The Escape

Chapter three

With two days and nights to go, Colin was feeling nervous and it was keeping him awake. They had still managed not to be seen together outside the cell, and they even went down to the showers at different times. The truth was Barry didn’t shower that often, and his body odour was at times pungent and offensive. He even slept in his prison outfit, because, he said, he liked to be first in the line-up for breakfast.

It was early evening when their cell door was opened for shower time.

‘I’ll see you after your shower and we can go over everything again,’ Barry said.

‘I don’t want to appear rude or anything, but I really think you could do with having a shower, Barry. It’s been quite warm in here the last few days and…’

‘Sorry. I don’t tend to notice it myself. You see, I don’t really like taking showers, reminds me of school as I used to get teased and bullied about being a fat boy.’

‘Well, we still don’t want to be seen together outside of here so you go shower first.’

Barry nodded and picked up his towel. He was about to leave the cell when Colin stopped him and handed him a bar of soap.

Colin waited twenty minutes before going to the showers, as he suspected Barry would simply jump in and out again and he’d pass him on the stairwell. On entering the shower room, he noticed Barry stepping out of a cubicle and putting a towel round his waist. What Colin saw made him feel sick. Barry had tattoos over his chest, shoulders and right arm. Colin was so shaken he almost fainted. He’d never seen the tattoos before because Barry wore a long-sleeved denim shirt over his standard-issue cap-sleeved vest all the time. He got clean clothes only when he took one of his rare showers, which had always been after Colin.

By the time they had both returned to the cell, Colin was furious. Unable to control his anger, he grabbed Barry and pinned him up against the wall.

‘You are covered in bloody tattoos!’

‘I know. I had ’em done when I was drunk. Well, not all at once. Tattooist spelt some things wrong so I had to have some of them reworked. I got the mermaid and the ship when I went to Peckham and the…’

‘Don’t you understand?’

‘Understand what?’

Colin wanted to slap him, he was so furious.

‘They will ask me to take off my shirt and I haven’t got a single bloody tattoo! They’ll know I am not you straight away. It’s finished. I can’t get out now. You should have told me about your tattoos.’

Colin threw himself on his bottom bunk and buried his head in his pillow, sobbing. Barry felt dreadful. He had never liked undressing in front of anyone, and was always shy about his body. He had just presumed that Colin knew about the tattoos and was surprised that he had never seen them. He felt terrible, and after a couple of minutes went over and tapped his cellmate’s shoulder.

‘I know what we can do, it’s possible we can get round the tats.’

Colin sat up and punched him away. ‘How? How on earth can you think that? Walk out of here and visit a tattoo parlour, should I? Don’t be so stupid. Just stay away from me, because right now I feel like punching your lights out!’

Barry looked totally dejected. At last, Colin pulled himself together and calmly held out his hand. He gripped Barry’s tightly. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean what I said. It’s my own fault. I just got so caught up in the thought of being with Karen again and seeing my son born. It was a dumb idea, and anyway I’d never have got away with it.’

‘You still can,’ Barry said excitedly.

‘It’s over, so let’s just drop it. OK?’

‘I’ve got a case full of felt-tipped pens and I can draw my tattoos on you. I could pat them down with your mouthwash to make them look older, more faded. I can do it, I know I can.’

Colin swung his legs down from his bunk and shook his head in despair at Barry’s idea. He knew his cellmate was only trying to be helpful and, not wanting to upset him too much, Colin forced a smile.

‘It won’t work, and anyway that would make you an accomplice. Without the tattoo problem I could have said you had nothing to do with it. Even if you could draw anything like the ones you’ve got, it’s too dangerous. They’ll know you had to be in on it.’

‘Now you just listen! I don’t care if they charge me with helping you escape or add months on my sentence…’

‘But you’re on remand and haven’t even been given one yet, so you might just get released,’ Colin said gloomily.

‘I don’t want to be released. I want to stay in prison, studying art and learning how to paint with oils. You are the best and only friend I have ever had, and I really want to do this for you. Besides, you are going to give yourself up after the birth, right?’

Colin nodded but was still uncertain. Barry sat beside him on the bed.

‘We’ve come too far. You have worked so hard and learned every detail of my life and you have an amazing memory. You are really intelligent, you know that, right? Well, I’m not and I know that. It’s not like you’re breaking out to go robbing or assaulting anyone. You’ve got a good reason ’cos you want to hold your newborn baby boy in your arms. Give me a chance, Colin. Please, let’s just see if I can make this work?’