Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 5

First posted here in 2014, this story had only been available on Kindle since 2017.

 
Bond, Gail Bond
 

"So Gail, what went on with you and Dr Fox earlier this morning?" Dr Hughes was back in the hospital room, accompanied by Nurse Jules, and was unplugging Gail from various tubes and machines.

"I didn't like her attitude, plus I reckon I'd already told her more than I should."

"Sounds like you've had the level 1 security briefing!"

"I did, what's level 2?"

"There isn't a level 1, 2 or anything. I made that bit up. Now, you're a bit tetchy so I'll be give you something to relax, we'll use a treatment room just down the hall."

"Can I have a wee first?"

"You could have used the bag?"

"I wasn't keen on the catheter, I've heard bad reports about what it can do to you."

"Okay, I'll accept that, but the nurse will have to help you."

Gail resigned herself to the intimate inspection, but Jules had plainly already seen that Gail was not 'all woman', without querying anything. A few minutes later Gail was loaded into a wheelchair and taken along the corridor. Now she could see the security team that was in place, some of them looked positively evil, it also looked as if none of the other side-rooms were in use.

Nurse Jules whispered, "it's a closed ward, not enough money to run it all the time."

A few minutes later, and feeling a little better, Gail was assisted onto the table in the treatment room and prepared for the minor procedure. Dr Hughes had been joined by two men in surgical scrubs, one of whom now injected into the cannula in Gail's left hand.

"This is just a little sedative to relax you, I'll now use a local anaesthetic in your sac." He was plainly the anaesthetist.

Ten minutes later, they had completed the removal of Gail's, formerly David's, testes and put a couple of stitches in to close the small hole. A little 'super-glue' was then used, finally a dressing was applied.

"Perfect, it looks like someone had some waxing done this week?" Dr Hughes made the comment to no-one in particular.

Gail was reloaded, slightly dopey, into the wheelchair and taken back to her room to rest and recover from the anaesthetic.

About 1pm nurse Jules gently woke Gail, "how are you feeling now?"

"Hmmmmm, fine I think. What time is it?"

"Lunchtime. Want anything?"

"Tea please."

"Okay, I'll arrange that. Can you sit up by yourself?"

Gail shuffled up the bed, then remembered the earlier procedure and went to feel her groin.

"No, leave alone for now, otherwise you might re-open the wound. Dr Hughes is coming back around in an hour or so to see you."

"Right, I guess I'll still be here."

"Quite. I've left a pen in case you want to try the crossword." Gail reached over and picked up the morning's paper, although she was still not fully recovered. In the end, with six clues completed, she put The Guardian back down, and dozed.

At almost three in the afternoon, Dr Hughes arrived with Jenny. Gail woke due to the increased noise level in the room but was happy to see familiar faces, the smile on her face said so.

"Right Gail, let's check you over and see about releasing you from here." He spent fifteen minutes with her, including extracting some blood and checking her vitals. He finally asked Gail to go to the toilet unaided, satisfied, he told Jenny to arrange her transport.

"Gail, I'll see you in a day or so at the house. I believe there's some medical history that we need to cover. In the meantime, I'm increasing your iron tablets to 200mg twice daily. I'm still concerned about your hormone levels and I'll have these latest bloods thoroughly checked. Finally, I'll arrange for a different gender counsellor to see you. Dr Fox's role has been terminated, indeed I'm concerned that she knew you were at Northwick Park."

"Glad for that."

Jenny returned with a different nurse and a wheel-chair, Gail was handed a dressing gown and slippers and helped into the chair. With Gail loaded, they descended using a goods lift and went to a loading bay, where a minibus waited. Gail was wheeled aboard and the chair strapped down. Jenny, the nurse plus two officers joined her in the back and they were soon on their way. As before, the windows were tinted and Gail had little idea of where they were going.

***

Gail must have dozed again as she was startled by the change in noise as the minibus entered the underground access and pulled up. Gail was unloaded, still in the wheelchair, down a ramp to a small lift. She exited the lift on the same floor as her room, next to the medical room, but couldn't see behind her what it looked like.

