Convicted

Chapter 3

I was going to update this weekly like my other one, but I think the wait in between chapters is too long for a continuing story. How do you feel about having updates every few days instead? I really want you to enjoy this story because I love writing it, so please let me know how you guys prefer to read it x

The short drive to the other prison seemed to be over much quicker than she'd expected, but she realised that a reason for that could be the fact that she was terrified to be behind bars. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to cope in such a place, despite being charged with murder, and so when she was greeted by the officers, she was awfully quiet, and was constantly checking around her. The first thing she had to do was get her photos taken. She stood in front of a large, black painted brick wall, with a white box highlighted on it. She had to stand and face the camera - a shot that she wasn't expecting when the flash tore at her eyes. The second, she stood facing the left, and on the third, she stood facing the right, before she was taken out of the room and into another, without saying a word. She was told here that this was where they would conduct a strip search, and she found this quite a daunting prospect.

"Don't worry; the women tend to find it becomes easier as you do it," the officer - Jacqueline Atkinson - informed her. Connie had been allowed to accept one outfit from Jacob (though they hadn't allowed her to see him), since she'd been arrested in her dressing gown, and so she removed her white shirt, followed by her pants, until she was stood in just her underwear. There were two female officers present, though Connie couldn't read the other one's name badge, but it was her who took Connie's clothes and folded them up, putting them in a basket.
    "Underwear," Ms Atkinson stated, commanding Connie to remove her underwear, which she passed to the other officer present. The purpose of the strip search was to ensure that she wasn't smuggling any drugs or other contraband into the prison, and whilst Connie knew she wouldn't even think about doing it, these officers knew her for what had been written on the paper when she was transferred here: Constance Beauchamp, charged for the premeditated murder of ex-partner. They probably thought that smuggling Class A drugs was a hobby for her.
    "Breasts." Connie had to lift her breasts one at a time, and then she was instructed to shake her hair, to prove nothing was stashed in either of these places. After checking her mouth, Connie was instructed to turn around, and bend over. After fully completing their search, Connie was given her clothes back (after the pockets had been searched), and she got herself changed quickly. She was guided out of the strip search room and passed a couple of prisoners on her way, who all gave her a deathly glare. Connie thought she was the queen of those glares, but looking at some of these prisoners, she could tell that she was nothing but an amateur.

"A lot of prisoners find it daunting on their first night," Ms Atkinson informed Connie. "But as with the strip searches, it does get easier."

"When can I see my daughter? And my partner?" Connie asked. The two of them had been the only things on Connie's mind since she'd been arrested, as she knew that Grace would be so worried, and Jacob didn't have the first clue of how to deal with being a single dad. She knew that he'd be panicking, whether he'd admit it or not, and he'd never signed up for that when the two of them had gotten into a relationship.

"All numbers have to be put on a call list, so I'll arrange it and you can talk to them after lunch," Ms Atkinson told her, and Connie nodded before thanking the officer. As they made their way through the outside yard and inside the building, they bumped into one of the women on their way around to Connie's cell, and she seemed to be surprisingly approachable and friendly. She was older than Connie - probably in her mid-fifties - and was short with light brown hair. Her genuine smile as she saw Connie with the two officers made her wonder what on earth a woman like this had done to end up in a place as awful as this.