Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 1

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

Just Another Saturday?
 
David Jones was an unassuming and private person, self employed as an accountant with a small office in Islington, north London.

One of his customers was at first appearances just the owner of an ubiquitous kebab take-away on Green Lanes, a Turkish area of North London. The businessman, Hamiz Fourani was actually an Iranian by birth and had remained in London after finishing a masters in Business Administration. He'd purchased several properties and had a successful property portfolio. He wasn't too fussy who he leased houses, shops or apartments to so long as they paid their rent. This was his shortcoming, and often became David's problem.

***

David was planning to put in some overtime on a Saturday morning to finish off Hamiz's annual returns and anything else he could achieve in a few hours. His office hours never included Saturday morning so no-one would have expected to find him there.

Unfortunately, someone else was taking an interest in the Iranian's finances and had decided that 7am on a Saturday morning was a good time to get a close look at his files. David arrived there at 0730 with a plastic coffee and a bacon roll and, being short of hands, had kicked the ground floor door shut behind him before trying to head up the stairs.

He was knocked off his feet as two dark clothed males pushed past him, there being no other way down. His coffee didn't survive and the bacon roll was unappetizing when David recovered from the assault. He hurried upstairs to see what their intent had been.

His office door was splintered where it had been pried and two of his filing cabinets had similarly suffered the crowbar treatment, with warped and scratched metal where the drawers were forced open. His office computer was switched on but wasn't logged in and the contents of the waste-basket were strewn across the floor.

"What were they looking for?" He wondered then his eyes potted a post-it note on the desk with one word - Fourani.

David sat down and wondered what to do next, he really should get hold of Hamiz but knew he wasn't due to fly back into the country until the following evening, which originally prompted David today.

If the raiders had been looking for documents, or computer data, then they would have been disappointed. David had already handed back all of the original documents having scanned everything so any data was now purely digital. That data hadn't even been in the office, it was on a portable drive he always took home. He not only didn't store client data on the office computer, it didn't even have an internet connection.

David evaluated his position, apart from cosmetic damage he hadn't lost anything. If he reported this break-in to the police would they really be interested? Regardless, he'd have to wait there all day with little likelihood that they would investigate a simple break-in.

Was it worth informing his insurance company? They would insist on a police crime reference number so that was a pointless exercise. He phoned a locksmith and asked for some better locks to be fitted, plus one of the filing cabinet drawers wouldn't open, and that's where his kettle was stored. He would need to inform Hamiz on Monday, if only to reassure him that his secrets were safe.

If he had been a little more observant then he might have seen the two men who watched from a van as the locksmith arrived, then as David went out to get a replacement breakfast roll.

Thankfully, the locksmith had recovered his kettle from the stuck drawer as the first priority so that was pressed into use. Remembering the spilt coffee, David went downstairs and cleaned up the mess. Checking the rear door to the building he saw that a small pane of glass had been broken, plainly this was the point of entry.

Back upstairs, the asked the locksmith to secure the rear door with a better lock and then phoned a carpenter to fix the damaged doors. Finally, David sat at the office computer and loaded Hamiz's accounts from the portable drive. Most of the morning had gone, wasted, but he was now able to go back to something that had troubled him the previous evening - where was the money going?

David had calculated that around £170,000 of expenditure on the rental properties was spurious in this financial year alone. There were job sheets and invoices, but the paper trail was at best confusing and at worst completely false. He really needed to speak to Hamiz before he could sign off the accounts.

By 4pm he was too tired to work on anything more. David had surrendered on the Hamiz accounts around two and had done a little bit of work for smaller clients. The locksmith and carpenter had long gone. Just to be certain, he checked the building, concentrating on the ground floor.

David now owned the building, after having originally rented just the upstairs office space. There was an empty shop, just a counter and some shelves, below his office and a couple of store rooms in the back. At least that's how it was when the previous owner had died.

David had been offered the building by the deceased landlord's solicitor and bought it straight away. Since then he had refurbished the ground floor, not that anyone apart from the carpenter would have known!

The ground level shop and stores had now been converted into a bedsit with plenty of hanging space, a dressing table and the best bathroom he could fit in the space available. David normally spent weekday evenings at his flat in Hackney, not far from the Olympic Park, but his alter ego Gail stayed in the bedsit when she fancied partying.

He locked up then took the bus back to his flat but, as he got off the bus, could sense something was wrong. There was the smell of burning in the air and the sound of sirens filled the streets. He got closer and saw it was his flat that was ablaze. He edged closer but a policeman barred his way.

"Sorry sir, that's close enough."

"It's my home."

