Part Forty Three   "Careless Talk Costs Lives"

 

Monday 9th March

"Now Miss Smart, I'm pleased you've finally found time to see me. In view of the policy regarding female students, do you wish for one of the other students to be with you?"

Tammy shook her head. "There's no need but I should say, Headmaster, that I'm sorry about last week; Friday and Saturday were hectic."

"That doesn't excuse you bringing a non-student into the refectory!"

"I understand, but she'd brought no lunch and wasn't offered any of the buffet."

"Then that's a problem that rests with the show organisers."

"It should, but I was also one of the organisers."

"A glorified gopher perhaps."

"Sir?"

"None of us actually had any command of the situation on Saturday, and if it weren't for the prefects agreeing to give up a free day we might have been in real trouble."

"I didn't see many of the masters around."

"There weren't any, they all went out for the day which meant we were below the legal requirement for adult supervision. Previously anyone staying at the cottage was added to the supervision total but that's currently empty and your house is outside the grounds."

"Does this happen often, Sir?"

"No, thankfully, and I have the joys of addressing a staff meeting this afternoon so school is excused last period."

"That wasn't announced at breakfast?"

"No, it will be put on noticeboards and announced at lunch. Please ensure the prefects know in advance."

"I will Sir."

"Now, what can you tell me about that girl you were with on Saturday?"

"She's Tanya Smith, eighteen and just finishing her Highers. She's hoping to take on a BA (Hons) in Child and Youth Studies from September but needs to find a placement. Her boyfriend and fiancé is John Hibbert."

"I see. Is she reliable?"

"Well, mostly, but she does work in her mother's salon so hears things and might repeat them."

"Hmmm."

"Why are you interested, Sir?"

"We decided at the Governors meeting on Wednesday last week to advertise for an intern to work with Mrs Small but they would have to cover night-time callouts, especially if we had any female boarders."

"I see."

"Mrs Small mentioned Miss Smith's name."

"I understand, would you like me to suggest Miss Smith applies?"

"Yes."

"Does the cottage come with the post?"

"It could."

"Is co-habitation with Mr Hibbert a problem?"

"No."

"I'll let her know."

"Good, thank you. Two other things, this trouble at the Vulcan place on Friday, how serious is it?"

"Very."

"Do you have that on good authority?"

"Yes."

"Whom?"

"I spoke to a Naval Intelligence Officer while I was at the base and to others when I reached home that evening."

"How concerned are they?"

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to say, Sir, I submitted a report and will let the authorities decide what to do next."

"Mr Fulton thinks you were wasting his time by going there."

"If it weren't for my presence, he wouldn't have been allowed to take the group in. When the problems started I was able to diffuse the situation safely for all concerned but had to suffer a little humiliation as a result."

"What can I tell Mr Fulton?"

"Preferably nothing, but you can say I'll withdraw from any future school trips so I can concentrate on my coursework."

"There aren't any more school trips for the sixth form this year."

"Then my statement is still valid, Sir."

"Fine, how much trouble could the school have been in?"

"Plenty."

"Worthy of newspaper articles?"

"Globally."

"That serious?"

"Yes."

The head shuffled some papers and made a note on one sheet.

"Now, on Friday we have some old boys coming here to talk to the lower sixth about careers. One of them has asked to see you."

"Who?"

"Mr David Brown, recently retired from the Home Office."

"I don't know the name."

"Anyway, can you be here for breakfast so to make an early start?"

"Of course."

"Thank you Miss Smart."

"Thank you Headmaster."

Tammy walked out and closed the door behind her. Somewhere in the middle of that chat she'd been told off twice but she was still happy. She was spotted by Janet Adams.

"How did it go on Saturday?"

"Very well, didn't you have a ticket?

"I gave mine to a friend, I'd planned a weekend in Dundee months ago."

"Sarah has a load of the collection in her shop."

"It's not really aimed at my age group, dear."

"You're as young as you feel?"

"Maybe," Janet noticed Tammy's nails which were now a very pale pink, almost no colour at all. "I take it you've seen the revised dress code?"

"No, but I was told off by a teacher on Friday for having bright lip gloss and then by someone else once I'd cleaned it off, so it's a no-win for me. I have no idea what the limits are."

"I'll get a copy, but it's for consultation only and hasn't come into effect yet."

"Oh, no-one mentioned that."

Janet took Tammy into her office and sat at her PC. A minute later she retrieved a document from her printer, Tammy scanned it quickly and decided to read it fully later.

"There should have been a copy of this in your and Angela's pigeon-holes? I sent them out on Friday morning."

"There wasn't anything waiting for me when I checked but I was on that trip to Vulcan, my only lesson that day was with Mr Wright after lunch, he was the one who raised it."

"He proposed the changes to the dress code but a decision was deferred to the next full meeting after the Easter break."

"So why did he act as if it was already part of the rules?"

"I don't know, but I don't suppose you want to challenge him?"

"Not directly, but I'll find a way! I best get up to the common room, there's a debrief for the prefects who worked the fashion show."

