Part   Nine   "A Day Like This"

 
Tuesday 18th April 2017 (Continued)
 

"Ben? Yeah, I do know him and I think that would almost certainly cause me problems in class. You said he was starting on Thursday?"

"Yes, but why would this be different? You seemed to know Donald Templeton quite well?" Offered Freddie Flint.

"It's not the same, I didn't know Mr Templeton before my course started but I've known Ben professionally for a few years and it won't take long for him to drop me in a pile of shit, even if he's careful."

"I'm not sure your language is appropriate but is he likely to do that, Miss Smart, I mean is there a current or past issue between you two?"

Tammy laughed. "No, no, and there's definitely no relationship in case you were thinking that! I've known his wife, Sandy, for a few years as well, longer in fact! I can't go into details, but Ben knows rather too much about me and he might let something slip, even accidentally. That would only give ammunition to Lorna Kirk and her cohorts as well as present both Ben and I a major security problem."

"Excuse me Miss Smart, but are you currently under investigation or have been convicted of an undisclosed offence?"

"No, certainly not. What I'm trying to say is that I will have to inform senior police officers, amongst others, that he's here, to cover myself in case of future allegations."

"Is that necessary, I mean it sounds a little like paranoia, very far-fetched?"

Tammy paused and gathered her thoughts, she needed to be certain how much she could tell the tutor, as 'need-to-know' definitely applied at this juncture.

"I'm not overstating the potential for fall-out from this, even if it's on the first day. Should word reach his previous management, or certain acquaintances of mine, then I could be in the mire very quickly. I can't be specific but I have a serious job offer from a law enforcement agency and that is a major reason why I'm on this course. I could lose that employment opportunity because of one slip of the tongue. My security clearance would evaporate very quickly so it would also make me unemployable in that environment thus negating the benefits of this course."

"I see, but I also understand that you have a property agency, I would have thought you'd go into that sphere as an alternative?"

"That's a simple one to answer, I already owned a few properties, as investments, and I was paying someone else to manage them although they couldn't devote much time to it. This way I can maximise the property availability, as it happens my sister is my office manager so she deals with the day-to-day work."

"So you aren't likely to be swamped by work from your company, which puts your coursework in second place?"

"No. Now, what are we going to do about Ben Franklin?"

"Frankly I'm not totally convinced but I'll talk to the Vice Chancellor, this one's above my pay scale."

"Fair enough."

There was no sign of Lorna Kirk as she walked away from his office but, when she reached the far side of the student car-park she could see that her distinctive Mini Cooper had a deep scratch about a foot long in the driver-side door.

Tammy's anger would have been evident to anyone who witnessed her slam the door as she took refuge in her vehicle; her eyes welled up as she sat there, feeling helpless. She considered whether to head back to her office before taking any further action, although that might cause her to take it out on Suzie - probably not the best idea. She dried her eyes and tried to prioritise, deciding that the first task was a call to the garage. It took some time for the phone to be answered.

"CV's, John speaking."

"It's Tammy Smart, my car has been vandalised, when can I get it repaired?"

"Good morning Miss Smart, we have a full load right now, what's the damage?"

"Someone scratched the driver's door, it looks deep and I can see metal."

"Can you bring it here and we'll see if it can be filled or whether a new door skin is required. It'll take a week for a skin so we would best book you in?"

"Okay, I can swing past after lunch?"

"See you then."

The next call was less easy.

"Dad, my car's been keyed."

"Where?"

"The university car-park."

"Was it covered by CCTV?"

"I'm down by a wall a fair distance from any building as I didn't have much choice where to park this morning, I'm not certain there's any coverage in that corner."

"What about your car's cameras?"

"Damn, I forgot about them."

"Okay, but don't try to take the law into your own hands, my guess is that you suspect someone?"

"I do. Er, do we still have any of that Racing Green touch up spray, from the little scratch earlier this year?"

"Not sure, I'll have a look."

"Thanks."

"Now, what's your plan, it's just gone half-past ten and you're already out of class?"

"I don't know, it's not been a good day so far."

"Don't do anything rash, why not come home?"

