Part Twenty   "Tit for tat"

 
Saturday 3rd October (Continued)
 

Tammy hoped that the Gores hadn't spotted her and leaned over to Joan.

"Look, I need to go to the office. I probably won't get to the salon so you can take my appointment."

"What's up Tammy, you're making me scared."

"Sorry, but I can't explain. I'll see you at home."

Tammy picked up her bags and jacket before heading for the door. She didn't look back.

Tammy went the long way around to the office, putting the shopping in her car first before checking for a tail. This was getting serious, deadly even. She tried to look calm as she reached the exterior door to Caithness Marine and let herself in.

"What's up, Tammy?"

"The Gores, they're here."

"I know."

"What?"

"I went off grid to follow them, I couldn't risk any communications with you, Jenny or anyone else within the agency."

"Bloody hell, you could have warned me!"

"And if you'd bumped into Martina, as you did, could you have kept a straight face or would you have given yourself away?"

"I don't know."

"Hence I didn't warn you, as it stands you're not a target so don't make yourself one."

"At least I can stay out of their way."

"No you can't, the recordings picked up a telephone conversation between Martina and her parents; Elsie McPherson has invited all of them to the meal tonight."

"Why, Hilary?"

"We've found that the three Gores did a two week spell on the cruise that Elsie just returned from during the school holidays, they met on board and ate together regularly. Apparently Helen McPherson gets on really well with Martina Gore."

"Damn, so I have to pretend I don't know them when I'm introduced?"

"That's about it, in an ideal world you wouldn't already know them but you've been reading the intel, that's how you recognised them. Never mind, we can't change that, but you mustn't quote anything from those reports that might give you away."

"I'll try not to speak to them at all."

"That's hardly feasible, especially as Martina's been telling them about you in her last few phone calls."

Tammy uttered a few expletives.

"Come on, you need to write an encounter report. Maybe there's an opportunity as well?"

***

"Hi Tanya, are you busy?"

"We're back from shopping, so not at the moment, why Tammy?"

"How are your hairdressing skills?"

"Mum didn't think I was brilliant, but I could handle the easy stuff."

"Can you give me a tidy-up? Your mum's full up and I'm desperate."

"Don't blame me if it goes wrong! It'll cost you too!"

"Okay, okay, when?"

"Give me half an hour to find everything and sterilise it all."

"Thanks."

Tammy's next stop was a florist, but Tammy didn't know which flowers Tanya liked.

"I'd like a mixed bunch to say thank you to a friend."

"Aren't you Tammy Smart?"

"Err, yes, who are you?"

"I'm in the lower sixth but I don't board, I'm Jules Doherty, I saw you at breakfast last week but your name's been mentioned a few times."

"Oh, there was I hoping for a low profile!"

Julie laughed, "I don't really think that's possible. Now, can you tell me anything about who's getting the flowers, it helps me select the right flowers unless you have a specific request?"

"She's eighteen and pregnant."

"Tanya Smith?"

"How do you know that?"

"I've seen her bump in school, twice I think, so it was a reasonable guess. Okay, something to brighten her day?"

"Exactly. I don't think she's allergic to anything."

Tammy sent John a quick text to John Hibbert asking if they had a spare vase in the cottage. He replied a minute later he was searching for it and might be some time. It was accepted by everyone that Tanya did not have OCD for tidiness. She also needed to catch up with her as the pregnant girl had seen Dr Kaufman for the first time the previous day.

It was ten minutes before Jules had finished putting the bunch together.

"That'll be thirty five pounds."

Tammy made a note to get some cash out as she handed over her debit card.

***

Tanya had actually done a half decent job, even if her own mother wouldn't let her loose in the salon with paying customers. In essence all she'd done was to tidy it up, levelling her fringe and dealing with a few split ends.

What was clear was that Tanya was now more relaxed and had stopped blaming everyone else for her pregnancy, clearly the visit to Dr Adi, ante-natal class and her first visit to Dr Kaufman had all helped. She hadn't wanted to talk about the appointment with the shrink, except to say he was a nice man, so Tammy didn't push. The sweets and treats that had been evident a week earlier had been replaced with fruit and the kitchen was tidy, sparkling even. Tammy quietly hoped John wasn't solely responsible for this.

John had worked a few days in the past week at the new Thurso office and was settling into a new routine with Tuesday and Thursday in Inverness, in Thurso for the rest of the time. He was office manager for the smaller office, which suited him.

Tanya had already decided to put her degree course off for a year, the babe would be nearly six months old when she planned to start the following autumn.

"You'll babysit for me, won't you?"

"Me, Tanya? I've never looked after a baby before."

"You'll be a natural, and I trust you. Other than my mum and sister I don't know who else I would trust with our baby."

"I'd be happy to, but we're months away from that and I'll probably be away during the summer next year."

"Okay, but don't leave town without telling me this time!"