Back in her room she was gently washed then dressed by the nurse in a clean nightie but left on top of her bed. Again she dozed, but a simple meal was brought to her after six and the nurse returned to remind Gail to take her iron tablets.

"Sorry, I don't know your name?"

"I'm Anna, Miss Jones, and I'll be on call for you."

"I'm sure I don't need a personal nurse?"

"It's doctor's orders, Miss, plus I'm also part of your protection detail.".

This was getting way too strange and surreal for Gail who was now worryingly certain she was in a Bond movie, Mission Impossible or something similar.

"Okay, thanks."

Gail finished her meal and put the tray on the dresser while she went to wash and wee. She walked back into the bedroom, and was surprised to see someone sat on her bed.

"Good evening Gail, are you fit enough to talk?"

"I think so Helen, what's up?"

Helen motioned to Gail to get herself back into bed, "Doctor's orders," she said. Gail was concerned, Helen was not her usual jovial self.

"What's happened?"

"There's no easy way of putting this, an hour after we left Northwick Park Hospital an RPG was launched through the window of your room."

"RPG?"

"Rocket propelled grenade. It just about destroyed the room, thankfully no-one was on the floor of that wing when it happened."

"My god! They were after me?"

"It seems that way."

"How did they know?"

"We're working on it but that shrink, Dr Fox, is now missing. We're not even certain how she knew you were in the hospital, you weren't checked in under Gail, Abigail, Abi or anything similar."

"Am I safe here?"

"Yes, so far as we can be certain. Our vehicles do not use a direct route here and as you'll already realise we don't use the main entrance for access. Having said that, your security is under constant review."

"That's re-assuring, but for how long will I be useful? It won't take me forever to finish going through the Fourani data."

"Gail, don't you worry about that. We've got plans for you that I'm sure you'll agree to."

"Do tell."

"Not yet, it's officially a work-in-progress. Anyway, I have some good news for you."

"I'm all ears."

"Remember I said that your office and bedsit were under offer? Well, the sale will complete on Monday so you'll be £250,000 better off, less some estate agency fee. I've also had the settlement from your home insurance company, so that £12,500 plus the rent deposit of £2000 are in my office account at the moment."

"Sounds good."

"It gets better, I'm setting up new accounts for you as Miss Abigail Adams, I'll move £12k into a savings account and leave the rest in the current account, for now, but you 'll be able to move it around as you see fit. Your first payment of £2,500 from the Security Service has also been made into that account, so do you fancy some more shopping?"

"I'm still waiting to see the last lot!"

Helen stood and walked over to one of the wardrobes, throwing it open, "ta-da! I brought them over this afternoon. Don't worry about trying anything yet, that can wait until tomorrow. Oh, I added a few bits to the original order including a leotard and exercise togs, I guess you might want to use the gym?"

"I had mentioned that to Jenny."

"Okay, that's enough excitement for now, I suggest you get some rest."

"If you insist, Doctor!"

"Cheek!"

Helen left Gail to her thoughts, the most prominent of which was the whereabouts of Doctor Fox and how the news of her stay at the hospital was leaked. She dozed off trying to rationalise unknowns.

***

Saturday morning arrived overcast and certainly not the summery day it should have been. Gail was left until 8am when the maid, Lisa, brought her a cup of tea and a copy of The Guardian.

"Good morning Miss, I'll go and fetch your breakfast now you're awake."

With that she was gone. Gail sipped her tea and turned over the paper to see the headline, which concerned the attack on Northwick Park Hospital.

Gail started reading the article, but there was scant information and tons of conjecture, with neither the hospital management nor the police admitting to knowing very much about the terrorist act. Her breakfast arrived just after she'd dashed into the loo for an overdue wee. There was a note on the tray, Gail unfolded the paper to read the message, "don't forget the iron tablets! Jenny".

It was nine o'clock by the time she'd finished the meal, the first order of business was a good long shower.

There was a knock on the door as Gail stepped out of the shower, she quickly wrapped herself in a towel before inviting the waiting person into her bedroom. Her visitor was Nurse Anna, "I've come to check the wound, I guess the dressing has come off?"

