Part   Fifteen   "Family Ties"

 
Monday 24th April 2017
 

Tammy took her usual seat in the lecture theatre and winced as her posterior met the seat.

"Welcome back everyone, in case you've forgotten my name is Ben Franklin. I would like to point out that two people from this course have been permanently excluded from the University following prosecution for criminal behaviour."

He paused.

"Some, if not most of you, will by now have read the newspaper reports from last Friday and I strongly advise against anyone taking any action in the misguided support of friends, as exclusion will follow swiftly.

"I think that's a good starting point for today's work; the non-judicial consequences of a conviction."

In Tammy's opinion, Ben led the discussion well and was able to get many students to become involved, some of whom had always sat near Lorna Kirk but seldom participated.

At break Tammy noticed a few of the girls making a bee-line for her as she headed for a coffee but the Vice Chancellor Mr Ford was waiting for her. He suggested they moved away to a quiet corner, freeing them from inquisitors.

"I would like to speak to you about the car-park, Miss Smart, if you don't mind?"

"Do I need to contact my solicitor?"

"I doubt it, but perhaps I should first apologise for my own overreaction and the unhelpful response of the staff?"

"I'm pleased to hear that, Mr Ford, but what brought this on?"

"It appears there was a family connection between a member of staff here and one of the two students who were arrested last week. I did ask for the relevant footage to be checked and oddly it had been erased, although only a few individuals should have that authority."

"So you couldn't watch it?"

"I did, but that meant retrieving the secure backup and only a very small number of personnel here even know that there is a backup, it's in case of circumstances such as this. I hope you will keep that information to yourself?"

"I will. I take this means that I'm vindicated?"

"Yes and I'm again sorry for the way your issue was handled. We naturally supplied the Police with our footage and I provided an audit trail linking that, and other, CCTV erasures with one staff member who has now been dismissed."

"I'm glad that's been resolved, but I haven't been asked by the police to do a statement yet so I don't know how they were in court so quickly?"

"That's between yourself and the court, perhaps you should call your solicitor?"

"I will, later. Thank you."

Tammy was back in the lecture theatre ten minutes later via the loo and the coffee bar. Ben walked over to talk.

"I saw Ford out there, was there a problem?"

"No, he was very contrite and helpful."

"Oh, I heard a few things last week, rumours, but I'm too new here to know what's true and what's not."

"I thought your previous training meant you had to find evidence to support anything, good or bad?"

"Not always, providing you didn't take executive action."

"True, I s'pose."

"Anyway, you looked surprised when I talked about Lorna and Corrine?"

"I was away all weekend and my phone was off the whole time, I only turned it back on this morning just before I drove down here, I haven't even had a chance to check newspapers or social media."

"Did you go somewhere nice?"

"It was warmer than here.

"I see."

"Indeed, Ben. How's Sandy?"

"She's good. Are you doing a production at the Mill this year?"

"I haven't been asked, plus I have a feeling I'll be busy."

"That's understandable."

Ben walked away and left Tammy to sip her coffee and try to make herself comfortable. She'd woken this morning with aches in places that corresponded with laying in the prone position with a rifle butt recoiling against her shoulder. It hadn't been easy dragging herself into the shower, but she would definitely run a muscle-relaxing bath when she reached home.

The second half of the morning reinforced the earlier discussion and some differences between Scottish and English law were highlighted.

"As you can see, your actions, whilst perhaps not resulting in a conviction, can lead to serious consequences such failing to obtain a Disclosure certificate -that alone would mean that you would be barred from many jobs or education. Other remedies the courts can issue include being fined, having freedoms curtailed or even losing your home. Any court appearance could have a traumatic influence on you future life even if you walk out of the place as a free person."

He paused again.

"When you leave here, please log into your course online and complete the work that's there. I expect it to be submitted by Friday."

Tammy headed to the loo on the floor above as she didn't want to be questioned about Lorna and Corrine. It had been fortunate that the vice-chancellor's mid morning chat had prevented any inquisition but she would have no such excuse now. She took the rear staircase downstairs and slipped out of a different exit, one that was conveniently closer to her car.

