Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2016 13:39:14 +0100 From: Rick Masters Subject: Juvenile Detention 16 JUVENILE DETENTION Chapter 16 – The Investigation Continues Before leaving the Solitary Confinement Block Steven and Gladys managed to interview the other two inmates from Bravo block who had gone to Josh's assistance. Both of their accounts confirmed what Andy and Chris had reported, and when Gladys put the question of the risk they took to go to Josh's aid they got largely the same answer, with one slight difference. "It was Andy Seymour who called to us to help. In Bravo that is not a request; it is an order." Steven and Gladys left the Solitary Block and returned to Steven's office, where Gladys immediately started to type up the notes from the day's interviews. While she was doing that Steven got on the phone to Officer John Makepeace, second in charge of the Academy, who heads up the disciplinary process. In a case as serious as the one Steven was investigating, Makepeace would decide the level of punishment for all involved. Steven explained that he had finished interviewing all the inmates from Bravo block and gave his opinion on the part each one had played in the incident. As much as he would have liked to, Steven did not try to cover anything up or soften the facts. Neither did he suggest any leniency towards those who had gone to help defend an individual being attacked by a gang. "Thank you for that information, Steven. I plan to hold a disciplinary hearing for the Bravo group towards the end of the afternoon today. Will you be able to be present and give your evidence at that hearing?" Makepeace asked. "There is some evidence that has been shared with me that I need to keep under the hat at this stage. Until I can see clearly where this investigation leads us, I need to be very careful. But I believe I can be available to attend and speak on what I can from about four o'clock onwards." "Yes, of course I understand your need to be circumspect. We will schedule the hearings to start at sixteen hundred then in the solitary block." With that Makepeace closed the conversation and hung up his phone. Steven relayed the gist of his conversation to Gladys, and the two of them had a short discussion on what information they thought could be released at the hearing and what they thought should still be kept under wraps. "Well, I hope it is enough to show that these guys had not planned any of this and acted on the spur of the moment without thinking, because they knew their mate was in trouble and suffering at the hands of a gang and that will be enough to get them sprung from solitary," Steven said. As a general rule Steven was not in favour of using solitary confinement as a means of punishment, because he did not believe that it played any part in rehabilitating the inmates who experienced it. However he could see the value in it as a deterrent to bad behaviour while still incarcerated. They then worked out the order in which they would like to interview the Charlie block inmates who were in solitary, which they had planned for the next morning. To fill the time remaining until the disciplinary hearings, Steven began to read through the transcripts that Gladys had already typed up and printed off. When he had finished reading the interview with Josh, Steven was even more impressed with Gladys, as she had virtually recorded their whole conversation perfectly. There were a couple of minor changes that Steven asked Gladys to make, but nothing that actually changed the import of the evidence gained from the interview with Josh. The same applied to the rest of the transcripts, and this gave Steven an increased confidence in the ability of Gladys to be a real help in the investigation. Steven asked Gladys to attend the disciplinary hearings with him, just in case they learned of some other facts which had been missed or omitted during their earlier interviews. Because of the serious nature of the incident leading to the disciplinary hearings, Officer Makepeace had decided to chair them himself. The line of questioning for each of the four inmates followed virtually the same pattern as Steven's and Gladys's earlier interviews. The one question on which all of their fate really hung was why they had got involved personally and not called an officer to stop the attack. Both Andy and Chris answered that they were closer to the scene than any officer and knew that Josh did not stand a chance against a gang of guys experienced in street fighting. Andy also told the hearing that he had been given the responsibility of looking after Josh and explicitly his physical wellbeing by more than one officer, so he felt a compulsion to get involved and also use his authority as the cell block leader to call in the others to assist. Andy was hoping that answer would give the officers a reason to excuse the other three for their involvement and get them out of solitary even if he was given more time. When asked which officers had given Andy this unusual responsibility Andy had hesitated and given Steven a chance to intervene. "I am one of those officers and maybe Mr. Seymour feels that he is not at liberty to reveal the names of the other officers without first gaining their permission. I gave both Mr. Seymour and Mr. Jones, as leaders of the cell block and as cell mates of Mr. Tolmers, that instruction because I could see right from the start that Mr. Tolmers was at a great disadvantage. He clearly has had no experience in the way of criminal activities, and as such he would become the prey of other less caring members of our occupancy," Steven told the hearing. "I see. Thank you, Officer Steven, for enlightening us. Mr. Seymour, do you know if the reason Officer Steven has given for putting this responsibility on you is the same reason the other officers have done so?" Makepeace asked. "I do not know for sure but believe it could well be. I believe Mr. Tolmers was not given a fair trial and has been sent here in error. He definitely is not the same as any of the rest of us," Andy answered. Makepeace told each of the four Bravo block boys that they would spend the next night in solitary as they could not get through all the disciplinary hearings until the investigation team had interviewed the other ones in solitary also and they had had their hearings. He also explained that his team could not make a decision until they had heard all the boys' testimonies and would only then make a ruling. Clearly Officer Succum and other like-minded officers on the night shift would be making some visits to the Solitary wing that night. The hearings for the four inmates from Bravo were concluded just before it was time for a shift change, but Gladys said she would stay and type up all the notes she had taken from the hearings before she left to go home. Steven, having had a late night the previous evening, decided he would look at Gladys' transcripts the next day and after one other call would go home. Steven's one call was to check on how Josh was doing. On his way in he checked in with the medic to learn how he felt Josh was doing and then went on through to where Josh was propped up in bed trying to eat an early dinner with only one hand. Even though the medic had cut his food up for him, Josh was still struggling