Part Eight   "There may be trouble ahead"

 
Monday 20th April

"I hope you all have your exam timetables and won't turn up late or even on the wrong day?"

The sixth formers were unsure whether to nod or shake their heads to the opposing questions from Deputy Head Mike Thompson so just, for the most part, grunted.

"Now, where is Miss Small?"

John looked at Tammy before answering.

"Sorry Sir, but she's off today for personal reasons."

"I wasn't informed, can Miss Smart enlighten us?"

"It's in the hands of the police, Sir, there was an attempted abduction yesterday."

"I hope you're not exaggerating?"

"I think I should see the Head?"

"I'll pass that on. Now, where was I?"

No-one answered as this was clearly just breathing space whilst the senior master recovered his posture and notes.

"All day pupils will be expected in school on the Monday and Friday mornings of each week, plus exam days. Please ensure you catch the bus or have private transport organised. Two extra bus journeys will operate to the station via the town just before and just after lunch. If you have an afternoon exam, get the first not the second!"

Those affected nodded, including Lori Jenkins.

"For all of you, please be in the common room or library on Monday and Friday mornings dressed appropriately. You will also be suitably smart any time you have an exam. Boarders will not be wandering around the school in jeans or babygrows just because they don't have an exam! If I might remind you, the dress code applies for breakfast, lunch and dinner!"

There were a few sullen faces.

"Please also remember that you cannot take mobile phones or any other electronic devices into the exam room unless it's a calculator approved for that exam. If you're not a boarder, and have to bring them to school, leave said devices with the secretary when you arrive. There is a list of approved equipment on the desk behind me, take a copy with you."

"Now, finally, as I'm sure you'll have noticed, Lori Jenkins is with us in place of Tony Jenkins. That is all."

The upper sixth left the classroom they'd used for this meeting and shuffled up to their common room. Surprisingly there was less chatter about Lori than the missing Angela.

"Sorry I couldn't help yesterday, Tammy, but I had a pool competition. I didn't realise it was serious?"

"We coped, James, but I made mistakes."

That silenced the room, James Hunter felt obliged to ask the next question.

"How? It sounds like you prevented a kidnapping?"

"I put Angela in that position, it's my fault she was there at all."

"But the police got the guy?"

"Yes....look, I spent several hours with the police after it happened. John was present throughout as well as his fiancée."

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Hey, where was our party invite?"

That came from the corner by the kettle and the biscuit tin.

"My father and Mrs McPherson handled the invites, all upper sixth were invited but there was a cut off date for the RSVPs in March."

"I forgot to send it."

"So? Remember, I didn't arrange the party, my father did. How about this, we'll have a post exam party that Tammy and I will arrange? No parents?"

That met with general agreement.

"Tammy, what went wrong yesterday?"

"James, I overstepped my mark. I didn't break any laws but I did manage to put a good friend at risk. She'll take a few days to recover from it."

"Where is Angela?"

"Somewhere safe."

Tammy wouldn't answer any further questions on the subject. She made herself a coffee, grabbing a couple of hob-nob biscuits before the eighteen year old Oompa-Loompa in that corner devoured the stock.

It was ten thirty before Tammy received the call to go to the Head's study. It wasn't a surprise to find her father already there.

"Come in Miss Smart and close the door."

The Head was sat on one of the softer seats, rather than behind his desk, so Tammy relaxed a little as she smoothed her skirt out, sitting next to Richard Smart.

"Now, Tammy, your father has explained yesterday's activities from his perspective but I'd like to hear your version. Let's start at the beginning."

Tammy remained outwardly calm but was clearly hiding distress as she recounted the tale. She'd spent over an hour going through it with a young CID officer who was not familiar with the Smart household, pondering out loud whether that was deliberate.

"That may have been a little presumptuous of you, assuming that you know every police officer in The Highlands?"

"Yes, Sir, now that you put it like that!"

"Can I have your assurance that you will bring any similar issue to the attention of your parents or myself, especially if it concerns another pupil at this school?"

"Yes, Sir, I will."

"You may go."

Tammy didn't need to be told twice so swiftly left the study, walking straight into the near melée of morning break. Any pupil coming out of the Head's room was immediately scanned for signs of why they'd been in there. Then the whispers started.

