The Poisonous Biscuit

by Paul Edwards

  Voice: seven nine two one, can I help you?

  John: Hello, it's John, is Hannah's Gran or Grandad there?

  Voice: Oh yes, that John. Just a minute. ...

  Grandma: Hello John, how are you? Nice to hear from you. How are things going? And when will you be able to visit Hannah?

  John: Oh, well, I've actually been, she was allowed to jump the queue thanks to some member of staff reminding the manager she was only new.

  Grandma: Oh, isn't that just lovely. I'm glad you saw her.

  John: Yes, it was great. By the way, Hannah said she left some paperwork in your car, with someone’s contact details on it? Apparently, it was when you broke down. Something to do with someone knowing an inspector I think?

  Grandma: Oh, I see. Well, I will ask my husband to have a look. You see, yesterday he cleaned the car out. I hope he's not binned it, otherwise I'll have him in that bin looking! Hahaha. Thankfully, they don't come until tomorrow the bin men.

  John: Alright, I'm guessing that was your husband who answered before? I'll speak to you soon. Let me know if you use it.

  Grandma: Yes, that was my husband. He always brushes the phone of onto me when he realises it's someone he can do it with. Anyway, I'll get back to you shortly. See you soon. Bye.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Dinner was almost ready. One of the older girls told them they could come into the dining room. They came in and was told where to sit. Josephine came in for a moment.

  "Right, because my husband is not here this minute, we have the perfect number of chairs, including the one against the wall which makes twelve chairs for twelve people. I'll sit at the head, and one of you can sit to the right of me and the other opposite, because you are my guests and you get to be number one this time."

  "That's nice of you" Helen replied, taking her seat. Josephine left the room to finish of the food. One of the girls came in and put twelve empty plates down on all the settings, and another offered Helen and Kwiatoslaw some water.

  Next, in came Josephine, carrying some kind of pot and placing it on the table. There was a lid, so they were wondering what was inside. It smelled great, that's all they could figure out, but what was inside? Next there came another pot and then another pot. As was the custom of the McKenna family, they said a quick prayer before sitting down to eat.

  "Philomena, it's your turn to serve this week, isn't it?" she said to one of her daughters. That daughter got up and brought the pot over to her Mum. Opening the lid, Helen saw from where she was what was inside it as the steam rose up. It was a lovely long piece of beef sliced into many slices and full of some kind of sauce. She passed the pot to Helen who happened to be sat on her mums right, and then to Kwiatoslaw on the other side of the table who chose to sit on her mums left.

  This happened with each person, but some of the children passed it around themselves as Philomena went and got another pot from the middle of the table and followed the same process again starting with her mum. Inside this pot was large roasted potatoes.

  "My favourite potato" Hannah said out load. Philomena then went and got the third pot. Inside this was roasted parsnips and green beans.

  "There's nothing like a good old roasted parsnip" Kwiatoslaw proclaimed. Philomena sat back down and then they started talking.

  "I love these potatoes; how did you make them?"

  "Oh, I put rosemary on them, and I was a little naughty. I cooked them in goose fat. Oh yes, we cook properly in this house. Dripping for chips as well, we don't bother with that all that oil business."

  "Do you use butter or margarine? We use margarine" Kwiatoslaw interrupted.

  "Are you a heretic?" Josephine joked while smiling, adding "We most certainly do not use margarine, we use butter."

  They all had a good laugh and then it was time for introductions.

  "So, you two, I'm Josephine as you both know. Now, all twelve of use lets introduce each other properly." Helen and Kwiatoslaw introduced themselves and then the children started.

  "I'm Joseph, named after my father. Nice to meet you both, once again."

  "I'm Lydia, nice to meet you."

  "I'm Philomena."

  "I'm Paul."

  "Anthony."

  "I'm John."

  "I'm Helena."

  "You know me, I'm Raphael." One of the boys, the youngest was being silent. Helen looked over and spoke.

  "What's your name?" He was sat at the very end of the table, opposite his mum who questioned him.

  "Come on, tell them your name." In response he smiled. There were a few minutes of silence and then he spoke.

  "I'm Cyprian."

  Hannah's Grandparents were talking amongst themselves about these apparent details which were supposedly in the glove compartment. They both went out and checked and they were not there.

  "You cleaned the car, where are they?"

  "I don't know. Maybe in the bin?"

  "Well, there's only one thing for it. You'll have to get looking through that bin!"

  He got up and walked over to the paper bin. Looking through it he found all sorts of documents but there was no sign of this paperwork. He tipped everything out onto the floor and looked again thoroughly. Once again there was no sign of these details. Out came his wife.

  "You don't use that bin anyway when your cleaning the car do you? No, it's probably in the normal rubbish!" Hannah's poor Grandad had to look through the ordinary rubbish, rooting through all sorts of horrible things. In there were dirty tissues, clothes not worth cleaning, some odd bits of food, food containers and everything. In the end, there was a piece of paper, but on it there was no sign of any contact details. Then after he had continued going through the entire bin he suddenly remembered and spoke to his wife.

  "I didn't use that bin either did I? I used this kitchen bin and brought it out. Oh well."

