The Final Beat of the Drum by Sally Spencer

Author:Sally Spencer [Spencer, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

Friday, 4 February, 2000

The snow had failed to establish itself in the town, but it had managed to lay a thin white carpet over the moors, which even in the weak early morning sunlight seemed to glisten.

Monika Paniatowski moderated her speed for once, which she took as a sign that she was finally developing a mature attitude to road safety, but may have had more to do with her reluctance to reach the end of her journey.

She reached Blackthorn Remand Centre at just after nine. It stood in splendid isolation against the backdrop of an anaemic winter sky. The Centre was a Victorian building, and shared a number of grim and imposing architectural features with other institutions of the period, so that while it was easy to see it as a prison, it would have required no more effort to accept it as a workhouse or fever hospital.

She presented her papers at the guard house, and the big central gates swung slowly and ominously open. Ahead of her was the main prison building. It was made of sturdy Accrington brick, and seemed hardly at all affected by a century of merciless moorland weather.

Many of the windows were small and barred. She wondered whether it was possible for the prisoners to look out of them, and whether looking out of them would be a good idea, given that the view was of those big gates, opening with a promise of freedom and then remorselessly slamming closed.

The warder who was assigned to her at reception led her down a long windowless corridor with acoustics which made the click of Paniatowski’s heels bounce off the walls like ricocheting machine-gun bullets, and the dull thud of the warden’s boots sound like bodies hitting the ground. The interview room was empty, save for a table in its exact centre, and two chairs, one each side of the table. Paniatowski noted the legs of both the chairs and the table were bolted to the floor. As she sat down, she saw that two sturdy metal rings had been sunk into the tabletop opposite her.

‘When the prisoner is admitted, he will be instructed to sit in the other chair,’ the warder told her in a voice which managed to sound both bored and menacing. ‘Under no circumstances are you to touch him, nor pass anything across the table to him. You must not ask questions about the centre’s regime, nor invite the prisoner to comment on it. You will be permitted to talk about family matters, but must not say anything likely to provoke the prisoner to behave in any manner which does not conform to standing orders. If I am not satisfied you are adhering to these strictures – or if I judge that you are failing to conform to any of the other conditions laid down in the handbook – I will terminate this meeting. Do you understand?’

‘Yes,’ Paniatowski said.

The warder nodded, and pressed a button on the wall. The door opened, and Philip entered the room.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.