"Ah, just wait there please." The Constable quickly spoke to a senior officer who asked David to sit with him in a police car.

"Mr Jones?" David nodded. "We had accounted for everyone else from the building so I was anxious to find you. Where have you been today?"

"I was putting some extra hours in at my office, trying to get some work finished."

"What is your work?"

"Accountancy, nothing exciting."

"I see. Did anyone else have access to your flat?"

"No, why?"

"The fire service found an unidentified middle-eastern looking gentleman in your flat, you wouldn't know anything about that?"

"No. Can I collect any of my belongings?"

"Sorry Mr Jones, but it's now a murder inquiry as well as a suspicious fire. Do you have somewhere to stay and could I have a mobile number?"

David handed him a business card, "I'll be at my office."

Back in Islington, David went to the rear of the property and let himself in through the back door, then into his hidden bedsit. Something was very very wrong. He took a microwave meal out of the small freezer and zapped himself a very unsatisfying dinner.

 
Phone calls
 
Sunday morning, sometime before 7am. Gail peeled off her nightie and headed into the shower. She made a coffee and put a small TV onto breakfast news whilst blow-drying her hair. She shut off the hairdryer when pictures of David's flat came on the screen. The caption said "Body identified as Hamed Fourani, Iranian."

David had met Hamiz's brother once and hadn't liked him. What was he doing, dead, in David's flat?

David was clearly in danger but had grudgingly decided that it was safer to disappear as Gail, in disguise.

Gail finished getting dressed, and opted for a white blouse with a long navy skirt and a leather jacket. She packed a holdall with enough for a few days and just after 8am checked all the locks before letting herself out the back way. She hailed a cab when she was a couple of streets away. "Liverpool Street please"

Just over 15 minutes later she was on the concourse at London Liverpool Street surveying the departures board. The station serves the whole of East Anglia and several hundred miles of coastline. Her choice this morning was to disappear into the madness that is Clacton-on-Sea in mid-summer. She bought a newspaper and then a return ticket, paying cash. She figured that a single ticket to the coast might be remembered by the woman behind the glass screen, where as she was just trying to appear to be another day-tripper.

Gail checked she had her debit card in her purse. Many years earlier, before the banking laws had tightened up, she'd opened an account as Gail Jones and had put £10,000 in it; even accountants occasionally hid their own money. That account was unconnected to any of David's personal or business accounts.

Although David had to appear to be a responsible businessman, he was incredibly insecure. It was through the Gail persona, initially at college and subsequently in his professional life, that he found a counter-balance to his humdrum life. Gail was known to visit the best clubs and keep dancing until almost dawn, always refusing offers of a ride home. One advantage of the office/bedsit location was that London buses ran 24 hours past the front door, she could get back to the bedsit from just about any club in London in the wee hours.

***

As soon as the train reached its' final destination, literally the end of the line, she grabbed her holdall and made for the door. Once on the platform she looked quickly up & down to check no-one was on her tail, but saw only a few dozen complete strangers, each with their own issues.

She walked out of the gate, and was surprised at the lack of ticket gates or even staff. This was supposed to be a busy seaside resort and not the back-end of nowhere. She headed into the centre of Clacton-on-Sea looking for a B&B

To any casual observers, Gail was nothing spectacular, just an ordinary 30-something with a ditzy head. Nothing could be further, however, from the truth and Gail was just happy that most would get completely the wrong impression, as it might end up saving her life.

***

She walked purposefully from Clacton-on-Sea station and went looking for somewhere to stay in this coastal resort. She quickly found the tourist information centre and picked up the local hotel association's leaflet. Armed with a local map she continued her walk.

An hour later, Gail was booked into a small hotel a few minutes away from the town centre, and the town's pier. Having deposited her holdall in the hotel, she took a walk along the pier, past the amusements and the rides, eventually finding a small café. She'd just finished a second coffee when her, or rather David's, mobile rang. No number was displayed.

"Mr Jones?"

"Who's calling?"

"Detective Inspector Jack Regan. My colleague Detective Sgt Carter came around to your office and saw that someone had forced entry and there's rather a mess at the moment."

"Oh."

"You don't sound too surprised Mr Jones. I take it you know rather more than you said yesterday afternoon?"

"I'd rather not discuss this over the phone, if possible. I think I'm at risk."

"Come to your office and we'll discuss it."

"I'm not in London right now."

"So where are you?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Mr Jones, you're placing me in a difficult position. If you're withholding information about arson, murder and, most recently, a break-in, then that makes you a vital witness or even a potential suspect."

"I understand that. Is there a number I can call to get hold of you?"

