Two uniformed warders followed him. There was a faint smell of urine mingled with the smell of cooking – was it boiled cabbage or something else? Merlin was happy for his mind to wander and think about anything other than what he was about to witness. The small party turned a corner and then climbed some stairs. At the top was another corridor, which they followed to its end. Faint early morning light permeated through a prison window high above them as they entered a room on the left. Merlin couldn’t understand why he had agreed to do this. He’d been dog-tired at the end of a long day and he just hadn’t been able to resist the Assistant Commissioner’s browbeating – “Of course you should be present, Frank. You were the chief investigating police officer and you brought this disgusting man to justice. I think you owe it to the victims to see the penalty being paid, not to mention to yourself – after all, the man did shoot you!” Merlin couldn’t see how the dead victims could feel any better for his attendance in Wormwood Scrubs this morning and he himself had no particular desire for personal revenge, but there he was.