 
Sunday 4th October
 

Tammy woke with a sore head, perhaps she shouldn't have helped finish that bottle of wine? Helen had certainly acquired a taste for vino on the cruise and it appeared that Martina was not unaccustomed to the stuff either.

She'd found the Gores to be pleasant people, on the surface at least, with no hint of international assassin. Perhaps she'd misjudged them? On the other hand, why were they really in Thurso?

The explanation had been clear, they would be out of the country during half term and wouldn't probably see Martina again before the Christmas break. Her father had explained they didn't want Martina to feel as if she'd been abandoned.

Tammy knew that feeling, in the previous few years she had travelled on her own and hadn't seen either parent between the holidays, often not seeing her mother at all during a holiday. That had all changed in November the previous year when Tamara Smart had emerged from Tom's shadow.

It seemed that the Gores already knew a fair bit about Tammy, but if they knew about her involvement with the Security Services, they kept that to themselves. She was sure that Helen and Elsie would have told them, once they gained Elsie's trust. Tammy had felt comfortable talking to them, and had caught herself revealing information without gaining much in return.

Damn, she'd have to write an encounter report.

Helen was a surprise, she was hardly recognisable as the girl with an attitude who had embarked on the cruise several months earlier. Plainly Elsie had managed to turn her niece into a pleasant young woman, although this had resulted in at least two marriage proposals from recently widowed men on board the ship.

"They were sweet enough, but I was afraid they would have a heart attack on our wedding night and I'd be labelled the black widow."

Elsie had also improved Helen's fashion sense, and even her accent had softened, Tammy wondered if she wasn't potentially the future head of the Clan McPherson? Of course, the title would fall to Cathy first.

Elsie's daughter had been frightened that her mother would try to become involved in the inquest and the court case but this was a needless worry as Elsie was more than content to let Cathy handle it.

"Between yourself and Tammy, you're more than capable. Don't forget, though, to ask for help if you need it."

Of course the Gores had wanted to hear the details from Cathy, even though they must have heard the tale on board the boat. Yvonne's name was prominent.

"Tell me, Tammy, was she really that bad?"

"Yes, Anita, she hated me from the first time we met. She even attempted to defraud mum from her inheritance."

"What about your own mother?"

"Ask her."

"No, not Joan, your natural mother?"

"She's got her problems, I barely know her any more."

"So sad, I know it doesn't look good by sending Martina this far North, but I don't want her to think we don't care."

"I presume you have Skype?"

"Not Skype, that's not secure enough, but we can do video conferencing, didn't you use that?"

"Mum had no affinity for technology and I often didn't know which country she was in. Dad and I communicated by email mostly, but I did spend time with him during the holidays. I understand the school improved the broadband connection when the new boarding house was opened, it was difficult to have an effective video conference previously so I didn't bother."

"Martina tells me it's pretty good now."

"I haven't tried it, I'm rarely there these days."

"Twice in the last fortnight, I hear you helped that poor girl Ellie who didn't know she was a girl?"

"Apparently it's not an uncommon condition but is usually identified before puberty. She collapsed in front of me so I went with her to hospital, I asked Martina to help her learn to be a girl."

"Martina loves a challenge, but you have unique qualities to help someone like that."

"But I can't be in school, that's why I asked your daughter."

"Not one of the others?"

"Jeri and Lori are busy all of the time, Josie is occupied with the band and I don't know many of the new girls. Martina happened to be in the right place at the right time and I knew her name!"

Tammy finally made it to Elsie who, by now, had told her tales of the high seas five or six times. Out of the corner of her eye, Tammy could see John Gore interrogating Michael McPherson, and clearly Tammy was the subject of the conversation, judging by Michael turning to look at her.

"Sorry Tammy, no more stories today as I'm exhausted. I'm off to bed shortly."

It was nearly ten when the dinner party broke up, Martina was going back to the hotel with her parents and they left by taxi. Tammy managed to drop a listening device into Martina and Anita's bags but could see no way of bugging John Gore, until the butler, Thomas, spoke to her.

"I think I can assist, Miss."

"Assist?"

"If you would care to let me have the device I can insert it into the lining of Mr Gore's overcoat. I have his coat in my office at present but I fear their taxi will be here in ten minutes so time is of the essence, Miss Smart."

Tammy handed it over, concerned that Thomas knew what she was up to, although no-one really knew what Thomas did when he was out of sight.

Tammy had received a hug from Anita Gore as the three left. Now, on Sunday morning, she recalled this so checked her bag and coat. She found in her bag what looked like a USB memory stick that she couldn't recall having seen previously. Her coat was clean, apparently.

She needed to inform the others that they might have been bugged, but without alerting the Gores. Searching her mum's and Joan's bag without their permission might be difficult, she scribbled a note to her father and passed it to him at breakfast before going into the office and locking the door.

"Hilary, we have a problem."