"Hmmm, I think I'll report this here just in case."

"Tammy climbed back out of her car and took a photo of the damage with her phone before walking round it looking for other damage. She ensured the vehicle was locked then walked back into the university to speak to the Help Point.

"My car has been damaged in the car-park, at some point in the past half hour."

"I'm sorry but the university doesn't accept any responsibility for vehicle damage on the premises."

"Even if a student is responsible?"

"Do you have proof?"

"I would hope your CCTV would show it."

"I'm sorry, but under the data protection legislation we can't disclose any video."

"So you won't help?"

"I'm sorry but it's policy."

Tammy's mood hadn't improved much by the time she returned to her car, now finding similar gouge on the front passenger door, which she was clear hadn't been there earlier. She photographed it then took a look around the car-park but couldn't see any likely miscreants. A text from her father confirmed he'd found a spray can in the correct colour, but he was now heading out.

She drove to the repair workshops, having to park in the street as the place was, indeed, busy.

"Ah, Miss Smart, I wasn't expecting you so soon?"

Tammy recounted the previous half-hour. "I'm hoping my car's security system will help identify the person responsible."

"Well, the driver's side is pretty deep and I'd suggest filler won't be appropriate so I recommend you should replace the skin, the other side isn't as deep and has only touched the first two layers of paint, that's a simpler repair. I'd suggest using touch up for now, for cosmetic purposes as well as weather protection, and I'll order a door skin as well as the correct paint. Needless to say, young lassie, you might want to speak to your insurance company as this will be a few hours work; the police too if your dashcam is any good and you can identify the toad?"

"Insurance is my Dad's department, I'll talk to him later, go ahead and order the skin."

"I'll book you in for next Wednesday at nine. Did you need some spray? I don't have it in stock but it'll be here in two days?"

"We have some, thank you."

Tammy drove home and parked in the paddock behind the house, noting that Suzie's moped was already there. Inside, however there was no sign of her and Pru hadn't seen Suzie since nine o'clock that morning. "Can you pull out the car insurance paperwork, please, I might need to put a claim in." Tammy showed the photos to her father's PA.

"Your father mentioned this before he left and left the can with me."

Tammy's first task was to remove the SD card from her car's security system before using the spray her father had left with Pru. She wasn't entirely happy with her handiwork but the spray can instructions did suggest that it would take an hour for each coat to dry so the colour might be off when it was first applied. It also advised not to apply in direct sunlight, there was no chance of that as the clouds were already rolling over the land to the South, blocking what little sun had been evident that morning. So much for Spring!

Up in her room she inserted the memory card and brought up that morning's video. There was nothing on the front or rear cameras, the standard arrangement for 'dashcams', but Tammy's car also had wide angle pinhole cameras mounted beneath each of the front doors. Two videos clearly showed Lorna Kirk approaching, crouching low, then squatting at which point a metal on metal noise could be heard. The time-stamp identified the first of the videos was a few minutes after the class had been dismissed. A second activation was ten minutes later, at the time Tammy was in Student Services, once again Lorna had tried to evade the obvious cameras.

"Got you!"

Tammy, at first, decided to copy only the relevant videos onto her laptop, but backed up the whole memory card just in case. She then accessed the Police Scotland online 'report a crime' facility. That got her nowhere so she called the '101' non-emergency line.

She reported the incident, made it clear that she had video and could identify the girl concerned, for this she was given a crime number. "You'll need that for any insurance claim."

"Okay, but when will I see an officer?"

"They are very busy Miss Smart, it may take some time."

"Meanwhile they'll be free to damage my car again."

"In which case, please report it."

She concluded the call, it was nearing midday and she was feeling peckish. Outside it had turned dark grey and Tammy could see precipitation.

Zara was just coming in through the kitchen door, shaking the weather off her jacket as soon as she'd put two bags of shopping down.

"If you're after lunch, give me half an hour, sorry but I'm running late today."

Tammy nodded but made a coffee before going back up to her room, in a drawer she found a new packet of Hobnobs that would hold off her hunger for a little while. She'd just nibbled the first one, after dunking it of course, when her mobile rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello Miss Smart, it's PS St James, I've just seen your report."

