation between anyone who works within the legal field" Mr Brown smiled kindly.
"That's very kind of you to say Mr Brown, however I am just trying to use my skills and qualifications for a good cause" Frankie smiled politely.
"Please, call me Jim. From what young Mike says, you and I are going to be working very closely together over the next few weeks" Jim smiled as he sat back in his chair.
"Very well Jim, Call me Frankie. Now before we get started, can I get anyone a drink, it's been a long day at the office and I'm pretty sure there is a cold beer behind the bar with my name on it" Frankie grinned cheekily, taking an order of four beers and returning with the drinks on a tray shortly after.
"So Jim, tell me what you have so far, and I will do what I can to fill in the blanks for you" Frankie smiled after taking a seat, removing her jacket and taking a small sip of the nectar gold.
"Right well, firstly... I doubt it need's saying, but I must say it anyways, anything that we discuss must be kept strictly at this table until the trial has been concluded..." Jim smiled and awaited for Frankie's nod of agreement.
"Well, the case I was handed was for charges for Joan Ferguson for the attempted murder of Bea Smith outside of Wentworth Correction Facility's building, but within the car park. That is pretty much all I have been provided with. After digging around, we found that Ferguson was inside Wentworth awaiting trial for charges which revolve around attempted murder, hiring of a hitman, assault of inmates under her care etcetera etcetera, however there was no solid evidence and so the charges were dropped, upon her exit from the facility, she got into an altercation with another inmate, Bea Smith, and ended up stabbing her, we can't determine how Miss Smith got outside of the building, nor how Miss Ferguson got the weapon, and the video footage we were provided doesn't really show that much. So far I will be able to get her charged with attempted murder, and that is all. Now because of the previous charges being dropped, I won't be able to bring them into this trial unless there is a clear link to those charges being clearly connected to the new charges" Jim finished, watching Frankie's face intently as he spoke.
"Oh I can do better than linking them Jim... I have in my possession evidence which proves that Ferguson hired a hit on Bea Smith, as well as a previous prison officer called Fletcher, who has now disappeared and changed his name as he is in fear of his life after two hits by Ferguson and her henchman. I have surveillance footage showing Nils Jesper, Ferguson's hench man, coming to the prison on the day Smith was attacked, and collecting a package from the wheel of Ferguson's car, which I know was payment and the ID passes he used to get access to the prison, and a written testimony from the deceased Jesper which states that cash and supplies in an envelope on the wheel is how Ferguson paid him... is that enough of a link for you?" Frankie smirked confidently.
"You are kidding me?" Jim grinned. "How did you get all of this evidence, and why do you have it?"
"When it comes to Ferguson, I don't kid. Firstly, I have it because I am building a case for a client which ties in with Ferguson's case, and as a result I have been compiling the evidence to work in association with that case. Secondly, I have many ways which I have retrieved the evidence, all legally, and all traceable through my own records, however I need to keep my sources private in order to protect them for my own client's case, but should the judge wish to subpoena the records, I will be happy to hand them over to the judge with a confidentiality order" Frankie grinned proudly as Jim nodded his head appreciatively.
"The rumors are true, you're definitely a damn fine lawyer. Knowing what side of the fence I work on, and what side of the fence you will be working on, I dread the day we have to come up against each other in court" Jim grinned cheekily.
"Well, work is work, and personal is personal. I'm sure that we can agree to fight respectfully in the courtroom and keep our personal lives out of it. After all, I choose my cases wisely and only deal with those who don't deserve to be in jail, don't belong in jail, or have done their time and deserve a second chance, so when you look at it that way, we are on the same side of the fence, keeping those that belong in jail behind bars, and those that don't belong in jail get a chance at freedom" Frankie smiled, watching as Jim nodded thoughtfully at her.
"Indeed, well in that case, should our professional path's cross, I will look forward to meeting with you over a pint to discuss the finer details and working out a solution that is the right thing for the general public" Jim grinned appreciatively.
"That sound's fantastic to me Jim. Anyway's back to the topic of the night... I have a present for you" Frankie grinned as she pulled a USB flash drive from her trouser pocket and slid it over the table to Jim, who picked it up questioningly.