"I'm afraid I don't give out my number, but I'll be waiting at your office.”

Gail nervously looked around to see if anyone overheard the conversation, even though she hoped that she'd given nothing away. She wasn’t convinced by this call and something about the name rang bells.

She weighed up her options. Her home had been destroyed, her office was apparently wrecked, again, and a client's brother had been murdered at her home. What was happening? She really needed, as David, to talk to Hamiz, but his plane wasn't due in for a few more hours. Virtually no-one knew about the bedsit but how long before she was spotted there, whether as Gail or David? No, she couldn't go back to London straight away.

Gail considered walking to the local Police station and asking them to make the call, but proof of ID would be an issue plus the potential for them to take her into 'protective' custody, otherwise known as 'helping with enquiries' followed by a free ride back into an uncertain London.

Instead she walked into one of the small mobile phone shops and bought a simple model, then put £20 credit on it. She walked back to the pier, down to the end and sat on a bench. This was very exposed, and a bit breezy, but she could see everything around her. There was no hiding place.

She decided to test a theory and dialled the number for New Scotland Yard, 0207 230 1212.

"Metropolitan Police Service, how can I help you?"

"Err, DI Jack Regan please, he works in Islington I think?"

There was a laugh. "That's a name from the 70s."

"I was just called and asked to call to see the Detective Inspector, I suspect it was a fake and I think I’m at risk."

“What’s your name, dear?”

“I’m David Jones and I'm calling about a fire and murder in Hackney.”

There was some tapping on a keyboard. "I'm putting you through to someone who can help you."

"Thanks."

"SO15. Who's calling please?"

"My name is David Jones and a DI Jack Regan asked me to call."

There was a moment of silence, there was a new voice. "Why are you calling?"

"My office has been raided, my home burnt to the ground and one of my client's brothers is dead."

"The client's name?"

"Hamiz Fourani."

There was a pause and the sound of more keys being tapped.

"Right, it looks like you're in a boat in the North Sea, going somewhere?"

"No, I'm on a pier and I don't think I'm safe. Who are you anyway?"

"We're SO15, counter terrorism unit, and we're very keen to speak to you."

"Why?"

"Not over a mobile phone. We'll send a car. If you get a call from anyone else it won't be us. This DI Regan is a fake, a ruddy obvious one at that. Where are you staying?"

"I'm booked into a B&B, on the sea front, but I'd rather not say which one."

"Right. We have CCTV available now, are you dressed as the lady on the far bench?"

"Yes"

“What name are you using?”

“Gail.”

"Okay Gail, walk to the the pier entrance and we'll collect you there in a few minutes. Don't stop for anything."

She walked carefully back along the pier, scanning constantly. She was coming past the Helter Skelter when her original phone rang.

"Hello David, you do look nice in that frock."

Gail cut the call and switched that phone off, it was one thing for the genuine police to be able to locate her, even on a brand new phone, another thing entirely for a gang of who-evers. She was very wary now but still couldn't see anyone.

To get off the pier she had to walk past the noisy and busy arcade. If someone was here to grab her, any screams from Gail would get lost in the mêlée, not good news. She continued looking but had no idea what her assailant looked like. Then one of her heels became stuck in the boarding and she stumbled. Crouching, and rather distracted, she took off the offending sandal and pulled the heel clear. She rubbed her ankle before putting the sandal back on.

She was jostled as she stood and grabbed firmly from behind. "Don't turn around David, or whatever your pretty name is, just keep walking, we need a talk about mutual interests."

Gail, almost without thinking, rammed her right foot down, and through the man's shoe. He cursed loudly and dropped to the decking, releasing her. She ran, as fast as possible on her heels, to the pier entrance and straight into two uniformed police officers. She was clearly distressed.

"Leather jacket and navy skirt I was told, looks like you're the one I'm expecting. I suggest we need to get away from here and you look like a cup of tea is required, our car is just here.."

Five minutes later she was being driven into the compound at Clacton Police Station and taken straight to an interview room.

"Sorry Miss, I wasn't told your name?" "Gail" "Thanks. There are some suits from London who are coming here to talk to you but you're free to go if you want to. That's all I've been told."

The tea took a few minutes so arrange and although the door of the interview room was left open, Gail felt very isolated at this time. She'd finished the tea and was reading a magazine from her bag when two plain clothed officers, one male and female, came into the room and closed the door.

"Mr David Jones I presume? Or do you prefer Gail?" The female officer was clearly taking the lead.

"Right now, Gail, although you know that's not my legal name."

"Okay, I'm Detective Sergeant Emily Keane and this is Detective Constable Adam Smith. We'd like to get some information from you quickly then get you back up to London."

