Chapter 10 Chapter 10 The Warden

"The governess is leaving tomorrow," said Warden Brannigan to his wife. Sue Eileen Brannigan looked up in surprise. "Why? Don't Judy and Amy get along very well?" "I know, but her sentence is over and she will be released tomorrow morning." They were having breakfast in the comfortable villa-style residence that compensated Brannigan for his career as warden.Other perks include being assigned a cook, a maid, a driver and a governess to look after his daughter Amy.Amy is almost five years old.The men who served them were all trusted prisoners.When Sue Eileen Brannigan first arrived here five years ago, she was uneasy about living near a prison.What worried her even more was that all the servants in the room were convicted criminals.

"How do you know they won't come to our house in the middle of the night to rob and kill people?" she asked. "If they were that kind of people," said Warden Brannigan, "I'd put a mark on their case." He convinced his wife, but she didn't quite believe his words.But it turns out that her doubts were unfounded.Those trusted prisoners are eager to win the favor of the warden and strive for the shortest possible sentence, so they are very disciplined. "I'm just beginning to feel comfortable leaving Amy in Judy's care," complained Mrs. Brannigan.She wished Judy well, but was unwilling to let her go.Who knows what kind of woman Amy's next governess will be!There are too many horrific stories about how strangers mutilate children.

"Have you figured out who will replace Judy, George?" The warden has thought about this matter carefully.A dozen well-behaved prisoners would have been good candidates for his daughter's governess, but he couldn't forget Tracy Whitney.Her case had somehow been deeply disturbing to him.A criminologist with fifteen years' experience, he confidently considered one of his specialties to be the ability to accurately estimate prisoners.Some of the prisoners under his control are ruthless criminals, while others commit crimes and go to prison because of emotional impulse or temporary temptation.However, according to Warden Brannigan, Tracy Whitney does not belong to these two types.Her plea of ​​innocence did not sway him, as all convicted prisoners reacted.The warden is worried about those who put Tracy Whitney in jail.The post of prison superintendent is appointed by a municipal council under the leadership of the Governor.Although the warden would never want to get involved in a political struggle, he knew the political players well.Joe Romano is a member of the underworld and Anthony Wusardi's goon.Perry Pope was Tracy Whitney's defense attorney and received a stipend from them, as did Judge Henry Lawrence.Tracy Whitney's conviction is highly doubtful.

Now Warden Brannigan has made his decision.He said to his wife: "Yes, I have already thought about who will replace Judy." A recessed space in the kitchen, with a vinyl-covered dining table and four chairs, was the only corner that could be left undisturbed for a while.During a ten-minute break, Ernestine and Tracy sat drinking coffee. "Now tell me why you are in such a hurry to get out," said Ernestine. Tracy hesitated.Can Ernestine be trusted?Had to take a chance. "Someone has rigged our family and myself. I'm going out to settle accounts with them." "Really? What did they do?"

Tracy answered every single word—every word was filled with pain: "They killed my mother." "Who are they?" "You wouldn't know if I told you. Joe Romano, Perry Pope, a judge named Henry Lawrence, Antony Wusardy..." Ernestine stared at her dumbfounded. "My God! Are you kidding me, girl?" Tracy was very surprised. "Have you heard of them?" "I heard! Who knows their names? In New Orleans, what can be done without Wuzadi and Romano nodding? You must never mess with them. This kind of person can twist you with one finger." die."