"Oh, hello, I wasn't expecting an officer yet, if at all."

"We are overstretched at times, but your name was flagged on our system, can you run through what happened?"

Tammy explained, adding how Lorna was connected to the incident at the Mill Theatre the previous year, as well as their encounter that morning.

"I see, have you spoken to the university?"

"Yes, they're claiming they have no responsibility."

"I'll make a request for the CCTV, meanwhile can you send me your video clips?"

Tammy made a note of his email address.

"Now, how severe is the damage?"

"Enough for one of the doors to be re-skinned. I took it to CV Recovery & Repair, John had a look at it and it's booked in for next week to be repaired. I've already sprayed the doors though, that'll hopefully prevent weather damage."

"Oh, did you get photos beforehand?"

"Yes."

"Good, please send them. Is there anything else?"

"No that's everything but I'll put a summary in the email. Oh, I'm not sure if I need to let the Chief Inspector know, but Ben Franklin is due to start work at the university this week."

"I had heard."

"He's teaching my course."

"I see."

"Lorna is on my course, Ben could make things very awkward for me."

"I don't think we should be having this conversation, Miss Smart."

"If not you, then who?"

"The university?"

"Yeah, tried that. It's difficult to explain given the security issues!"

"Sorry, but you'll need to resolve that conundrum yourself, speak to Ben and set boundaries? Sorry, but that's as far as I can go."

"Thanks anyway."

Tammy grabbed a sandwich once she'd sent Stuart St James the promised email.

Another phone call interrupted her lunch.

"Miss Smart? It's Jim Surtees, I have an update for you?"

"Sure, I hope you're going to brighten up my rather grey day?"

"The Czech Sport two seater checked out; we've gone through the log book, checked the registration with the CAA, confirmed the chassis and engine numbers with the manufacturer and have verified the previous ownership."

"Oh good, can we go ahead?"

"It's already being handled, your father approved it this morning. He said you were in class, otherwise I'd have called earlier. I guess you're on a lunch break now?"

"Yeah, when is it going to be ready?"

"We'll fly it up here in the morning, when are you free to come over?"

"Tomorrow I reckon, thanks Jim."

"No problem."

Tammy was in the paddock to apply the second coat, between showers, when she heard a vehicle pull up. She didn't recognise the car but it sat out the front for a minute before she spied Suzie emerging. Tammy ducked back behind the house to conclude her inspection of the Mini Cooper, it certainly looked better than a few hours beforehand. It only took her a few seconds to replace the SD card as the next shower threatened to arrive. She made it inside as Suzie was taking off her jacket.

"Oh, you're home?"

"Clearly, Suzie."

"I thought you'd be in classes until four?"

"And it's just gone three? That's a short day for you too!"

"Hey, stuff the job! Find yourself another slave!"

Tammy's day wasn't getting any better, but she left Suzie alone. Her sister's employment contract allowed for a four week induction period, if Suzie quit at this point then she would be paid for the days she'd worked and that was it. Tammy knew it was best to leave Suzie for another day and, in any case, Tammy wouldn't be back in the office before Friday. She checked the diary, there wasn't anything outstanding, Suzie had at least cleared the urgent work during her day.

She remembered a conversation with Sandy Smith from the weekend and called the salon.

"Any chance of fitting me in?"

"Hmmm, sorry Tammy, not for a few days, I've got bridesmaid groups tomorrow and Thursday. I could squeeze you in Thursday at nine, just for a trim?

"I'm supposed to be in class then."

"That or the middle of next week. Do you need Joanne as well?"

"Okay, okay, I'll take it, and yes."

Angela came by Tammy's room at four.

"I've decided I couldn't be a mother, even if I could."

"Oh?"

"My tutor dumped a new project on us then after lunch I was in the crèche for a few hours, one babe peed on me, another threw up and they all screamed. I changed into clean clothes then went to see Tanya but Jade just cried all the time and Tanya had nothing good to say about John. To top it all I got soaked walking from their cottage up to the school for a ride here on the minibus. It's not been a great day."