Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 6

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

 
Tender Loving Care
 

Helen and Gail managed to spend an hour in the grounds, mostly sitting near the lakeside watching the swans.

"The swans are great if we get an intruder during the night!"

"Does that happen?"

"Once in a while, opportunist thieves who think the place is unoccupied. We have a set of procedures to deal with such events and let the local police handle it, collecting the idiot at our rear gate."

"What do the local plod think this place is?"

"The official line is that the family are away on business most of the year leaving the housekeeper and garden staff to look after the place. There's very few deliveries or welcomed visitors."

"Simple and succinct."

"Exactly."

They made it back indoors with enough time to freshen before the evening meal. Gail had been warned to leave alcohol alone for a while and no wine was on the table. Helen left the house after joining Gail for dinner, promising to see her later in the week.

With nothing else to do, Gail went to her room, wishing she had that MP3 player already. She tried to read the paper, even attempted the crossword, but gave up. By eight pm she'd fallen off to sleep, after remembering her iron tablets.

----

Gail was sitting at the breakfast table on Tuesday morning, glancing through the day's paper when Jenny walked up to her.

"Gail, I've been informed that there are several appointments today and I've been trying to schedule them to avoid clashes, I have a list of them for you."
 

10.00 Doctor Hughes
11.00 Beautician
15.00 DS Keane
17.00 Miss Gardner

 
"Miss Gardner?"

"She's the optician who was here last week."

"Oh. Thank you Jenny, but don't I get a say in who I see?"

"I'm afraid that each of these people has asked to see you, but can't always be flexible in their timing. If there was someone you wanted to see, subject to security concerns, I'm sure we could accommodate them."

Gail dead-panned, "that's okay, I don't have an over bearing need to see Her Majesty at the moment."

Jenny paused for a moment, trying to work out if Gail was being humorous, and allowed a little laugh before rapidly leaving the room. Gail picked up her paper and tea cup before heading for the conservatory.

The Doctor arrived a few minutes late looking flustered.

"Damn M25, it was a lousy car-park again this morning."

Gail noted the reference, still trying to work out where she was.

"Can we go to the medical room?"

Upstairs they found Anna, her nurse, waiting by the examination table. First item was an inspection of Gail's groin, checking the site of the orchidectomy that had been performed a few days earlier.

"Very good, I'd suggest using the pads for a few more days but I don't need to look again unless you have any discomfort, if needed you can contact me through Anna. You can put your underwear back on and get down."

As Gail stepped down she was motioned by the doctor to sit by his desk.

"Now, there are some gaps in your medical history that I'd like to fill. Did you have any illnesses as a child?"

"Just the usual, measles and mumps I think."

"Mumps? How severe?"

"I had to go to hospital for a few days, but I don't remember any details. I was off school for quite a few weeks and missed a school trip to London Zoo."

"How old were you?"

"Eleven I think."

"If it was that severe, it could have affected your testes so they wouldn't mature properly. Did you go into hospital for any other reason?"

"I was bullied at secondary school and pushed over alot but one time I was kicked on the ground in my groin and my arm was broken."

"How old then?"

"Fourteen, no just I had just turned fifteen."

"Which hospital?"

"The Royal London. They put me in an adult surgical ward as the children's ward was full. It was horrendous, I was afraid every night that someone would do something to me, as some of the adults would come over to my bed once the nurses had gone for their break."

Gail was clearly reliving one of her worst experiences, shaking in her seat. Anna came over and held her hand.

"Gail, if it's too much we can finish this session now."

"No, I want to tell it, it's the first time I've told anyone."

Dr Hughes asked "did you not tell your mother?"

"No, she never believed me when I told her what was happening at school, the bullies and the horrible teachers, so why would she believe anything from the hospital? The only time she came to see me was when I was being sent home, and even then she didn't want to."

"Why do you think that?"

"I know it as one of the nurses was discussing it with a doctor near my bed, they thought I was asleep."

"What about your father?"

"He was hardly at home, and took the same stance as my mother. I felt I was no good as a son for him."