"Quiet!"

The crowd stopped then parted as Tammy crossed into the stairwell that led back to the common room. Behind her the confused mass restarted their criss-crossed journeys.

Back in the common room, numbers had reduced but Lori was being questioned, gently, just in Tammy's earshot. As Lori was now the third sixth form boy to transition, the story was not headline news in the common room. Elsewhere in the school, however, Lori was getting confused looks.

"One comment I heard was that a percentage of sixth formers would now be girls, and that boys would be forced into skirts if the number of girls was too low!"

Tammy laughed, the eleven and twelve year olds were having difficulty understanding the situation, even after special assemblies and classroom discussions covered the topic. Some parents had initially considered to withdraw their sons, but this had largely been an empty threat with only a couple of boys departing. Given that the discipline record of those boys was not exemplary the Head had made little more than token protests. Their remaining school fees were also forfeit.

From September, girls would be admitted into the sixth form, although the building plan for female boarders was not progressing as fast as hoped.

"I heard, Tammy, that the builders lost two weeks work because of the snow earlier this month, apparently the ground was unworkable. They needed to get the noisy work done before today."

"I didn't know, but I was away for most of the break, James."

"Somewhere nice?"

"Cornwall."

"That's a bit far!"

Tammy decided against saying that she'd gone even further, off the mainland.

"It wasn't too much trouble flying there from Edinburgh."

"What about the snow? It was pretty bad in Dundee."

Tammy laughed, "it was sunshine all the way, almost 20C each day."

"I bet you didn't get any revision done?"

"Oh, I did, just not every day."

Discussion turned to the forthcoming exams and Tammy was pleased to escape to the refectory for lunch. Unfortunately the same topic prevailed there, amplified by the year elevens who faced their own exams imminently.

Finally after lunch Tammy collected her coat and bag before heading for the car-park.

"Are you going into town?"

"No, John, I'm grounded."

***

Tammy parked outside the McPherson house and made her way to the conservatory. Elsie, Joan and Angela were sat there along with Jill Davison and an unfamiliar woman.

"Sit down, Tammy. This is Ginny Verrier, she's a victim support officer with the police."

"Good afternoon Miss Verrier."

"It's Ms, but please call me Ginny. I wonder if we could have a moment outside, Tammy?"

The air was crisp but the wind was little more than a light breeze so Tammy decided against asking for her coat, she did however take her bag. The gamekeeper wasn't far away with other ground staff about a hundred metres distant.

"Tammy, Angela will take some time to forgive you for this."

"Wait a moment, I didn't send her those messages, in fact I helped identify it as a fake account, and I didn't try to kidnap her."

"You left her on her own, despite the risk."

"There were two friends monitoring her, both nurses for the record, plus a detective constable and two constables. I was nearby so I wasn't recognised. Angela was never on her own at any time, she was also wearing a camera."

"Where did you get that, it's hardly a simple device and the setting is apparently pearl?"

"It came from my bodyguard after attempts were made on me at Christmas."

"There's no record that I can access concerning that, not even that you were the victim."

"It won't be in a normal file, New Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorist Unit handled it."

"Your personal file is sealed above my pay grade it would seem, can you explain why?"

"No, sorry. Look, the kidnappers this time included my former English master and I was their real target, however I'll just chalk that one up." Tammy shrugged.

"That's a very cavalier attitude."

"I've got a good family and close friends that support me, in spite of everything. Jill may have told you that, seeing as she's here to see Angela."

"Is she also your shrink? She's said nothing about you and won't give me any of Angela's psychiatric history."

"I suppose that means patient confidentiality is alive and well!"

"I could get a court order to see what's on your medical file."

"Good luck, it would only take one phone call from me for you to find yourself out of a job."

"Don't threaten me, that would be a criminal offence."

"It wasn't a threat." Tammy reached into her bag for the phone.

"That's a secure model, how do you have one?"

"Sorry, national security applies. Like I said, it would only take one secure call to some friends in London." Tammy smiled. Just then her phone rang, causing Ginny to jump.

"Hello?"

"Hi Tammy, it's Dave Brown. Are you free to talk?"

"Not really, can I give you a call on the landline later as I might have a local security issue."

"Understood, bye."

