I felt a sudden pang: she looked like a woman in love and I found it hard to believe that she was having an affair with another man.
But, whether she was or not, if she was involved in the label-swapping scam, then she was risking her happiness for some easy money and her house of cards was about to come tumbling down.
Chapter 3: Bang to Rights
So Harry, my boss at Champers&Chocs, told me to show the reporter the packing room and give him some information about the business, because it would be good publicity, I told Emma, my best and, as it turned out, only friend. It was only my second phone call out since Id been sent to prison and it was good to unburden myself of the whole sorry story.
Id have rung her and told her everything the moment I was first arrested, had her husband, Des, not been back from his latest foreign contract. Hed turned into such a possessive control freak he even resented sharing Emma with her female friends.
And I suppose the reporter snooped? she said.
Yes, when I had to leave him for a few minutes to go to the office to answer an urgent phone call. The line was dead when I got there and I was so naïve, it never occurred to me that this Charlie Clancy had set up the call to distract me. As soon as I was out of sight, he somehow got into the back room, even though it was usually locked when Harry wasnt there, and photographed the crates of fake champagne.
I do wish youd told me about the fraud when you first found out about it, Tabby.
You had enough on your plate as it was, I said. And Id handed in my notice when I realised Harry hadnt stopped the fraud, so another couple of weeks and Id have been out of there.
It was a huge shock when I saw his secret film exposing the scam on that Dodgy Dealings programme, and there you were! And what was worse, Des was with me and he saw it, too.
I shuddered. I looked so shifty when the reporter asked me what went on in the back room and I replied that it was just an office It was clear I knew what was happening.
Maybe, but that doesnt mean you were implicated in it. I feel guilty for letting Des persuade me to go on a family break with him and Marco to St Lucia before the end of the trial, even though I was sure you would be found not guilty.
I thought so too, at first: I was just an employee, after all. But Harry tried to lay the blame for thinking up the scam on me and said wed been having an affair, then Kate stood up in court and backed his story up.
What a cow! Emma said.
I could still hear Kates voice as she stood there in the witness stand, all big, innocent baby-blue eyes, saying sadly, Oh, yes, Tabitha told me in confidence that shed thought up a way for Champers&Chocs to make some easy money, replacing the bottles of vintage champagne with cheap fakes. I told her it was illegal, but she just laughed and said no one would ever find out.
But none of that was true, Emma said stoutly.
No, but I could see the jury didnt believe me and I suppose it did look bad that I hadnt told the police, or handed in my notice as soon as I found out. Only, Harry had been kind to me in the past, letting me work hours that fitted in with caring for Mum and then offering me a per-manent job later.
I know, she said sympathetically. And things suddenly seemed to be going right for you, what with getting engaged to Jeremy and then your first solo exhibition.
Jeremy didnt believe I was innocent, even before Kate stood up there and lied through her teeth wed already had a big argument and Id moved back into the flat, I said. I was found guilty of involvement in the fraud and the judge said he was going to make an example of me and send me to prison, and though my solicitor had warned me the day before to pack a small bag just in case, it was still a huge shock when I got an eight-month custodial sentence.
I couldnt believe it when I got back from the holiday and found out you were in a prison in Cheshire! I wanted to visit you, but Des was still home and well, hes worse than ever. Wants to know what Im doing every minute of every day. But at least I managed to write to you and tell you when hed gone off again. Was the prison horrendous?
It passed in a bit of a blur, to be honest. I was totally stunned when I heard the sentence, though someone said to me, Youll be out by the spring, as I was led down to the cells below the court, which I think was meant to cheer me up. Prison especially over Christmas was like a strange nightmare I kept thinking Id wake up from. I was so scared that I retreated right into myself, but then in the New Year I got moved here, to the open prison.
Is it much better?
Yes, its in a lovely old building in the countryside, and though of course were still prisoners, with strict rules and regulations to obey, its more relaxed. Ive got a library job and help clear after dinner, too, so I keep myself occupied.
Perhaps youll be able to do your papercuts and collages again? she suggested.
I havent got any art materials with me and Im not sure even open prisons would be that keen on my having sharp craft knives, I said. Im only hoping the greetings card firms Ive sold designs to in the past didnt see that TV programme and realise it was me, so I can carry on working with them when I get out.
Probably not, Emma said optimistically. And even if they saw it, people arent that quick at putting two and two together.
Thats true, I said, feeling a slight flicker of hope.
Im afraid its too far away for me to come and visit, she said apologetically, though I hadnt expected her to, since her little boy, Marco, was only six and in addition to being a mum she was doing some supply teaching in the reception class at his infants school.
Its lovely just to talk to someone, I said. The only other person Ive rung is Jeremy, because I was desperate to know how Pye is. Even though the engagement was off, Id begged him to look after Pye if I got sent to prison and he said he would, though Im sure he didnt believe that would happen any more than I did.
So, how is Pye? You were so inseparable, you must be missing each other terribly.
I am, and Im so worried about him, Emma! I told her. The minute Jeremy heard my voice he put the phone down, and when I wrote he didnt answer, so I dont know whats happening.
Look, dont worry, Ill drive over there tomorrow after school with Marco and see how Pye is, she promised. I cant take him home with me, because Des would have a hissy fit when he gets back, but Ill make sure hes OK.
If you would, I said gratefully. Emma had only met Jeremy a couple of times, but she was less than twenty minutes drive away. Thank God Des was working abroad again and she was, for the moment, a relatively free agent.
Do you need anything? she asked. I could send it in a parcel if so?
That would be wonderful, because I seem to have packed all the wrong things. I need more clothes and maybe my sketchbooks
I told her what I needed and where they would be found.