The conversation was rapidly heading away from the medical interview that the doctor had wanted and Anna started signalling Doctor Hughes to finish. Anna poured a cup of water and handed it to Gail, along with a tissue to dry her eyes.

"Gail, we'll leave it there as I don't want to upset you further."

"Thank you."

"There's a couple of things to do before we're finished, though."

The doctor took Gail's blood pressure and pulse, then Anna extracted another sample of blood.

"One last thing, the new gender specialist will be here tomorrow but I don't have a time yet. If you like Anna can be in the room with you?"

"I'd like that."

"Okay, we're done. Oh, almost forgot, you are cleared to swim and do light exercise, nothing strenuous you hear!"

The doctor left the room with the sample in his bag. Anna took Gail's arm and led her to her bedroom, seating her at the dressing table.

"Now Gail, let's get your face clean and make you pretty again." A box of facial wipes was ready for use, swiftly followed by fresh make-up. Anna gave Gail advice as she remade her face.

"Thank you Anna."

"That's what friends are for."

That was the cue for a mutual hug.

There was a knock on the door and Diane entered.

"Hi Gail."

"Hi Diane, this is Anna my nurse."

"Hello. Right Gail, I was going to give you a few lessons today but it seems I'm not needed!"

Anna replied, "Gail just needed some TLC. I'll be off now, don't forget Gail you can speak to me day or night."

"Thanks Anna."

"Bye Anna," Diane said, then she turned to Gail, "you've had those breast forms on for almost a week now, it's time we removed them and let your skin breathe."

"I've become quite used to them."

"Maybe you'll have your own one day?"

"Soon I hope!"

"That would require a minor miracle or surgery, neither of which is likely right now. Right, let's have your top and bra off."

When Gail redressed, she was using a padded bra that gave the resemblance of a bust but Gail knew it wasn't the same.

"My own nipples feel sensitive."

"That's quite normal after wearing the forms for a prolonged period. I'm staying tonight so I'll reattach them tomorrow. Fancy a swim in the morning?"

"I've just been cleared to use the pool, so yes."

"Cleared?"

"I had a medical problem last week and it seems I've recovered sufficiently to exercise again."

"Okay. Fancy a walk?"

They talked as the pair walked down towards the lake, occasionally seeing the ground staff looking their way. Gail told Diane about her collapse and hospitalization, finishing with the attack on her room.

"They were after you? That's twice now."

"Three times, I think."

"Yeak! You poor thing, Gail."

"They say I'm safe here, but it's what happens after I leave here that worries me."

They walked on, finding a summerhouse nestling by the high wall at the farthest point from the house. One of the groundsmen was working on it.

"I didn't notice this before?"

"It's new, Miss Jones, delivered at the end of last week and erected at the weekend. It'll be ready for use in a few days when the power and the security system is installed."

"Oh, thank you."

They walked on, eventually coming back towards the conservatory. Gail led Diane to the fitness suite.

"I found it yesterday."

"Fancy using it later?"

"Maybe."

They had entered the conservatory when lunch was called.

Gail excused herself after lunch and returned to her analysis of the Fourani accounts. Various properties were bought and sold, rather quickly in several cases, with one property sold for just £10. Gail thought this was odd and looked further. The purchaser was the missing nurse, named as Fatima Davis in the documents. she emailed this gem to Dave Brown immediately.

Further research showed repeated transactions with Bader Logistik Dusseldorf GmbH in 2008 and 2009, the limit of the research so far. Gail logged them and added these transactions to a longer email that she was writing.

A ping indicated there was a new incoming message, Gail opened it.
 

Hi Gail
 
Thanks for that address, it's a different one to the address the hospital personnel office had, which turned out to be a dead letter drop. I've asked that police go there ASAP.
 
Dave

 

Gail allowed herself a smile. It was approaching 3pm when she closed the laptop down and left the library.

 
Good News, Bad News
 

After leaving the library, Gail headed for her room to freshen up as the library had been quite humid, the summer was definitely here. The first thing she noticed upon entering the room was that a television now sat on a chest of drawers. A remote control was on a bedside cabinet.

