Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 7

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

 
Take One Daily
 

When Gail put her swimsuit on for her Thursday morning swim, she realised that she had caught the sun during the previous afternoon's session on the sun lounger. Looking in the mirror she could see the tan lines from the halter-neck bikini she'd worn, something Helen had talked her into buying the previous week. More worrying were the red patches between the strap marks.

She padded down to the pool and met Anna there.

"Whoa Gail, that doesn't look too clever, didn't you put any sunblock on?"

"There wasn't any in my room."

"Then you should have asked, silly girl, I'll speak to Jenny about it. Let's get wet."

Gail jumped in and regretted it, the water stung her. She quickly recovered and started to swim up and down, alternating between breast stroke and front crawl.

"Gail, try swimming on your back. The water will help relieve your sunburn, a little anyway."

Gail flipped over and stretched her left arm out to start a back crawl stroke, she made quick progress up the 15m pool. After fifteen minutes of swimming they moved to the jacuzzi for five minutes of winding down.

After Gail's shower she again applied the cream Anna had given her, then looked at the label 'Yam Cream' and wondered what it was. Never mind, her breast area was no longer sore but her nipples were sensitive, in a nice way! She dressed sensibly with a long sleeved top and long cotton skirt, no chance of additional sunburn today, she thought. Gail was heading out of her room when she remembered her new glasses, sat on a bedside cabinet.

After breakfast Jenny again came to her.

"Gail, the diary today looks light but Helen says she should be here for lunch. Anna's told me you need some sunblock. I'll obtain that plus some Aprés Sol and have it delivered to your room.

"Thank you. I'll be in the library for most of the morning I think."

"I'll have Lisa bring you coffee in an hour."

"Ta."

Gail headed off with her daily paper to her laptop and powered it up. So far there was only one email, confirming receipt of the long list of questionable transactions in the 2008/9 accounts. Gail started on the next tax year, from 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010 and commenced compiling another long email, attaching the relevant supporting documents.

It was slow work but Gail had always been methodical, wanting to do the job thoroughly, even though she was reviewing not just the Fourani accounts but also the work done by herself years earlier. Gail made good progress but that meant her coffee, delivered by the maid, was now cold and mostly still in the cup. This was something Gail was used to, when she became overly involved in her work.

There was something else in the accounts that she hadn't previously identified. It reeked of tax evasion, or at least tax avoidance - there is a fine line between the two. Gail at this point could really do with a copy of the tax guidelines for that year, but her office contents had been put into storage the previous week.

She tried the tax man's website but the historical information wasn't there. Gail guessed that the official guides were out of print too, although checking ebay generated a 'Website Blocked' message. Something to ask Helen later, especially as she didn't know which address to use.

Gail continued as best she could and put a brief summary of her issues in an email to Dave Brown at the Security Service. By midday she'd had enough and closed her laptop.

She met Helen in the corridor.

"Hi Gail, come with me!"

"What? Why?"

"Come see."

Helen led Gail down a few steps and swiped her security pass when they reached a doorway. Beyond that were more steps leading to a loading bay in the underground car-park. The lighting was orange, which didn't help identifying coloured items, although Gail quickly spotted a clothing rail on wheels, full of garment bags and plastic covers.

Next to that were several plastic storage boxes, stacked 4 high.

"Is this what I think it is, Helen?"

"Yes, Gail, this is the order we placed last week plus a few bits from the week before that were the wrong size. I've added a little myself, but you won't be charged for those."

"I guess we're not dragging it all upstairs?"

"Of course not, that's why the lift is down here waiting."

It was a squeeze but the clothing rail and the two ladies were soon riding up. When Helen turned a different direction, Gail was confused.

"I thought we were going to my room?"

"We are, but you needed more hanging space so you're being moved to the master bedroom. Jenny is finalising the move right now."

They entered the room and Gail's first thoughts were not the size of the room, nor the sofa and furnishings but the vista; the double windows looked straight out over the grounds at the rear of the house down to the lake and the boundary wall. Looking straight down, Gail could see she was over the conservatory. She turned back to see Helen smiling.

"I thought you'd like it."

"I do."

"There's a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite."

"I had an en-suite in my previous room."

"Not one with a whirlpool bath!"

"I'm tempted to strip and jump straight in!"

"Calm down girl, we're not done yet."

The plastic crates were brought on on a barrow by one of the grounds staff, who swiftly left the room. Helen opened the top one and handed Gail a box.