Tammy's next stop was her office in town although, once parked, she immediately sought out her lunch as well as fresh milk for coffee. A packet of biscuits accompanied her purchases, just in case she was stuck there for a few hours. She picked up the post as she stepped inside the building.

Her first task was check the faxes and the first few were quotes from contractors for works she'd requested. Unfortunately there was another anonymous threat.

Tammy scanned it then put the original into an envelope. She put the kettle on then reached for the office phone.

"Smith, Smith and Smith, how can I help you?"

"John?"

"Yes, is that Miss Smart?"

"Guilty as charged! I'm after Jeremiah if he's in the office?"

"I'm afraid he's out at the moment, meeting with Tesco management."

"Oh, okay."

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Maybe, do you know anything about two girls at Wick Sheriff's Court on Friday?"

"I know a little but I can't give any information, sorry Tammy."

"Oh well, I'll drop Jeremiah an email."

Tammy also dug out the email address for Sargent St James and sent him a copy of the threatening fax and added her concern that she hadn't been interviewed about the damage to her car the previous week. An out-of-office reply appeared a few seconds later, he was on days off until Wednesday.

There were several more job applications, or at least some sparse CVs. She printed them off and added the new ones to the application folder she'd started the week before. The deadline for applications was Friday so she would wait until then before selecting candidates for interview.

Tammy looked through the diary, she had to make some visits in the morning and chase one tenant for late payment. There was a load of general office housekeeping to be done, including giving the place a good clean, certainly before any interviews.

Finally she opened the post and filed the items appropriately. One letter was from the credit reference agency she'd applied to join. The letter included a code to type into the agency's website, validating her address. Then she reached the screen to pay for her first year's access.

Tammy wasn't convinced it would be good value, but it could help her avoid a bad client or locate missing ones; she paid the annual fee.

A minute later her account was fully active, but she had no name to check. It might have been useful if the vice-chancellor had given her the name of the sacked employee but he'd not said and probably would refuse on privacy grounds.

Tammy opened up the local newspaper's website and quickly found the article from the previous Friday where Lorna Kirk and Corrine Travers had appeared in front of the Sheriff. The indictment was for the supply of class A drugs, with no mention of the university or criminal damage. Once convicted the pair had been bailed pending family circumstance reports prior to sentencing. The report suggested that bail conditions had been set but didn't specify what they were. A third person, Terry Travers had appeared with them and was apparently twenty four years old, an older brother of Corrine perhaps? He was currently languishing in a cell somewhere.

The drugs charge was unexpected, the pair were bitches but Tammy hadn't suspected they were dealers, or users, but what was Terry's involvement?

Tammy fired up facebook and found Corrine quickly, that led her to Terry and a few online rants complaining about losing his job at the university. Tammy knew the two girls had attended Thurso High until they were eighteen, but was there a deeper connection between them? Regardless of that, they had both been kicked out of the University and Tammy had yet to get her day in court.

Two hours later she'd caught up with the work, although in some cases that simply meant putting it into a 'to do' pile. Tammy knew she couldn't do all this work on her own and, more than once, regretted the words she'd exchanged with Suzie. Her father had been correct, however, Suzie was not suited to the job of an administrator. Tammy's real concern was whether she could find someone who could firstly do the job and secondly ignore Tammy's extramural activities. It would be a tough call.

Tammy called St Andrews and was pleased to hear Janet's voice on the line.

"I'm so please you're back!"

"I heard there were some problems, it's taken me all day to get things straight in my office!"

"I'd like to come up, if that's okay?"

"It's not down to me, but I think the Head wants to speak to you?"

"Oh?"

"He said it wasn't urgent and I think he was going to call you yourself this evening, but we didn't know what your hours would be today."

"Okay, I'll be half an hour or so."

"I'll make sure Mike doesn't leave the building!"

Tammy decided to tackle the waste bins. She'd been shredding letters, bills and documents as she went along and now had a bag of rabbit bedding but no rabbits, or even cabbits. Her document policy was simple, scan everything and keep anything that's in date, although contracts were kept indefinitely. Everything else was shredded. Her secure room had a cross cut shredder for classified documents but she hadn't handled any of that stuff for a while.

She grabbed the bags and walked outside, she had a business waste bin by the rear door which she shared with Sarah's shop but much of her garbage was recyclable, that led her on a walk across to the nearby public car-park for the large green bins.