She turned it on and switched to BBC Radio 2 while she went into the bathroom for a wee and a wash, before changing her mind and stepping into the shower for the second time that day. After she'd dressed and finished for make-up, Gail grabbed the TV remote and switched to the BBC rolling news channel.

".... dramatic scenes in East London this afternoon as armed police raid a terraced house in Bow. We have an eye-witness video from the scene."

Gail made herself comfortable to watch the story but her phone rang.

"Yes?"

"Miss Jones, the DS is here to see you, she'll be in the lounge."

"Thank you Jenny, I'll be a few minutes. I just found the telly, by the way."

"Yes, it was a bit of an oversight I'm afraid."

Gail switched off the TV, not convinced by Jenny's words and reluctantly went downstairs.

"Ah Gail, do sit down, I'm sorry I'm a bit late."

Gail sat next to Emily Keane who had a laptop with her, a bright yellow network cable disappeared off to a hidden data outlet on the wall. A photo on the screen was of the property in Bow.

"I was just watching that on BBC News."

"Yes, it's the address you provided. We have some good news, let me play you the video taken by the assault team, it's just been emailed to me."

The action was immediate as a battering ram took the door off its' hinges, followed by a stun grenade. Heavily armed officers entered a second later. There was the sound of a shot and a scream, then the cameraman managed to reach one of the rear rooms. Sat there, bound and gagged, was Dr Fox the shrink, behind her and rolling on the floor was another woman. The camera got closer and captured a constant flow of apparent insults in a language Gail identified as Farsi. The woman's face came into focus and Gail recalled the nurse who she'd seen at the hospital the previous Thursday.

"That's her, Fatima?"

"Yes."

"I think I heard a shot."

"She had grabbed a large knife so one of the officers opened fire and caught her arm. She's being treated for that now before being taken to Paddington Green for interview."

"What's happening with Dr Fox?"

"We're waiting to interview her but she's being checked over at the Royal London."

"I'm glad she's safe, despite what I said last week."

"There's more, when we searched the house we found Fatima's mother Janet Davis upstairs trying to flush cocaine packets down the toilet. We found 10kg of coke and a fair assortment of other drugs in the house. She's now helping us with our enquiries and will be going straight back to prison as she's on parole."

"Good news indeed."

"All down to you, it would seem."

"Just a lucky hit while I was looking at the accounts."

"Don't play yourself down Gail, you'll make a great analyst, a forensic accountant if you wish."

"I still don't think I'm worthy of this praise."

"You are worthy, Gail, let me tell you what else we have found out, one of the men who fired the RPG at the hospital is Janet Davis' husband, Iqbal Hussein. His documents were in the house and it looked like he'd been there recently. The forensic teams are going over the house at the moment."

"What about the other man at the hospital?"

"He's been identified now as Iqbal Hussein's brother, an Iranian living in Germany. The Bundespolizei had a match on his fingerprints when we asked them to check. We'll be seeking a deportation order for him, once he's served his time."

"It keeps coming back to Germany, doesn't it."

"Yes."

"So what else is there?"

"In terms of operations? We're still searching several premises and interviewing those we arrested last week on the basis of new information. It also looks as if we've made a great dent in the supply of arms and drugs in London and that's really good news."

"What are the press being told?"

"We're treating each operation as completely separate but it won't be long before a journalist joins the dots."

"Oh, what about my involvement?"

"David has been recorded as missing, last seen in Essex."

"So am I old news?"

"Yes, but the Hackney Gazette has published a story asking if anyone's seen you."

"Typical, they wouldn't run a story about my business but now have editorial on me as I'm missing."

"Remember Gail, newspapers don't want good news, as bad news sells more papers."

Emily closed the lid of her laptop and was plainly preparing to leave, Gail took the hint and bade farewell. Jenny was outside the room.

"Just to let you know, Miss Gardner won't be here today after all, she'll be here tomorrow."

"Thank you."

