Part Twenty Two   "Fleur"

 

Tammy's Tales Book 6
 

 
Monday 12th October
 

"Good morning everyone and thank you for getting here, despite the weather."

Tammy was sat with the other twenty or so Business and Management (Finance) students, having braved the first major storm of the autumn. If there had been any trees along her routes, they would all surely have been uprooted by this weather?

She'd already sat through a two hour lecture alongside the other first year business law students and had managed a lukewarm coffee from a vending machine before following her own group to a syndicate room.

"Martin will be handing out the next work which is to be handed in next time, there will also be a new project on the university website at lunchtime which you are to conclude before Christmas. I'll call each of you to discuss your first project, alphabetically. When you've been seen you are free to go."

Tammy sighed, that meant she would be near last. She looked around the room, not recognising any of the other students. John Hibbert was in a similar room elsewhere in the building with his business law group.

She spotted a new face sat in a corner at the far back, their face partially obscured by the others present. They noticed Tammy looking and immediately turned their head away. Tammy wondered what that was all about but was interrupted.

"Miss Smart?"

"Err, yes."

"You aren't wearing your student ID."

"Sorry, Mr Gore, it's in my bag."

"Please, call me Martin, but ensure you're wearing it when you're on the site."

"Sure, of course." Tammy fished in her bag before pulling it out, painfully aware she was bringing attention to herself.

"Here's the work for the next two weeks, it's self explanatory."

"Thanks."

"I understand you've met my distant cousin and namesake, Martina."

"Yes." Tammy wasn't sure where this was going, but lying wasn't the best option right now.

"I'd love to meet up with her but she's stuck in school most of the time."

"I do know she works in a clothes store in the town on a Saturday, Sarah's Boutique."

"A ladies fashion shop?"

"Yes."

"Never mind, I don't feel comfortable in those places."

Martin walked away, Tammy decided she needed a wee so grabbed her bag and exited the room.

Once safely in a ladies loo and sat on the throne, she noticed spots of blood in her knickers. Tammy was still having to wear a thin liner so this had caught the red droplets. It wasn't completely unexpected, she had forgotten to dilate for several days, probably since Thursday, so had made the mistake of using the largest dilator that morning instead of a smaller one. Even with added lube she'd been a bit rough with herself and was now paying the price. She changed her liner before leaving the cubicle.

Back in the room it seemed her tutor, Freddie Flint, was charging through the students as Tony Price had just been called up.

She looked at the work Martin had handed out, it was a small company's annual accounts, so small it only appeared to have one employee. The company, however, despite a decent turnover was haemorrhaging money. The question was, whether to wind the company up or to identify the cause of the losses and turn around.

"Miss Smart?"

She put it down and walked across to where Freddie was holding court.

"Hello Tammy, that was interesting work you turned in."

"Thank you."

"How do you explain having the fullest work of anyone in this room, virtually repeating the tutor notes?"

"I've seen it before, as part of my A level studies."

"This was supplied to us shortly before term began. I'm not accusing you of cheating but it is highly suspicious."

"The work consisted of a fashion show and business expansion?"

"Yes."

"I was a model in the fashion show, it was a real event here in Thurso, even if it's been fictionalised a little. The show was organised by Penny Lane from a Liverpool-based company and was held in March, there's a shop in town that stocked the clothes modelled at the show."

"I see, do you have your A Level work available?"

"Yes, but not on me, I can email it?"

"That would be useful, could I also contact your A Level business studies tutor?"

"He's left the school, but you could contact the Head as he was aware of the show, especially as we held it in the school."

"Which school?"

"St Andrews."

"The private boys school?"

"Until recently, yes."

"Okay, but I won't be able to allocate a mark until I've confirmed your reasons for for your quality of work."

"Would I be marked down because I'd seen it six months ago?"

"No, there's always a risk that a student will come across something they're familiar with."

"Okay, are we done?"

"Yes Miss Smart."

Tammy walked back to the table to collect her bits. The last student had been called, Fleur Younger was crossing the room and this was the student Tammy had seen earlier. Fleur was keeping her head down and seemed to be uncomfortable as she approached Freddie Flint.

Tammy left the room, almost walking into John in the corridor. "Sorry Tammy, I was just coming to see if you'd finished?"

"Only just, did you want a coffee?"

"Sorry, I need to get to the office. Can we catch up at the weekend?"

"What about the self-defence class tomorrow?"

"I'll have to see, Tanya might need me?"

"I'm sure she can manage for a couple of hours?"

"Okay, no promises."

They were walking towards the carpark when Tammy heard someone following, she glanced around then sent John off.

"Hi Fleur, I'm Tammy."

"Sorry, I don't want to talk."

"I'm heading into town, did you want dropping anywhere?"

The weather hadn't improved much and they'd reached the exterior doors.

"It's okay, I'll walk."

Tammy shrugged and headed for her car, it was a few minutes before she finally pulled out of the gates. Fleur was battling into a headwind, her long skirt flying everywhere. Tammy herself had sensibly chosen a pair of jeggings that morning. She pulled over and lowered the passenger side window.

