The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2382 by Angharad Copyright© 2014 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

I was in my office talking with Pippa, Daddy’s secretary. “You actually think they want rid of you?”

“I’m something of an embarrassment to some of the old guard.”

She pushed the door closed, “Cathy, why d’you think that—you’ve lived and worked as a woman here for several years. You’re popular with staff and students alike, and one crusty old bloke loves you to absolute bits.”

“So why didn’t he support me then when that constipated cop was here.”

“Constipated?”

“Yeah, she looked like she really wanted to take a poo but it wouldn’t come so she came out here in the hope that the exercise would move things.”

“Did it?” asked Pippa smirking.

“How would I know? She did however make off at speed once she’d bullshitted all over us.”

“All I heard was she couldn’t find any forced entry so assumed I’d made a mistake.”

“I didn’t make a mistake.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

Pippa’s question stabbed me like a knife. “I am not yet as senile as some of the senior staff here. There is a protocol for having exam papers away from the central office, and that is they are locked in a secure cupboard or drawer and where possible in a locked room. I obeyed that protocol as I always do. If I go to the loo, I lock them away and lock my door.”

“Okay, okay I believe you.”

“But Tom doesn’t and that hurts.”

“He does actually and he’s doing his best to protect you.”

“Is he? I don’t know about that.”

“He is, he’s spoken to the dean saying that you always observe the protocol and like you he can’t explain the unlocked door and drawer.”

“It’s like something from a cheap detective story, including the cheap detective who appeared this morning.”

Pippa smirked. “If this wasn’t so serious, what you just said would be quite funny.”

“Look, the doors were locked, so someone has a key to the office door and my filing cabinet—we need to find out who has access to those keys and where they were lunch time.”

“The caretaker does, but he’s been here years. Why would he want to embarrass you?”

“I doubt it was him, but it could be his keys if he left them lying around. The door key, at any rate—like the cop said, the other key is a standard one you order by number.”

I got Pippa to take the exam papers back to her office, I was going early and would finish marking them tomorrow. She looked at me quizzically. “What’s Tom going to say?”

“Who cares?”

“You do, I hope.”

“I’m going to speak to some shops about getting a key cut.”

“Oh.”

The main places that cut keys are locksmiths, ironmongers and shoe repairers, who also do things like change watch batteries as well—I know, I’ve had my watch reheeled twice and new batteries put in my shoes.

This was shop number five, so far no luck.

“Can I help you, love?” Not the favourite greeting for an aristocrat’s wife.

“I hope so, a colleague had a key cut for a filing cabinet and she’s lost the receipt.”

“What sort of key?”

“She said she just quoted the number and you ordered it for her.”

“Like this one?” he pulled a blank key from the rack on the wall.

“Yes, like that,” I agreed when he showed it to me.

“If we ordered it we’ll have a receipt, hang on.” He left the counter and went into a cubbyhole that served as an office. “Have you got the key number?”

“Yes,” I handed him my bunch of keys. He wandered off again and returned with a ring binder.

“Here we are, second of June, a Mrs Vallance.”

“Is there any way I could get a copy of that receipt.”

“I can write you one.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than I explained and there could be a disciplinary involved, d’you have facilities to copy that page?”

“I could do it in the fax, I s’pose.”

“I’ll happily compensate you for your time.”

“It’s that important is it?”

“One of my colleague’s jobs could depend upon it.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” I echoed back to him.

He disappeared back to his cubbyhole and returned with a piece of paper. I offered a ten pound note and he placed it in his pocket handing me the sheet of paper. I checked it was as he said it was and placed it in my bag.

“Nice bag, goes with the Jaguar.”

“My husband thought so, he bought both of them.”

“Lucky Lady.”

“I think so.”

I left the shop and realised it was time to collect the girls. They happily came back to the university sucking their ice lollies as we entered the department and spoke with Pippa. I showed her the receipt.

“Who is Mrs Vallance?”

“Emma’s aunt.”

“Our Emma—the technician?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately the girls weren’t listening to our conversation or mention of Mrs Vallance could have sent Danielle out screaming. She was the social worker who abducted her if you will recall.

I asked Pippa to ask the caretaker if he’d loaned his keys to Emma. Instead she asked him to pop over.

I asked him if he’d seen Emma recently and he blushed. “Did she borrow your keys earlier?”

“Just for a few minutes, she said she needed something from her locker.”

“You don’t have a key for that, do you?”

“No, Dr Watts, but she said she needed to get into the lab.”

“But the labs have press button codes.”

“She said one of the store rooms.”

“Okay, so she borrowed your keys?”

“For five minutes that was all.”

“Thanks, Mr Wilkins.”

“She hasn’t done something wrong has she?”

“That’s to be decided.”

“You gonna suspend her again?”

“She’s still on suspension.”

“Oh. I made a bit of a mistake then?”

“Yes, but don’t worry about it, but if she should show up again please don’t let her in or loan her your keys or anything else.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

As he left so Tom returned from a meeting. “Whit’re ye daein’ here?”

“I still work here, remember?”

“Aye, I’m no that auld yet.”

“Cathy knows who opened her office,” beamed Pippa.

“Oh aye.”

“Tell him, Sherlock.”

“Emma.”

“Hoo?”

“She had a key cut or her aunt did for my filing cabinet and she borrowed the caretaker’s keys to open my door, she didn’t need to lock it again, that was the point, she left my doors unlocked which made me look careless. Given the university has disciplined staff for leaving exam papers unsecured when they left the room, she hoped it would get me suspended, only you prevented that, for which, thank you, Daddy.” I pecked him on the cheek and he blushed.

I showed him the receipt and he called the dean. While Pippa entertained the mouseketeers, I explained what I was fairly sure happened. He asked me to put it in writing the next day and thanked me for my detective work. He said that the caretaker would be cautioned about security. I pointed out he needed to be told when staff, joined, left or were suspended. He agreed.

When Simon got home I told him what had happened. “Have you spoken with Jason?”

“No, I wanted to discuss it with you.”

He immediately called Jason who told him to ask me to send a copy of the receipt and my investigation report to him which he would then forward to the judge dealing with our case, he’d also copy it to the CPS, though it was probably too late to withdraw the conciliation meeting.

“He says you’re a clever woman and he’s glad you’re both on the same side.”

“So am I, though I suspect Mrs Vallance and friends might regret it.”

“Tough titty.” Simon has such erudition and orator skills.