That was to be Gail's 5pm appointment but she was at a loose end now. Diane solved that by suggesting a visit to the fitness suite, but first Gail had to change. In her room she found the leotard that Diane suggested she wore, and a pair of footless tights. Gail struggled with the leotard then had to take it back off as she'd forgotten to put the tights on first. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in Diane."

"I take it this is the first time you've worn a leotard?"

"Yes, and I look and feel like a right idiot."

"No you don't, but you could do with some sports socks and a pair of sports shoes." She rummaged in Gail's wardrobe, finding a pair of soft soled trainers. "Grab a towel."

Gail's and Diane's opinions about what constituted a 'gentle workout' seemed to be completely different things. Gail concentrated on the running machine, not feeling able to do any upper body exercises. Diane reached over and changed the incline to 5% which Gail immediately found difficult, she hit the stop button after a minute.

"What did you do that for?" Gail was panting and sweating badly.

"No pain, no gain?"

Anna chose that moment to enter the fitness suite and ran straight to Gail, she pulled a water bottle out of her bag and insisted Gail drink it. Anna then turned to Diane and gave her daggers.

"What do you think you were doing?"

"Just some exercise?"

"The instruction was for light exercise, not torture. Gail isn't ready for the heavy stuff so soon after her collapse and hospital stay." She turned back to Gail, "come with me to your room and let's get you in the shower."

Anna helped Gail, who was starting to recover, and insisted Gail had a shower, her third, whilst Anna remained in her room. She then suggested Gail put on a nightie and have an hour's rest before going down for dinner, Anna drew the curtains and left Gail to doze. Anna decided she would check Gail's blood pressure later but at least her patient's pulse had now returned to normal.

Shortly after 5.30pm the phone rang, Gail reached over.

"Intruder alert, intruder alert. Report to safe room immediately." The message repeated.

Her bedroom door opened and Jenny was stood there with Anna, who was now armed. "Get your dressing gown on and come with us immediately."

Gail was led quickly down to the swimming pool. Jenny pulled Gail to the far wall and a hidden doorway opened, an armed man in black fatigues was stood just inside, on apparent guard duty. Gail was herded into the room beyond and found all the staff and visitors there, she felt quite exposed in just her nightwear and gown.

"What's going on?" was the obvious first question.

"We've detected two men in the grounds."

"Why are we all down here?"

"Because we're not sure if they're armed, plus one had Mediterranean features." That could mean one of 20 or so countries, not all of which were friendly.

"Oh." Gail sat in the nearest chair and started to wonder, are they after me again? When will it end? She started to cry.

Anna sat next to her, but first turned to Diane warning her silently to stay out of the way.

"It'll be okay, Gail, this is just precautionary."

"If you say, so."

There was light chatter in the room but the presence of paramilitary uniforms meant most of those in the room were silent. Jenny had left the room, unseen by Gail, using another door. She now returned.

"Can I have everyone's attention? The intruders have been detained and the guards are conducting a full sweep of the grounds at the moment. A full security assessment will be made once we find out the intruders' motives. Please wait here for a little longer."

Gail whispered to Anna, "Guards?"

"The ground staff are also the guards, hadn't you wondered why there's always staff out there?"

"I see."

Gail wondered where the second doorway went, then saw the sign 'Pass Holders Only' and remembered the security door near the fitness suite. She decided not to ask about it at this time.

The door to the swimming pool was opened and Jenny announced the all-clear.

"Dinner will be a bit late," Jenny told Gail, Anna and Diane when she found them in the conservatory a little later. When the three ladies had reached the room, security blinds covering the windows were just being raised.

"Gail, why don't you get changed, I'll have a chat with Diane." Diane looked distinctly uncomfortable with Anna's words.

Gail was back twenty minutes later and immediately Diane stood and hugged Gail.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't understand how ill you were. I was also rude this morning and I apologise for that."

Gail said nothing but returned the hug. Anna just looked out of the window, Diane now understood that the nurse was Gail's close protection officer, annoying Anna was not a recommended approach. When dinner was eventually called, Anna sat next to Gail with Diane across the table. Anna's suggestion of a walk in the grounds after dinner was dismissed by Gail.