"On that device is a copy of every piece of evidence I have amassed so far with regards to Ferguson. There is CCTV footage from inside and outside the prison, there is testimonies regarding Ferguson from people she has worked with, as well as people who have come into contact with her sinister side. There is reports from her time as an officer and as the deputy, and character statements from employers and fellow employees. There is literally a chronology of her entire career, which is then linked in with inmates who have been sent to the psych ward under her 'care', and you will be very interested to see that there is a strong link between several of them. Her MO starts with someone getting sent to the slot, then she messes with their mind, gets them to hurt themselves by scratching at their skin, then eventually she gets them to stab themselves in the eye, always with a pencil, before they are shipped to a full psych ward and then she moves onto the next victim. It's alarming how many inmates have suffered the same fate at her hands, so many women that she has gotten away with hurting. There are reports of inmates before and after her employment at different facilities that clearly show that the patterns all happen whilst she is there, and don't happen when she isn't... you can't tell me that's a coincidence. I also have statement's from some of my client's who suffered at her hands directly prior to her arrest, including myself. One inmate, Doreen Anderson, was pregnant whilst Ferguson was Governor and Ferguson latched onto her, called her Giana... who we later discovered was an inmate she had an affair with in Blackmoor... Giana's son was taken into care by a social worker who now works at Wentworth, Will Jackson. Ferguson tracked down Giana's son, Shayne, and tried to convince him to take a hit out on Nils Jesper... I almost got shot by the kid stopping him from doing something stupid, the kid has dropped off the face of the earth now I've been looking for him for months but can't find him anywhere, anyway, when Doreen was pregnant, Ferguson latched onto her, bringing her ice cream and a new comfy mattress and giving her treats before trying to kiss her. I know all of this sounds unbelievable, but take a look on that Flash drive and you will see all the proof you need that everything I just told you is true, and is all linked to Ferguson and all the evidence I have been able to get a hold of is in your hands" Frankie grimaced, hoping that she was putting her trust in somebody worthy.
"And you're just handing this over to me?" Jim asked nervously motioning towards the flash drive, expecting there to be a catch.
"That's right, call it a gift between friends. All I ask in return is that you sting her for every single thing that you can. The woman is a psycho, my partner is a forensic psychologist, and has worked with Ferguson as an employer and as a patient, and she will tell you just how sick that woman is" Frankie smiled proudly.
"Do you think your partner would be prepared to provide me with a professional character statement to the such?" Jim asked hopefully. Frankie smiled almost knowingly and took a business card from her pocket and slid it across the table. "I have no doubt's that she would, that's her business card, if you give her a call you will find her very helpful and willing"
"I can't thank you enough for all your help Frankie, if this drive contains what you said it doe's, I'm certain we will be able to send her away for a very long time" Jim grinned.
"My pleasure. Just one request, if possible, when your case is closed, would I be able to get a copy of the notes and court transcript's. I have a feeling that there may be information that will come up that could help with my own case" Frankie asked hopefully.
"I'm sure that can be arranged" Jim grinned with a nod, grabbing his glass and taking a large swig.
"Well then, I will look forward to seeing you in action, I will be there at the trial, I want to make sure she goes' down with my own two eyes" Frankie smiled cheekily. "and if I get any further information that I think would be of help to you, I will pass it along" Frankie offered.
"That would be great... so can I ask, what's this case you're working on?" Jim asked mischievously, a twinkle in his pale blue eyes.
"As long as the information stay's at this table... I'm building a case for Bea Smith to have her charges reduced so that one day she will get a chance for parole" Frankie offered nervously.
"Holy shit... you're building a case for 'THE' Bea Smith?" Jim asked in shock.
"Yep" Frankie grinned proudly.
"Right, well... firstly let me say that I am very impressed, I mean I know that you have only been practicing law for a short time, so taking on such a huge case for such a high profile inmate is incredible... however, I should let you know something... I was the attorney that was in charge of prosecuting Miss Smith" Jim frowned, hoping that this new information wouldn't ruin the budding friendship with the young woman he admired professionally sat opposite him.
"Shit... I wasn't expecting that, ok... would it be cheeky of me to ask if you had the case note's laying around that I could get my hands on" Frankie laughed nervously.