Tracy said grimly, "They've strangled me once." Ernestine looked around for someone to overhear. "You're either crazy or ridiculously stupid. Those people are untouchable!" She shook her head. "Don't make such an idea, it's early!" "No, I've made up my mind. I must get out. Is there any way?" Ernestine was silent for a long time.Finally she said, "Let's talk in the courtyard." They were alone in a corner of the yard. "Twelve people escaped from here," Ernestine said. "Two were shot dead on the spot, and ten were caught and brought back." Tracy said nothing. "There are guards on the watchtower twenty-four hours a day with machine guns. The guards are ruthless. If anyone runs away, the guards are fired, so as soon as they find someone who is running away, they shoot her. Kill. There's barbed wire all around the prison, and if you walk through the wire and escape the machine gun fire, they'll send police dogs after them. Those dogs can smell mosquito farts. There's a National Guard barracks a few miles away Well, they'll send out helicopters with machine guns and searchlights to track down the fugitives. It doesn't matter if they're dead or alive as long as they get them, girl. They think it's better if they kill them, and no one else dares to try to escape gone."

"There's always someone who won't give up," Tracy said stubbornly. "Those who escaped had friends outside to help—smuggled guns, money, and clothes into the prison. Cars were waiting outside to take them away." She paused for a moment. "They were finally caught." "They can't catch me," Tracy said firmly. A female guard came up and called to Tracy, "Head Brannigan wants you to go. Run." "We're looking for someone to take care of our little girl," Warden Brannigan said. "This is a voluntary job, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to do it."

Find someone to babysit our little girl.Tracy thought nervously.This may be more conducive to escape.Working at the prison warden's home may give you a better understanding of the structure and environment of the prison. "Okay," Tracy said, "I'd like to go." George Brannigan was delighted.He had an odd, inexplicable feeling, as if he owed the woman something. "Okay, you can earn sixty cents an hour for this job, and deposit this money into your account at the end of each month." Prisoners are not allowed to have cash and all savings will be returned upon release.

I don't have to wait until the end of the month to escape, Tracy thought, but she kept saying, "That's good." "Starting tomorrow morning. The warden will contact you further." "Thank you, Warden." He looked at Tracy, wanted to say something more, but didn't know what to say.He simply said, "That's it." Tracy broke the news to Ernestine.The black woman thought about it and said, "This shows that they have begun to trust you. You will be able to get acquainted with the prison in the future, and it may be more convenient for you to escape."

"How do I escape?" Tracy asked. "There are three ways, but they are all dangerous. The first way is to sneak out. Stick the cell and passage doors with chewing gum at night. After sneaking into the yard, throw a blanket over the wall to cover the barbed wire wall to escape." Tracy could imagine how police dogs and helicopters followed, how bullets fired by guards penetrated her body.She couldn't help shaking. "What about the other two ways?" "The second way is to break out. Take a gun and take a hostage. If they get you, they'll throw you a two-dot tail." She saw Tracy's confused expression. "It is to give you an additional sentence of two to five years."