"My MP3 player?"

"It's an MP4 player with a 4 inch screen. I've had it loaded with a few recent films and several thousand music tracks."

"Great."

"Let's get the rest unpacked." Helen put a large envelope from the top crate to one side. "Later," she mouthed to Gail. They'd finished the second crate when the phone rang, Jenny was calling them down for lunch.

***

Back in the room thirty minutes later, and praying that she'd not get indigestion, Gail decided to tackle the clothes rail, had she really ordered this much?

All work on the crates, one of which was filled with lingerie and hosiery, halted as Gail provided Helen with another fashion show. Of course, there were some rejects again and these went on the king sized bed. That's when Gail noticed a paper bag beside the bed. She reached over and read a small label.

"Abigail Adams?" Then it clicked. She opened the bag, a standard pharmacy bag, and extracted the box inside. The instructions were simple, take one daily.

"My pills! I'm on the pill! I'm on the pill!"

Helen couldn't help herself but laugh, so much in fact that she collapsed on the sofa. Gail did a little dance and flopped next to Helen.

Helen gave Gail a minute to calm down then went to the bathroom, returning with a glass of water and suggested Gail took a tablet out of the packet.

"Which one?"

"Just look for a Thursday and take that, tomorrow take Friday's and so on, that way you can make sure you take it."

"Okay, but why weren't they made out to Gail Jones?"

"I was coming to that," she reached for the envelope that was beside the sofa, "your public identity is Abigail Adams, as we discussed, so anything outside these walls will be under that name. There are exceptions of course, but most official documents and files are being altered."

"My legal name is still Gail Jones?"

"Yes, but for any real purpose you're Abigail. This packet contains your new bank cards, you can sort them out later. Okay, here's your new birth certificate, national insurance number, passport, driving licence, ..."

"Driving licence? I can't drive."

"It's a provisional licence, you've lessons next week in standard and defensive driving."

"I never needed to drive in London."

"Perhaps not, but your new role could take you much further afield."

"Tell me."

"Not yet, it's still being finalised before we make you the offer."

"Offer, Helen? It sounds like a university application?"

"I'd rather think about it as an invite to join a very special club."

"This is incredible."

"Gail, we identified you some time ago, let's take a walk."

 
On The Range
 

Helen put down the brown envelope, which plainly held more documents, and signalled for Gail to follow her from her new bedroom. Once outside she walked into the middle of the lawn, stopping well away from the gravel path.

"We should be okay here, Gail."

"Okay?"

"You see those lights along the path? They're microphones and wide angle cameras, as well as LED lights. The summerhouse is bugged, as is the conservatory."

"So none of my conversations are private?"

"As far as I'm aware, none of the other areas in the house are usually covered by microphones but there's extensive CCTV coverage."

"Should I be surprised? What else do I need to know?"

Helen started walking slowly down the lawn, avoiding any structure.

"Your nurse Anna, is actually your close protection officer. She is a qualified nurse but has special forces training. Her nursing speciality is psychiatry."

"Brilliant, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I saw her with a gun when we had those intruders."

"I was coming to that, it was an exercise to test the new defences, plus the evacuation procedure."

"I get the feeling there's something more?"

Helen thought for a while before deciding to come straight out with the latest issue.

"Yes, Diane has become a problem."

"Why? How?"

"It seems that Essex Special Branch have been conducting a separate investigation into you and spoke at length with Diane when they found her last week. She was asked to bring a GPS device here."

"When?"

"On Tuesday, the receiver was in her main make-up case. It's been seized and she's had her security clearance revoked. Several senior officers in Essex are being investigated, it's turned nasty."

"So why haven't I been moved?"

"There's a GPS jammer on site. She couldn't get a fix. One other thing, there was a crude attempt to follow the van when she was picked up on Tuesday, but the surveillance team were intercepted."

"This is something out of a spy novel!"

"It's deadly serious, Gail."

They'd reached the summer house.

"Come and sit on the veranda."

"What about the microphones?"

"Anna's in the control room and will disable the ones here for the next hour. Want a drink?"

"Drink?"

"There's a fridge, I'll get water for both of us."

The girls made themselves comfortable for what, Gail guessed, could be a long session. Helen's answers had now prompted a whole host of questions.

"I'm not sure which order to ask everything?"

"Let me start then, why have Essex tried to get at you?"

