The Escape

Chapter fourteen

The police couldn’t believe it when they were told that the escaped prisoner was actually Colin Burrows. The prison sent his picture, a full description and his home address with a plea that they find and arrest him as soon as possible. They also told them that his wife Karen was pregnant and due to give birth, so they should check local maternity wards in case Burrows was there.

Colin’s freedom was to be short-lived. Police forced entry into his flat and, finding nothing, spoke to the elderly neighbour. She was quick to reveal she’d seen Colin and he had gone to hospital to be with his wife. At the same time, other officers went to Karen’s parents’ address, hammering on the front door. Her mother, frightened out of her wits, opened up. She was certain something terrible had happened, and screamed as they pushed past her, shouting that they were looking for Colin Burrows.

‘He’s at St Mary’s hospital,’ she sobbed.

They radioed back this information, but paid her no attention as they searched her house. She insisted that her daughter had just given birth, and that Colin had permission to be there.

‘No, he hadn’t. He’s an escaped prisoner.’

‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God, my poor daughter! This is awful.’

Sirens blaring and blue lights flashing, two patrol cars, with three officers in each, pulled up in the hospital car park and ran into the building. It was terrible. The nurse on duty was told to keep calm and point out which bed Mrs Burrows was in and if her husband was with her. They made the nurse so nervous that she was gasping for breath, but from the double-doors opening onto the wing, she was able to show them Karen’s bed. The man they wanted was sitting beside his wife, cradling his newborn son in his arms.

Colin couldn’t help but hear the rumpus and, seeing the uniformed police in the doorway and the panic-stricken nurse, he knew his time was up.

He stood, looked them in the eye and turned to Karen.

‘I’m sorry, darling, I lied to you. I never had permission to be here. I pretended to be someone else, and did a runner from prison so I could be with you. It looks like the cops are here for me.’

Three of the uniformed officers entered the ward, trying not to alarm all the new and expectant mothers. One officer called out for everyone to remain calm.

‘Come on out now, Burrows. Don’t scare everyone. Just walk towards us slowly and keep your hands up so we can see them.’

Colin kissed his son on the forehead before handing him to Karen, who was in floods of tears. He leaned forward to kiss her as well, but she turned her head away. He felt totally dejected and rejected as he held his hands up and began to walk between the rows of beds. The noise had woken most of the sleeping babies and they were howling.

As Colin reached the officers, they snatched him and turned him roughly, pressing his face against the wall as they handcuffed his hands tightly behind his back. The cuffs hurt as they pinched his skin. The officers grabbed him under the arms and dragged him forward, slamming his body against the swing doors as they headed for the lifts. They pressed for the lift, but it was on the top floor so they pushed him towards the stairs.

‘There’s no need to be so rough. I’m not causing you any trouble.’

Colin half turned, wanting to explain he was giving himself up quietly and that he had only escaped to be at the birth of his son. Suddenly he lost his footing and, with his hands cuffed behind him, couldn’t regain his balance or grab the safety rail. He fell down an entire flight of the staircase, hitting his head hard against the wall. The officers ran down to help him onto his feet. He had a big round red mark on the side of his head, which was already starting to swell up, and his nose was bleeding.

By the time they got him to the patrol car, blood had dripped down his shirt. The driver got out and quickly opened the rear door.

‘What happened to him?’

‘Tried to do another runner and tripped down the stairs. Banged his nose, but it’s his own bloody fault,’ one officer said and threw Colin onto the back seat.

The patrol car screamed off with its blue light flashing. An officer radioed in to report that they had recaptured Colin Burrows and were taking him back to Barfield Prison.

The prison gates opened as the patrol car was signalled to enter. Four prison officers were waiting as the car stopped. Colin was dragged out, his head throbbing and the swollen red mark turning into a bruise. He felt dizzy and sick to his stomach. The police officers handed him over to the prison guards, explaining that the bruises and bloody nose were down to him trying to avoid arrest and escape again. One policeman even laughed and said, ‘They don’t run or get away from us once we nick ’em.’

The prison officers didn’t think it was funny, but Colin was so angry he stepped forward and kicked out, calling the policemen liars.

It was the worst thing he could have done, because his move made it look as if he had become violent. One of the prison guards punched him hard in the chest, knocking him backwards to the floor. The next second, he was turned over with his face to the ground while the police handcuffs were taken off and replaced with a prison set. The police left as the guards pulled Colin up hard by his arms, which felt as if they were being jerked out of their sockets. They then pushed him through the gate into reception.

The officer who had given him final clearance that morning was waiting angrily as they dragged him in. He was in a foul mood, because he had been called before the Governor to explain exactly how he had allowed Colin to escape, and had been given a severe roasting. He knew he might be sacked or forced into early retirement, and he was furious. He walked over to Colin and took hold of his face in his big lumpy hands and squeezed tightly.

‘You are going to be very sorry, Burrows. Your life in here won’t be worth living when we’re done with you.’

Colin was in a great deal of pain and made yet another big mistake, one he would regret for the rest of his life. Unable to use his hands, he brought his knee up and kicked with all his might into the officer’s crotch. The guard let out a howl of pain. The two officers behind Colin swept his legs from beneath him, so that he crashed yet again face forward onto the concrete floor. He tried to get up, but one of them used a baton to hit him over the head. He wasn’t sure how many times he was hit as the blows were so painful and hard that he passed out.