The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3348 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.
Before I left the office that night I called the Welcome Trust who was supposed to be arranging for Alison to finish her research in their laboratories, probably working on pigs. I made an appointment to see her future co-worker, a Jonathon Goldsmit, the next day.

Early the next morning I found myself via train, a tube and a cab outside the offices of the Welcome Trust, I had with me my laptop and a sheaf of papers. Dr Jonathan Goldsmit was a short, dark person wearing a yarmulke or kippah, a Jewish skullcap, I, resisted the urge to suggest that a 'Kipper' was a xenophobic little Englander who believed the propaganda of that despicable rogue, Nigel Farage and helped bring about Brexit with its subsequent loss of 10% of the economy, instead we shook hands and then rubbed hand sanitizer on them.

After a cup of delicious coffee, we got down to business. Jon had heard of Alison's death and the burglary at the university, what I hadn't expected was his offer to see his copy of the notes. I couldn't wait and with bated breath sat and perused them. I was there an hour and had only read a small part of them, so as he had another meeting to attend, he offered to have a copy made to take back with me. I declined and asked him to send it encrypted to my computer at the university. I also asked if perhaps he could do a second copy on an encrypted pen drive, which Trish had offered to decode for me when I got home, it meant that if Special Branch confiscated my office computer I still had a copy. He complied but thought as it was likely in the public domain, it was pointless. I disagreed and told him that it was missing but we didn't how many had seen it and it did pertain to national security. He obviously thought differently, but then he wasn't Alison's boss, I was.

I organised a light lunch with Simon, I only seem to see him at the weekends if then, as the bank often calls him out in an attempt to infiltrate their firewalls. The Russians are the usual perpetrators but sometimes we also have to deal with the Chinese or just home-grown hackers which Sammi puts to the sword It wastes so much of her time that she sends them a program which wipes out their hard drive and sends their URL to the police and GCHQ. It is apparently possible to discover that despite their attempts to hide it and being cleverer than they are she always wins.

One or two of the better ones end up being interviewed by Cheltenham and even offered jobs after a deal of screening. Simon and I talked about umpteen things including the recent fires in London during the heat wave and he admitted the new flat had air conditioning which was expensive but necessary. I didn't tell him about why I was in London except to say I had an appointment with the Welcome Trust, which seeing as they sponsor all sorts of research could have been just run-of-the-mill stuff, had he asked, I would have told him just that. I'd also asked James to make all sorts of background enquiries and he went off licking his lips with anticipation.

Simon certainly gets to know the best restaurants and knowing my love of Italian food took me to a little place off Cannon Street. I had a dish made from aubergines and a side salad he had pasta after a minestrone soup, that looked like a meal in itself. If I'd eaten half as much I'd have slept all afternoon, and the half bottle of red he drank as well, would guarantee it for me. Oh well, he'll be grown up in twenty years, perhaps he'll think more about his calorific intake by then, I had my own problems to sort out and Alison was the major one at the moment.

Despite the temptation to read Alison's notes on the train I desisted and read the paper and finished the crossword. I rarely see it until Daddy has finished with it and by then I'm usually too tired so I either fall asleep over it or don't bother. Today was thus treat, even if it did mean paying twice for one, mine and the one delivered to the house.

I got home early enough to collect the girls and still had an hour or two before dinner. Trish opened the drive for me, the encrypted one and by dinner, I had severe doubts. After dinner, more salmon, I set about checking her calculations and I got a different answer. I summoned Trish who had finished her homework and gave the calculations to her. In half an hour she reached the same answers as me. We had reached the same conclusion and she looked as puzzled as I did.

Just as we wondering if we had made a mistake, James phoned. "I had an interesting conversation with a man who reckons he knows who the burglar was and where the papers might be."

"How much is that going to cost me?" I asked.

"Oh, I thought you'd have been pleased with my enquiries?"

"I am, but I have hit a new complication here."

"Oh, do tell."

"I can't at the mo, need to check a few things first," I replied.

"Okay, the stuff I have collected for you is on its way." He rang off and I looked at Trish.

"I still have the same answers," she showed me.

"Unless the original papers are different..."

"This ain't gonna work, ma." I reached the same conclusion so were the original papers different or had Alison cocked up?

I rang James back and asked him to secure the original papers if he could, "Oh, so now you want them?"

"They are the university's property so of course, I want them, I also want to check something against them."

"Okay, I'll try and get them tonight."

"That would be good."

"I'll let you know how I get on."

"Keep safe," I said reminding him of one death related to the papers.

"I shall, I want the pension that's due to me."

"Why did you embark on a career that makes it very difficult then?"

"I thought train spotting or stamp collecting were too dangerous." He rang off before I could comment about his latest absurdity.

"What do we do now?"

"I think we wait and see if there are two sets of notes and calculations."

"And if there aren't?"

"We have a problem."

Trish shrugged and decamped. I sat and pondered what was Alison up to? I didn't know. I would speak to her research assistant tomorrow. I went to bed but slept little as things ran through my mind. Just what was she up to?

I struggled into the office the next morning and on my computer was the same as the papers I had read already complete with mistakes. I rallied enough to hold a meeting but yawned all the way through it and had to apologise to colleagues saying I hadn't slept well the night before, when James text that he had the papers and because they were stolen he had threatened to call the police. They were surrendered without a fight although they had probably been photocopied a dozen times before. A bit later he strolled into my office with them and while he drank coffee I tried to find the calculations.

They were the same, what Alison had done had been wrong, had she known this or not, if she had she might have arranged the break-in to conceal it, she may even have killed herself, the Rohypnol designed to muddy the waters. It felt possible but very sad when all she had to do was tell me and we would have discussed it with the MOD and taken it from there. She could still have been murdered but why? I called Toby and the Special Branch. They both arrived within minutes of each other.

I showed them the papers and the mistakes I'd found in the calculations, they both hemmed and hawed, saw what I was on about and looked at each other. "What exactly are you trying to say?" asked Inspector Duvalle.

"The research is useless, it doesn't work."

"Perhaps it needs tweaking?" Duvalle uttered.

"No it's too far off the numbers required, if only she'd come to me?"
"Did she just miscalculate?" Toby looked directly at me.

"I don't know what happened but this lot is just a pile of junk," was my comment.

"The Rohypnol could have been a red herring, her family doctor didn't prescribe it but it's available if you know where to look for it," added Toby.

"We have at least one case per year of students accused of using it for nefarious motives. Welcome to the internet," I said.

"I have checked with MI5, it's nothing to do with them or any known department, so it looks as if the poor lady did it to herself," said Duvalle.

"As if they'd admit it?" I commented and Toby suppressed a smirk, Duvalle shrugged.

I think I'm going to collect my girls from school and go home," I said and collected my handbag.

The three of us left my office, me telling Diane I'd be in tomorrow when I woke up. Toby laughed and I drove off towards the convent.