"Okay, if anything else comes out of meetings that affects you I'll make sure you get sent a copy, if I can."

"Thanks Janet, bye."

***

The debrief was odd, it was chaired by the Deputy Head Mr Thompson but he hadn't been at the event. Unfortunately for John Hibbert and James Hunter he had a copy of Richard Smart's report.

"Firstly James, why did you leave your position?"

"I was desperate for a wee, Sir."

"Then you should have arranged cover using one of the nearby boys, that would have stopped a rugby team walking into the hall bouncing their balls."

Tammy sniggered at the thought.

"I did not intend any double-entendres there Miss Smart."

Her sudden red glow would have heated the room.

"In any case Mr Smart managed to direct them towards the pavilion, after finding the Main Hall door-keeper engaged in tongue gymnastics with a girl."

The room fell apart, whilst John now had an unhealthy glow.

"What excuse do you have, Mr Hibbert?"

"She missed me, she is my fiancée."

"So much that you had to become a spectacle?"

"We were discrete, Sir."

"I suppose I should just be grateful that you didn't try anything more advanced? You're not doing Human Biology as an A level are you?"

John fled the room.

The meeting finished soon after, Tammy grabbed James.

"Can you go see if he's alright?"

"He'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure, can you just check please, James."

"Okay, Tammy."

She decided to go to the bathroom to freshen and, after reference to the draft dress code, applied a brighter lipstick and a deeper pink on her nails. All this took time so she fully expected John to be back in the common room when she returned.

"I couldn't find him."

"Where did you look, James?"

"The nearest loo, the library, the usual places."

"No-one's been to his room?"

"I was going to head there next."

"We're due in maths soon, let's see if John turns up there."

"Okay."

By the end of an hour with the maths tutor they had still not seen John. Mid morning break followed so James and Tammy went back to the common room expecting John to be there, except the room was empty. Angela arrived and queried the blank faces.

"John went missing after Mr Thompson upset him."

"I saw John outside, nearly an hour ago."

"Out the front?"

"Yes, he got into a taxi."

Tammy rushed down to Janet's office.

"Did you book a taxi for John Hibbert?"

"Yes, he said he had an appointment at the dentists."

"He didn't have an appointment, he's was upset by something a master said."

"Oh."

"Which taxi firm was it?"

"A-One cars."

"Can you check where they dropped him?"

Janet made the call, thankfully she was well known to the taxi controller so had no trouble getting the information.

"Olrig Street, by the bus stops."

"So he could have gone anywhere?"

Tammy had an idea. "I need to make a call, can I use the conference room?"

"Yes, the Head's not in his office either."

Tammy let herself in and called Heather's cottage number using her new secure mobile.

"Hi Tammy."

"Hi Sophie, I need a favour."

"No promises, but what is it?"

"A missing boy, I want to know where he's gone."

"This isn't a missing persons bureau you know, is he a boyfriend?"

"No, a dear friend. His fiancée is the one I mentioned in my report last night."

"Is this wise?"

"I'm worried he'll do something without thinking of the consequences."

"Sorry Tammy but this is not an emergency, try to work it out for yourself."

"So you can't help?"

"Tammy, there's an audit trail for every enquiry and I'd have to justify it in a week or a month's time. I cannot think of a valid justification this time.

"I understand, bye."

Tammy went back into the school secretary's office.

"I couldn't get the information I wanted, but Tanya's in school so my guess is that he'll have gone to the library; he knows Sandy Franklin, the library manager."

"I'll give her a call and check he's okay."

"If I had my driving licence, and brought my car in this morning, I could have driven down there."

"But you didn't, and it would be difficult for you to justify going off site."

"Errr, yes I suppose so."

Janet quickly called the library and confirmed John was indeed there. She told Sandy to put John in a taxi as soon as sensible and send him back up to us, mentioning that the school had an account with A-One.

"Now, Miss Smart, let me handle this. Hadn't you best get to your next lesson?"

"Yes, it's double English with Mr Wright."

"Enjoy!"

Tammy quickly updated James, saying that Janet Adams had found John at the library when she'd called Sandy. They walked into the English class and Tammy was instantly rounded on by Mr Wright, before she'd reached her seat. All eyes turned to watch.

"I told you on Friday, Miss Smart, that you shouldn't wear bright lipstick in school."

"I consider it strange that the consultation notice was missing from my pigeon-hole, Sir, so I had no idea what the proposed rules were especially as my input was apparently being sought by the Governors before their next meeting?"

Tammy was holding the sheet Janet had printed, she continued, "so nothing has changed, or will change before the next governing body meeting. I hope I've clarified that, Sir."

She sat down and retrieved her books from her bag.

The teacher paused. "Very well, see me after class Miss Smart." He clearly didn't want any further confrontation in full view of the other students.

The lesson proceeded, concentrating on one of the set books for the A level English Literature exam. Most lessons Tammy attended now were purely revision-orientated so the subject matter was known, thus ensuring that these two hours passed slowly. Finally the rest of the class shuffled out, heading for lunch.

