by Ian Todd
“Take yer time, Senga, take yer time,” she cursed, as she waited anxiously fur the dialling wheel tae return tae its stationary position before she moved oan tae the next number.
It began ringing at the other end.
“C’mone, Jake, please pick up the phone. Please,” she whispered desperately, as the ringing continued in her ear.
In whit seemed like a generation, the receiver wis picked up at the other end.
“Jake, Jake, is that you?” she hauf screeched, hauf whispered intae the phone, glancing across at the door, hauf expecting it tae fly open.
“Hello?” a sleepy female voice asked.
“Hello?” Senga wailed.
“Hello? Who is this?” the female voice asked, clearly waking up.
“Er, is Jake there? Ah need tae speak tae him. It’s urgent,” she pleaded.
Silence.
“Who is this?” the voice eventually asked suspiciously.
“Ah’m sorry, bit is this Jake McAlpine’s number?”
“Er, who’s wanting tae know?” the female voice asked again.
“Look, Ah don’t want tae be cheeky, bit am Ah talking tae Michelle? Michelle Hope?” Senga squealed, feeling faint wae panic.
Silence.
“Look, Michelle, it’s me…Senga. Ah really need tae speak tae Jake. Kin ye put him oan the phone please?” she pleaded.
Silence.
“Please?”
“He’s sleeping. Ah’m no sure if he’ll appreciate being wakened at this time ae the night. Whit time dae ye call this then, eh?” the voice demanded tae know, a hard edge tae it.
“Michelle, listen tae me. Ah’m in ma flat alang in Barrington Drive. There’s somewan trying tae break in using a forged key. Ah’m staunin here in ma pyjamas and Ah’m oan ma ain. Please, Ah don’t know who tae turn tae.”
“Hiv ye tried the polis? Is that no their job.”
“Michelle, please, Ah’m scared,” Senga pleaded, bursting intae tears, as she heard the clatter ae the haunset at the other end ae the line being thrown doon.
Senga could hear faint voices in the background and the sound ae padding feet approaching at the other end.
“Senga, whit’s wrang?” Jake’s voice demanded.
“Oh Jake, Ah’m no sure. Ah think somewan’s trying tae come in through ma front door,” she sobbed. “Ah’m here oan ma ain, so Ah am.”
“Hiv they managed tae get in?”
“Whit? Er…Ah don’t know…Ah’m no sure…Ah’m shut in the kitchen,” she cried, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Look, Senga, listen tae whit Ah hiv tae say. Ye’ve goat tae trust me noo. Ah want ye tae nip across tae yer kitchen door and hiv a wee peek oot.”
“Whit? Ah…Ah cannae…Ah’m too scared,” she hauf shrieked, hauf whispered in terror as the kitchen door loomed up large in front ae her.
“Senga, listen tae me, hen…the locks that Harper Harris put oan yer door wid stoap a train fae getting through it…believe you me. Go and hiv a wee peek. It’ll only take ye a second and then come back tae the phone and let me know if the ootside door is still shut. Hurry up…oan ye go noo…ye kin dae it,” he said soothingly, bit commandingly.
Senga hesitated, before placing the phone doon oan the unit. She could hear Jake screaming at Michelle tae go and get him his shoes fae the bedroom. She paused, listened fur a second, while she took a deep breath and then quietly opened the door and peered alang the lobby, relieved tae see that the landing door looked tae be shut tight. Jist as she wis aboot tae back-track back tae the phone, the letter box suddenly opened and a square beam ae light fae the ootside landing shot across the lobby only tae be extinguished by whit appeared tae be somewan’s face and a dark set ae shining eyes, staring intently, intae hers.
