Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Freya and Jennifer were sitting next to each other on the sofa in Leo’s living room. There was a heavy atmosphere. Sadness leached out of the walls. The only sound came from the kitchen where Leo was boiling the kettle and Pauline was getting the mugs together.
‘What’s the deal between those two?’ Freya asked, quietly.
‘He was originally introduced as a family friend,’ Jennifer whispered. ‘In my opinion, he’s really gone above and beyond the call of duty. He’s always by her side. He’s always been there for her and Anthony.’
‘Is she living here now?’ Freya’s voice lowered further still.
‘I’ve no idea. She seems very comfortable here.’
Leo entered the living room carrying a tray with four mismatched mugs on it. He placed it on the coffee table.
‘Can I get either of you anything to eat?’
‘I’m fine, thank you,’ Jennifer said. ‘Is Pauline all right?’
Leo sat down. ‘No. She’s not. She’s spent the past couple of days by Anthony’s bed in hospital. Me and the nurses have been badgering her to take a break. She said she’s only come back for a shower and a change of clothes, then she’s heading straight back there.’
‘How is Anthony?’ Freya asked.
‘He’s stable. That’s the main thing. He’s on a ventilator while his lung repairs. He’s black and blue with bruises.’
‘What happened?’
‘The same thing that’s happened God knows how many times over the years. The prison officers turn their backs, and the prisoners jump him. They really went to town on him this time, though. How he survived is anyone’s guess.’
The door opened and Pauline walked slowly in.
She looked gaunt, much thinner than she was the last time Jennifer had seen her.
Her eyes and cheeks were sunken, and her clothes hung from her bony shoulders.
She gave a polite smile, walking carefully, almost as if she might shatter into a thousand pieces, over to the armchair, and perched on the edge.
‘Did you eat that sandwich?’ Leo asked.
She shook her head.
‘You need to eat something, Pauline. You’ve got to keep your strength up.’
‘Leo’s right,’ Freya said. ‘Anthony needs you to be strong for him.’
Pauline fished a crumpled tissue out of her cardigan sleeve and wiped her nose.
‘I can’t keep doing this. It’s killing me seeing him like that.
It’s bad enough going out to Blackmoor Prison twice a month.
Each time I go he’s lost more weight, or he’s got his arm in a sling or he’s limping.
He puts on a brave face and says he’s fallen or he’s joined the prison boxing team.
I smile back and go along with it, for his sake, but we all know what’s going on and there’s nothing we can do about it. ’
‘Pauline.’ Freya reached forward and placed a hand on her knee. ‘We’re still fighting. We’re still trying to find a way to get Anthony out and back home.’
‘Surely the only way that can happen is by finding the real killer,’ Pauline said after blowing her nose.
Freya looked to Jennifer.
‘I’m doing everything I can,’ Jennifer began. ‘You know about my charity, Wrongly Accused. There’s a team of six of us who look at cases of people being imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. We had our first success this week.’
‘Margaret Cox,’ Leo said. ‘I was reading about it in the hospital waiting room. Congratulations.’
‘Thank you,’ she smiled. ‘We’re going through Anthony’s case with a fine-tooth comb. We’ll get there. It’s just going to take time.’
‘I don’t think Anthony has time,’ Pauline said.
‘The detective who was leading the investigation, DI Bishop,’ Freya said.
‘He died last night. He’d been retired for almost two years, but he still had a stranglehold on his old team.
I think – I know – that Bishop falsified witness statements to get a conviction.
We’re trying to track down the prostitutes and get the truth from them.
It’s just going to take time. You need to tell Anthony to hang in there. ’
Pauline swallowed back her tears. ‘What you’re saying is kind and generous and I thank you both, but one day in the real world is like a week in prison. Anthony really won’t survive much longer. They’re killing him in there.’
‘We can speak to the governor of the prison,’ Jennifer said. ‘And have Anthony moved to a wing for vulnerable prisoners. He’ll be safer there.’
‘He’s already on a vulnerable wing. How do you think his attackers were able to spend so long beating the life out of him?’ Pauline said. Her body was so tense she started shaking.
Jennifer picked up her mug of tea. She took a sip, glanced over at Pauline who was looking at her hopefully, then back at Leo who had the same expression on his face. She could even feel Freya’s gaze burning into her. What could she do?
A realisation hit her, and a smile started to appear on her face. ‘Do you know something, I think there is something I can do. But it’s not going to be an overnight thing. I know it’s been almost six years, but you all need to be so strong right now. All I ask is that you trust me.’
‘What are you planning?’ Freya asked Jennifer once they were back in the car. ‘I actually saw a twinkle appear in your eye. You’ve got something, haven’t you?’
Jennifer looked across at her. ‘Not at the moment, but if there’s one thing Inglethorpe and Bryce have taught me, it’s that we use every tool and every contact at our disposal, no matter how tenuous.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘My husband is an MP. He’s so close to being a member of the Cabinet. If that doesn’t help get Anthony back into the spotlight, I don’t know what will,’ she grinned.
‘Do you think he’ll back us?’
Jennifer thought about the packet of contraceptive pills in the bottom of her bag. She knew exactly what her husband wanted. She hoped he would give something in return.