Mr Wright was clearly not in a hurry and shuffled some papers whilst Tammy waited, expectantly.

"Now, Miss Smart ....." The door opened and Deputy head Mr Thompson was stood there.

"Ah, there you are Miss Smart, could you come with me please."

"Certainly Sir."

She quickly picked up her bag, nodded at the visibly annoyed English master and left the room with Mr Thompson. They went to Joan Small's office where Tammy found John Hibbert; they hugged.

"Now, Miss Smart, how did you know where Mr Hibbert was?"

"A lucky guess Sir? Mrs Franklin is involved in the theatre group we belong to and John would have had few places he could have gone to."

"Your logic is fine but you made a phone call and asked someone where he was. I was in the Head's office when you used the conference room."

"I didn't get the answer I wanted, Sir."

"Who is Sophie?"

"A friend."

"A friend who has access to mobile phone records?"

"Sir, you're placing me in a very difficult position as I may have privileged access to some information."

"Who is Sophie?"

"A counter terrorism officer working for MI5."

Plainly the teacher was expecting something else as he was stunned, then disbelieving.

"That's fantasy."

Joan interjected. "Mr Thompson, she's probably telling the truth. I haven't met Sophie but Tammy and her father have, she was with a Detective Inspector from New Scotland Yard at the time and offered Tammy her summer work experience. Tammy does indeed have access to things I can only usually see in James Bond films."

Tammy looked at Joan, angry that all this information had come out.

"Oh, and the Head is aware of much of this." Tammy tried to regain some respect. "Sir, isn't it important that John is safe and back at school, perhaps we should look at why he ran off in the first place?"

Joan nodded her agreement, Tammy continued.

"So far as the other thing is concerned, I'll ask if I can be provided with a stack of Non-Disclosure Agreements regarding my status, as any mention of this is likely to be damaging not just to me but to the school. All I want to do is finish my A Levels, complete my summer internship and go to university; that's my next six months mapped out. I don't need questions and inquiries and given the events I won't use my privileges to try to help anyone again. If necessary I'll forgo my internship." She tried to maintain a smile but it was faux.

"If it was down to me I would cancel the internship as it's plainly disruptive already but I see it wasn't organised by the school. I'll just have to speak to the Head to work out a suitable punishment."

"For trying to help?" Joan was confused.

"No, for using a mobile phone in school. In the meantime please hand over your phone."

Tammy reached into her bag and withdrew the phone that she'd bought just before Christmas, not the one delivered a few days earlier. She pretended to turn it off before handing it over.

"Thank you, you can collect it at the end of school and will hand it in each morning from now on. Both of you, go to lunch."

Tammy let John go ahead and closed the office door behind her, they started to walk to the refectory.

"Thanks Tammy, I was really upset."

"I know, he shouldn't have said that."

John paused briefly. "About what you and Mrs Small said in there?"

Tammy sighed. "Look, it is really important that you do not breath a word of this?"

"It's okay, my Dad works in something similar, I learnt a long time ago not to say anything."

"Thanks." She took John's hand an stopped him before giving him a kiss on the cheek. John flushed, especially as a few of the younger boys spotted the gesture. They walked on, in silence, into lunch.

***

Tammy intended to spend the remainder of the day in the library, pleased to be out of the limelight. Joan found her there about half an hour after lunch and asked Tammy to go back to her office.

"You are becoming a little careless, and that can cost lives."

"That sounds familiar?"

"It was a slogan, propaganda if you like, during the second world war. It's as valid today as it was then."

"What am I going to do?"

"I've spoken to Mr Thompson again, I believe that one of the old boys is seeing you on Friday?"

"Mr Brown, if that's his real name?"

"I checked the student records, yes it's a real name. I understand he's arriving Thursday afternoon and staying in the guest quarters. Leave it with me, but be careful what you say from now on."

"Yes, Mum."

"I'm not your mum here, in any sense, young lady."

"Okay."

"Now, why has Mr Wright asked to put you on report?"

"I called his bluff."

"In what regard?"

"The proposed dress code changes."

"You didn't raise any questions last Friday?"

"That's because the consultation document was missing from my pigeon-hole and I knew nothing about it. Mr Wright told me the policy had been implemented on Friday and I had to remove every trace of make-up that I could. This morning I find it's not a policy so I went into English knowing he didn't have a leg to stand on."

"That's not a sensible approach."

"Since no-one has set limits, and I equally haven't even been challenged when leaving the house each morning, I decided what I felt was acceptable. Before last Friday, no-one had questioned it. I can't say my make-up is any more pronounced than your's, or Janet's or any of the female staff."

"You're not staff."

"There was no other yardstick. Anyway, as it's a consultation wasn't I supposed to be consulted?"

"You can submit your comments, as can Angela and all of the other students and all of the staff."

"Great, so although we're the only students who are affected, we'll have our voices drowned out?"

"It doesn't necessarily work like that."

"But probably will."

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Careless Talk Costs Lives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_propaganda_during_World...