The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3349 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.
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Later that evening James came to see me, He'd been to see the man who sold him the papers and after a little persuasion, he admitted there was another set that he'd sold on to a foreign gentleman. James pushed him to reveal who that was and it transpired he was a Russian. The man who'd broken into the university was also Russian. I asked why they weren't working together, both being Russian, and apparently, they couldn't stand each other. So it's not just me, other people have dislikes too.

He'd apparently left the country, no doubt with the papers, although James having pressed a little harder had discovered there was still at least one copy in this country and he persuaded the man to give it to him. He mentioned that previous copies had been forgeries or altered as they didn't do as the paper suggested they would and if this was different he might part with some cash if not, too bad.

He gave me the new paper and I called Trish, "Check this one," I told her and she went off happy to know she had figures to play with.

"You give a scientific paper to a thirteen-year-old?"

"You want a result in half an hour because she will have been through the calculations twice, or you can wait for an hour and I'll have done them once. She's got A-level maths, I struggled with Ordinary level."

"I mean she's good, but you understand the science."

"Only vaguely, this is cutting-edge and possibly flawed, I'm not yet convinced that she didn't con us all and then commit suicide when she realised the game was just about up."

"D'you really think that?"

I don't know what I think anymore. There are so many versions of it and why did the crown pathologist miss the toxicology, the Rohypnol?"

"Maybe he was crap?"

"Not according to my chap, he is brilliant, so how come he missed it?"

"Or did he?"

"My point exactly, if he had been told to miss it and it was only by chance that my chap found it, it was a minuscule amount but it was there and had mostly metabolised out, so she had taken it some while before she died. She also had some small bruising near the mouth which could mean the tablets were forced on her after she had passed out."

"In other words, murder?"

"Yes, but I'd have expected a stronger dose of Rohypnol, as the security services don't tend to use subtlety unless it suits them, especially when they control the pathologist. They didn't know I was arranging for a second examination."

"But why kill her, it doesn't make sense."

"Unless someone else did."

"You mean the Russians?"

"Well, them or a third party."

"It still doesn't make sense."

"Who was the Russian who sold him the papers?"

"Bogdoff."

I burst out laughing. "Is that his name or what he did?"

"Eh, Bogdoff, ah, bogged off, very funny."

"Not if he killed her."

Before he could reply Trish returned with the figures, "These ones add up," she said, "but there are a couple of terms I haven't seen before in the text."

"I'll have a look, have a biscuit and some milk and off to bed with you," I told her.

"Mum, I'm thirteen, I'm going to have a cup of tea while I read my book."

"Which one?" asked James.

"Quantum Universe."

"Just something light then?" he joked, she rolled her eyes and left handing me the paper and her calculations on a separate piece of paper.

"I wonder if that's the only copy?" he said referring to the paper I held in my hand. "I'll do a bit more digging, who knows what I'll turn up."

"Take care, it's already cost one life."

"I can take care of myself."

"I think that's what Alison said."

"Yeah, but I mean it."

"So did she. She had a black belt in taekwondo."

He left, his car waking up half the neighbourhood as he sped back to his home. I liked him so I doubly didn't want to see anyone harm him, he was a nice bloke but that is no protection against crime, especially, one organised by the Russian secret service, no wonder MI5 were hovering in the background.

The next morning I phoned Toby, I told him I'd got hold of a paper where the maths did add up. "Ah, but does the rest?"

"That's what I'm going to check next, as much of the science as I can, but I still have doubts about it actually working, But I can't check that."

"Cathy, from the rumours that abound about you, you may be the only person who can."

"Which rumours are they then?"

"The magic healing ones amongst others."

"What magic healing?"

"The stuff that happens when you are around, the knowledge you have of others they don't know about, including senior police officers' wives, you get my point."

"You don't believe all that stuff, do you? You do, don't you."

"I have heard some very grounded people talking as if you were the Messiah, they are not the sort you would expect to hear that from."

"Messiah? Don't be daft."

"So with you about anything could happen, including raising the dead."

"Now you are being funny, no one can do that."

"It depends on your definition of dead."

"Yeah, being able to run a marathon, kind of dead."

"I'm only saying what I've heard."

"I suppose it comes before or after flying saucers and ET in you filing system."

"Aliens come first because they start with A."

"Whatever, I have work to do, bye."

He started to say something but I didn't hear it. I settled down with a cuppa ad the paper. Trish had mentioned terms she hadn't seen before, there were some I hadn't seen either, and much of the paper seemed written in a gobbledy gook. I sent for her research assistant, a PhD student, Russell Neme, he happened to be in today and he appeared an hour later. I finished reading the paper and had surreptitiously copied it, I had sent Diane to get me a tuna roll as I'd not had time for breakfast.