"No, I'm going to get into bed and watch some telly."

"Good plan. I'll head up myself."

Gail and Anna left the dining room with Anna suggesting the two have a swim the following morning.

 
Look & Listen
 

Early on Wednesday morning, Gail and Anna were in the pool, the safe room door was again invisible, seamlessly set into the tiled wall. Under Anna's guidance Gail swam gently up and down the pool, not over exerting herself.

"I've been using the pool every morning since I arrived so feel free to join me. Take it easy for a few days then we can start an exercise schedule to help get you fit."

"Sounds like a plan."

As the pair headed out of the pool, Diane came in.

"Gail, I need to re-attach those breast forms today."

Gail instinctively touched her almost flat chest. Anna noticed the shiver that Gail experienced.

"I think I'd best check you over first, it might not be a good idea to glue them in place for a few days. I'll come with you to your room."

Diane stepped into the pool wondering if Anna's comment was concern for Gail or a slap in the face for herself.

Upstairs, Anna was in charge. "Get that swimsuit off," she gently ordered as the two went into Gail's bathroom.

Anna had a look, then touched one of Gail breasts. "That looks a bit sore. Leave the fake boobs off today, I'll find some cream in the medical room that should help. Jump in the shower first."

Anna was back ten minutes later, showered and dressed herself, how did she manage that so fast wondered Gail wondered?

Anna dabbed the cream on both breasts. "Don't put a bra on for a minute, wait for that to be absorbed. I'll leave the pot here so you can use it each morning and night. I'll have Dr Hughes to have a look, but can I ask you one question?"

"Fire away."

"Would you like real breasts?"

"Yes."

Anna dropped the topic. "Get dressed and I'll see you downstairs for breakfast."

***

Jenny approached Gail once breakfast was dealt with.

"I have your schedule for today. Miss Gardner will be here at ten and a Dr Young at Eleven."

"Only two? Who's Dr Young?"

"Dr Hannah Young is a gender counsellor."

"Right, another shrink! Where is she from?"

"Sorry, I haven't been told."

Gail took her newspaper and walked into the conservatory. It was a grey day with spots of rain falling on the glass, a typical British summer's day. She was attempting the crossword when the optician arrived. Gail spotted Anna slide into a chair across the room.

"Good morning Cloe."

"Hello Gail, I have your new glasses; I can fit them here." She pulled over a chair then handed Gail the glasses, who slid them over her ears. Cloe reached over and checked the arms, then asked Gail to take them back off. The optician applied a little pressure to one of the arms and asked Gail to put them back on. A further check and Cloe was satisfied.

"It will take you a day or two to get used to them, especially with the varifocal lens. If you get a headache, take them off for an hour. If the headache persists, leave them off and ask Jenny to contact me."

"Okay."

Cloe pulled a card from her bag and asked Gail to read the bottom few lines, which she achieved easily, although she shifted her head a few times, slightly confused.

"There's three zones on the lens, close, medium and far. If you look through the middle of the lens that's medium, for watching television or similar. Use the bottom zone for close work, like a laptop or reading your newspaper. Pick up your newspaper and tell me if it's easier to read the small print now?"

Gail shuffled her head around.

"Yes, and thanks for the advice, I can see what you mean now."

"Here's a case and a cleaning kit. As I said, if there are any problems contact me and I'll come back."

"Thank you."

As Cloe turned and walked out, Gail restarted her efforts with the crossword, not noticing that Anna had now also left.

Coffee was brought as Gail put the paper down, the crossword compiler has defeated her again. As she sipped she again tasted the stronger blend. Some oat biscuits, Hob Nobs, had accompanied the coffee so Gail nibbled one, unaware that she was being observed.

The visitor waited until Gail had carefully put her coffee cup down.

"Good morning Gail, I'm Hannah Young."

"Good morning, please excuse me but I had a lousy experience with the last shrink I saw a few days ago."

"That's alright, but I don't consider myself to be a shrink, or psychiatrist as such, just a gender counsellor to help you find your path."

"Thank you, I think I've had enough of pushy people!"