"Yes, can I just dry myself off first?"

"Sure."

Gail knew she was being silly, but she was uncomfortable having the girl there, even if she was a nurse and would have seen every version of the human body by the time she had finished training. She went back into the bathroom to complete her drying, regretting not having a clean nightie to put on, or even clean underwear. Oh well.

She hung up the towel, wrapped a smaller one around her head and walked back into the bedroom.

"Can you get on the bed," asked Anna, who was now putting on a pair of medical gloves. She took Gail's blood pressure then examined the site of the minor operation, declaring it clean and healing nicely.

"No need for a dressing as such, but can you use a pantyliner for a few days and change it at least twice daily? If there's any blood or discharge on it then you must let me know. Okay?"

"Yes, but I don't have any pantyliners?"

"You do, there's a new box in the bathroom. Do you know how to put them in?"

"I think so."

Gail grabbed some clean underwear and checked the box of liners, correctly identifying how it went, hardly rocket science but a new experience nevertheless.

***

An hour later Gail walked into the conservatory with her newspaper, the overcast sky had turned to rain and creating a drumming sound on the glass roof. Gail found the sound strangely comforting, given the strange world that she seemed to inhabit at the moment. Her mind was cast back to the previous Sunday when she was on a train heading for the Essex coast, pursued by two criminals who were now in prison cells - hopefully.

Lisa had seen Gail's arrival at the rear of the large house and obviously informed Jenny, the housekeeper, who arrived with a pot of coffee on a tray.

"Did you see my note?"

"Yes, Jenny, thank you for the reminder."

"That's alright, just don't give us another scare, okay?"

"I'll try not to. Is there anything for me to do today?"

"You are not to go into the library until tomorrow at the earliest, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"And swimming is out of the question for a few more days."

"Yes."

"But you're cleared to sit, read, and chat, just nothing to excess."

"Understood."

Jenny left Gail to continue her digestion of the Saturday paper, by 11 she'd completed most of the main section, leaving only 6 supplements to handle. By now her eyes were suffering so she put the paper down, eventually falling asleep.

Gail stirred when someone sat next to her. When she'd fully woken she found the nurse, there was also a blanket over Gail.

"What time is it?"

"One o'clock. I suggest you go up to your room."

"What about lunch?"

"I suspect you couldn't handle lunch at the moment?"

"Perhaps not a full lunch?"

"You go on up, I'll ask the kitchen to do you some soup."

"Okay, okay." Gail wobbled slightly before regaining her balance and toddled back up to her room.

Lisa arrived with a bowl of soup ten minutes later, but Gail was curled on top of her bed. Lisa placed a blanket over her and returned the soup to the kitchen.

***

Gail did awake a few hours later, and made it to the dining room where she pushed her dinner around the plate for half an hour before giving up. She did however accept and finish a banana that was given to her.

The day effectively ended there, she went to her room and changed into a nightie, remembering to swap her pantyliner for a clean one. Her bed had been changed and there were fresh towels in the bathroom. She slid under the duvet and was off into dreamland shortly after.

 
Reject
 

Sunday morning was much brighter than the previous day and that morning's cup of tea arrived just after seven.

"The kitchen would like to know if you would like breakfast in your room again, Miss?"

"Thank you Lisa but I'll be down today, I'm feeling a bit better."

So began another day. Despite Gail's statement, she was not fully recovered, so didn't take any risks. That meant a little common sense was needed, no swimming, no working in the library and generally taking it easy; she was sure no-one would complain.

Gail had just finished breakfast when Helen arrived, accompanied by DS Emily Keane; this was not a social call. "The conservatory, please." It wasn't a request either.

Emily kicked off the meeting. "I believe Helen has briefed you so far?" "Yes." "Right, we have CCTV of the attackers but they were in camouflage kit so their faces were obscured, their vehicle had been stolen a few hours earlier."

Helen was staying quiet. "So that's a dead end?"

"No, we had a stroke of luck. They drove onto the M25 and went past one of our unmarked cars, which triggered an automatic stolen vehicle alert. They crashed whilst being chased and we have them in custody."