"You know, as the case has already been sent to trial and sentencing has been passed, technically there wouldn't be any issue with me faxing the details from my firm to yours if you were to email me at work requesting a copy of them. You wouldn't need to state that they are for a case for Miss Smith, but if you were to state that it is in relation to a case you are building for a client which you can't name due to confidentiality reasons, then I would be under the impression that you were requesting the information for a different case for a different client and would have no issue's sending them over to you. You will find that I am very thorough with my notes, and you will also find that the case notes will contain lot's of information that wasn't used at trial due to it being circumstantial. You will also find that there are notes on evidence and testimonies that we expected Miss Smith's original attorney to use in her defense, which he didn't, which I'm sure as her new legal representation would be able to utilize" Jim smirked.
"Well in that case Mr Brown, I thank you for the lesson on liaising with your office, and will be in touch through the appropriate channels in due time" Frankie smirked at her professional response, and laughed when Jim winked at her.
"So tell me... Bea Smith... why are you trying to get her out?" Jim asked, as he finished his pint.
"I was inside with Bea when she first got locked up, she should never have been there in the first place, she wasn't a killer, or a violent person... she was just some house wife who took too many beatings from her abusive husband, and when her husband threatened their daughter whilst attempting to rape Bea, she did what she needed to do to protect herself and her daughter from him. Sure she went about it in the wrong way, but he messed her up for years, mentally, emotionally and physically. Then she got inside and had power hungry women using her in a war she was never meant to be a part of, it changed her, made her need to toughen up to survive, and then her daughter was murdered because one inmate wanted to prove that she could do whatever she wanted with no repercussion. Bea killed that woman, she isn't denying that, but the bitch murdered her only daughter as a form of manipulation of Bea, and there are bigger circumstances at play. Then she broke out of prison and went after the inmates son who had played her daughter under his mother's instruction and gave her the hot shot that killed her... she killed him too. She isn't an innocent person, but she is a victim of circumstance, you find any parent that wouldn't go after the person who murdered their child and would be able to control their actions" Frankie smiled sadly.
"Oh I get it, when I held the trial I remember thinking to myself that I felt like such a hypocrite, there I was trying to get a woman convicted for the murder of a person who was responsible for the murder her only child, when I knew perfectly well that I would do the same, if not worse, to anyone that hurt either of my little girls... it was a tough case, and definitely one I lost sleep over, and that has stuck with me" Jim smiled sadly.
"I don't suppose you would be willing to testify to that" Frankie smirked cheekily.
"I don't think I would be able to due to conflict of interest... however, I suppose... If I was ever ordered to the stand and questioned under oath with regards to my professional and personal feelings regarding any past case I have worked, I would be obliged to be completely honest about it in my testimony wouldn't I... something for you to think about" Jim winked knowingly and caused Frankie to grin.
"You know, you're a good man Jim" Frankie said honestly. "I'm honored that I got to meet you, and got to help you with your case against Ferguson"
"And you are a good woman Frankie, you have turned the legal world upside down with your fast tracking, many people are worried about liaising with you because of your colorful past, I admit I was one of them, but you truly are a remarkable person, and it is me that is honored to have gotten to meet you and work with you" Jim grinned.
"Honey I'm home" Frankie grinned when she finally got home.
"Hey baby, welcome home" Vera grinned from the lounge and smirked as Frankie popped her head around the wall and looked at her with a confused smile.
"Bridge has just gone to get changed" Vera laughed, watching as Frankie shook her head in amusement and went to find her fiancé.
"Gidge?" Frankie asked, walking into the room and finding Bridget wearing just a pair of bed shorts.
"Hey babe, Vera's here... I said she could stay the night and have a drink with us" Bridget smiled as she pecked Frankie's lip's tenderly and pulled an oversized tee over her head.
"So I saw... she wasn't the honey I was calling too when I walked through the door" Frankie laughed, kicking off her shoe's and grabbing her own pj's to get changed into.
"You don't mind do you?" Bridget asked as she enjoyed the view.
"Course not... hey just so you know, a friend may be contacting you soon to ask you to provide a professional character statement for the Ferguson trial" Frankie told her with a nervous smile.
"Ok babe" Bridget offered simply as she opened the door and moved to return to Vera in the lounge with Frankie behind her.
"How did the meeting go?" Vera asked as she handed both women a beer as they snuggled up on the couch next to her.