Chapter Thirty Seven
The onslaught fae the screws hid continued. While they wur daeing everything possible tae provoke a reaction fae Tony, Snappy and Pat in an attempt tae prevent their imminent release, even the wisest brains amongst the YOs never saw the implications ae the book confiscation exercise spiralling oot ae control the way it hid, probably because nowan wae any sense thought that Dickheid Dick and The Tormentor wid’ve stooped that low in the first place. The pathetic attempt at setting up a so-called community library, as The Chief hid called it, at the expense ae the YOs, hid backfired spectacularly. As soon as Tony hid shouted oot ae his cell windae, informing everywan whit wis happening, practically aw the other YOs in B and C Halls hid started tae either rip up their books or hid slung them oot ae their cell windaes intae the rain. The screws hid been furious and hid marched aw o’er the landings, screaming that anywan caught throwing books oot ae their windaes wid be placed oan report. By the time they’d posted screws tae staun oot in the rain tae try and catch the throwers at it, the damage hid been done. The seagulls hid been hivving a field day, efter initially being spooked by the mass ae white pages flapping, floating and scattering everywhere in the wind tunnels that formed behind the jail walls. When they’d goat used tae the chaos, they’d started chasing and pecking through the soaking books, shiting aw o’er them. Tony and Pat hid hid tae practically gag Snappy, tae stoap him fae reacting verbally and violently tae the screws who appeared tae be lining up tae noise him up, believing they’d get a reaction if they pushed jist that wee bit harder. Luckily, Snappy and Stu hid fallen oot efter Stu hid refused tae carry oan putting wee drips ae mercury intae the inside ae the evening bun ae King Robert The Beast efter being transferred tae the kitchen tae work. Despite Tony repeatedly explaining how important that it wis fur Robert The Beast tae be kept alive due tae his signed statement regarding Johnboy’s innocence, Snappy hid soon goat fed up hivving tae be oan his best behaviour and hid tried tae restart the poisoning programme via Stu.
The next wave ae retribution fae the screws hid been that nae YO wis tae hiv mair than five personal photographs in their cell. The excess photos wur duly confiscated and stored in the boxes where the YO’s civvy clothes that they’d arrived in wur kept. By the following day, practically every porcelain lavvy pan and sink in the whole place, including those across in the workshops, hid a hole punched through them. A big cheer hid gone up in B Hall when two ae The beasts hid gone and hid a shite in the bottom landing lavvies before staunin there aghast, watching their shite and toilet paper skiting oot ae the cubicles, oan tae the middle ae the polished landing flair by the force ae the big cast iron cisterns emptying when they’d flushed the toilet pans. Five YOs, who’d previously been pass men, hid been frogmarched doon tae the digger, wan at a time, fur refusing tae clean up the shitey mess. Because the digger wis awready full, The Tormentor and some ae the other goon squad hid been forced tae call a halt and get The Beastie Boys tae clean up their ain pish and shite. The smell ae shite and drains hid clung tae everything and everywan. The day efter the sinks and lavvy pans goat tanned, two ae the massive big boilers in the kitchen that goat used tae make everything fae soup tae porridge hid exploded efter being sabotaged. Efter three days ae lock-doon, while they replaced aw the toilet pans oan the landings wae steel wans and fixed the kitchen boilers, everywan hid been let back oot tae go back tae work. Recreation hid been withdrawn until further notice though, so everywan hid played their radios at full blast. YOs whose radio batteries hid run oot hid goat them replenished by their neighbours who hid spare wans. Ootside aw the cell windaes, there hid been spare batteries being swung between them by lengths ae socks and pyjama cords. Of course, Snappy hid been in his element wae aw this chaos gaun oan roond aboot him. Everywan hid been racing tae find a station that nowan else wis playing, jist tae add tae the melodic mayhem. A screw wid smash fuck oot ae a cell door, bellowing fur the YO inside tae turn aff his radio or he’d be put oan report. The radio wid go aff fur aboot three seconds, until the screw moved oan tae the next cell. Seemingly, aw the neighbours within hauf a mile radius in the hooses surrounding the jail hid been complaining and gaun tae the press aboot the racket coming fae the halls aw through the day and night.
