05 - DADDY TO THE RESCUE?

The first thing John Griffiths did after his revealing and distressing talk to Marty was to get back to Potts. That gentleman was sympathetic and promised to contact the prison. John took the first available flight. Three days later the two were talking in Potts's office. That gentleman had been making good use of the last few days. Now that there was testimony from an ex prisoner about Lisa's punishment, the prison no longer saw any point in hiding behind their former wall of secrecy.

"I have arranged for you to visit the prison and talk to the governor about your daughter's case. He did not deny that Lisa is in strict solitary confinement. I asked him if she was in good health and he said she was, but had suffered food poisoning recently in common with pretty well everyone else in the prison. He said they had improved her diet to help her regain her strength after a shattering few days. I got the feeling he is a basically decent man, but with no imagination. He obeys orders and imposes rules laid down by the system. But you can talk to him yourself. I will drive you there and back and will be with you at the interview."

Potts's description of Governor was right, thought Griffiths. This was a man who applied rules strictly and fairly according to his lights, but had little idea of flexibility. Sensing that the diplomat's presence was not helping, he asked Potts to leave and pick him up later. The Governor offered him the hospitality of his house and Potts promised to be back in exactly two days. When they were alone, Menendes visibly relaxed.

"I am sure this must be very painful for you, Mr Griffiths and I sympathise. I have a daughter of Lisa's age and I sometimes get pretty scared about her getting into some sort of scrape! It is a long complicated story, but your daughter was originally given one hundred and four weeks in solitary. I confirmed the sentence three weeks later and that is that, I am afraid. Once a sentence has been countersigned by the Minister of Justice, only he can amend it and he would need facts not available to him at the time. These simply aren't available. I could not release her even if I wished without sanction from the Justice Ministry and that, as I have said, is unlikely, although you are welcome to try and persuade them.

She is kept in total isolation in a temperature of ten degrees, or fifty Fahrenheit if you still prefer old money! There are a number of rules and they are enforced by monitoring her round the clock on a CCTV system. Each  infringement earns her an extra week and the timing device to unlock her cage is adjusted accordingly. Again it is difficult to reverse such a decision, although I do have some influence there if I feel we may have been unjustly severe. For instance, I did get authority to have twelve of her extra weeks rescinded, so that brings her release a little closer! "

"How many extra weeks has she had?"

"Sixteen, so far. Twelve were incurred very early on. Until she became ill and fainted a couple of times and suffered two messy attacks of diarrhoea, she had committed no offences since the early ones. She is a model prisoner who has adjusted to her punishment with great courage. I know you think it harsh, but this is a harsh country in many ways. I have spoken several times with the excellent Mr Potts and share the view that the evidence on which Lisa was convicted was thin to say the least. That woman in the photograph did not look like her to me, although it is so blurred that it could be any fair-haired young woman of about that height and build. But she came here as a convicted felon, Mr Griffith. She came here to be punished and my job is to provide that punishment."

Griffiths said nothing. He knew he must not antagonise this man, despite his contempt for the fellow's utterly hidebound mindset. The Governor went on.

"I judged that she had committed three offences, Mr Griffiths. She admitted to starting two fights and lied about the first fight before changing her story. That meant eighty eight weeks and I felt she should also serve the sixteen weeks her lie had nearly cost her first opponent. I am sorry, now, about the extra sixteen weeks, but I doubt the Ministry will seek to change it. Nevertheless I will write to them and ask them to do this. It seems unfair that you have come all this way for nothing. But, first, would you like to see your daughter? I have the monitors for the isolation block in my office. Come!"

Griffiths followed him over to the sliding panel and was soon looking at the screens. All were blank except one. Lisa had been the sole prisoner since Sandra had been freed. A tear trickled down his face as he recognised the person he loved most in the entire world, aside from his dear wife.

"Thank you, Governor! I must say she looks amazingly well! Pale skinned, of course, but fit and well. And her hair  looks amazing - I always told her she should grow it long like that, but she preferred it shorter!  How does she keep in such shape, I wonder?"

"She soon got into a routine. Every night before she goes to sleep she does one hundred push ups and other exercises from time to time. I hope it does not embarrass you to see her naked, but nudity is compulsory for all solitary inmates. It is partly humiliation and partly to ensure hygiene. We hose down the cell every few days and if she wore clothes, her clothing would be damp for long after. You can see there is no storage space there, just the four walls! It is very unpleasant to be in that cell, but it is meant to be very unpleasant. She is there to be punished, remember!"

Griffiths was getting sick of that word. Punishment was all very well, but he disliked to hear it applied to his own darling daughter! But she had acted dishonourably and he could see that she would have to pay for her misdeed, but in Heaven's name, not as heavily as this!  Then he considered what her fate would have been had she not acted as she had. She would have been given hell by her fellow inmates and almost certainly injured by them many times. At least she would now be popular when she came out and rejoined the others. And she was obviously coping with her ordeal. He was immensely impressed at his daughter's serene demeanour and she was as upright as ever. Before he accepted that there was nothing to do but allow events to take their course and pray for her safe survival he had to be sure.

"I wonder if I might write a short note to Lisa? Give her a week extra if you like, what difference will an extra week make? But I want to exchange a few words. Please, Governor! What if that were your daughter and I were her jailer!"

The Governor nodded.

"As I said before, it is a  shame for you to come all this way and leave totally empty-handed! You may send a note and she may reply. And, yes! She will have to pay a penalty for that!"

He handed Griffiths a sheet of prison notepaper and a pen. He wrote a few lines and handed the paper to the Governor, who looked it over and nodded his approval.

"I will send it with a covering  note telling her she will incur no penalty if she returns your letter unopened, but will have a week added to her time in solitary if she reads it. I do not doubt that she will. And if she is willing to serve one more week again, she may reply. I will see she has pencil and paper. And, now, we can only wait until the morning! She will be given the messages with her evening meal. I suggest we go to my house and return early tomorrow!"

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Lisa wondered if she was dreaming when she saw, in addition to her bread, fruit and water, a folded sheet of paper. She took it wonderingly and with a pang of mingled hope and fear. Had she been cleared of the crime of theft? Or was it some alteration to the solitary confinement rules. She unfolded the paper and saw it enclosed an envelope. The paper was from the Governor.

"Miss Griffiths. Your father has finally discovered what has happened to you and is with me as my guest for a day or two. I have allowed him to write you a note, which is in this envelope."

 She had torn the envelope open even before she read the warning that opening the envelope would cost her a week. Hell's bells! She would accept twenty weeks!

Tears rolled down her face as she read her father's message.

"Darling Lisa. I am so glad to see you look so well. You really are a remarkable girl! I have spoken to the Governor and he is willing to try to get sixteen weeks of your time here taken off your total. It's not much, I know, but it's all I can get them to consider for now. But I will not be going home until I can take you with me, no matter how long it takes! Keep up your spirits darling Lisa.

Your ever loving Daddy.

She saw there was a pen and paper for her to send a reply. No doubt reading her father's letter and then replying would cost her a fortnight. But as if she cared! She spent an hour thinking what to say and then made up her mind and scribbled away, just about filling up two sides before finishing. She put the reply, together with the governor's letter and her father's envelope on the tray. Then she slept.

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John Griffiths slept well in the Governor’s comfortable guest room, but in dozing off he had more than a twinge of guilt as he pictured Lisa sinking onto a cold marble floor after sixteen long hours on her feet. The poor little girl! How could his sweet daughter ever have got herself into such a terrible mess? But he would get her out - and soon. He had spent the last nineteen years getting her out of one scrape or another, and he damned well wasn't going to fail her now!