"Amazing actually. So this guy is responsible for prosecuting The Freak... I'm helping him with the case, and in return he is going to give me the case notes once the case is closed. And between us, he happens to be the prosecutor who worked on Bea's case and gave me some advice on how to get the case notes from Bea's trial from his firm, and gave me some hypothetical advice on how I could get him to testify in a way that help Bea greatly" Frankie grinned.
"Well tell him that if he needs a character statement from me, to give me a call and I will help too" Vera offered, smiling when Frankie nodded her approval.
"So a successful night then?" Bridget grinned as she kissed the top of Frankie's head as she played with her hair, the younger woman resting back against her comfortably.
"Oh yeah! What about you two... good day?" Frankie asked, taking a swig of her beer.
"Vera found us a venue for the engagement party... it's going to be at the prison... quite an apt place considering that is where we met and where you proposed" Bridget grinned when she felt Frankie laughing.
"That's great, thanks Vera... Gidge's mum has been stressing about it for days! I do find it hilarious that I worked so hard to get out of that place and now I can't seem to stay away" Frankie grinned.
"I know, I'm going to have to get you a prison officers uniform if you spend any more time there" Vera laughed, rolling her eye's at the dreamy expressions on both women's faces at the suggestion of Frankie in a PO uniform.
"Jesus you two! get a room" Vera giggled.
"So anyway... why are you here spoiling our sexy time?" Frankie grinned mischievously.
"Jake is out with the boys from work and I had the pleasure of my own company for the night... so Bridge told me to come and have a drink with you both" Vera laughed as Frankie put her feet across her lap and made herself comfortable.
"When am I going to meet Jakey-boy?" Frankie grinned as Vera accepted her new comfortable position and didn't push her feet away.
"At your engagement I'm guessing, provided I get a plus one" Vera laughed.
"You get whatever you want for solving the venue problem" Bridget grinned and winked at Vera.
"So... am I going to have to have the chat with him?" Frankie asked seriously.
"What chat?" Vera asked with confusion.
"Well you know, you don't have a brother to do it... so do I need to sit him down and ask what his intentions are and let him know if he hurt's you I will break his legs" Frankie grinned cheekily.
"Hah... aren't you meant to be a reformed woman?" Vera grinned.
"Oh I am, but I take offense to people hurting the people I love" Frankie smirked.
"People you love... and there was me thinking it was just a crush" Bridget laughed as Frankie moved her head backwards to glare at her.
"You know what I mean... it takes a lot to get through my walls, but once you're there, you're family and I will do anything to protect you" Frankie said, focussing on Vera to let the woman know that she was being genuine.
"It's funny, Bea said the same thing a few hours ago. I am definitely feeling the love today" Vera grinned. "Anyways, I wanted to pick your brains about some things" Vera asked, changing the topic to something she was more comfortable discussing. When she saw Frankie's raised and inquisitive eyebrows, she took a deep breath and prepared herself to continue.
"So tomorrow, I have to get my punishment for backing the wrong horse in the fight, so Boom's is going to be the Governor for the day, and I get to dress in teal and be a con" Vera laughed.
"Ahh, now I get the need for a drink" Frankie grinned.
"Nah, I'm looking forward to it, I'm hoping to get a bit of an insight of what it's like on the opposite side of the bar's so that I can make some improvement's for the benefit of the women" Vera confided.
"Right..."
"Well, that got me thinking about how much I don't know about the opposite side of the bar's, and that led me to think that perhaps you could give me some insight into things that you think need changing, or tweaking" Vera smiled hopefully.
"Have you got all night?" Frankie laughed, frowning when Vera nodded and awaited her to start.
"Ok well... for starters... I suppose the name of the place is Wentworth Correctional Facility, yet it feels more like a prison than anything. It's a punishment more than an opportunity to reform. I know you have been working wonders by introducing thing's like the education programs and thing's like that... but not everyone is an education person... and what's the point in being educated if you don't know how to live in the outside world. So perhaps you may want to consider thing's like life skills training and maybe test the women for their reading, writing and math's skills and make sure that they are able to educate themselves if they want to. Maybe provide them training on how to prepare for job interviews, how to dress for interviews, how to hold a conversation without swearing, how to have a debate without resulting to using your fists, how to accept another person's opinion without diminishing them or changing your own opinion because you have no self worth, how to do your makeup without looking like a drag queen, you know... the thing's that you should be taught as a child but most people don't get to take the lesson because of the situation's they were born into" Frankie suggested, grinning when Vera grabbed a notebook and pen from beside's their phone and began scribbling away. Waiting for Vera to catch up with her, Frankie took a swig of her beer and enjoyed the feeling of Bridget's fingers in her hair.