"What about the third way?" "Get out. Trusted prisoners can use this method when they are on business. When you get out, girl, take the opportunity to escape." Tracy thought about it.No money, no car to pick up, no place to hide, how could she escape. "The next roll call they will find out I'm not there, and they'll send someone after me." Ernestine sighed. "There's no perfect way, girl. So no one ever manages to get out of this place." I'm going to get out, Tracy swore to herself. The morning Tracy was sent to the Brannigans' house coincided with her fifth month in prison.Before meeting the warden's wife and daughter, she was nervous because she desperately wanted the job.This is a key to freedom. Tracy went into the large and beautiful kitchen and sat down.She could feel sweat dripping from her armpits.A woman in a pale rose-coloured slack appeared at the door. She said, "Good morning." "Good morning." The woman was about to sit down, but suddenly changed her mind and remained standing.Sue Eileen Brannigan was a pleasant-looking, fair-haired woman in her mid-thirties who looked a little restless.She is thin and sensitive, and she doesn't know how to treat these criminal servants.Should I thank them, or just assign them work?Should they be nice and friendly, or should they be treated like criminals?Sue Eileen was not used to the thought of living among drug addicts, thieves, and murderers. "I'm Mrs. Brannigan," she said. "Amy's turning five. You know kids can be naughty at that age. I don't think she can live without people." She glanced at Tracy's left hand.No wedding ring, but wearing a ring now means nothing.Especially the lower classes, Sue Eileen thought.After a pause, she asked without showing any trace, "Do you have any children?" Tracy thought of the unborn baby. "No." "Oh." Xiu Erin couldn't understand this young woman.She didn't conform to my pre-imagined at all, and she was quite elegant. "I'll bring Amy." She hurried out the door. Tracy looked around, it was a fairly spacious small villa, and the furnishings in the room were neat and elegant.Tracy didn't seem to have been in anyone's house in years.Home is something of another world, a world beyond the walls. Sue Eileen came in leading a little girl by the hand. "Amy, this is..." Should a prisoner be called by his first or last name?She took a compromise approach: "This is Tracy Whitney." "Hello," Amy said.She was as thin as her mother, and she had quick hazel eyes, set deep in their sockets.She wasn't pretty, but her bright, friendly manner was pleasing. I can't like her. "Are you going to be my new nanny?" "Uh, I'm going to help your mother look after you." "Judy's out on bail, you know? You're out on bail too?" No way, Tracy thought.She said, "Amy, I'm going to be here a long time." "That's great," said Sue Irene happily.She blushed in embarrassment and bit her lip. "I mean..." She paced the kitchen, handing Tracy an assignment. "You eat with Amy, you cook her breakfast, you play with her in the morning. The cook cooks lunch here. Amy sleeps after lunch, and she likes to take a walk around the farm in the afternoon. I think the kids can see How crops and flowers grow is very beneficial, what do you think?" "yes." The farm is on the other side of the main prison area. It is a 20-acre area where trusted prisoners grow vegetables and fruit trees.There is a large artificial lake for irrigation, surrounded by a stone embankment. For the next five days Tracy lived almost a new life.She should have been grateful to have escaped from her miserable prison walls, to be free to walk around the farm and breathe the fresh country air, but all she wanted was to escape.After taking care of Amy, she has to go back to the prison to report for duty.Every night she is locked in a cell, but during the day she lives in fantasy freedom.After breakfast in prison, she went to the warden's villa to make breakfast for Amy.Tracy learned a lot of cooking techniques from Charles, and she was very interested in the various foods that filled the shelves in the warden's kitchen, but Amy preferred a simple breakfast—oatmeal or cereal with fruit.After dinner, Tracy took the little girl to play, or read to her.Tracy began to unknowingly teach Amy the games her mother had played with her as a child. Amy likes to play with puppets.Tracy wanted to use the warden's old socks to make a "Kupp the Sheep" like Sally Lewis (American funny puppeteer), but it looked like a monster born of a cross between a fox and a duck.Amy boasted sincerely: "It's so beautiful." Tracy let the doll speak with various accents from France, Italy, Germany and other countries, and Amy's favorite is Polita's Mexican accent.Tracy looked at the child's happy smiling face, but thought in her heart: I can't like her.This board was just a springboard for my jailbreak. When Amy woke up from her nap, Tracy went for long walks with her.Every time Tracy took her to places in the prison area she had never seen before.She scrutinized each entrance and exit, noting how the guards manned the watchtower and how often they changed.Neither the escape plan she nor Ernestine had envisioned was going to work. "Did anyone manage to get out in a delivery truck to the prison? I've seen milk and groceries..." "Don't think