Simon Kernick - Ultimatum

Having filled out all the forms and passed through security, Tina’s first port of call, however, was the governor’s office.

The governor, a tall white-haired man in his sixties with a slight stoop, a bow tie, and the air of a weary academic, got up from behind a cluttered desk next to the room’s only window. ‘I’m Jeremy Goodman,’ he said, giving her a surprisingly firm handshake and a quick once-over, before motioning her to take a seat opposite him. ‘So you’re the famous Tina Boyd. I’ve read a lot about you over the years.’

‘All bad I’m sure.’

Goodman didn’t smile. ‘All very interesting,’ he said after a short pause, his silence confirming that yes, it had all been bad. ‘And you’re here to see William Garrett?’

‘That’s right. I understand he was attacked three days ago. Can you tell me what happened?’

Goodman nodded, an expression of distaste sitting all too easily on his face. ‘It was a most regrettable incident. We pride ourselves here at Westmoor on the peaceful, tolerant environment we’ve fostered, and as such, relations between individual prisoners, and between prisoners and staff, are generally very good. This fight was a rarity. There was a confrontation between Mr Garrett and another Category A prisoner, Eric Hughes, inside the main recreational area toilets of the prison’s Central Maximum Security Section, where they’re both housed. Both prisoners were injured, and were hospitalized in separate sections of the hospital here. They’ve since been released from the hospital, but we don’t know what caused their altercation, since both prisoners refused to cooperate with the police when they were interviewed yesterday.’

‘Was it captured on film?’

‘No. The camera covering the main area of the toilet was out of order. By the time the control room realized it wasn’t working, and had organized someone from maintenance to examine it, the fight was over.’

‘So it suggests a degree of planning.’

‘I honestly don’t know,’ said Goodman defensively. ‘Two of our officers heard the commotion from the toilets. They ran inside and intervened.’

‘You describe it as a fight, but Mr Garrett sustained some major slash wounds. It sounds like he was attacked by the other man.’

‘We can’t be certain. The camera in the corridor outside recorded each man going into the toilets approximately thirty seconds apart, but it was impossible to see which one was carrying the knife. And when the officers went in, the two men were struggling violently on the floor, with Mr Garrett on top of Mr Hughes, punching him, even though he was losing a lot of blood. The homemade knife that was used was a few feet away. It’s been taken away by the police for examination, and we’re awaiting the results.’

‘Can you tell me about the other prisoner — Mr Hughes? What’s he in here for?’

‘Murder. I’m afraid Eric Hughes is a man with a very violent background. He killed a man during an aggravated burglary eight years ago — one of a series of similar crimes that left a further two people seriously injured.’

‘When’s he due for his parole hearing?’ asked Tina, unable to quite hide the cynicism in her voice.

‘The minimum tariff for Mr Hughes set by the judge was eighteen years, so it’ll be another decade at least before he can be considered for release. He may have a violent past but his behaviour since he’s been at Westmoor has generally been very good prior to the incident on Monday.’

‘I’m going to need to speak with him while I’m here.’

‘As I said, he’s already been interviewed by the local CID, and he refused to cooperate.’

‘Maybe I can sweet-talk him into admitting something,’ said Tina with a slight smile.

‘Maybe you can. I’ll see what I can arrange,’ Goodman answered tightly, as if it was an inconvenience.

Tina was used to certain people taking an instant dislike to her — it was the kind of thing that happened when you’d attracted the sort of headlines she had — but she was a little surprised by the cold reception she was getting here. She’d expected more from a man running one of the country’s toughest prisons. ‘Thank you, I’d appreciate that. As for Mr Garrett, I understand he wants to cooperate with the inquiry into the Stanhope attacks.’

‘Yes. He made contact with one of the prison officers this morning, after he saw footage of the bomb in London on the news. He said that he knew who’d done it, but refused to talk to anyone other than you.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Do you have any idea why that might be?’

Tina shook her head. ‘No. I’ve had no contact with him whatsoever. I’m not even working on the inquiry. At least I wasn’t until an hour ago.’

‘I’m just hoping that he’s not going to attempt to’ — Goodman paused, clearly looking for the right word — ‘manipulate you.’

‘I’m not easily manipulated, Mr Goodman. Tell me, does Mr Garrett sound genuinely interested in cooperating?’

Goodman thought about this for a moment. ‘I think the altercation he was involved in scared him. It shocked all of us. Both men were very lucky not to have been more seriously injured.’ He paused. ‘But Mr Garrett worries me. He’s quiet, he’s controlled, and he’s well behaved and polite to the staff. In that sense, he’s been a model prisoner — at least up until this latest incident. But there’s also no sense that he’s remotely concerned with the gravity of the crimes he’s committed. I’m a great believer in the power of rehabilitation, Miss Boyd, something which I know isn’t a particularly fashionable view among a lot of people in this country. But I believe we could gain a great deal from the Scandinavian model of treating prisoners as individuals who’ve made poor life choices, rather than as amoral monsters who need to be locked up for as long as possible. However, I believe Mr Garrett might be an exception to that rule. I very much doubt that he can be rehabilitated. I’ve spent enough time with him, and the psychiatrists who’ve interviewed him, to know he feels no real remorse for what he’s done. Given that it’s likely he personally killed at least five people, and was responsible for the deaths of many times that number, that makes him extremely dangerous. Coupled with that, he’s highly intelligent. Whether you’re easily manipulated or not, I’d bear this in mind when you’re dealing with him.’

‘Thank you, sir, I will.’

‘We’ve prepared an interview room in the Central Section for your meeting. He should be there by now, so if you’ve got no further questions, I’ll have you escorted down there.’

‘I think you’ve answered everything for me,’ said Tina, getting to her feet.

‘I must admit,’ said the governor as they shook hands a second time, ‘I’m surprised that he asked to see you here, and alone too. It seems odd to me, given your own involvement in the Stanhope siege.’

Tina swallowed her continuing irritation at the way she was being talked to. ‘It was my involvement that helped bring the siege to a successful conclusion, Mr Goodman.’

‘Surely over seventy dead civilians can’t be judged to be a successful conclusion.’

‘It can when you have five hundred hostages and a building wired up to be blown to smithereens. And whatever you or Mr Garrett may think, I’m good at my job.’

Goodman raised a sceptical eyebrow. ‘In my opinion, your methods leave a great deal to be desired, Miss Boyd, so I’d request that when in my prison you work according to my rules.’

Tina held his gaze for a long second, sorely tempted to kick him in the nuts, or at the very least come up with a rude rejoinder, but in the end she thought better of it. ‘Of course, sir.’