Cat O'Nine Tales and Other Stories - Jeffrey Archer [71]
“Like what?”
“You can have a visit from a mate every Saturday Pete wasn’t interested. You can go home once a month on a Sunday—he’s still not interested. You can apply for a job outside of the prison during the week—still no interest, even though it would of given him a chance to pick up an extra bob or two before he’s released.”
“Then why bother to earn all those privileges if you don’t plan to take advantage of them?” I asked.
“Weren’t part of Pete’s master plan, was it? Trouble with you, Jeff, is that you don’t think like a criminal.”
“So why was Pete so keen to get himself transferred to the enhancement block?”
“Good question at last, Jeff, but for that you’ll need a little background. Pete ‘ad already worked out that over on the enhancement block they ‘ad five screws on duty during the day, but only two at night, on account of the fact that if a prisoner reaches enhanced status he can be trusted, not to mention how short-staffed the prison service is. And don’t forget that, in an open nick, there are no cells, no bars, no keys and no perimeter walls, so anyone can abscond.”
“So why don’t they?” I asked.
“Because not many cons who’ve made it to an open prison are that interested in escaping.”
“Why not?”
“Logic, isn’t it? They’re coming to the end of their sentence, and if they’re caught, and nine out of ten of the morons are, you’re sent straight back to a closed nick, with extra time added to your sentence. So forget it, it’s just not worth it. I remember a con called Dale. What a muppet he was. He only had three weeks left to serve, when he—”
“Pete,” I tried again.
“You’re such an impatient bastard, Jeff, and it’s not as if you’re going anywhere. So where was I?”
“Only two officers on duty in the enhancement block at night,” I said, checking my notes.
“Oh, yeah. But even on the enhancement block you have to report to the front office at seven in the morning, and then again at nine each night. Now Pete, as I told you, ‘ad a job in the prison stores, handing out clothes to the new cons, and supplying laundry once a week for the regulars, so the screws always knew where he was, which was also part of Pete’s plan. But if he hadn’t reported to the front office at seven in the morning and then again at nine at night, he would have been put on report, which would have meant he’d be sent back to north block with all his privileges removed. So Pete never once misses a roll call, his cell was always spick and span, and his light is always out long before eleven.”
“All part of Pete’s master plan?”
“You catch on fast,” said Mick. “But then Pete came up against an obstacle—that the right word, Jeff?” I nodded, not wishing to interrupt his flow. “During the night, one of the screws would walk round the block at one o’clock and then return again at four in the morning, to check that every con was in bed and asleep. All the screw has to do is pull back the curtain on the outside of the door, look through the glass panel and shine his torch on the bed to make sure the con is snoring away. Have I ever told you about the con who was caught in his room, with a—”
“Pete,” I said, not even looking up at Mick.
“Pete would lay awake at night until the first screw came round at one o’clock to make sure he was in his room. The screw lifts the curtain, shines the torch on his bed and then disappears. Pete would then go back to sleep, but he always set his alarm for ten to four when he’d carry out the same routine. A different screw always turns up at four to check you’re still in bed. It took Pete just over a month to work out that there were two screws, Mr. Chambers and Mr. Davis, who didn’t bother to make the nightly rounds and check everyone was in bed. Chambers used to fall asleep and Davis couldn’t be dragged away from the TV. After that, all Pete had to do was wait until the two of them were on duty the same night.”
With only about six weeks to go before Pete was due to be released, he returned to the enhancement block after work to find that Chambers and Davis were the duty officers that