  She looked at him with contempt and then with one pull she opened the kitchen bin. On top, there it was, a piece of paper with a phone number on. She smiled.

  "It was worth all that for a laugh, seeing you root through all those bins."

  "Wasn't funny to me."

  Onto the phone they went, speaking to John. The conclusion they came to was that it wasn't worth sending the paper in the post. They quoted the number to him over the phone and he agreed to ring this man, whoever he was, a man who he had never met. John had no idea who he was dealing with, what this man looked like, his background, his age or anything. Nevertheless, it was the only option, as now Hannah might be going down for four murders instead of three, as well as one attempted murder. This just had to be done. John picked up the phone and started ringing. It rang and rang and rang, but there was no answer.

  A little while later, he rang again. It rang and rang and rang. Nothing. Silence. What was he going to do? All he could do was try again later. In the meantime, Hannah would have to hang around, rotting away in her prison cell, along with all those criminals. After waiting a little while, the phone did ring finally. John answered it, and it was none other than Alison. She said what she wanted to say and then hung up.

  “I cannot believe Hannah would commit another murder like that. There can be no doubt anymore that it was her. Sending Turkish Delight with poison in it? And to an old lady? That makes me sick. You ought to do yourself a favour and get away from that Hannah whilst you still can. Otherwise, you might be next. Let me know if you need my help with anything, I will happily come around as long as it's just us.”

  The phone call abruptly ended. John was appreciative of the offer but that was all just a bit out of the blue. John could not betray Hannah by messing around with her, Hannah's worst enemy. Not in a million years. Besides that, he couldn't stand the thought of being around someone who was so certain against Hannah like that.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Hannah could not wait to get out of prison. However, the option of escaping was far from her mind after what happened last time she tried to flee from the authorities. Aly had sometimes joked
with her about escaping, but she always declined such help. Hannah decided to turn the scenario around. "

  Aly, would you ever consider escaping?"

  "Narrr, what would I do on the outside?"

  "You could live a normal life like me."

  "Haha, don't make me laugh. This is the life for me."

  "No, I won't hear this silliness! But you should leave prison the proper way. When are you due out?"

  "In about two years with good behaviour."

  In the short time they had shared a cell, namely two nights and now it being the third day, Helen had grown fond of Aly. She could not allow her to just waste her life as she was planning to do.

  "Surely there's better things to do than crime? You could play golf?"

  "Golf? Golf? Oh my...erm......Never! Who do you think I am, the queen?"

  "Well I am sorry. If you must know, I play golf sometimes and I can assure you I am no queen either. Is there nothing else you are interested in?"

  "Well, there is one thing."

  "And I mean something you can't get in here, Ok."

  "You know me to well. Well, I suppose I miss the T.V. and video games, but it was never enough in the end. What I do like is food, but I could never afford much of that."

  Hannah was desperately thinking of ways to keep her cell mate out of trouble.

  "Well, if I get out, I'll show you a few foods you've never even eaten before. Oh yes, 'the posh stuff' as they call it. My husband left me a fortune when he...died somehow, and I can't respond by just keeping it all to myself. No, I will be treating my friends when I get out."

  "Aww, that's nice of you. Well, just as long as that 'posh stuff' doesn't make me sick! Otherwise I'll be back in here."

  "You must admit though, there's no food as bad as the food in here.”

  As they were sitting there, the door opened. In came Ruffian, who looked at them both and tried to get rid of Aly.

  "Have you not got somewhere to be Aly?"

  "Erm, I don't think I have no." Aly was about to fight her.

  "Just go, don't get yourself into any more trouble" Helen demanded to Aly. As a result, she left the room, to return later after Ruffian had done whatever she had to do.

  “Do you smoke Hannah?"

  "No, why?"

  "Well, I was just wondering. If there is anything you need bringing in, my bags are not checked usually."

  "What do you want? Is everything Ok Mrs Elliot?" There was a pause. Ruffian started thinking to herself.

  "Not really no. There are some problems, you see, some people in here don't like me. Now, I have a lot of power, which is good for you. I was wondering if you would do me a favour. I want you to tell me if anyone defies me, does it sound like a deal? Nobody will even know who's grassed on them."

  Hannah had to think, seriously think. On the one hand, she didn't want to betray her friends or risk being hated. On the other, she didn't want to get on the wrong side of a prison guard. It just so happened to be that not getting on the wrong side of this woman came with the added bonus of many secret privileges. So, it looked like she didn't have much of a choice.

  "Ok, I'll do it. In cases where nobody would know it was me, if that sounds good."

  "We have a deal, see you later." Of course, really, she would only grass up those she didn't like, adding a third bonus in the bag therefore to try and justify it to her conscience.

  After having finished desert, Helen was full to the brim.

  "We'll have to get going soon" she said.

  "Not until you've tried these cheeses." Josephine left the room and came back with a big load of cheeses.

  "Take as much as you want. I won't be a minute." She left the room again, and while she was gone Helen whispered to the children.

  "What do I do now?" Joseph then decided to kindly cut of a slice for her, from one cheese and then assured her.