"That's a good start, but I hope it's a rhetorical question?"

"Yes, it seems they didn't accept that this could be a Security Service operation and were still working on the basis that your disappearance was a kidnapping. Remember, you'd been seen in Clacton police station on that Sunday morning and had then disappeared."

"Nothing sinister then?"

"Not at first sight, but it seems someone has been probing Essex because of the missing person enquiry. We're trying to find out who and why. When we know, I'll let you know."

"But there's no risk at the moment?"

"There's always risk, it's just how well you can manage it. Very few people know the location of this house, every single one of those has a regular security review. Everyone else is brought here in a darkened van. That's why Diane was told to bring a GPS device, but there's a jammer in the van too. If the risk becomes too great, you'll be relocated."

"Okay, next question. Why were you already aware of me?"

"There was a large investigation into Turkish crime in Stoke Newington and Islington during the late 2000's and Hamiz Fourani was initially mis-identified as Turkish, so was included in the enquiries. You were seen spending alot of time in his café so some checks were conducted."

"What sort of checks?"

"A few ladies asked you to look at their accounts?"

"There were two or three in quick succession."

"Did they ask to see you at your office?"

"Yes, and more than once in Hamiz's café."

"One planted a listening device under the table that Hamiz used, especially when you wanted to talk to him, and another retrieved it a week or so later."

"Oh."

"They were satisfied that you weren't involved in any of Hamiz's criminal activities, although a full background check was also done. That's why your clearance was managed so quickly, all of the basic work had already been done."

"I did those ladies' accounts again, the following year."

"They were retired officers, and you saved both of them a substantial amount of tax."

"They were nice ladies too."

"I worked with them, I arranged the surveillance."

"Oh."

"We knew about your apartment too, and Gail."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, you looked good in a frock even then, when you had little clue about make-up."

Gail started crying, Helen seemed prepared and had a small packet of tissues to hand. She waited for a minute for Gail to recover.

"Look, it's nothing to worry about, I've been your guardian angel for about six years now. I spotted your potential once we were satisfied you weren't a risk."

"Thanks, but I still don't see what the offer is?"

"I was coming to that."

A phone rang just inside the summerhouse. Helen walked inside.

"Hello? Oh, hi Anna. It's free already? We'll be over."

"What's ready?" Asked Gail as Helen returned.

"A surprise."

"I think I've had enough surprises for one day."

"Consider this a distraction. I have something for you." She handed Gail a security pass on a lanyard.

"It's my photo, but this says Colman & Sons, and that I'm an auditor. Your surprise is that I'm working for a mustard manufacturer?"

Helen laughed, "no, it's actually your security service pass. It also opens most of the doors here, Anna has just had it enabled."

"So it is my surprise?"

"No, let's head back."

They walked back towards the house, this time along the path. Helen led Gail past the conservatory and to the security door by the fitness suite. "Place your pass there, Gail."

Gail did as asked and there was a click. She pulled the door and they walked down a few steps to a room occupied by several people, including Anna. Gail guessed that this was the security control room, the CCTV monitors being the give-away clue.

"Come on, this way. The range officer is waiting."

"Range officer?"

Leaving Helen behind, Anna and Gail walked a short distance to another security door. Two lights indicated 'Safe to enter' and 'Do not enter', at the moment the green light was glowing. Anna led Gail through the door, once inside she picked up two pairs of ear defenders and handed one to Gail.

"Have you ever used a weapon?"

"No, never."

"We're just going to give you a trial run, see how you get on."

"Why do I need this?"

"The ear defenders are for your safety, if you are talking about the surprise then it's a little diversion, a bit of fun. If you're not comfortable then we'll forget it."

"I've never done anything like this before, let's do it."

Gail was introduced to a man, identified only as the range officer by Anna. He proceeded to give Gail one of the most intense safety talks she'd ever encountered.

After an hour Gail was hot and tired, but she had fully enjoyed the challenge. Her new glasses, even under safety goggles, helped and she did better than she, or Anna, would have expected. Getting used to the 'kick' when firing a handgun was the worst part. She was shown how to change and refill a magazine, as well as cleaning the weapons, all under Anna's guidance and the watchful eye of the range officer.

They walked back into the control room, Gail regardless of her enjoyment she was definitely grateful she could leave the weapons in the range.

"Anna, how come I'm allowed down here?"