and Steven offered to help him by holding the knife on the plate so that Josh had something to push against to get the food onto his fork. "Officer Steven, do you think that while you hold the knife you will be able to multi-task and answer my question?" Steven saw a mischievous glint in Josh's eyes and burst out laughing. "Josh Tolmers, you are going to get yourself into trouble with that sort of approach. Do you think you can chew and listen at the same time?" "Of course, and if I get any crunchy bits I will just ask you to repeat what you said," came a very quick retort. "But don't try to skip answering the question, because I am going to keep at it till I get the answer." "You really do want to know the answer, don't you? Well the truth is that I am bi with more of a leaning to straight than gay. I am married with two great children and I keep myself faithful to my wife even with the opportunities I have available to me in here. However, that does not mean that I don't enjoy looking at you guys naked and smooth. So many of you who come in past me in that room where you get stripped and shaved have really nice bodies and great packages. But you are the first one that has ever made me feel that maybe I could be unfaithful just once. It is a great struggle with me and I am going to ask you to try not to tempt me. There! I have been honest with you; please respect that and keep this information to yourself." Steven had looked down at his hand resting in his lap when he told Josh his answer and now looking up he saw that Josh had tears in his eyes which made them glisten. "I am sorry, Officer Steven. I should never have held you to tell me that, and I promise you that I will not tell another person. I also won't try to tempt you in any way, and if you find that there is something I do that is tempting you, then please tell me so that I can stop doing it." "Actually I think you would have to stop breathing for that to happen and I definitely don't want that. Just be yourself and I will have to cope with it the best I can. Anyway, I need to get off back home to my family now. Is there anything you need?" "You mean apart from you as my father? No, I don't think so." "I would be honoured to have you as my son. When this is all over we will have to see what we can do," Steven said and quickly left before Josh could see how he had moved Steven by suggesting he would like him as a father. His emotions remained in turmoil for the entire journey home, and when he got there his wife immediately picked up on it and asked him what was up. Fortunately Steven had never kept his bi-sexuality from his wife and he related to her the conversation he had had with Josh. "I don't know what it is about this young guy that has got so under my skin, and to know that he has suffered this because other people have let him down by not doing their job properly just upsets me so much. I mean we have had him for less time than his defence and the remand guys had and already we can see that he is not like the rest. Even the other inmates know that he is not a criminal. It is just so unfair!" Steven almost spat those last five words out. Abigail slid closer to him and put her arms around her husband. "I only know this boy through what you have told me about him and I also feel for him, so I know you must be feeling it even more. You are a good man, Steven Chambers, and this is why you feel the way you do. I know you are too busy with the investigation to do anything more, so just get me the names of those two who transported Josh to the Academy and I will get in touch with them and try and find out what I can and maybe egg them on to do a bit more. With the investigation you must have access to his whole file, so you should be able to find out that information for me and let me see if I can do anything to help you both." "Thank you, my sweetest. Now I guess I had better go and give our two delights some attention or I might be in trouble there," Steven told his wife, giving her a kiss and feeling much better. Abigail, on the other hand, was more unsettled. She had never seen her husband affected in this way by one of the inmates, which is why she offered to get involved. She realised that Steven was attracted to Josh, but she was not worried about that because she trusted Steven to keep that attraction under control. But she also knew that to help him help Josh was one way that he would be able to maintain the control he had exercised since they had started dating and which had kept him faithful to her from before they had become intimate with each other. That night after they had got their two children settled in bed they had one of their best times of love making since their wedding night some ten years ago. The next morning Steven again called on Josh to see how he had coped with the night to find the medic helping him to put his overalls on. "Mr. Tolmers has a fever and his wound does not look good, so we are taking him back to the hospital. Chief Craven has told me to accompany him and said I could use my discretion on the employment of handcuffs," the medic told him. "You will not need handcuffs even if you have to leave him alone to go for a pee or to make a phone call. You have my word on that." "Thank you. Mr. Tolmers, what do you have to say about that?" "Officer Steven is right. I am not going to do anything to risk spending any longer here than my sentence calls for. The sooner I get out the sooner I start getting some justice. I won't try to run away, I promise you. There is something much more important to me than that." "How were they so blind to not be able to see that in you? I agree there are some that have something to answer for in your case and I hope you are successful. Mr. Tolmers has told me his story and his resolve and I believe it," the medic, Officer Simon, explained to Steven. "I wish I could come with you, Mr. Tolmers, but I have to do the investigation and get the information quickly before it gets muddied by poor memories or exaggerated by overactive imaginations." "It's okay, Officer Steven, Officer Simon will do what is needed." With both officers helping, Josh was soon in his overalls as far as they would go and was supported as he walked to the prison car that would take both him and Officer Simon to the hospital. Steven left them at the car and made his way to his office, where he found Gladys already hard at work. Steven fired up his computer and noticed he had a load of emails. He opened the first and when he saw that it was from an officer who had no connection with the incident he closed it and moved on to the next. Any where the author admitted some connection, however tenuous, Steven forwarded to Gladys so that she could also read them. One email in particular caught his attention, and after forwarding it on to Gladys he asked her to look at it as soon as it came through on to her PC. Steven then began to look at it again and read it through several times to make sure he was reading it with the right understanding. The email had come from a new officer, who like Gladys was still in training, and who was assigned to Charlie Cell Block. If you are enjoying this story you might like to look at some more of it and other stories on http://www.storiesbygymnopedies.com Take a look and see what you think.