about it," Ernestine categorically rejected her idea, "every car that enters or exits the prison gate will be searched." Over dinner one morning Amy said, "Tracey, I like you. You'll be my mother, okay?" The question made Tracy feel a twinge of anxiety. "One mother is enough, you don't need two mothers." "I want two mums. My friend Sally Ann's dad is married again. Sally Ann has two mums." "You're not Sally Ann," Tracy interrupted curtly. "Finish the meal." Amy looked at her aggrieved. "I don't want to eat." "Okay, let me read to you." Tracy felt Amy's soft little hand touch hers as she read. "Can I sit on your lap?" "No." Let your family love you, Tracy thought.You don't belong to me, I have nothing. The ease of life outside the cell during the day makes the night even harder.Tracy didn't want to go back to her cell, didn't want to be locked in a cage like a beast.She was still not used to hearing the screams from neighboring cells in the unforgiving night.She clenched her teeth until her jaw stiffened.Staying up night after night, she told herself, can always survive. She slept very little because she had been nervously thinking about her escape plan.The first step is to jailbreak.The second move was to deal with Joe Romano, Perry Pope, Judge Henry Lawrence, and Anthony Wusardi.The third step is to settle accounts with Charles, but that is a painful step, and I dare not even think about it now.There will always be a way, she thought. Tracy found it increasingly difficult to avoid Big Bertha.She decided that the Swedish giantess must have someone watching her.Tracy went into the recreation room, and Bertha would be there in a few minutes, and if Tracy went out into the yard, Bertha would follow in a moment. Bertha came up to Tracy one day and said, "You look beautiful today, little girl. I can't wait to see you again." "Go away," Tracy warned. The big woman grinned. "So what if you don't go away? Your black bitch is going out. I'm going to have them transfer you to my cell." Tracy stared at her. Bertha nodded and said, "I can do it, darling. Don't lie." Tracy knew she didn't have much time left.She must escape before Ernestine is released. Amy likes walking on the grass best.The meadows are dotted with colorful wildflowers.The huge artificial lake is on the left. The lake is surrounded by short stone embankments. The side of the embankment facing the water is high and the lake is very deep. "Let's go swimming," Amy demanded, "Tracey, will you?" "You can't swim there," Tracy said. "The water in the lake is for irrigation." She shuddered at the sight of the cold, austere water. The father took her on his shoulders and walked into the sea.She began to cry, and my father said, Don't be afraid, Tracy.He threw her into the cold water above her head, and she panicked, suffocating... Although it was expected, Tracy was still shocked when she actually heard the news. "I'm getting out next Saturday," Ernestine said. Hearing this, Tracy's heart turned cold.She hadn't told Ernestine about her conversation with Big Bertha.There was nothing Ernestine could do to help her.Bertha might be capable enough to get Tracy to live in her cell.Tracy's only recourse was to talk to the warden, but she knew that if she did that, she would die because all the prisoners in the cell would turn on her.You have to fight, you have to be a man, or you have to get out.Yes, she wants to find a way to escape. She and Ernestine discussed the escape plan again, and neither could come up with a satisfactory solution. "You don't have a car, and there is no one to answer you outside. You will definitely be caught, and that will be miserable. It's better to squat here in peace until your sentence expires." Tracy knew, however, that with Big Bertha here, she couldn't go to prison safely.Thinking of the big "cow" made Tracy shudder. On Saturday morning, there were seven days until Ernestine's release from prison.Show Eileen Brannigan takes Amy to New Orleans for the weekend while Tracy works in the prison kitchen. "How's babysitting?" Ernestine asked. "fine." "I've seen that little girl. She's pretty cute." "She's fine," Tracy said flatly. "Of course I'd be glad to be out. I'll tell you, I'm never coming back here again. If Allie and I can do anything for you..." "Coming." A man's voice called. Tracy turned her head away.A laundryman pushes a large cart piled high with dirty uniforms and laundry waiting to be washed.Tracy was surprised to see him push the cart toward the door. "I just said that if Allie and I were out there, I could do something for you - like - send you something, or..." "Ernie, why did the laundry cart get here? Doesn't the prison have its own laundry room?" "Oh, there are guards' clothes in the trolley," Ernestine smiled. "They sent the uniforms to the laundry room in the prison to be washed, but after washing, the buttons fell off somehow, and the sleeves were torn. Cursing words are embroidered on the inside of the dress, the shirt has shrunk, and the material has been torn inexplicably. It's outrageous, isn't it, Miss Scarlett? The guards now have to send the clothes to The laundromat out there." Ernestine was amused, imitating Bart Frey McQueen's tone . Tracy couldn't listen to her anymore.She thought of a way to escape.