"As a pass holder, you would have found your way here eventually. However you also need to know that this is the emergency exit from the safe room and there's also an exit into the loading bay and car-park in case of full evacuation. Additionally, if you're in the garden and there's a security alert you can get in here, providing you have your pass. Put it in a shoulder bag and carry that bag at all times."

"I'll go upstairs and sort that out now."

"You might also want to take a shower before dinner. I'll come up with you."

Once in Gail's new room, she first noticed that the crates had gone, more of Jenny's work no doubt. Anna closed the bedroom door behind herself.

"Let's have a look at your boobs."

"I don't have any yet."

"All in good time, have you been using the cream?"

"Yes, what's in it?"

"Yam cream contains progesterone, it will help promote breast growth. Dr Hughes felt you might need it."

"You are a real nurse, aren't you?"

"Yes, I qualified ten years ago in the Royal Army Medical Corps, my specialism was post traumatic stress disorder. I was then placed on detached duty with special forces to care for personnel coming off difficult missions. Sometimes I was needed to be with them at the forward control, that's how I got my special training. I'm freelance now."

"So how did you end up with me?"

"You should have stayed in that hospital for another 24 hours but there was intelligence that there would be a hit on you. We had no choice but to bring you here even though you weren't well enough under the usual guidelines. I was available so Helen called me in."

"How long are you staying with me?"

"As long as it takes; these jobs are open-ended."

"Right."

"Come on, get into that shower and use some cream on when you get out. I'll put some after-sun on your back too, it's in your bathroom according to Jenny. Dinner's in forty five minutes, scram!"

 
Excursion
 

Gail slept well on Thursday night and almost forgot the reason for an alarm call shortly before 7am; she met Anna and Helen in the pool ten minutes later.

"Good," yawn, "morning."

"Hi Gail, come on, get in!"

With the three of them in the pool it ceased to be a sensible exercise session and they hit the steam room rather quickly. Gail had never used one before so this was her latest new experience although after ten minutes they slid into the jacuzzi.

"Is this supposed to be good for me?" Gail asked as she hit the seemingly cold water.

"The Scandinavians claim it's the secret of their long lives," suggested Anna.

"Or maybe that's the high cost of their booze?" Added Helen.

Giggles.

"Guys, I'm sorry I wasn't up to anything after dinner last night, but seriously is there anything else for me right now? I'm not sure if I can take any more?"

"Gail, I've a few bits but maybe we can just chill, it's almost the weekend after all," Helen was not going to push Gail.

"Sure Gail, it looks like it's a good day, maybe we can do something?"

"Like what?"

"A ride out somewhere?" Offered Helen.

Gail stared at Helen, then Anna. "What about security?"

"Gail, relax a bit, with Anna and myself we can manage most things, plus no-one's going to expect to see you; you look nothing like David."

"I suppose so, what do you suggest?"

"Kew Gardens?*"

"Sounds good, lunch out?"

"Of course."

"Right, get upstairs, shower and dressed. Wear your falsies and a decent bra. We'll see you in breakfast in thirty."

Gail was out of the pool and halfway up the steps when she remembered her towel and sandals, as she turned around, Helen handed them to her. "Off you go!"

After breakfast it was clear that Jenny knew about the day's excursion but apparently she wasn't completely satisfied with the arrangements.

"I've asked for a backup team to be with you, but would have liked more than 20 minutes notice."

"Sorry, Jenny, but I was only told a few minutes before that."

"It's not your fault, but Anna and Helen should know better."

After a wash and make-up check, Gail checked her bag. She had now packed her purse with bank cards and her driving licence. There was a little cash leftover from the day Gail went to Clacton, so that was taken as well. She finally remembered to put her security pass in the bag.

Next, what would a normal woman keep in her bag? Gail put a simple make-up repair kit, body spray, nail kit, tissues and some spare pantyliners. Although it was now a week since her operation, and there had been no discharge or blood for days, she was still wearing a liner as she felt more secure.

What was missing? For one thing, a phone. That, as she had been promised, was in hand. Finally she remembered to take Friday's little pill. She was still taking the iron tablets too and had remembered to apply some cream across her invisible bust before dressing.

A phone call from Helen advised Gail to stop daydreaming and meet the girls in the garage.

As Gail climbed into the back of the van, she wondered out loud, "we're not going into Kew in a blacked out van, are we?"

Helen responded, "no, we'll switch vehicles at Brent Cross shopping centre."