"I'm not sure how much I can tell you?"

"Let us be the judge of that. Now, start with the break-in at your office."

Gail went through the previous day's events and her decision to leave London, dressed as her female alter-ego, followed by the day's calls. DC Smith, who was making notes, tried to contain a laugh when DI Reagan was mentioned. DS Keane gave him a look that caused him to apologise, and an explanation.

"We'll need to check your phone and we'd like a look at those accounts."

"You're welcome to my phone, but the call from The Sweeney was withheld. As for the accounts, I'm afraid you'll need a court order or authorisation from Hamiz Fourani when he gets in tonight."

"That would be difficult, he was found dead in Düsseldorf yesterday morning."

"Oh. So I won't get paid? Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"As I was saying, we'd really like to see those accounts. where is the hard drive?"

"In my case at Hotel Ocean, I'm checked in there as Gail Jones."

DC Smith left the room and was back a minute later, an officer had been despatched to recover her holdall.

Gail suddenly realised she needed a wee so went to go out of the room but didn't know which way to go. The two officers, from London were strangers in this Essex seaside nick so couldn't help either. Fortunately a local officer was able to guide Gail to the ladies loo before there was an accident. It seemed that the local staff hadn't been told that Gail was really David.

Back in the room, noting that DC Smith was again absent, she asked an outstanding question, "do I have to go back to London with you?"

"We can't force you but it's clear that you're in danger and could still have vital information you haven't said yet."

"So I'm helping you with enquiries?"

"Yes"

"And why is SO15 interested in this?"

"Mr Fourani and his brother seem to have been involved with a German group, sort of grand-child of the original Baader-Meinhof gang."

That was a name from the 70s, what relevance was it now in 2014? It did however explain the SO15 involvement.

"Okay, how are we getting back to London?" "Helicopter." "And how did you get here so quickly? It wasn't that long ago I was speaking to someone at New Scotland Yard?"

"We'd traced your phone's location this morning when it was clear you weren't at your office, and followed it here to Clacton. We just didn't know who to look for until you rang us."

"Why not ring me?" "We did once but it was engaged and we didn't get a chance to call again."

DC Adam Smith returned and said to the DS that he'd faxed his notes and had organised a car to get us to the chopper. In his hand was my holdall.

Ten minutes later we were strapped in and set off for London. Talk was near impossible on the flight so she just looked out of the window at the Essex countryside as they flew the 60 miles back to the 'smoke'.

They landed at City Airport and transferred to a car but weren't heading into central London.

“Where….?”

"To a safe location until we can neutralize the threat."

"How long .....?" The answer was a shrug.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 2

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

Interrogation

The drive from City Airport on Sunday lunchtime took 30 minutes, about the same time as the helicopter flight from Clacton. Not long after Gail and the two police officers arrived at the, anonymous, safe house, Gail realised it was just after 1pm and she was hungry, breakfast hadn't happened. There was also a list of things she wanted to know from the officers about her flat, the office, bedsit and her possessions.

The police had David's phone and she was told not to expect it back soon. They also cautioned her against calling any friends using her newly acquired mobile."What friends?" was her response. She'd also handed over her portable hard drive, that held the accounts for her, now dead, client Hamiz Fourani.

Gail was introduced to Jenny, the housekeeper, who would babysit Gail, any suggestion of going outside was immediately discouraged. She wasn't entirely certain where they were, but felt it was near Romford on the far eastern side of London. No doubt the M25, London's orbital motorway/carpark wasn't very far away either.

Jenny produced a plate of questionable sandwiches and a cup of tea, with promises of a proper meal later, "I only found out an hour ago you were coming here, Miss Jones, and this was made up quickly at the other house."

"It's Gail."

"Sorry, the rule is that you're Miss Jones here." What other house, she pondered, as she went in search of a loo.

Twenty minutes later Gail was invited into an interview room. This was most unlike the police station room she'd sat in earlier that day; there were soft chairs, a coffee table, low lighting and a water dispenser. A large screen hung on one wall but was off. The door was very firmly closed and the room fell very silent.

DS Emily Keane was in the room together with a new face, referred to as Mr Brown. His role was not explained at this time.

"Please get comfortable, we have much to do here Miss Jones." A cup of water was placed in front of Gail. "We need to start when you first had dealings with Hamiz Fourani."

"That was in 2005, just after the 7/7 bombings. I'd not long qualified as an accountant. I didn't have an office at the time and used a coffee shop for meetings. Hamiz owned the coffee shop and that led to me looking over some accounts for him. He thought one of his employees was siphoning money out of the business, but couldn't see where from. I found it and he said he was going to fire the employee. I recall that when he came back, he smelt of petrol but said there was a problem at the garage when he'd overfilled the tank. I had my suspicions but he'd killed the guy, but it seemed far fetched."