"Sounds good, but I suspect there's a catch."

"We believe they're Iranian however they're not speaking and have no ID on them."

"Iranian? Oh."

"Quite." Emily agreed.

"What about Dr Fox?"

"She's still missing but now a nurse has also gone missing, or rather failed to report for her next two shifts without explanation."

"Is that connected?"

"Maybe, it turns out that she's half British, half Iranian, and we believe she was one of the nurses that went to your room."

"Oh, heck."

"Now, Gail, in the accounts that you have gone through, do you remember any bank transfers or cheques that looked like maintenance payments? I suspect there may be some maintenance paid? We're thinking this nurse may be family, or the result of a relationship a few decades ago."

"Not that I can recall."

"Some of the guys at HQ are looking through the bank statements looking for payments but it wouldn't do any harm for you to do the same - tomorrow."

Helen now spoke, "Gail, the security service is taking the lead in the search for this nurse, as well as Dr Fox. We'll find them. In the meantime our assessment of your security remains valid."

"In English, does that mean I'm safe?"

"Err, yes."

The meeting broke up, although only DS Keane left.

"Come on girl, let's try some of these new clothes on?"

Gail sighed, her energy levels weren't back up to full as yet. "After lunch please."

"Okay, okay, sorry if I'm a little pushy."

"Accepted. I'm going upstairs for a doze," she also needed to take her iron tablets, something that had slipped her mind earlier.

***

It was around midday when Gail was fully awake, although the knocking on her door may have helped.

"Hello? Come in."

Doctor Hughes and Nurse Anna walked in, carrying some equipment, medical equipment, obviously.

"Hello Gail, how are you today?"

It always seemed to be a pointless question from a medical professional, as 90% of the time they could tell at a glance, the standard answer being about as much use as a damp paper bag.

"Fine, I guess."

"I'm not so sure about that. Let's give you the once over?"

So, two minutes later her blood pressure and pulse had been noted. Asking Gail to stand, her weight was taken and finally several vials of blood were drawn.

"Blood pressure is up, good. Right, can you lie back down so we can check the wound?"

Not the most dignified thing Gail had ever done, but she complied nonetheless.

"Very good. Keep using the pads for a few more days but tell Anna or me immediately if you see any blood or other discharge?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Now, we have the results of the bloods taken on Thursday and Friday, although there's little to choose between them. This confirms you have entered the andropause, male menopause if you wish, and your testosterone levels were down to 15% of normal before the orchidectomy. This goes some way to explain your tiredness and drop in blood pressure."

"What's the fix?"

"That's a question that I'm not strictly qualified to answer. Hormone treatment is the broad answer but how it's achieved requires a hormone specialist and a large degree of certainty from yourself."

"Certainty of what?"

"That you want to remain as Gail, live as a female? After all, we're barely over a week down from when you took this persona full-time."

The nurse elbowed the doctor as Gail started crying.

"Look what you've done, leave me with her."

Reluctantly the doctor left the room.

"Gail, here's a tissue - good job you don't have any mascara on today! Come on, dry your eyes and let's talk."

"I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"Err, what does he want me to say?"

"Nothing, Gail, nothing. He was just a little insensitive, he means no harm."

"So what's next?"

"Your health is number one priority, but you are going to have to make a choice soon, but hear me out. Are you comfortable as Gail?"

"Yes."

"Would you consider being David again?"

"No."

"Simple as that? I don't think it's as clear cut as that, which is why you will meet a specialist later this week."

"Obviously not Dr Fox?"

"Plainly not."

"Good."

"There, now how about you have a wash, put on some slap and come down for lunch?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, some good food will contribute towards your recovery."

It was another twenty minutes before a refreshed Gail made her way to the dining room, although it was still empty. Jenny passed and told her there was a ten minute delay so she walked back to the conservatory where the sun was streaming through the glass roof.

There were some quiet greetings from those present, but everyone seemed to have been warned not to engage Gail too quickly in conversation, just let her get comfortable first. The nett effect of which was to make Gail suspect something was going on. She was about to speak up when Jenny appeared in the doorway.

"Lunch is served."