Russell arrived and Diane brought us a cuppa. I showed him the paper and after a ten-minute read, he said he thought it was the final version. He told me that MI5 had been to see him and most recently Inspector Duvalle had been, he was spooked by it and didn't appreciate my smirking at his choice of words. I had to explain that MI5 were called spooks. Thankfully he saw the funny side of it and smiled too.

He was kept away from much of Alison's research, she told him she wanted to protect him, he'd been sceptical at first but now he was quite glad she had. I asked him if he had known what it was all about. He wasn't sure but he thought that she had hit upon something quite unexpectedly, which she had thought could revolutionise wound healing and possibly fighting infection as well, but that hadn't been tested. No wonder Welcome were interested. They could make a fortune, again.

I had considered there was a lot missing from the paper, she had hinted at things not stated them fully. It sounded like an interim report and I said as much to Russell, he agreed. After Diane was sent to get more tuna rolls, we sat down and went through Alison's paper, Russell and I did.

She had hinted more than detailed her research and I felt it was an interim report rather than a finished item, I certainly would not have passed it as research degree worthy, Russell agreed. "I've wasted a whole year, she was so secretive, she wouldn't let me in on the interesting stuff. I found her over a hundred papers on healing regimes and she didn't even say thank you."

"Would you like to continue the project?"

"What here?"

"That looks doubtful but the Welcome Foundation seem quite interested. I could put in a word for you."

"Wow, I'd love to but I'd need a lot more information than we have at present."

"Assuming both those and them being agreeable, it sounds more up their street than ours, would you be interested."

"Absolutely, especially if it got me my doctorate."

"We might still offer one of those if Welcome were happy for it to be set up that way."

"Yes, I am interested."

"Right, it might take a little while to talk them into it so I will let you know one or t'other."

"Okay, I wait for you to call."

"Take a week or so off, take a holiday or something."

"No money for holidays as the research grant was suspended when Alison died."

"Okay, have a few days off but keep away from strangers."

"You think I'm at risk?"

"Possibly, pays not to tempt providence."

"Yeah, I was going to go birdwatching at Farlington Marshes."

"I think you'd better not."

"Why?"

"If someone was after you it would be an easy place to either abduct you or deal with you."

"I see, okay I'll catch up on my reading."

"Sounds safer and you can use the library here if that helps?"

"Okay, I'll wait to hear from you."
I called Welcome and spoke to Jonathon again, I told him we'd found a new paper and that I'd spoken to Alison's research assistant who would be willing to continue with the research. He was quite cool about it so I mentioned I had to speak to Astra Zenica so I wouldn't use up any more of his time. His attitude changed immediately and he thought he could find space for Russell after he'd interviewed him of course. I told him we could award a degree but he'd obviously need to do a dissertation which we'd have to mark. He went cool again but agreed to see Russell.

I got Diane to call him asking him to call me, meanwhile, I called Jim and asked him to come to me at the university. Russell phoned and I told him to call Jonathon at Welcome and to wear something tidy, I filled him in on the situation, he thanked me and rang off. Jim did arrive and I had to inform home. I'd be late home.

We searched Alison's lab for anything she may have concealed there,I was sure there was something. Eventually, we did find something, it was taped to the bottom of the lowest filing cabinet drawer and took us several minutes to extract, Jim holding the cabinet at 45 degrees while I struggled with the file which was taped to it. Finally, it was free and I skimmed through it. It may have been what I wanted or what someone else had wanted enough to kill for. I made two photocopies and then with much persuasion got Jim to help me put it back, minus a couple of pages, so I had the missing bits. I swore him to secrecy and we went home where David had made the most amazing souflé and Jim thoroughly enjoyed it, well his share plus anyone else's he could steal, beg or borrow.

Trish and I went off to my study and we went through the maths and then the paper. Without some more work, it would never do what it set out to, possibly Welcome could finish it and possibly Russell would get his PhD. I would submit a version of it to the MOD and tell them I had given it to Welcome as I felt it wasn't really or bag. It was up to them what they did about it, but I would mention Russell's part to them and how he'd like to continue. Jim went home when we ran out of food and I went to bed having decided what I wanted to do the next day.

It was about 2.00 a.m. when something woke me, it was a noise from downstairs. I sat up and listened, we had intruders. I went into the bathroom and called Toby's private number, he eventually answered. "I think we have burglars."

"Stay away from them, I'm on my way..."