liked her but the idea of those diseased hands touching him gave him the boke.
6
IN THE DARKNESS , the photo of his mother held loosely in both hands, Davie thought about his meeting back in 1982 with the man they called The Colonel.
Davie had fumed in the prison van on the way back from court, having listened stonily as people lied about him. Two years before it had been security guards who Jimmy Knight had put up to perjury, now it was that bastard Lomas and Donald Harris. The inmates in the other cubicles seemed to sense his cold rage, for they were unnaturally quiet. He had been called an animal in that court room, even though he had only defended himself. They had painted him as some kind of monster. Okay, if that’s what they wanted, that’s what they’d get. He’d show them what a monster really was.
But they were way ahead of him.
As soon as he arrived back in Barlinnie, he was told the Governor wanted to see him. Until then, Davie had only glimpsed the screws’ boss as he walked round ‘B’ Hall. He was a tall guy, his erect stance betraying his military background. He had a deep tan, suggesting long periods under foreign suns. You didn’t get that colour in Glasgow. According to prison rumour he was ex- SAS and could kill with the flick of a finger. Davie didn’t believe it but there was a power, a danger, that exuded from the man.
He was standing at a window behind his desk when Davie was shown into his office. He turned and motioned for him to sit down then told the two-man escort to leave them alone. There was no please or thank you, for this was a man used to giving orders and having them carried out with no questions asked. Davie sat in the wooden chair and wondered what the hell this was all about. He watched as he stepped away from the window and, still on his feet, flicked through a file on his desk. Davie guessed it was his prison record. They shared the room in silence for a full minute and Davie again noticed how straight and erect the guy was. No wonder they called him The Colonel.
The Colonel did not look up from the file as he said, ‘Am I going to have trouble with you, McCall?’
When Davie didn’t reply, the man’s eyes raised sharply and bored into him. ‘I asked you a question. I expect an answer.’ Davie shrugged and the man sighed. ‘I’ll take that as a yes, then.’
He sat down in his big leather chair and studied Davie across the desk. Finally he said, ‘What happened in that corridor, McCall?’
‘Ask your screw,’ said Davie.
‘I’m asking you.’
‘Doesn’t matter what I say, you’ll not believe me.’
‘Try me.’
Davie held his gaze, trying to gauge what the man was after. ‘Your man Lomas sent me to fetch a mop. Harris went for me with two blades and I took them off him.’
‘No weapons were found.’
‘Lomas took them.’
‘Why would he do that?’
‘Ask him.’
The Colonel did not reply. His face remained impassive as he glanced down at the file again. ‘You’d not been in trouble with us until then. In fact, you were a model prisoner.’
Davie remained silent. He did not know where this was leading.
‘So I’ll ask you again – are we going to have trouble with you?’
‘What do you think? I get another eight years in this shithole for defending myself…’
The Colonel’s eyes narrowed and he gave Davie a hard gaze. ‘Defending yourself? Harris has a broken nose, a dislocated shoulder and it’s only by the grace of providence that you didn’t fracture his skull.’
Davie stared straight back. ‘Him or me, that’s what it came down to.’
The man exhaled audibly through his nose and his mouth tightened. ‘Mister Lomas has been transferred from this prison. Harris, too. I insisted on it.’
Davie’s mind raced as he took this in. He believed the guy was trying to tell him that he knew what really happened in that corridor. He had no clue how the Colonel knew, and he doubted he would tell him if he asked, so he
6
IN THE DARKNESS , the photo of his mother held loosely in both hands, Davie thought about his meeting back in 1982 with the man they called The Colonel.
Davie had fumed in the prison van on the way back from court, having listened stonily as people lied about him. Two years before it had been security guards who Jimmy Knight had put up to perjury, now it was that bastard Lomas and Donald Harris. The inmates in the other cubicles seemed to sense his cold rage, for they were unnaturally quiet. He had been called an animal in that court room, even though he had only defended himself. They had painted him as some kind of monster. Okay, if that’s what they wanted, that’s what they’d get. He’d show them what a monster really was.
But they were way ahead of him.
As soon as he arrived back in Barlinnie, he was told the Governor wanted to see him. Until then, Davie had only glimpsed the screws’ boss as he walked round ‘B’ Hall. He was a tall guy, his erect stance betraying his military background. He had a deep tan, suggesting long periods under foreign suns. You didn’t get that colour in Glasgow. According to prison rumour he was ex- SAS and could kill with the flick of a finger. Davie didn’t believe it but there was a power, a danger, that exuded from the man.
He was standing at a window behind his desk when Davie was shown into his office. He turned and motioned for him to sit down then told the two-man escort to leave them alone. There was no please or thank you, for this was a man used to giving orders and having them carried out with no questions asked. Davie sat in the wooden chair and wondered what the hell this was all about. He watched as he stepped away from the window and, still on his feet, flicked through a file on his desk. Davie guessed it was his prison record. They shared the room in silence for a full minute and Davie again noticed how straight and erect the guy was. No wonder they called him The Colonel.
The Colonel did not look up from the file as he said, ‘Am I going to have trouble with you, McCall?’
When Davie didn’t reply, the man’s eyes raised sharply and bored into him. ‘I asked you a question. I expect an answer.’ Davie shrugged and the man sighed. ‘I’ll take that as a yes, then.’
He sat down in his big leather chair and studied Davie across the desk. Finally he said, ‘What happened in that corridor, McCall?’
‘Ask your screw,’ said Davie.
‘I’m asking you.’
‘Doesn’t matter what I say, you’ll not believe me.’
‘Try me.’
Davie held his gaze, trying to gauge what the man was after. ‘Your man Lomas sent me to fetch a mop. Harris went for me with two blades and I took them off him.’
‘No weapons were found.’
‘Lomas took them.’
‘Why would he do that?’
‘Ask him.’
The Colonel did not reply. His face remained impassive as he glanced down at the file again. ‘You’d not been in trouble with us until then. In fact, you were a model prisoner.’
Davie remained silent. He did not know where this was leading.
‘So I’ll ask you again – are we going to have trouble with you?’
‘What do you think? I get another eight years in this shithole for defending myself…’
The Colonel’s eyes narrowed and he gave Davie a hard gaze. ‘Defending yourself? Harris has a broken nose, a dislocated shoulder and it’s only by the grace of providence that you didn’t fracture his skull.’
Davie stared straight back. ‘Him or me, that’s what it came down to.’
The man exhaled audibly through his nose and his mouth tightened. ‘Mister Lomas has been transferred from this prison. Harris, too. I insisted on it.’
Davie’s mind raced as he took this in. He believed the guy was trying to tell him that he knew what really happened in that corridor. He had no clue how the Colonel knew, and he doubted he would tell him if he asked, so he
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