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sp; Johnboy hid jist been haufway through reading Senga’s latest letter, where she’d been describing the wasteland that the Toonheid hid become, which she’d seen when she’d hid tae walk tae work because ae a bus strike, when somewan fae across in B Hall hid shouted oot that they wur coming fur the letters. Johnboy hid finished reading and then laid back, listening tae the updates being shouted by the YOs fae their cell windaes. The main alarm hid gone aff a few times before they’d reached his cell. The news being shouted wis that Jeff Lennon hid punched a screw oan the nose oan the second landing ae B Hall and hid been carted aff tae the digger wae batons bouncing aff ae that heid ae his. Patsy McSwiggan, wan ae The Shamrock uglies fae the Garngad, a good pal ae The Mankys and whose cell wis opposite Snappy’s, hid also been carted aff efter grabbing The Tormentor by the throat wae baith hauns. The news being shouted wis that any YO who’d mair than ten letters in his cell hid tae haun o’er the excess wans. Wance again, they wur tae be taken tae the store across beside D Hall, in the first instance, before being reposted oot tae whoever the YO named. The cost ae postage wis tae be docked fae the thirty five pence weekly wage that the YOs earned. The alternative, the YOs wur being informed, wis that refusal tae voluntarily participate meant the excess letters wid be confiscated and destroyed. There wis tae be a weekly check done tae make sure everywan kept within the numbers specified. The reason being gied wis that, in the event ae a fire, people’s only contact wae the ootside hid become a fire hazard. Even Johnboy hid been shocked at this turn ae events. While waiting fur his turn, he’d scanned through his letters. If pushed, which wans wid he keep and which wans wid he destroy? Senga’s ‘Dear Johnboy’ wis sacrosanct, of course. The only letters he’d ever received wur fae Senga. He read through them maist nights, never getting sick ae reading the same stories ae whit her and her flatmate, Lizzie, hid goat up tae at work or when she wis daeing her volunteering work wae the battered wummin and their snappers. Christ, some ae the descriptions and stories brought tears tae his eyes, while other wee anecdotes hid him lying back smiling. Who ever heard ae people getting their letters sent back tae them…letters that hid been written months, sometimes years earlier? It jist didnae make sense. Whit wis the point? Of course, some ae the YOs blamed Tony, Snappy and Pat fur getting special parole in the first place and upsetting the screws. Tae make matters worse, despite Tony and Pat’s best efforts, Snappy hid been noising-up the screws at every opportunity by gaun up tae them and asking them if they’d been the wan that hid put in the good report aboot him, which hid enabled him tae get early release. Others blamed Tony fur starting the ‘Tear up yer books’ campaign, since Dickheid Dick and The Tormentor hid targeted him first and, of course, it hid been Tony that hid shouted oot ae his cell windae, advising everywan tae tear up their books. Snappy hid been up at his windae aw day and night, urging people no tae accept the shite the screws wur dishing oot.
“Dae ye think the cons up in the adult jails wid accept aw this grief?” he’d kept reminding them.
By the time they’d reached Johnboy’s cell, he wis ready and waiting.
“Right, Taylor, Ah’ve been advised tae inform ye that due tae…”
“Furget aw the babbling shite, Ah heard awready,” Johnboy hid said, butting-in.
“So, according tae oor correspondence log book, ye should be in possession ae twenty seven letters. Is that right?” Ding-Dong hid asked him.
“Ah’m no sure, Ah hivnae coonted them.”
“Aye, well, Mr Patrick, the censoring officer, his assured us that that’s yer tally, so he his,” The Tormentor hid stated, jist aboot shooting that bolt ae his in ecstasy.
“So?”
“So, ye owe us seventeen letters,” Dickheid hid demanded, jumping in there tae take the control away fae Ding Dong…no being able tae contain himsel.
“Ah owe youse fuck aw,” Johnboy hid retorted.
“Is that yer way ae saying ye’re no prepared tae accept the new rule, Taylor?” Dickheid hid growled at him, clearly enjoying the dissention being displayed in front ae him.
“That’s ma way ae saying that if any ae youse basturts touch ma letters, Ah’ll rip the fucking face aff ae ye, so Ah will,” Johnboy hid retorted, picking up his folded stash ae letters, which wur held thegither by an auld worn-oot shoelace.
