The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3003 by Angharad Copyright© 2016 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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The arrival of the boys in blue to collect the damaged drone broke up the party at the gates and most of the press decided to clear off, probably to the nearest pub. While I was talking to the enforcers of her Majesty’s law, Danielle was leafing through the newspapers. Suddenly there was a loud squeal and I excused myself to discover the source of said noise. It was Danielle and she was holding a newspaper and shaking.

“What’s the matter, sweetie?”

“This article about me.”

“What about it?”

“It quotes Brendan Crossman.”

“Who’s he?”

“The overall manager of the England teams, he says he thinks I was good enough to have gone to Rio with the GB ladies team but the other countries managers didn’t know enough about me to agree with him.”

“No sweetheart, but next time they’ll all know you as one of the best women soccer players in the world, won’t they?”

“I’ll be eighteen by then, I might be at university.”

“I doubt that will be too much of a problem because the games are usually in July, the students finish in May in some universities.”

“May?”

“Yeah, end of, mainly Oxbridge. They have a shorter academic year than we peasants in the sticks.”

“Is that because they’re cleverer?”

“Possibly but it also gives the academic there opportunity to push their latest book in time for the summer holidays.”

“Why don’t you do that then?”

“Actually I am this year, we’re doing one of the harvest mouse, the publisher is looking through the film for suitable photographs to illustrate it.”

“It’s such a little animal, will it be a little book?”

“About a hundred and fifty pages with the photos, the BBC are doing it. They’ll reshow the film when it’s published because they get a percentage on the books.”

“How much?”

“A third I think, Erin drove a hard bargain on it. I get a third and Alan gets a sixth, the rest goes towards the costs.”

“How much will the book be?”

“Fifteen pounds I think.”

“I’ll buy a copy.”

I hugged her and kissed her. “I’ll get you one at discount price—how’s that?”

We both chuckled for a moment before I went to see the police off. They’d been suitably impressed by Danielle’s goal, then Trish’s idea of the bag to catch the drone and finally, Danni’s flying of her chopper to capture the bigger drone. I didn’t tell them what else Trish had done as it’s probably illegal—mind you, at this stage we knew nothing about the drone ending up on the cathedral roof. So it was just as well we kept quiet. I work on the basis of, ‘tell them what they want to know or need to know.’ Only that, nothing else.

Danielle followed me out to the kitchen to grab another cup of tea. I took my chance to ask her about her love life. “What’s this I hear about you with a boyfriend?”

She blushed so red I could feel the heat coming off her face. I suspect it may have warmed the water quicker than the kettle. “Who’s been blabbing, bloody Trish, I’ll bet.”

“Nobody in particular, but we’ve all noticed a change in you, especially when you go off early by yourself for training and come back later than usual.”

“So?”

“So I deduce you have a liaison with someone other than your team mates.”

“Sherlock bloody Holmes.”

I smirked. “At your service, madam.” I made a mock bow to her. She blushed some more. “So what’s his name?”

“You’re the detective—find out.”

“You mean you really want me poking about in all your business?”

“No, course not,” she blushed again and looked indignant.

“I could always use the human bloodhound.”

“What, Trish?”

I smirked and nodded.

“Alright, his name is John, all right?”

“Is he a good kisser?”

“Muuum,” she wailed and blushed some more before scooping up all the papers and rushing off to her room with them.

“Cut them out carefully and put them in your scrapbook,” I called after her.

David arrived to do lunch and dinner. “What was all the hullabaloo out in the drive this morning?”

“We had a minor press invasion and someone sent over a drone with a camera on it. Between them Danni and Trish brought it down and when the police came to sort it out, they dispersed the crowd of the press.”

“Always thought it was the corps du press.”

“Corpse, what a lovely thought—pickled in formaldehyde of course.”

“Oh yes, that would be lovely.”

“I wonder if all transgender people dislike the press?” I said thinking aloud.

“Except that bloody Jenner character, she lives off them like some sort of vampire.”

“I think that sums it up succinctly.” I made the teas for Danni and me and one for David as well. I took mine to my study and then Danielle’s up to her room where she was busy cutting out and pasting in a very large scrapbook. Si got it for her on the internet and it’s big enough to take a whole tabloid sized page on one of its pages, or a broadsheet one across two of them. I hope it won’t make her too self absorbed.

It took her an hour to cut and paste everything and then she came down and dumped everything in the recycling bin. Lots of people around Portsmouth don’t recycle but because we have such a houseful, we tend to do so as much as possible but probably only because it’s rumoured a professor of ecology lives nearby.

So she has a boyfriend; I’ll need to play the heavy and remind her if they’re doing anything, we all know she can’t get pregnant but she can catch some very unpleasant and possibly fatal diseases. Besides which at fourteen she shouldn’t be doing it at all with anyone. She’ll hit the roof just as I would have done had my mother tried to lay down the law to me.

She was heading back up to her room when I called her to come into the study. “More detective work is it?” she said pouting at me.

“Possibly. Is this John older than you?”

“He might be, what difference does that make?”

“Quite a lot. Does he know how old you are?”

“Dunno and don’t care.”

“Just remember if he does anything sexual with you I can have him arrested because you’re still a minor.”

“As if...”

“As you’re not telling me, I have to work on worst case scenario. Now I’m stating quite categorically, you are too young to have sex but I shall buy you some condoms just in case it happens despite your best intentions. You are not to show him you have them or he’ll think I’m saying it’s all right, because I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying you have to wait for until you’re at least sixteen, preferably older.”

Blushing possibly more with anger than embarrassment, she asked simply, “Finished?” and when I nodded she stormed back up to her room and slammed the door.