"Do you mind if we walk and talk? I'm not that keen on the sterile consulting room approach and the rain clouds are disappearing. I think it's turning into a decent day."

Gail excused herself to go back to her room and find some flats to wear around the grounds. She also picked up a cardigan as her short-sleeved top didn't seem to be adequate for outside.

Back in the conservatory they headed out, following Gail's usual route towards the lake. Gail noticed new lights, knee high, strung along the gravel path.

"So, Gail, how do you feel?"

"That's a difficult one to answer and I'm not sure if I can say very much, but I'm comfortable."

"Maybe I phrased that question badly, how do you feel, presenting yourself as a woman?"

"As I just said, I'm comfortable and no-one here treats me anything other than a woman, although the doctor and nurse do see rather more than the others!"

"How long have you been dressing full-time?"

"Let me see, it's Wednesday today and it was Sunday a week ago that I started, so ten days."

Hannah paused, wondering if she should doubt Gail's assertion.

"How often were you dressing before you went full-time?"

"Once or twice a week for evenings out, or just to feel nice when I was alone. The rest of the time I had to be a man, albeit not necessarily a good one."

"In what way?"

"My father did not see me as the son he wanted and it turns out I was probably infertile."

"I see, did you dress as a girl when you were a child?"

"No, and I had no concept of that."

"So what changed in your life that caused you to go full-time?"

"I can't give you full details but my life was in danger and I needed to get out of London without being seen. I had an apartment at my office where my female wardrobe lived, I stayed there on the Saturday night and decided to leave on Sunday morning as Gail. I've not looked back since then."

"Is it only a disguise?"

"No, Gail was always an another persona for me, not a disguise."

Hannah waited for a few seconds before continuing,

"Have you ever taken any hormones or other drugs?"

"No."

"How do you see your future, Gail?"

"That's a tough one, Hannah, I no longer own anything of David's so my future is solely as Gail. With the help of the people here I'll hopefully be able to go back to working for myself, but I'm not short of money right now. I've changed my legal name and have no intention of going back to my former self, even though it's only been ten days, I still forget at times that I once had a predominantly male life."

"I was given a medical report by Dr Hughes who says your testosterone level was very low and a concern, and that he had to perform an orchidectomy for medical reasons."

"That's what I was told, my testes were barely functional and in danger of causing me serious problems. So far as the hormone levels were concerned, he said he couldn't do anything by himself."

"Correct, I've also seen Dr Fox's report from last week who was satisfied you weren't dressing for any sexual thrill but was not authorised to rubber stamp any treatment on her own. That's one reason I'm here."

"Go on."

"Taking into account the two reports, plus speaking to you and observing you I'm satisfied you are transgendered. Normally this would start several months of sessions but I understand that unless hormone treatment is started very soon Dr Hughes may have to start you on testosterone replacement therapy."

"No!"

"Don't worry, I am going to recommend you begin a course of Oestrogen immediately, albeit a low dosage to start. We'll then have another chat in a few weeks to see how you're coping. I'll ask Dr Hughes and your nurse to monitor you and report any issues to me."

"Thank you. Does that mean I'll get my own breasts?"

"That depends on many factors but most likely, yes. How long before your body responds to the HRT is another matter. You can expect regular blood tests!"

"Wonderful, is there a vampire around here that I'm feeding?"

The pair had reached the wooden summerhouse but saw no-one there, they turned and followed the path back towards the house. Gail took off her cardigan now that the sun had come out. The conversation turned to shopping, clothing, make-up and other interests. "Thank you for listening to me Hannah."

"That's my job, to listen. You'll make a great woman, Gail, that much I can tell from our chat. I best be off, I need to write my report."

"Okay, bye." Gail leant over and kissed Hannah on the cheek before Jenny led Dr Young away to the subterranean garage.

Jenny returned ten minutes later to inform Gail that lunch was ready.

"Is Diane joining us?"

"No, she left earlier today."

Gail paused.

"Do I have any more appointments?"

"Not that I'm aware."

"In that case, is there a sun lounger I can use?"

"I'll see what I can do."