“Right, so be it…if that’s yer attitude. Mr Hamilton…Mr Ding…escort Taylor tae the digger forthwith, if ye please,” Dickheid hid turned and bellowed at the two screws who’d been loitering wae intent oan the landing behind the SO.
He’d spent three days in the digger before being allowed back intae circulation. Johnboy hid never been so fit. He’d spent maist ae his time locked up twenty-four-seven, daeing keep fit exercises, preparing himsel, alang wae maist ae the other YOs in the place that wis prepared tae fight, fur the inevitable riot that wis aboot tae descend oan the heids ae The Mufti Squad. The digger hid been stacked tae the gunnels wae fellow letter objectors like himsel. They’d cleared YOs oot ae the bottom flair ae B Hall and doubled them up elsewhere so they could use their cells as temporary digger cells. Oan reflection, Johnboy wid’ve liked tae hiv thought that his release fae the digger hid been due tae a change ae heart oan the part ae The Chief, efter recognising the injustice ae the rules being implemented and applied, bit that wid’ve been asking fur too much. The night before everywan, including Johnboy, wur released fae the digger, apart fae Jeff Lennon and Wee Patsy, who’d baith been charged wae assaulting prison officers by the civvy bizzies, a wee first offender called Baz Minto, daeing three years fur stabbing his father-in-law tae stoap him strangling his wife’s maw, hid hung himsel fae the bars ae his cell. Baz hid been wan ae the first YOs tae be targeted by the screws and hid been forced tae haun o’er photos ae his stillborn wean. Then they’d come fur his letters fae his wife. Given that aw letters sent and received wur censored, it hidnae been lost oan anywan that Dickheid Dick and The Tormentor wid’ve been acutely aware ae how depressed Wee Baz wis aboot his situation. Of course, nowan fae the governor doon tae the lowliest ae the low screws, like The Tormentor and Ding-dong hid accepted any responsibility or showed the slightest signs ae remorse, bit everywan wis well aware ae who’d been responsible. Fae the day efter Baz Minto’s lifeless body wis shipped up the road tae that poor wee wife ae his in Glesga, there hid been nae mair demands oan YOs tae haun o’er photos or letters. When Johnboy hid eventually been returned tae his cell, wae his precious bundle ae letters, everything hid looked as it hid been, before his few days in the digger. It wis only when he’d opened his guitar case, that he’d discovered that some prick hid put the heel ae their boot through his good Guild guitar. He’d stood there staring at the carnage. He’d actually been able tae make oot the curvature ae the heel that hid done the damage. Johnboy hid wanted tae pick it up and smash it tae smithereens aff ae the walls, bit hid somehow managed tae contain that rage ae his. He still hid Senga’s letters, he’d kept telling himsel. He’d sat in an awful state, swinging between black rages…wanting tae kill Dickheid Dick, The Tormentor and that fucking prick, Ding-dong…tae telling himsel that it wis only a guitar and that the shoaps in the toon wur full ae them. He’d decided no tae tell the other Mankys aboot the damage tae the guitar, as he knew that it wid’ve probably sent them o’er the edge. Even Tony hid admitted tae struggling wae no retaliating o’er the past ten days. Senga wis their priority and if that meant eating shite, morning, noon and night, then so be it.
Oan the Senga front, despite a few wee hiccups, misunderstandings and interruptions, oan his part, Johnboy wis feeling positive aboot his reconnection wae her and where it appeared tae be leading him. He wis still able tae hiv a laugh and hid Senga’s letters tae look forward tae. Daeing time wisnae the same as when he wis younger. There appeared tae be a lot mair shite tae contend wae noo that he wis aulder. He thought aboot Jimmy Baxter. Jimmy wis another wan he felt bad aboot. Although Jimmy hid never said anything, Johnboy knew he wis sick as a parrot efter Silent hid goat shipped up tae Saughton tae learn how tae cut hair. It
wis difficult no tae pity him efter he found oot that Tony, Snappy and Pat hid been gied parole.