"Don't be silly, get in! I don't bite!"

Fleur didn't answer and looked ahead before reluctantly opening the car door, nearly trapping a leg as the wind blew the door shut.

"Thanks. I don't normally accept a lift from anyone."

"I'm quite harmless, I assure you. Where would you like me to drop you?"

"Anywhere in town, please."

"I'll park behind Sarah's Boutique."

"Okay, thanks."

Tammy drove in silence, Fleur was plainly not the talkative sort. Tammy was also increasingly wondering about Fleur, she had a 'plain Jane' look and perhaps was wearing a little too much foundation, or was that concealer?

A few minutes later Tammy pulled up, intrigued and wanting to know more about this girl. "Did you want a coffee? I was thinking about going to the Castletown before going shopping?"

"No, thanks, I have an appointment soon."

Tammy stepped out of the car and followed Fleur as she walked around the corner, plainly heading for Sandy's salon. Tammy double-backed and walked up into Caithness Marine.

She wanted to know what intel was coming from the bug in Martina's bag, but Hilary had told her that this was now being handled in London and that only relevant information would be passed back. The implication was that Tammy was too close to the target and needed to have deniable plausibility if any of her actions were discovered.

"There's a new girl on my course, possibly transgendered."

"Is she a risk to us?"

"Unlikely."

"Then don't worry about her, and you cannot use our systems to look her up, that would be inappropriate."

"How did you know?"

"Because everyone thinks they can abuse the system once in a while without it mattering or harming anyone. The rules are clear, if she's not the subject of an investigation, or on the fringes at least, then you can't go on a fishing expedition to satisfy your own curiosity."

"I thought the security agencies were allowed to do anything?"

"No, not at all, the law still applies although there are some exemptions."

"Okay, I was almost accused of cheating today." She explained what had been said.

"Well, have you thought about contacting Miss Lane?"

"Not yet, I wanted to run it past you first."

"Call her now, put it on speaker so I can hear."

Tammy had Penny's number in her phone but it was unobtainable.

"I'm sure I had the right number, Hilary. She was also known as Penny Lanovska."

"I see, can you do some basic checks on both names?"

"So I can in this case?"

"Yes, and then write it up."

"It goes back to March, I won't be able to remember everything."

"Write as much as you can."

"Okay."

Tammy couldn't find Penelope Lane in Liverpool as the search algorithm included Penny Lane as well, a popular choice for daughters of families called Lane. Even when she managed to lose the additional searches, she still couldn't find Penelope Lane.

"I'll try Lanovska now."

This produced a result immediately.

"Penny Lanovska, born 1966 in Prague."

"Interesting, is there a photo?"

"Yes, it's definitely her."

"What else is there?"

"The entry was created two months ago, she's a suspected associate of the Gores, lives in Switzerland and the UK."

"Your go between for the Gores?"

"Could be, did she know about my association with the security service?"

"That's a rhetorical question, I can't answer that for you."

"Oh, I was thinking out loud. I'm pretty sure she didn't know, I copied all the documents to Heather at the time."

"Looks like someone analysed them." Hilary reached over and clicked on the 'Attached documents' tab.

"That's one of the sheets she sent me, it's the order for the dosimeters."

"That's worrying."

"It was dealt with at the time, there wasn't a breach at Dounreay or the Royal Navy place - except the one that involved Thomas Young."

"I read the reports, his wife is a Trethgarwyn by birth, isn't she."

"Yes, anyway, what about Miss Lanovska?"

"Write it up, then search the airlines for tickets in that name, especially from John Lennon Airport in Liverpool, but don't rule anything out."

Tammy worked for another half an hour and managed to piece together the Czech woman's travels for the past year. It then took her an hour to write it up.

"Okay, send it to me so I can check it, I'll send a copy of Heather as she was involved in March and knows the Trethgarwyn connection."

"I don't think they're connected to Penny Lenovska?"

"No? Remember what I said, don't rule anything out. The Trethgarwyns have been involved in multiple criminal enterprises in Cornwall and the Highlands so could have been the intended recipients of the dosimeters."

"We can't confirm that."

"Nor can we dismiss it at this stage."

"I'll edit the report then send you another copy."

"Good."

Tammy left there buoyed having achieved something useful, had she worked for this woman and taken dirty money? What was the point of the fashion show, getting to know Thurso and Tammy, or maybe to scout out the school before Martina Gore applied to study there? Had she planted any bugs in the school?

Her good mood was turning to one of dread as she shut her car door. The school, she remembered, had been swept for bugs a week earlier and nothing was found. In the past some malware had been found on one of the office PCs but that had been removed months ago.

It was half past four when Tammy reached Dunbankin', realising she hadn't had any lunch. That prompted a trip into the kitchen to find the biscuit barrel.

"Excuse me Miss Smart, but dinner's in just over an hour."

"I'm hungry, I missed lunch."

"Then have a banana, biscuits will ruin your appetite."

"Yes, Zara." Tammy resolved to purchase a packet of Hob Nobs and hide them in her room. "What's for dinner?"

"Stew."

"Dumplings?"

"Of course."