"In that case, can I do some shopping on the way back?"

Helen looked at Anna, who shrugged.

"We'll see. While we have some time, here's your new mobile. As I said yesterday, don't try to use GPS in this van or at the house, and you'll find that the phone won't work in the house either, so switch it off there to save the battery. I've programmed a few useful numbers for you but some you can only call if you have the encryption unit enabled. There isn't enough time now to show you that. The phone's security code is the middle numbers of your new National Insurance number, if you can remember that?"

Gail looked at the phone, it wasn't a brand she recognised but it had a standard touch screen interface so wouldn't be a problem. She'd made a mental note of the new NI number the previous day and got it right on the second attempt. If you dealt with officialdom regularly then remembering your NI number tended to speed things up. She locked it and slid the phone in her bag.

"I also have this for you, it's a personal attack deterrent."

Gail held it, trying to read the small print, "it's CS spray?"

"No, that wouldn't be legal. It's a new one that makes the attacker rather smelly and puts UV-reactive dye on their clothes and skin. Put it in your bag."

The vehicle switch was completed ten minutes later using a remote area of the Brent Cross shopping centre. Helen drove with Anna up front, Gail sat behind on her own. A second vehicle held two more officers, a male and a female in plain clothes. This was not a Sunday school outing.

The drive around the M25, towards Heathrow, was as exciting as ever. No-one could get close to the advertised speed limit and idiot drivers were making it difficult by swapping lanes without any notice. Just another day on London's orbital motorway.

They took the A4 towards central London and pulled into Kew at ten o'clock. Helen and Anna both looked around the carpark and used a radio link to the other officers to confirm it was safe. Gail was beginning to wonder if all this security meant that she was silly agreeing to the day out.

"Come on Gail, day dreaming again? Let's find a coffee shop where we can plan the day." Helen, at least, was keen to enjoy herself, Anna was just pensive.

Over their lattés they plotted a route around the gardens of the Royal Botanic Gardens which, Gail noted, was created in 1759. By mutual consent they caught the Kew Explorer land train the next time it passed by.

By lunchtime they'd covered only a quarter of the site, but the sun was out and Gail felt she was free to enjoy herself. Helen, and particularly Anna, were trying to enjoy themselves, but it was difficult to tell at times. The two plain clothed officers, when they came into view, were less interested in the flora & fauna of Kew and more concerned regarding the other visitors, especially in the area around Gail and her primary security team.

They found a table in one of the cafés that her security detail seemed happy with. As Helen picked up a menu, Gail slid her bag off her shoulder and was about to put it on the ground when a young man leapt forward and snatched it away.

Gail sat there in shock, but Anna reacted immediately and was out of her chair, chasing after the thief. The other officers had settled on a picnic bench outside the café and grabbed the thief as he was heading past, knocking him to the ground. Anna decided not to become further involved and turned her attention back to Gail.

"Let me go!"

Park security appeared swiftly, just as Helen and Gail arrived at the scene.

"That's my bag."

"We may have to verify that Miss," he had recovered the bag from the thief and opened it, presumably searching for ID. Helen leaned over and showed him her Met Police warrant, politely and firmly asking for the bag back.

"Can I suggest you escort this lad to the River Thames and have him take a swim?" Helen was hamming it for the audience that had gathered. In the meantime the backup team had moved out of the immediate area. Helen took the bag and passed it to Gail, signalling to Anna to take Gail away.

The security man decided that he'd best do something for the audience, so grabbed the lad and pulled him up, before marching him towards one of the gates. The audience plainly appreciated this and applauded. Helen had now rejoined the other two.

"Gail, I know that wasn't your fault but you do need to be careful in public areas. Let's find another place to eat."

Gail's appetite had gone, but she managed a small overcooked bun and a cool coffee. She bought a bottle of water as the day was becoming very warm. When she needed the toilet it was almost a military exercise.

They walked for an hour after lunch but Anna was quite jumpy every time a likely suspect came close. Helen suggested she took a 'chill pill' but Anna brushed that aside. Eventually it was decided they'd had enough.

Back in the car Helen turned to Gail, "can we leave that shopping trip for another day?"

"Like when I have a full battalion standing by?" Suggested Anna.

"Sure."

The ride back, including the vehicle switch, was uneventful. Gail felt slightly light-headed and opted for an hour's shut-eye before dinner, returning to bed almost immediately after she ate.