Having done her environmental duty, Tammy strolled back towards the office. As she rounded the final corner she spotted Lorna and Corrine, together with the girl who'd temped at St Andrews. They'd reached the corner the far side of the office and were keeping away from the very obvious racing green Mini Cooper.

"That's the bitch's car!"

"Yeah, and her office is over there."

"The light's on upstairs so she's in there, fancy giving her a bit of advice?"

"Nah, why not just trash her car." That was the former temp.

"What about the cameras? There's a few hidden ones."

"But you didn't get done for that, Jude, maybe it wasn't admissible in court?"

Lorna shrugged. "Our brief didn't mention it, and I'm hardly likely to cough to it, am I?"

"Look, she's probably got cameras outside the office door, and I bet that would be admissible! Did you know she's advertising for a new office manager?"

"Is she? Maybe one of us could get in there?"

"No Corrine, she'd clock you in a second but she's only met me once. I'm having my hair coloured next week and I'll put an application in."

"Wouldn't she recognise your name?"

"If I used Travers I would, but I'll go by my maiden name instead - it's hardly an alias."

The trio wandered away, back the way they'd come. Tammy made certain they were out of sight before leaving her hiding place. A few minutes later she was on her way to the school.

"Hello Tammy, I'd hoped you would see me."

"Sure Mike, but Janet didn't know what it was about."

"Well, it's really just to say thank you for your help last week."

"I didn't do anything!"

"But you did, Linda stayed calm and is more resolute that she wants to be Linda in school."

"Instead of dithering and distracting herself?"

"Correct, her GCSE exams aren't far away and any issue could disrupt her revision and exam performance. I didn't mind whether we were teaching Linda, or Lyndon, so long as he or she made that choice. The two days you spent with her have cemented that."

"Are there any issues in school?"

"Not really, her form tutor reports there were a few words exchanged but it was mostly good humour."

"Okay, what about her education after the exams?"

"We've invited her mother to come here for a meeting but right now she's dealing with a divorce. Linda is torn between supporting her mother and continuing her education here."

"I guess the finances aren't a worry?"

"That's down to Cathy, but Elsie's trust fund would seem to be applicable and would allow Linda to stay here, safely."

"That's true, does she have a female room yet?"

"No, there aren't any available until the A Level and Highers students leave. Linda is staying with Cathy and attending as a day student for now."

"Fair enough, but she'll miss out on the after school activities that way."

"I realise that, but it's been less than a week so far!"

"Of course, Mike."

"Could I call you to help again? Linda trusts you and you're not staff, which can cloud students' judgements."

"Sure."

Tammy stopped by Janet's office.

"Was Mike okay, Tammy?"

"Sure, why ever not?"

"There was a kerfuffle last week and I heard him mention your name in connection to it in a governors meeting this morning. I wondered if he was going to have a moan?"

"You didn't say anything on the phone about that!"

"In which case you might not have driven up here?"

"Maybe not, but he was fine."

"Good, so I don't have to go in there and tell him off?"

"No Janet, you don't. Now, I wonder if you could help me?"

"Sure, if I can."

"Do you have the paperwork for the temp?"

"Yes, I'm finishing off the payment to the agency."

"Did she complete a Disclosure form?"

"No, her agency supplied a Disclosure Certificate, otherwise she couldn't have worked here."

"Could I see it?"

"Why?"

"I've heard she's going to apply to work for me but is going to use her maiden name."

"What about Suzie?" Janet was sifting through a pile of paperwork.

"She resigned, I advertised about two weeks ago for a new office manager."

"That's what happens whenever I go away on holiday, I miss all the key gossip! Here it is."

"Can you copy it for me?"

"Hmmm, I'm not sure I should?"

"Please Janet, I really don't want that girl in my office but I can't prevent her applying unless I know the name she'll use."

"As it's you, I think it'll be okay. Just don't put a copy on Facebook?"

"As if!"

A minute later Tammy was scanning the document, the girl's name was Judith Travers, nee Kirk-McDonald. So, was she Lorna's cousin as well as Corrine's sister in law?

Tammy's only thought as she reached her car, however, was that she still needed that long soak in a hot bath.