***

Conversation had returned to somewhere near normal, although any discussion of Gail's health - physical or mental - was definitely off the menu. She finally received the day's Observer newspaper and settled back in the conservatory to peruse it, not really up for a full in depth analysis of the news. Any attempt of the crossword would have been pointless on this day.

Her eyes were starting to suffer a little, when she put down the paper, wondering if she shouldn't have had her eyes checked several years earlier? Leaving the conservatory, she found Helen in the hallway.

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be to do this fashion show!"

"Great, lead the way!"

Two hours later, there was a pile of rejects and a 'maybe' pile.

"That was hard work, but fun."

"See honey, I knew you'd get into this lark. I'll arrange the returns unless you want to change your mind about anything there." She waved at the reject pile. "And it's your last chance with the other pile."

"No, I think we now know what suits me."

"Ha ha! Not so fast! You've got much to learn Miss Jones."

What was left was around three quarters of the previous week's online shopping experience, with every top, skirt, trousers and frock checked. The leotard and undies could await until needed.

Helen scooped up the unwanted items and bade farewell, she wouldn't be at dinner. Gail climbed onto the bed and promptly dozed off.
Leads

Gail was feeling more lively on Monday, almost a week since she'd arrived at this country house. She wanted to get back to some research, particularly if she could help in the investigation concerning her attempted murder, some irony indeed.

The house seemed unusually quiet and Gail was alone for breakfast, which was odd, the only others she'd seen so far today were Lisa and Jenny, neither of whom used the dining room for meals.

Before settling into the library, she decided on a walk. She actually had a mission this morning, which was to find the fitness room. In the end it wasn't hidden at all, just in an area she hadn't looked before. Out of the conservatory, and to the left, was a covered walkway to a single story wooden building.

Putting her head in the door she found the recently arrived nurse on a running machine, although she seemed to be in a mind of her own, listening to music via headphones. Glancing around, Anna suddenly saw Gail and stepped back from the machine's panel, which cut the motor.

"Safety cord," she said, explaining the item that was tied to her.

"Oh," replied Gail, "I've never used one of these before."

"I'll show you but you are not cleared to use any of the kit here until Doctor Hughes says so."

"Understood."

Anna gave Gail the tour, although several of the machines looked as if they had counterparts in all the best medieval torture chambers. They returned to the pair of running machines.

"Tell you what, even though you're not dressed for it, if I start you on a walking pace you can get the idea of it. Nothing fancy. Hold on while I connect the safety cord."

Gail had ten minutes on there at a medium walking pace, it was clear that she wasn't in shape but strenuous exercise was out of the question for now. Maybe a gentle swim tomorrow?

Walking back along the walkway, instead of heading back to the conservatory she followed the path to a door on the side of the house. It was locked and bore a security sign warning access to pass holders only. Strange, as Gail hadn't seen any passes other than the police ID cards that were usually found around the necks of officers.

Walking back to the conservatory, she now saw metal shuttering that could be closed, effectively sealing the glassed room off. She was learning more about the building each day, but not about her future. Even so, she was trusting Helen with her financial interests and felt that Emily was keeping her up-to-date with the police investigations. Finally, as Gail closed the conservatory door she considered just how much had happened, and how her life had drastically changed in little over a week.

She sank into one of the chairs, re-positioned a cushion and slept lightly, waking when she felt someone in the room with her.

"Good morning Miss, it's just gone eleven and I though you might like a coffee?"

Gail rubbed her eyes. "Thank you Lisa."

The coffee was a little stronger today, perhaps a new blend, and Gail felt a buzz as she drank. She refilled her empty cup and took it, re-invigorated, into the library.

For the first time since Thursday morning that Gail had been in this room, and even earlier than that when she'd done any research into the Fourani accounts. After firing up her laptop a few emails from Dave Brown arrived, one was an email saying not to worry about getting anything done for a few days - plainly regarding her hospitalization - the other was a plea for any help locating the suspected family connection to the nurse.

That email included the name of the missing nurse, Fatima Hussaini-Davis, Gail couldn't recall seeing the name Fatima, nor any of its' derivatives, but did recall several payments to an individual named Davison. She went back to the 2005-6 spreadsheet and conducted a search.

