appeared to worry him. All in all, he was dependable, conscientious and effective, virtues by no means as common as people like Faraday might suppose.
Faraday nodded. It was the second time the governor had used the word ‘effective’.
‘Effective how, exactly?’
‘Effective with prisoners. Especially our more challenging guests.’ He paused, expecting a smile, but Faraday didn’t oblige.
‘You’re talking about physical restraint?’
‘God, no. By the time you get round to talking about physical restraint, you’ve lost it. But that’s the point, you see. Prison officers like Coughlin have a knack of setting the boundaries. Like it or not, prisons are very black and white. Have to be. That’s the nature of the beast. Coughlin understands that. It might be his service background.’
Faraday raised an eyebrow. The governor’s use of the present tense was beginning to irritate him.
‘Coughlin’s dead,’ he pointed out. ‘That’s why I’m here.’
‘Of course. And that’s something I deeply, deeply regret. You know my number one problem in this place? Not the prisoners. Not overcrowding. Nothing like that. It’s staff morale. The politicians think we can work miracles and the fact is that we can’t. Not on the kind of budgets they give us. I’ve got good blokes,
good
blokes, the best, but it doesn’t take much to get to them. What happened to Coughlin was a real blow. That kind of thing sends a message to the rest of the staff. We need it sorted. Fast.’ He stared at Faraday for a moment, then patted the file again. ‘I understand you want to take a look at this.’
‘I want to take it away.’
‘No can do. I’ll get you a photocopy but you’ll have to sign for it.’ He stood up and shouted a name through the open office door. A prison officer appeared and scooped up the file. He must have been listening, Faraday thought. The entire interview will be round the prison within minutes. This man’s not talking to me. He’s addressing the bloody staff.
‘Tell me about Davidson,’ Faraday suggested.
‘You know about Davidson?’
‘I know he was released not long ago. And I know he always contested his sentence.’
‘Then you know it all, Mr Faraday. Davidson, excuse my French, was a little shit. I don’t expect prisoners to enjoy themselves here. Far from it. That wouldn’t be the point, would it? No, but I do expect them to buckle down. The man got caught. Justice followed. The least he could do was keep his head down and get on with it. Least said, soonest mended.’
If only, thought Faraday.
‘What if he was innocent?’
‘He wasn’t. We don’t do innocence.’
‘OK.’ Faraday tried to hide his smile. ‘Then tell me what kind of man he was.’
The governor sat back and stroked his moustache. The question appeared to have taken him by surprise.
‘Clever,’ he said at last. ‘Intelligent. I grant you that.’
‘Intelligent enough not to do anything silly?’
‘Like what, Mr Faraday?’
‘Like have a go at Sean Coughlin. If Coughlin had been’ … Faraday was choosing his words carefully … ‘especially effective.’
‘You mean Monday night?’
‘Yes.’
‘
Kill
Coughlin? Murder him?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good God, no.’
‘Not even pay him a visit? For old times’ sake?’
‘No.’ When he shook his head, his whole face wobbled. ‘I saw a lot of young Davidson. One of the perks of the job. Every time he got in a muddle with the appeals procedure, or had a run-in with his latest lawyer, he’d be up here like a shot. I knew him. I knew him well. He wouldn’t have done anything like that. Davidson looked after number one. You don’t do that by knocking off prison officers.’
‘You said he was a little shit just now.’
‘He was, he was. The man was a pain. Wouldn’t lie down. Wouldn’t take his punishment. What would happen if the whole bloody prison did that? How would we cope? It’s all right for you, Mr Faraday. Putting them away’s
Faraday nodded. It was the second time the governor had used the word ‘effective’.
‘Effective how, exactly?’
‘Effective with prisoners. Especially our more challenging guests.’ He paused, expecting a smile, but Faraday didn’t oblige.
‘You’re talking about physical restraint?’
‘God, no. By the time you get round to talking about physical restraint, you’ve lost it. But that’s the point, you see. Prison officers like Coughlin have a knack of setting the boundaries. Like it or not, prisons are very black and white. Have to be. That’s the nature of the beast. Coughlin understands that. It might be his service background.’
Faraday raised an eyebrow. The governor’s use of the present tense was beginning to irritate him.
‘Coughlin’s dead,’ he pointed out. ‘That’s why I’m here.’
‘Of course. And that’s something I deeply, deeply regret. You know my number one problem in this place? Not the prisoners. Not overcrowding. Nothing like that. It’s staff morale. The politicians think we can work miracles and the fact is that we can’t. Not on the kind of budgets they give us. I’ve got good blokes,
good
blokes, the best, but it doesn’t take much to get to them. What happened to Coughlin was a real blow. That kind of thing sends a message to the rest of the staff. We need it sorted. Fast.’ He stared at Faraday for a moment, then patted the file again. ‘I understand you want to take a look at this.’
‘I want to take it away.’
‘No can do. I’ll get you a photocopy but you’ll have to sign for it.’ He stood up and shouted a name through the open office door. A prison officer appeared and scooped up the file. He must have been listening, Faraday thought. The entire interview will be round the prison within minutes. This man’s not talking to me. He’s addressing the bloody staff.
‘Tell me about Davidson,’ Faraday suggested.
‘You know about Davidson?’
‘I know he was released not long ago. And I know he always contested his sentence.’
‘Then you know it all, Mr Faraday. Davidson, excuse my French, was a little shit. I don’t expect prisoners to enjoy themselves here. Far from it. That wouldn’t be the point, would it? No, but I do expect them to buckle down. The man got caught. Justice followed. The least he could do was keep his head down and get on with it. Least said, soonest mended.’
If only, thought Faraday.
‘What if he was innocent?’
‘He wasn’t. We don’t do innocence.’
‘OK.’ Faraday tried to hide his smile. ‘Then tell me what kind of man he was.’
The governor sat back and stroked his moustache. The question appeared to have taken him by surprise.
‘Clever,’ he said at last. ‘Intelligent. I grant you that.’
‘Intelligent enough not to do anything silly?’
‘Like what, Mr Faraday?’
‘Like have a go at Sean Coughlin. If Coughlin had been’ … Faraday was choosing his words carefully … ‘especially effective.’
‘You mean Monday night?’
‘Yes.’
‘
Kill
Coughlin? Murder him?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good God, no.’
‘Not even pay him a visit? For old times’ sake?’
‘No.’ When he shook his head, his whole face wobbled. ‘I saw a lot of young Davidson. One of the perks of the job. Every time he got in a muddle with the appeals procedure, or had a run-in with his latest lawyer, he’d be up here like a shot. I knew him. I knew him well. He wouldn’t have done anything like that. Davidson looked after number one. You don’t do that by knocking off prison officers.’
‘You said he was a little shit just now.’
‘He was, he was. The man was a pain. Wouldn’t lie down. Wouldn’t take his punishment. What would happen if the whole bloody prison did that? How would we cope? It’s all right for you, Mr Faraday. Putting them away’s
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