The Escape

Chapter five

After a couple of hours the drawings were taking shape and Colin grew more relaxed. They were making good progress and were both thrilled that nearly all the tattoos had been completed by lunch time.

‘Only one more night to go,’ Barry said as he checked his work on Colin’s body, making some finishing touches. He felt much more confident now the job was nearly done, and started to pack away his felt-tipped pens before lunch. Meanwhile, Colin carefully buttoned up his prison-issue shirt over the freshly drawn tattoos. He was constantly afraid he would smudge them.

The cell door opened as an officer entered.

‘Anything nice for lunch today, sir?’ Colin asked, trying to appear calm.

‘Well, there’s prawn cocktail to start, followed by best fillet steak, mushrooms and fine-cut chips, with lemon tart for dessert,’ the officer said with a cheeky grin.

‘Sounds good to me, sir, will you be joining us?’ Colin asked, playing along with the joke.

‘I’d love to, but my wife would never forgive me for not eating her home-made ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches.’

‘Well, I’d be happy to eat them for you and let you have my lunch,’ Barry said, joining in with the banter.

‘Believe me, the wife’s sarnies aren’t much better than what’s served up in here,’ the officer said, and they all laughed. ‘Which one of you is Marsden?’

‘I am, Sir,’ Barry replied nervously.

‘You’re to report to the wing duty office right away.’

‘What do they want?’ Barry asked in alarm, and clenched his fists tightly to stop himself from shaking.

‘You are leaving for court at eight tomorrow morning. They want to go over the details, so look sharp, son.’

‘Yes, sir. Be right down, sir,’ Barry murmured as he followed the officer out of the cell.

Colin was worried sick and couldn’t face any lunch. Once again, he was becoming anxious and close to tears as he paced around the small cell, wondering when or if Barry would return. Neither of them had expected a meeting the day before the court appearance. Colin was terrified that something might be wrong, and that they’d been found out. He calmed himself as he realised that they’d both have been summoned if the plan had been rumbled.

He sat on the edge of his bunk bed. ‘Be positive,’ he thought and he began to copy Barry’s signature over and over again in his notebook. His friend had simple handwriting and, after only a little practice, he could almost do it with his eyes closed. Even so, in the pit of his stomach, he worried that everything they had planned and done so far might have been a waste of time.

It was nearly an hour before Barry came back to the cell. He was carrying a large clear plastic bag and, as the officer locked the door, he gave Colin a big smile and thumbs up.

‘You won’t believe our luck. I heard them saying that there are new officers coming onto the wing in the morning who won’t have ever seen either of us.’

‘What did they want with you?’ Colin asked nervously.

‘I, well, you pretending to be me, have got to be at the screws’ office on the ground floor straight after breakfast. You need to put all my personal belongings in this plastic bag. I, I mean you, will then get escorted across to the release area, before being taken to Clapham Magistrates’ Court.’

‘This is madness, Barry. If I escape, I’ve then got to get all the way over to Croydon. We’ll never get away with it.’

‘Yes, we will. I heard them talking about a shortage of prison vehicles, and the senior officer said to use a taxi.’

‘A taxi! Are you joking?’

‘Nope, that’s what I heard. Apparently, they regularly do it when they’re short on paddy wagons and the prisoner is low risk like me.’

‘Which officer is going to accompany you? Sorry, I mean me. What if he knows you?’ Colin asked.

‘I clocked the rota on the wall and it’s an officer from another wing. Like I keep telling you, I’ve only been in here four weeks, so none of the screws knows me.’

‘But he may recognise me and know I’m not you.’

‘Not when you’re wearing my glasses. The lenses are so thick even my mum would think you were me.’

‘How on earth are you going to see then?’

‘Don’t worry, I got a spare pair.’

Colin was now really worried that they would never pull it off. But Barry insisted they had come so far that Colin couldn’t back down now and miss seeing the birth of his son.

‘So it’s tomorrow then, eight a.m.?’ Colin said nervously.

Barry nodded and clapped his hands, really enjoying the adventure. He had never been happier or felt so positive. Nor had he had such a close friend as Colin who depended on him so much. It all made him feel good about himself.

‘We can do it, Col, but don’t give anything away tonight when you talk to Karen on the phone. Take some deep breaths, keep calm and act normal.’