The results showed several, seemingly random, payments by cheque to 'J. Davison' during the period she was examining. The amounts varied from £100 to £2100 and were all recorded as "services rendered". Gail made a note of the cheque numbers, plus the relevant originating bank account numbers. She then checked 2006-7, finding similar payments, although the later ones were direct account transfers, the last payment was in 2007. However, she now had a bank account number for 'Davison'.

Gail gleefully typed this information into an email and sent it to Dave Brown's team at MI5. She then sat back, taking her eyes of the screen, and wondered how she could justify this connection? Apart from the similarity of 'Davis' and 'Davison', she had very little reason for her joy. After a few minutes her self-doubt was rampant. Gail restarted her search but could find nothing else.

Her laptop pinged and Gail clicked to open a new email.
 

Thanks Gail,
 
From your information, we've identified J, Davison as Janet Husseini Davison, also known as Janet Davis. It would seem she was a student at the London School of Economics the same time as Hamiz Fourani. It also seems that Fatima is Janet's and Hamiz's daughter even though Janet married another Iranian at the time. My team now have several leads to follow, great work.

Dave

 
Gail started to sob, but in this case it was because she'd realised that sometimes a little faith can lead to the truth. Now, where had that come from? She grabbed a couple of tissues from a nearby box and dabbed her eyes, realising that she'd done enough today. Picking up her cold coffee cup she started to walk back to the conservatory.

Jenny seemed to be waiting in the hallway, "Ah Gail, lunch is in a few minutes and I'll take that cup."

Gail had almost finished her lunch, a simple bean salad, when Helen arrived, seemingly up to date.

"Well done Gail, brilliant work!"

"It wasn't that good, I was finding it hard to justify what I'd sent."

"No, you don't understand. You identified something that got your interest, and you ran with it. Because of that, there's an operation in full swing at the moment."

"If I helped a little, then I suppose I've earned my fee?"

"I'd say it's better than that, Janet Davis, or whatever name she's using now, was convicted six years ago of supplying Class A narcotics. The informant was Hamed Fourani. She was eventually released six months ago, it would have been sooner but she managed to supply cocaine whilst at East Sutton Park Prison in Kent and was convicted of that too."

"Oh."

"Oh yes, so your little nugget has opened up the investigation somewhat. Well done." Helen reached over and gave Gail a hug.

"Now, why don't we celebrate and do some shopping?"

Back in the library, Helen used Gail's laptop once again to access online clothing stores, as well as a large pharmacy chain's website.

"What do I need from here?" Asked Gail.

"Well, it's time for another womanhood lesson. You need some more make-up, a manicure set, more nail varnishes, some hair clips and bands; just for starters. You need to be able to slightly alter your look depending on where you're going and what you might be doing there."

"I see, I just tended to use the same look every week in the clubs as I was comfortable doing it that way."

"It might not matter as much in a dark club, but it sure as hell matters at social events, business meetings or High Street shopping."

"I think I'll need some help."

"Already sorted, just working out which day the style consultant can see you."

"Here?"

"No, in this case it'll have to be somewhere neutral, like a hotel room, as her brief will be quite restricted."

"Fair enough, but at least I'll get a day out!"

"Exactly. Now, let's choose what you need then move onto the clothing, I don't think you have any sun dresses? Don't forget purses and bags! How about an MP3 player and some music?"

The next two hours were filled with giggles from the library, until Gail declared that her eyes had done enough.

"That's about another £650 we've spent, but as I said before money isn't an issue,"

"What about the sale of my office?"

"The funds were in my account this morning."

"So how much am I worth?"

"Right now, a little over quarter of a million pounds. I've moved the latest money to your new savings account so that will earn interest straight away."

"Which bank is it?"

"We're using the Trustees First Bank for your accounts at the moment, but keeping an option of moving to Coutts when your assets improve, for better security."

"Coutts? Isn't that the Queen's bank?"

"That's what I heard."

"Can we get out of here?" Gail signalled it was the library she was referring to.

"Sure, fancy a walk?"