"So with getting people to open up, it's all about trust... I know Gidge has worked miracles, but maybe you can do some of those things that companies do at interviews, you know the bonding games... and some of those games will involve getting the women to say nice things about the other women, even the women they don't get on with, that's gonna help them feel better about themselves for saying something nice, but will help the other person's self confidence... and when you fill a room with women that don't absolutely hate themselves and need to take it out on somebody else, you're going to get a better result" Frankie thought out loud, watching as Vera scribbled away.
"And you may want to reconsider the slot... I get the idea behind it, but it doesn't always work, all it does is make you angry and frustrated, so when you get out you're ready to kick someone's arse just to vent, especially if there is someone else responsible for you being in there" Frankie advised, her eye's darkening at the memories of being in the slot.
"Well ok.. What would you suggest as an alternative?" Bridget asked.
"Oh I dunno... I suppose it depends on the reason they are in there. Like if they are in there for drugs, perhaps you should have a unit specifically for people drying out... like they go in the slot for a few days until they are less violent from the initial withdrawals, then they go to a special unit where they have a support network to get properly clean, I have had a few groups approach me to offer their services to the Debbie cause, We could vet these people and see if any of them would be suitable to go inside to help out, provide a AA service as such. Then buddy the women up so they have a kind of sponsor, maybe bunk them up, two in a room, and give them rewards for good behavior and such. You know, if you stay clean for a month then you get a one on one visit from your family, it gives them something to work towards and look forward to, rather than just throwing them in confinement and punishing them" Frankie suggested, smiling when Vera nodded her approval of the idea.
"And like, if someone is in there for violent behavior, they have to atone for it, firstly by attending a certain amount of anger management sessions, then writing a letter of apology to the person they were violent against which details why they were angry and why they turned to violence, really get them thinking about their actions. And then they remain in the slot until they have achieved this, each time they slip up and smack someone the number of sessions required are lengthened. Again I have a few groups that have approached me that have people who specialize in aggravated behavior. We can vet them and see if any are suitable to bring in to speak to the women. Perhaps on the side you can get some people in who have been involved in assault cases where they went too far and it ended up being murder, or they lost the plot with someone they loved and hurt them, people who can get it through to the women how damaging it can really be if you don't learn to reign the anger in. Also give them a way to resolve their problems in a way that doesn't resort to hurting each other. I don't know, Gidge is the psych, but I always remember an episode of 'The Simpsons' where the family are going crazy at each other and they use pool noodles to vent that frustration without being able to harm each other... sometimes anger needs an outlet, and not having an outlet makes that anger fester inside yourself" Frankie warned.
"I can certainly do some research on the topic and we can trial some strategies to see what work's and what doesn't" Bridget interrupted. "I mean I see what Frankie is saying... we're asking these women to just swallow their anger and get over it... and I know that when I'm angry I need a release, if someone tells me I'm not allowed to be angry, then that would just make me angrier" Bridget added.
"Exactly... it's not about punishing the behavior, it's about getting to the bottom of why the behavior happened, and helping the inmate resolve it, and learn tools to resolve it in a better manner in the future. What's happening at the moment, is someone beats someone up because they stole from them, and they get the slot. Someone rapes someone, they get the slot. Someone gets caught with drugs, they get the slot. There is no distinction between the actions and the responses" Frankie suggested.
"I get it... I agree. I'm going to speak to Will, ask him to take the reigns of Governor for a few days and I'm going to subject myself to the slot... I want to see for myself what it's like" Vera said thoughtfully.
"I get what you're suggesting, but the guards will never treat you the same way they treat an inmate in there" Frankie laughed.
"I guess... but at least I will get an idea of what the isolation is like, so that when I'm dealing with inmates in future I at least have some kind of idea as to what they have experienced" Vera smiled.