The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3344 by Angharad Copyright© 2022 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
It wasn't the greatest of meals but thankfully we weren't anywhere near the MI5 tosser, I half expected him to pull out a large magnifying glass but he didn't, nor did he don a deerstalker or smoke a pipe, he was generally asking lots of questions. especially of my assistant professor of biology, who is known as a bit of a firebrand when it comes to the Tories, I try to keep my socialist inclinations under control. I knew as soon as I was back from lunch, she would start.

Lunch, which I paid for was a curry for Toby, which he said was good and my jacket potato with tuna, well, if I had anything different they send for a doctor. It was okay, probably better than I'd have had in a cafe, the restaurant I go to with Daddy is usually better, then it is twice the price.

Toby went to see the scene of the crime and I went to my office to Deal with Dr. Alison Smithers, my head of department, starting before I'd had my cuppa, the profanity of it.

"There are people walking all over my lab, who are they and why are they here?"
"MI5, and they're trying to catch the burglar who drove a cherry-picker up to the building and broke into your lab, I'm surprised you weren't here earlier screaming blue murder."

Alison was about my age, rather articulate and highly voluble and well-known for expressing her opinions. "You mean my research has been taken?"

"Seems like it and the MOD sent for MI5 to solve it."

"But that's outrageous."

"I quite agree. I presume it was under lock and key?"

"Yes, my filing cabinet, we were all set to start clinical trials, I'd ordered the animals and everything."

I find animal experiments distasteful especially as they usually have to be destroyed when you've finished, we have tried changing the rules, but the ministry won't wear it.

"What were you researching that someone, obviously in the know, found it worthwhile to steal, especially in such a flagrant manner?"

"I don't know, that side of the building is sheltered from the rest, and seeing as no one is working that late, they wouldn't be seen."

I agreed with her, it was quiet and sheltered from the rest of the campus and also from the park which has a hedgerow of some trees and bushes, but it seems not thick enough to stop some van with the cherry-picker on its back. The van was damaged by its encounter with the hedge but not enough to stop them breaking into our third floor laboratory. It was obviously planned.

She told me that the project had been about wound healing and apparently a combination of vitamins plus the inclusion of various bits from jellyfish, if applied to a fresh bullet wound or shrapnel meant, the patient was due to recover quickly and infection risk was reduced.

"We had three formulations to test, we've done so with tissue cultures and they all work, were now due to test it on living animals. The licences were all approved ages ago."

"You're going to shoot live animals?"

"Well, simulate it, yes."

"How big are these animals?"

"Dog sized."

"You're experimenting on dogs."

"Yes, you have problem with that?"

"Yes, I do."

"You approved the research."

"I don't recall reading about dogs."

"No, it didn't feature in the original application."

"Why not?"

"At that stage I didn't know we'd be scaling it up to larger animals, if the dogs work we go on to pigs and we do that with the Welcome Trust who have facilities to deal with larger animals."

I was astounded, no one had used dogs for ages, my predecessor had stopped them to prevent attacks by animal rights activists, I almost sided with them.

If we call in Trishlock Watts, actually she changed her name to Cameron, she is not going to want anything to do with the animal experiments except to stop them. Alison left to see what could be salvaged in her lab, we say her lab, it was the one which she used most often. As she left so Toby came back they spoke for a moment in the doorway but he came in with his hands in his pockets and sort of swagger.

"You look pleased with yourself," I threw at him.

"I think I've solved it."

"What The Times crossword?"

"Ha, ha, no, the theft from the lab."

"All right, give it to me."

"She robbed her own lab and sold the research to someone else."

It could explain her absence this morning, but why and who is this someone else? "Why?" I askled.

"Easy, money, she did it for money."

"I drive a bigger car than her and I wouldn't like to force a van through the hedge."

"She paid someone to do the dirty work, sells her work to the highest bidder and that explains what she was doing this morning."

"You could face charges of wrongful arrest."

"Not me sunshine MI5 will do the dirty work."

"But you have to stop them, Alison is bonkers but in a nice way. Seh wouldn't do this to the university."

"If enough money changes hands or is offered, no one is safe."

"Who's going to buy it."

"Anyone with an army, the Russians would be definitely interested, even the Americans would show some interest especially their drug companies. If it heals up bullet wounds quicker, anyone would be interested."

"I don't believe she'd do that."

Looking out the window he said, "Well, MI5 don't agree with you."

"What?" I asked rushing to the window to see Alison In handcuffs being led away by Mr Bean.

"You've got to do something."

"Why?"

"Because you have."

"I haven't any jurisdiction, I told you that, it's for the intelligence services to sort out,"

"Please, for me," I said batting my lashes at him.

"That won't work, Cathy, besides I think she did do it."

"If I can come up with a better scenario, would you investigate it?"

"You mean if Trish can?"

"No, I am just as capable as she is."

"I can't promise you anything, but if you and Trish came up with a plausible answer, I might take a look."

"Is that your best offer?"

"'Fraid so," he almost chuckled back at me.

"Have SOCO dusted everything for prints?"

"I think so."

"If you find any odd ones, can you let me know?"

"That's privileged information, Cathy."

"So, you can take the credit if I'm right and I think I am."

"I'll see what I can do," he waved and was gone I visited the crime scene and tried to visualise what happened, my phone trilled and it was Daddy who wanted to know all about the events in our laboratories. I went to see him and he asked if I was going to involve Trish, when I said I might he told me to go and collect them from school, I glanced at my watch and saw that it was now going to be a rush.

I only just made it, Trish looked at me, "You appear frazzled," she said.

"The university was broken into last night and somebody's research stolen."

"Physics?" she asked.

"No, one of the biology labs,"

"Didn't think they were capable of research of any merit, biologists are too thick."

"Ever heard of Darwin, you wouldn't call him stupid?"

"Only because he's dead."

"What?" my personal hero rubbished?

"Yeah, they think his idea on evolution was wrong, big article one day in your Guardian."

"I haven't looked at the paper for days, Gramps saw it first, I only pay for it."

"Want me to take a look at the crimescene?"

"No, they've arrested someone."

"Did they do it?"

"I don't think so."

"So let's get rid of the rest and go look it over."

"We'll see after dinner." I was desperately feigning my lack of interest in the hope of stimulating hers.

"The leetle grey cells,"

Before she could finish Livvie interrupted, " Couldn't find dinner on your plate."

"Where was I, oh yes, the great Belgian detective was solving the case."

"I haven't told you anything yet."

"It doesn't matter to the great Belgian detective."

"Great Belgian chocolate you mean." called Livvie. It obviously was going to be a fun evening.