Do you need anything? she asked. I could send it in a parcel if so?
That would be wonderful, because I seem to have packed all the wrong things. I need more clothes and maybe my sketchbooks
I told her what I needed and where they would be found.
What about money? she asked.
Im actually all right for cash, because when the solicitor warned me the night before the verdict that I might get a custodial sentence, I drew out a months rent for the flat to give to Jeremy and then forgot and wrote him a cheque, so Ive got quite a bit of credit for my phone calls and anything I need. On release, they deduct it from the money you brought in with you.
He was so mean, making you carry on paying rent for the flat after you got engaged!
He is a bit tight, but I spent quite a lot of time there working on my pictures. I was going to keep it on as my studio when we finally got married
If wed ever got married, because Jeremy had proved really reluctant to name a year, let alone a date!
I was on tenterhooks, wondering how Pye was and hoping for good news, but Emma sounded troubled when we spoke again.
Jeremy wasnt pleased to see me at all, and didnt even invite me and Marco into the house. And Im afraid Pye wasnt there, Tabby Jeremy said that he couldnt cope with the constant yowling after youd gone, so hed found him a good home, but he wouldnt tell me where, or who with.
Cold dread seized my heart, for not only did I adore Pye, but he was the last living link to my mother, who had also loved him.
You dont think hes just saying that and hes had him put to sleep?
No, Im sure he hasnt, she reassured me. When I told him he shouldnt have rehomed Pye without your permission, he said youd abandoned him by committing a crime, so it was your own fault, but I was to assure you the cat was perfectly all right.
I hope so and thank you for trying to find where he was, I said, but inwardly I was thinking of Pye my awkward, demanding, adorable Pye out there somewhere living with strangers Was he happy and safe? A slow tear slid coldly down my face.
The other thing is, Tabby, that your belongings werent in the flat any more, but in boxes piled at the back of the garage. Jeremy said since obviously you and he didnt have any kind of future together and your rent had run out, he was going to let the flat again. I cant believe how mean and horrible hes turned out to be!
I didnt feel that surprised after our final argument and anyway, it paled into insignificance compared with his arbitrary rehoming of Pye.
He let me go and rummage through the boxes and I found most of the things you wanted. He says hed be grateful if youd have them removed at the first opportunity, she added.
Hell have to wait then, because I cant do anything till I get out and even then Ill have nowhere to live, no job and a criminal record.
Jeremys such a pompous, self-satisfied prig, though I couldnt say so when you were in love with him. And I should know, because I married one myself, she said wearily.
Is Des being just as difficult? I asked sympathetically.
He gets worse every time he gets back from a contract and wants every second of my time accounted for. And the least thing that isnt quite the way he likes it, or the way his mother used to do it, and he flies right off the handle. Even when Marco was a toddler, he didnt have tantrums like that!
He isnt violent, is he?
No, its all verbal bullying. Id be straight out of there if he tried anything else. And I know I should stand up to him more, but I dont want Marco to hear us arguing all the time. I could do with your sharp tongue to cut him down to size occasionally.
My sarcastic tongue frequently gets me into trouble, I said ruefully. I dont think one or two of my smart answers to stupid questions went down well in court.
Emma was still following her own thoughts. Sometimes hes really sweet, just like he was when we were first going out. Its since he started working away on longer contracts that hes really changed. She sighed. It seems to me were both in prison, in a way.
Ill get out in a couple of months, if I dont blot my copybook.
And Des is going to be back for only a couple of days and then hes off for six weeks to Dubai, Emma said, then added, to my puzzlement, And thank you for not saying it.
What?
I told you so. Remember when Des and I decided to get married only a couple of months after we met and you suggested I didnt rush into it? I told you he was wonderful and I knew it was the right thing for me and Marco. But you were quite right.
Id worried that it was too soon after shed been widowed, even though I could understand her longing to be loved again and to give Marco a father. I hadnt been sure that Desmond was the right man for her, either.
Im a fine one to talk about making mistakes I didnt exactly choose wisely with Jeremy, did I? I pointed out.
Were both poor pickers, she agreed. Ill catch up with you whenever I can and when I cant phone you, Ill write.
That would be wonderful. I cant tell you how nice it is to get good, old-fashioned letters!
I wished Jeremy felt the same way about letters but, not unexpectedly, I had no answer to the one I wrote to him, telling him I would pay him back for storing my belongings when I was released and asking him to give me the name and address of Pyes new owners, so I could write to them, too, and make sure he was all right. Not getting a reply made me want to escape and go to find him but I knew if I did that Id be sent back to a stricter prison again and it would be even longer before we could be reunited. I had to bide my time and count the days until my release. But at least I now had a link to the outside world in Emma.
Until the happy day that I met Cedric Lathom, I think she was the only person in the whole wide world who was prepared to believe I was innocent.
Chapter 4: The Prisoners Friend
Ceddie, as he asked me to call him during his first visit, described himself as a Prisoners Friend but he was also, as it turned out, a Quaker Friend, too.
When it had been suggested to me that since I had no visitors of my own, I might like him to visit me, Id thought, well, why not?
This proved to be one of the best decisions Id ever made, because not only did it give me access to the visitors rooms in a small separate building, where I could indulge in coffee, hot chocolate, fruit juice and even biscuits, but Ceddie was the most wonderful person.
He was a tiny, elderly man with a pointed face, a mop of silvery curls and large, innocent grey-blue eyes though perhaps the word innocent implies a trusting simplicity, which he didnt have. It was more an unshakeable belief that there was inner good in everyone.
Over several visits I found myself pouring out my life story to him. Id never had a significant male figure in my life, father or grandfather, but if I had Id have wanted him to be just like Ceddie.