Chapter 13

‘And that’s why it’s called Foxbrook.’

‘Eh?’ said Amber. She had momentarily switched off whilst Maggie had been explaining the etymology of the prison’s name.

‘Because of the Foxbrook.’

‘Oh right,’ said Amber, collecting herself. ‘The river yeah? The one that used to flow nearby.’

Maggie nodded and smiled, satisfied that Amber had been paying attention to her.

They were walking together at a leisurely pace along the upper landing of C-Wing. It was mid-morning, the cells were open and most of the inmates on this wing were out in the yard, ostensibly to take exercise although it seemed to Amber that most of them just stood around out there smoking and talking.

Maggie had been at the prison for donkey’s years and seemed to know everything there was to know about it. How it was named after a nearby river. How there had been a gallows here at one time in the north end of the yard. How the prison used to hold men but had switched to women just after World War Two. How in Victorian times the prisoners used to have to go on treadmills as a form of punishment. How the whole reason that prison officers came to be known as screws was because they were the ones who’d tighten the screws on the treadmills to make them more difficult for the prisoners to walk on.

She liked to regale the inmates with these anecdotes and facts, and Amber would often notice them glancing at one another, not quite understanding why she was boring them with trivia. But Amber could see that Maggie was actually being rather clever. The prison’s history was a neutral topic through which she could engage with the inmates without overstepping any kind of personal boundaries. And, who knew, perhaps some of them even came to appreciate the place a little more with a deeper understanding of its historical context.

Maggie did go on a bit, but Amber was grateful for her protective guidance. Maggie had taken Amber under her wing, so to speak, and had certainly helped to accelerate her learning, letting her in on all the little tips and shortcuts that they didn’t teach you in training.

Today, they were both on general duty as landing officers. This meant that first thing in the morning they would unlock the landings of the various wings and let the inmates know that they had an hour for exercise. Whilst the prisoners were on exercise in the yard, they would remain on the wing and check the LBBs – the locks, bolts and bars – and carry out any individual cell searches that needed to be done. Once the inmates were back on the wing, they were free to patrol the prison as they wished, keeping a general eye out for trouble, sorting out any petty problems and lending a helping ear if need be.

Out of all the roles that the guards had to perform, this was the one that Amber enjoyed the most. It meant that she could get out and about and have a chat. She liked to chat. Perhaps not quite as much as Maggie though.