It was nearly an hour before Barry came back to the cell. He was carrying a large clear plastic bag and, as the officer locked the door, he gave Colin a big smile and thumbs up.
‘You won’t believe our luck. I heard them saying that there are new officers coming onto the wing in the morning who won’t have ever seen either of us.’
‘What did they want with you?’ Colin asked nervously.
‘I, well, you pretending to be me, have got to be at the screws’ office on the ground floor straight after breakfast. You need to put all my personal belongings in this plastic bag. I, I mean you, will then get escorted across to the release area, before being taken to Clapham Magistrates’ Court.’
‘This is madness, Barry. If I escape, I’ve then got to get all the way over to Croydon. We’ll never get away with it.’
‘Yes, we will. I heard them talking about a shortage of prison vehicles, and the senior officer said to use a taxi.’
‘A taxi! Are you joking?’
‘Nope, that’s what I heard. Apparently, they regularly do it when they’re short on paddy wagons and the prisoner is low risk like me.’
‘Which officer is going to accompany you? Sorry, I mean me. What if he knows you?’ Colin asked.
‘I clocked the rota on the wall and it’s an officer from another wing. Like I keep telling you, I’ve only been in here four weeks, so none of the screws knows me.’
‘But he may recognise me and know I’m not you.’
‘Not when you’re wearing my glasses. The lenses are so thick even my mum would think you were me.’
‘How on earth are you going to see then?’
‘Don’t worry, I got a spare pair.’
Colin was now really worried that they would never pull it off. But Barry insisted they had come so far that Colin couldn’t back down now and miss seeing the birth of his son.
‘So it’s tomorrow then, eight a.m.?’ Colin said nervously.
Barry nodded and clapped his hands, really enjoying the adventure. He had never been happier or felt so positive. Nor had he had such a close friend as Colin who depended on him so much. It all made him feel good about himself.
‘We can do it, Col, but don’t give anything away tonight when you talk to Karen on the phone. Take some deep breaths, keep calm and act normal.’
Chapter six
They were lying on their beds, waiting to be let out for dinner, and had not spoken for a while. Colin broke the silence and asked Barry if he ever made phone calls home.
‘No, not got a phone card and there’s no one who’d listen anyway. Nobody gives a toss about me. They never did.’
‘I do. I care a lot about you, and I won’t ever forget what you’re doing for me. I owe you big time.’
Barry beamed. It felt great to have a friend like Colin. It was a deed well worth doing, just to know that he could help him be present at the birth of his son.
As usual during dinner, they ignored each other and ate at separate tables. The changeover officers had just begun their shift and would be on duty for the night. The next shift would take over before breakfast, at 6 a.m. the next morning.
After dinner, Colin joined the telephone queue to call Karen. She was very down, saying that she was so heavily pregnant she could hardly move.
‘The last scan was good, and everything’s on schedule for the birth tomorrow. Mum’s going to take me to the hospital. She’s even packed a bag for me.’
‘I love you so much and you’ll be fine,’ Colin said, desperately wanting to tell her he would, if all went to plan, be with her.
‘I wish you were going to be with me, Colin. I miss you so much and I really need to see you. It’s been weeks and I don’t know how I’ll be after the baby is born. I hope I’ll be able to travel to the prison. My mum has bought a VW for me to use so that will help. I know I’ll be able to bring the baby with me at visiting times, but it’s just not having you here to give me support, and I get really scared.’
‘You keep strong, darling. I will be thinking of you and our baby every minute of the day.’
‘I know, but it don’t help, because I miss you so much.’
Colin was getting upset as she started to cry. He changed the subject, trying to distract her by asking if she’d thought of any other names to call their son. They often talked about this, and she had said that her favourite name was Justin, after the pop singer Justin Bieber. Colin said that he had been thinking about what name he would like the baby to be called.
‘Why? You’d agreed to him being called Justin.’
‘I know, but can we call him Barry instead and maybe have Justin as a middle name?’
‘Barry!’ Karen exclaimed.
‘Yeah, do you like the name?’
‘No, I don’t. What do you want to call him Barry for?’
‘Listen, darling, next time I see you I will explain it all.’
The prisoner behind him tapped on Colin’s shoulder, and pointed to his watch. Time was up on his call. Not wanting a row, Colin said goodnight to Karen and hung up. He had so wanted to tell her that he would soon be with her, but had managed to stop himself. He couldn’t help being really happy, as he was starting to feel more and more certain that he could pull it off. Until now, he had been doubtful, but hearing her voice made him very excited. He was nervous, yet he firmly believed that in only a few hours he would be with Karen.
Chapter seven
When Colin returned to his cell, Barry was looking at a comic on his bunk bed.
‘Guess what we decided to call him?’ Colin asked with a big smile.
‘You’d told me Karen wanted to call him Justin.’
‘I changed her mind. We want him to be called Barry.’
Barry sat up, his eyes brimming with tears.
‘You mean that? You would do that?’
‘Yeah, if that’s all right with you?’
‘Of course it is. Wow! That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I really appreciate it, Colin. Thank you so very, very much.’
‘That’s OK. Let’s just hope it all goes to plan in the morning.’
The lights went out, and they both lay on their bunks as the cells were locked up for the night. There were the usual catcalls and tinny radio sounds that would continue into the wee hours. Neither of them had a radio. They had talked about maybe getting one, but they had no money and no one brought one in for them. They had sometimes watched television in the communal TV room, but deliberately never together, so if one saw a show he would tell the other all about it.
‘Do you want a final run-through?’ Barry whispered.
Colin whispered back that it would be a good idea. Quietly, they went through all of Barry’s relatives, his childhood and school days until they had covered everything. At last, they fell silent.
‘Not long now,’ Barry said after a while.
‘Fingers crossed,’ Colin answered, yawning.
After a few minutes, he could tell that Barry had fallen asleep because he snored, but Colin just couldn’t get to sleep himself. He was too wired, thinking about what it would be like to see Karen and how she would react. He thought about her parents, and worried that her father might tell the prison or police where he was. He decided that he would explain to Karen’s mum and dad that he had been let out on day release for the baby’s birth.
If everything was on time and the baby was born on the due date, he was certain he would get away with it. They had planned that Barry would stay in the cell all morning and not go down for his lunch or mix with the other men on the wing. He prayed that Barry, who would have to pretend to be him, gave nothing away before he himself got to court and carried out the final part of his escape. He also hoped that he would have plenty of time before the prison officers started asking Barry questions and found out the truth.