Convicted

Chapter 11

The next few days passed by easily for Connie. She'd taken them off work as she'd signed Grace up to go to a Summer camp with her best friend, Hugo, to take her mind off the police case. Everyone involved agreed that a murder case was no place for a child, and so whilst Connie didn't really want to let her daughter go when she'd just got her back, she knew it was for the best. It was a two week camp, and the tutors were due to be taking the students kayaking, caving, camping, and cross-bay swimming, among many other things. Hugo and Grace were both so excited for it, and were both talking in Grace's room while waiting to be taken to the train station when Connie received a call.

She recognised the number immediately - it was the number she answered every night around 6pm when the male prisoners were allowed to make phone calls. They weren't allowed to make phone calls at dinnertime. She didn't even realise she'd been watching the phone for so long, until she heard the ringtone cut off and silence streaked the room. She physically jumped when it rang again. Prisoners had to go to the back of the queue if they wanted to ring again, so why had this started immediately?

With shaking hands, Connie made her way over to the phone. Her eyes were already glazed over with tears as she knew in her heart what she was about to hear.

"Jacob?" Connie asked as she picked up the phone, having to use both hands to grip it to her ear. She couldn't decide which was shaking more: her hands, or her voice.

"Unfortunately not, Mrs Beauchamp," the caller said with a brusque tone. "I'm afraid Mr Masters has been involved in an accident."

"What sort of accident?" Connie asked, a tear falling down her cheek.

"I'm afraid that's not something I can tell you over the phone." Connie swallowed hard.

"Is he alive?" The wait between that question and the reply was in reality only a few milliseconds, but in her heart it felt like a few million years.

"He's badly injured," the caller told her, and Connie forced herself to hold back some more tears. "You're welcome to go to visit him. He's in Medical at the moment so if you give your name at Reception, they'll escort you up, though there will be an officer on duty for the entire duration." Knowing that he wasn't at hospital told Connie that his injuries weren't as serious as they could have been, and so that gave her a little relief, although she had seen some people who were a complete mess in medical.

"Thank you for letting me know," Connie said, before the caller put down the phone and she was left, once again, alone. As she released her grip on the phone and placed it down, her hands moved to grip the side of the kitchen table, before she turned around and slid down against it with a heavy heart. Her mouth opened and she sobbed in agony, though no sound came out. She breathed heavily, her hands coming up over her mouth, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. It was all her fault. He wouldn't even be in there if it wasn't for her.

A couple of minutes passed and Connie had stopped crying, but was still sat against the kitchen table. She checked the time, and realised she needed to drop Grace and Hugo off at the train station, so quickly she touched up parts of her make-up and called the two of them downstairs.

"Are you okay mum?" Grace asked when she saw her mum, the smile disappearing from her face.

"I'm fine love, just tired." Connie lied, not wanting to tell Grace about Jacob before she went away, as he would be fine by the time she got back. Grace accepted the excuse, knowing in her heart that her mum had been crying, but tried to put it behind her as she made her way out to the car with Hugo. Connie drove them in silence, and the two kids whispered quietly in the back listening to their music through their earphones. As Connie dropped the two off, she gave them both a huge hug and a kiss goodbye, and made them promise that they'd stay safe.