Page 74 of Next in Line

‘Glad to hear it. But you ought to know your distinguished ancestor spent a few weeks here. Before my time, of course.’

‘Only just,’ whispered William to Rebecca.

‘The last time we met,’ continued the governor, ‘you wanted to know about a young woman who was visiting her father at Pentonville, when I was then deputy governor, if I remember correctly.’

‘You have a good memory,’ said William, joining in the game. Rebecca looked puzzled.

‘The young lady’s father, a Mr Rainsford, was on remand while facing a charge of murder, and your brilliant father got him off. It must have been one of his easier cases, as even his fellow inmates knew he wasn’t guilty.’

‘It didn’t feel that way at the time,’ said William.

‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you end up marrying the young lady in question?’

‘I did indeed, sir. We have two children – well, three, in a way. A pair of twins, Artemisia and Peter, and—’

‘Josephine Junior,’ said the governor, ‘Ross Hogan’s daughter. A man I greatly admire, who, as you know, spent some time in Pentonville working undercover, which made it possible for you to close down the Rashidi drugs empire. I believe Hogan also came into contact with Miles Faulkner around that time, when he was first working in the prison library. Don’t tell Faulkner, but I’m glad to have him back, as the library has never been more efficiently run.’

‘It was good of you to arrange a meeting with Faulkner at such short notice,’ said William.

‘Jack Hawksby called me this morning, so I’m fully briefed. I’ll take you to the library by the “off-limits” route. That way, there’ll be less chance of any of the other inmates spotting you and the rumour mill grinding into action.’

Without another word, the governor led them out of his office and down a long, bleak corridor into a barren yard, surrounded on all sides by concrete walls topped with razor wire. They crossed the yard to an isolated brick building with a sign reading ‘LIBRARY’ on its door. The governor marched in, followed by William and Rebecca.

When William saw Miles, he was taken by surprise. A blue and white striped open-neck shirt, faded jeans and trainers had replaced the hand-tailored suit, silk tie and black highly polished leather shoes William had become accustomed to seeing him wearing. He’d also put on a few pounds.

Miles put down the book he was reading, stood up and said, ‘Good morning, governor.’

‘Good morning, Faulkner. But be warned, it won’t be a good one for you if you cause my old friend, Superintendent Warwick, any trouble. If you do, I’ll be looking for a new librarian. Is that clear?’

‘Crystal, governor.’

‘Good. Then I’ll leave you two to get on with it, whatever it is you’re getting on with,’ he said, before departing.

‘Please have a seat, Superintendent,’ said Miles. ‘I’ve just made a pot of tea, if either of you would care to join me. Not exactly silver service, but it is Earl Grey.’

‘No, thank you,’ said William as he and Rebecca sat down in the only two comfortable chairs. ‘DS Pankhurst is here as an observer, and will take verbatim notes of everything that is said, in case you should—’

‘I’m well aware of the rules of this particular game,’ interrupted Miles as Rebecca opened her notebook and began writing. ‘I cannot talk about my case, or anything associated with it, if I recall the governor’s words. Should I break that agreement, I will, as the governor has justpointed out, not only lose my job, but will also be charged with wasting police time.’

Rebecca went on writing, but William didn’t comment.

‘I’ve been in here for just over nine months,’ said Miles, perching himself on a stool in front of them, ‘so it won’t surprise you to learn that I’ve built up a network that has made it possible for me to know more about what’s going on in this prison than your friend the governor.’

Rebecca turned a page of her notebook.

‘What I’m about to tell you is therefore based on fact, not supposition.’ Miles paused while he took a sip of tea. ‘One of my inner team, a prisoner called Tareq Omar, works as a cleaner on the first-floor landing of A block, where Mansour Khalifah is currently housed.’

William grimaced when Khalifah’s name was mentioned, but still said nothing.

‘A nasty piece of shit that I’d happily flush down the nearest toilet,’ said Faulkner. ‘Excuse my language, miss.’

Something Rebecca didn’t write down.

‘I’ve been keeping a close eye on Khalifah ever since he arrived, which hasn’t been easy as he’s not exactly the sociable type. He has his own network of followers, known as the True Believers, who take care of his every need. His only reading material is theFinancial TimesandPlayboy, and he hasn’t applied for a library card.’

William continued to listen.

‘However,’ Miles went on, ‘Tareq Omar is not a True Believer, as Mansour Khalifah was responsible for the death of his brother, which is why I had him switched to that wing as a cleaner. Over the past few months, he’s ingratiated himself with Khalifah by supplying him with porn magazines, and a particular brand of dates he craves, which can only bepurchased from Harrods. Recently, Omar has become more trusted, and is occasionally allowed to guard Khalifah’s cell while he’s praying. However, it’s still taken him some time to come up with anything interesting.’

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