The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3345 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.

The great Begian chocolate, sorry detective and I went back to the university after dinner and then up to the scene of the crime. There was police tape at the door but my pass key still worked and we entered the lab. I saw that maintenance had been and boarded up the broken window, in the office the filing cabinet had been forced open and only the notes from Alison's experiments had been taken. It seemed as if whoever had broken in had known what they wanted, had taken it and scarpered.

Where do you start, I looked at the window and its view of the damaged hedge, the cherry picker was still outside, then I walked across to the office and the broken filing cabinet. Nothing came to mind, except it was an inside job because it was so quick and they knew exactly what they wanted. I could see why MI5 had reached the conclusion that had, it was the easiest and perhaps most obvious, yet I felt Alison was innocent. it wasn't the sort of thing she would do.

"Have the little grey cells worked out anything yet?" I asked the brain box.

"Not really seems like they knew exactly what they wanted ant took it."

"My thoughts exactly, looks like an inside job," I replied to her.

"Why did they not take anything else, I mean there's loads of valuable stuff here and they could have pinched the lot?"

I looked at the valuable equipment, microscopes. centrifuges and incubators, all very specialised but plenty of people seem happy not ask questions about its provenance, so it would be saleable, especially the optics.

Trish thought about the same things as I did, none of it made sense unless it was an inside job. "What did they steal?" asked Trish.

Some work on a miracle substance that promoted healing, stuff including jellyfish and various vitamins and some pineapple extract. It apparently healed up bullet wounds extra quick."

"They could use that in America the way they shoot each other over there, it's the main cause of death according to something I saw in your Guardian." Yet another reference to the newspaper I buy but rarely get to read.

"They've yet to do animal trials but so far the evidence on tissue samples is very good." Oops I forgot Trish was against animal testing.

"You mean that they will shoot animals to test their stupid stuff," she asked incredulously.

"Yes, it's the way they prove the efficacy of their drug."

"That's terrible, rabbits and mice."

"They have got beyond that, it's dogs and then pigs."

"What pigs are intelligent animals, why kill them?"

"They have similar flesh to us as far as wounds go."

"What pigs are like humans?"

"As far as flesh wounds are concerned, yes."

"How awful, poor piggy-wiggies."

"I agree."

"How can you let them do it then?"

"I wasn't aware they were ready to move on up to large animals"

"So killing mice is okay?"

"No, I had hoped that we just be using tissue samples which come from humans."

"When do they take them from humans, I'd have donated a certain bit of my anatomy? I can't now but I would have."

"I know sweetheart, but it's scientifically produced from foetuses when they aren't wanted."

"You mean babies?"

"Not quite, they are only embryos which are produced for in vitreo implants, they always make more than they need in case any are damaged or diseased and they would be discarded so are sold to the medical companies. Tissue samples are made from them."

"That's gross, no wonder I want to do physic biology is evil."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, perhaps we had better go."

"I'm not sure that I want to help if they are doing such awful things. Perhaps animal rights people did it?"

"They might have but normally that advertise they've done it, no one has claimed responsibility for this."

"That's because it's the Ministry of Defence they are taking on, they may be misguided but they aren't stupid."

This girl was growing up although displaying typical teen traits, I was waiting for, 'I'd let them use me instead of the animals,' which you usually get as teenagers see things in black and white not the shades of grey upon which reality is founded.

We went home and Livvie teased Trish remorselessly as only sisters can, Oh how I wished I'd had one when I was younger, although April Ashley's siblings weren't very friendly to her and I might have one who was similar which would have devastates me.

I went to bed thinking that despite being at the site of the robbery, I was no further forward and I began to think it was an inside job but would I ever find out who and why? I resolved the next day to speak to anyone who was involved as I knew there were some postgraduate students who had assisted, they often get lumbered with the tedious or boring things, but at the end of the period of they're lucky, they have their names on the paperwork as well and that may determine if they get jobs or not.

Someone somewhere must know all I have to do is find them, the words needles and haystacks came to mind, I wondered if our American cousins used the term, if they understood it and then decided it was self-explanatory. I seemed to sleep okay until the light woke me. I'd left the curtains undrawn last night watching the Moon drift by, I fell asleep before I'd have pulled them closed, so this morning I was awake before five o'clock and by then the day was here and light enough to read except I turned my back to the windows and woke again at half-past seven. Then I leapt out of bed and showered calling the girls as I dressed.

Of course the teasing continued at breakfast and Trish got so fed up she actually stormed off leaving some of her cereal. I had to intervene and told them that there'd be no more of it or I'd get cross and they'd be punished. It went quiet for a while until they found another topic they could give their attention and probably pull apart. Harpies as a term crossed my rather stymied brain.

In my office I asked Diane to get me a list of post grad students involved with Alison's project. She produced it in seconds which impressed me until I discovered she done the original for MI5. I nearly challenged her but thought better of it.

The biggest surprise I had was seeing Toby again when he marched into my office and as usual I offered him a drink of tea or coffee which he accepted and as we settled down with our brews he looked at me and said, "You don't know do you?"

"Don't know what?" Actually there were many things I didn't know but I did probably know more things than the man on the Clapham omnibus.

"Alison is dead."

"What!" I exclaimed at him.

"She was released last night, on bail of course, and she went home and killed herself, leaving a note to say she was guilty."

I found myself feeling quite sick. "How do you know?" I asked him.

"Someone called this morning to ask her some more questions, failed to rouse her and thinking she might have done a bunk, broke in and found her dead in bed, having taken a bottle of pills and the note was on her bedside table. She apologised for letting you all down."

"Can I see the note?"

"No, its property of the security services."

"Can you get me a copy?"

"Why do you want to see it?"

"To check it's her handwriting, we have samples here."

"It was typed, I think."

"She didn't write it then."

"Says who?"

"Says I and I will state that in a court of law."

"How can you say that?"

"She didn't believe in typed notes, she was almost fanatically opposed to them."

"She was under stress."

"So, she'd still have written it by hand, so who wrote it and was she murdered?"

"That puts an entirely new complexion on things," said our pride of the Hants Constabulary and a frown crossed his face.