  "Basically, just don't cut the nose of any of them and you’re doing it right."

  "Thanks" she whispered back. Then she carried on and sliced of a piece from a few other cheeses and passed it over to Kwiatoslaw. Josephine came back into the room with the crackers along with some slices of French loaf.

  "Dig in, hope you've got enough Helen."

  "Oh yes, plenty thank you." Deep down, she wanted to say she wasn't hungry anymore, but how could she hurt the feelings of Josephine like that? Kwiatoslaw, obviously did not hear what Joseph said to Hannah, so he took the knife and cut of a large chunk, taking of the nose of the cheese with him. This meant there was no pointed end any longer, no thin part. The cheese was now more of a square block than a triangle. Helen looked at him as if to say that it was the end of the world. This was so embarrassing to her.

  Nobody said anything about it and the cheese was passed around. There was an awkward silence for a good few minutes, as they all looked at each other. Josephine then finally opened her mouth and laughed.

  "Oh, don't worry. We've all been there before, your worried about the cheese, aren't you? Things could be worse. Your husband is a great source of entertainment Helen."

  Kwiatoslaw went red in the face as he became the centre of the room. Helen smiled.

  "Glad he could be of some assistance to someone for a change."

  They all had a good laugh once again as they ate their food. Then it suddenly dawned on Josephine.

  "Oh, I forget to serve soup, and we have guests here."

  "Please, that will not be necessary, I have had plenty." Helen had decided she could not keep her silence any longer. Nevertheless, Josephine got up anyway and disappeared. Helen was worried, where had she gone now? In she came again.

  "Don't worry, it's just a few mints. You can take one home if you like. Please enjoy them."

  "We thought for a minute you were making some soup them" Kwiatoslaw blurted out. Helen kicked him from under the table whilst pretending to laugh.

  "Hahahaha, he's funny isn't he."

  Time was getting on and they really had to get going now. Everyone stood up, Josephine recited a quick prayer and then they went to the door.

  "Nice to meet you all properly" Helen said.

  "Bye" all the children shouted. They left, driving away and waving to them. It was nearly three o clock and so they headed to pick up Sally from school.

  "Kwiatoslaw, she's going to love it when we tell her they have a spare bed in the girl’s room for four. Seen as they only have three girls. Isn't this great? The quality time we will be able to spend together every so often will really help our marriage I think."

  Kwiatoslaw held her hand as they drove on and they both smiled at each other.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  As the evening was settling in, John decided it was time to try and make the phone call, once again. Picking up the phone, he put in the number and waited. This time, he was in luck, somebody answered.

  Voice: Howdy, who the hell is this?

  John: erm, well. Erm

  Voice: Well, I have not got all day man.

  John: You know Hannah? Is this Jake?

  Voice: Who's Hannah when she's at home?

  John: That's just the thing, she's not at home.

  Voice: Listen mate, I'm not being funny or anything, but I've got things to do.

  John: Well I got your number from Hannah if it helps. Ring any bells? Voice: Well, I've gave my number to a lot of girls in my lifetime, so I'm not sure who this one is.

  John: Yes, but more recently. Hannah who was accused of murder, remember?"

  Voice: Oh, is she called Hannah? Oh yes, I'm sorry man, I thought this was just another one of them calls. Can she speak.

  John: She's in prison and we need to prove her innocent. Can you help or not?

  Voice: Well, I know a man who can help. I will give you the name of his agency, it's called Her Majesty's Treedle Law Firm. His name is Richard my friend. I'll see what I can do, and I'll be in touch alright. Oh, and yes, it is Jake by the way. Alright, bye.

  John: Bye.

  That was o
ne job out of the way for him. At least now there was a chance for Hannah if this Richard could come along. John did not settle there however, he decided to do some research online. It turned out as he was sitting in the study that Richard had investigated countless murderers, especially ones where the wrong person had been framed. It seemed he had a breaking record in having supposed murderers set free from prison and in making discoveries that no one else seemed able to make. This seemed like a much better alternative to just relying on the police. This was someone who had the brains to investigate, someone who was not just in a nine until five job as a formality to earn a wage.

  He could not wait to tell Hannah the news, that the first step had been made. John rang Hannah's grandparents to let them now, and his siblings. Now he was just hoping Hannah would put a call in so that the good news could be revealed. However, there was no point waiting around, so he decided to pay a visit to Andria, Hannah's friend. He got in the car and started driving after giving her a quick call. He wanted to apologise for what he had done the other day, in implying that she was involved in the murder of his auntie, so on the way he stopped to get her some flowers."

  Arriving at her house he walked to the door. Before he got a chance to knock or ring the bell the door was opened, suddenly and he was greeted.

  "Hey, come in John."

  "Thankyou. I wanted to apologise for what happened the other day."

  "I hear you" she replied while smiling. Then she walked away and got some little cakes and came back.

  "These are fresh out of the oven, and especially for you." He took a little cake and ate it.

  "Very nice, mmmm."

  "Yeah, that's why you've got to have another one John."

  As suggested, he had another one. A few minutes later he started to close his eyes.

  "Oh, I'm getting rather tired."