Tammy slipped the phone back into her bag.

"I do my best to protect Angela but she is a living breathing eighteen year old who is capable of making her own decisions in life. In this case we knew there was a risk and mitigated for it, meaning that Angela came to no physical harm. Two men are under arrest, one of whom just destroyed any potential continuation of his teaching career. Finally, I was the focus of their activities so it's unlikely Angela will be targeted again; I should say I am capable of looking after myself and really enjoyed some recent experience on a Met Police range. I think we're done, Thomas will see you off the premises."

Ginny stood there amazed at Tammy's temerity until Tammy firmly pointed back into the house then made a show of folding her arms.

The Victim Support Officer stormed off, via the conservatory and the front door of the house. Thomas was indeed ready with her coat.

"Tammy!"

"Yes, mum."

"What did you say?"

"She wanted to attribute blame for everything on me, then decided I should be investigated including disclosure of my medical records." Jill's reaction indicated surprise. "She also wanted to know why my police file is locked. I wouldn't say, so she threatened me with a court order, I suggested she could lose her job by messing with me and my family."

Tammy paused. "Angela, what was the focus of her questions at you?"

"She wanted to know who you worked for and how you could have arranged the sting."

"So nothing about supporting you?"

"Not really."

Elsie was outraged, she plainly hadn't been in the room when this had taken place. Tammy doubted if Jill had been briefed on the previous day as Joan wasn't there either.

"Thomas!" Elsie was on her feet.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Send Jonathon after that woman, I want her registration number, preferably the whole car with the driver."

"Ma'am she is still outside and I took the number on her arrival. Jonathon is already on his way."

"Right, let's call the police." Elsie ushered everyone away from the conservatory and into the sitting room before dialling, it was answered immediately.

"This is Elsie McPherson, we've just had your Victim Support Officer Ginny Verrier up here and ... what do you mean? My gamekeeper will detain her, he should have a shotgun with him."

Elsie put the phone down, irate.

"The real Victim Support Officer is still at the station as her car suffered slashed tyres, she was due to head up here in an hour. We've just entertained a fraud, a charlatan. Tammy, let your friends know, you can get the registration from Thomas. Mention of the shotgun should ensure an armed response unit!"

Tammy didn't need to be told twice and called Dave Brown back, relaying what they knew. Tammy had snapped a picture of the woman with her phone's camera and now sent this to a number given to her by Dave, as well as some bad news. She was told to stay put.

Joan was on her mobile to Richard while Elsie made contact with the school. Tammy waited until everyone was back off the phone.

"There's been a security breach, it's possible my details were leaked before they identified the mole."

"Damn."

"What's strange though is why this woman didn't know any of my background? If she was here as a direct result of the breach then my recent travels and connections would be known."

"That's well thought out, Tammy, so can we discount the security breach in this case?"

"I wouldn't do that, one of the things I was told was not to jump to conclusions but just to gather evidence then pass this to an analyst through the chain of command."

"Was the person you called here just before Easter?"

"Yes."

"He's a good man, very sensible of you to contact him."

"Actually, after the trouble with Thomas Young last Monday Dave told me to contact him directly if there was any hint of a security problem. He also, apparently, has tickets for Macbeth."

Elsie laughed, "I was going to leave that as a surprise, he's asked if he can stay here."

"That's assuming that these investigations don't change his plans."

Outside sirens could be heard approaching but Elsie told everyone to remain in the house. She switched on the seldom used television that was in the room, switching to a direct video feed. On the screen the front of the house could now be seen.

"I had this put in over Easter, I guessed it might come in useful."

Jill was still sat there, acutely aware that Tammy may not have been just a transgendered school girl right now, but was very vulnerable in every sense. Tammy caught her eye.

"Yes, Jill, I will be down to see you."

"Thank you."

Outside, via the television, it seemed that everything was now under control. Several of the ground staff had taken up a position near the gamekeeper's vehicle but since moved off. Nothing much happened for a few more minutes but Tammy recognised the man walking towards the door in a police uniform.

"That's Iain Brown."

Thomas admitted the Chief Inspector, who was also the Mill Theatre's artistic director.

"Good afternoon ladies."

He removed his hat and, at Elsie's invitation, took a seat.

"Where shall I begin?"