Mr Brown made a few notes but said nothing.

"So, Miss Jones, how did the relationship develop?"

"He then asked me to look at some bank statements and reconcile them with chequebook stubs and a ledger. I found mistakes and enough questions to warrant digging deeper. So, I asked him if that's what he wanted me to do and I told him what my fee was, plus all the coffee I could drink."

"How much of his business is on the hard drive?"

"Everything from 2006 onwards plus a few bits in 2005"

"Everything?"

"As far as I'm aware, although there were some questions about the current set as £170,000 is missing but it could be even worse."

"Why do you say that?"

"He added two new very small plots of land to the portfolio in the last 12 months but I'm not convinced they physically exist. The addresses are in the files."

Mr Brown made another couple of notes but said nothing.

The questioning continued but Gail was having difficulty remembering dates for events strung over the previous nine years,and it was obvious to DS Keane.

"OK Miss Jones, let's go over yesterday's events again, nice and slow."

Gail repeated everything she'd already said that morning, but added little details where she could. Even with some probing questions, it was clear there wasn't a lot more to be said.

Gail then felt a need for a wee so asked to be excused. Coming back into the room, Gail could see that the screen was on, showing the contents of the portable drive. A mouse was on the coffee table.

"Right Miss Jones, could you show us where your concerns are for the 2013-2014 accounts?" This was Mr Brown and he was referring to the latest completed financial year.

Gail went through the spreadsheets and then the scanned supporting documents, trying to keep the language simple. At various points she was asked to hit the print button even though she had no idea where the printer was.

Eventually DS Keane called a halt, saying they'd done enough for the day. Mr Brown left with barely a nod of acknowledgement.

"Who is he?"

"His speciality is large scale fraud but I don't exactly know who he works for, certainly not The Met Police."

"A spook then?"

"I couldn't possibly say."

"Right, can you at least bring me up-to-date on what's happening at my flat?"

"I can't but another officer will speak to you later. I'd also like you to speak to a counsellor."

"A shrink? Why?"

"Because you seem to be handling all this rather too easily and that worries me."

Gail shrugged, but inside she was torn up. As far as she was aware, the only personal items, including clothes, were those she was wearing plus a few changes in her holdall. Everything else had been destroyed?

A tear rolled down her face and a tissue was produced from somewhere. "I'm sorry."

"Gail, it's not your fault you're caught up in this, but we'll help you sort it out. Okay? Just speak to the shrink, errr, counsellor, and take it from there. We'll get you that update on your flat after you've had some dinner."

"Thanks, Emily."

The housekeeper, Jenny, showed Gail to a bedroom on the next floor with en-suite. Her holdall was open and her minimal clothing had been hung or placed in drawers. Her nightie was folded on the pillows.

"So this is home for the next few days? Are there cameras and microphones in here?"

"I'm sorry Miss Jones, but I know nothing about that, this isn't my usual workplace. Dinner is in an hour."

Gail had a wash and re-did her make-up. A shower could wait, and she really did have to go shopping and get new clothes, but as Gail or David?

Dinner was an odd affair, Gail ate in the kitchen with Jenny but there was very little in the way of conversation. She got the feeling there were others in the house, but only the two of them ate. As Gail was finished, she started to head back to her room but Jenny had other news.

"You have a visitor, she's in the lounge."

Gail went back to the earlier interrogation room and this time noticed the sign 'Lounge' on the door. A woman rose to great Gail as she entered the room.

"Hi Gail, I'm Helen Bell."

"Hi Helen. Are you a police officer?"

"Not exactly, I'm a family liaison officer working out of Stoke Newington police station. I have some information regarding your properties."

"Right, what can you tell me?"

"Firstly, your flat is sealed off as a murder scene but there's not a lot left there after the fire brigade put the blaze out. To be honest, apart from a few bits & pieces, it is a total write off. How was your insurance?"

"Adequate, I suppose I can cancel the rent payments though."

Helen laughed. "And the council tax too!"

Gail was getting to like Helen, in spite of the bad news. "So, there's nothing recoverable from the flat?"

"We have a few bits, and we'll get them to you tomorrow."

"Was my laptop amongst them?"

"No."

So far, this was not fully unexpected, but everything relating to David was at the flat, so she'd have to start again where David was concerned.

"What about my office?"

"Two officers went around there this morning to find you and disturbed two men who were turning the place upside down. Your office looks like you need a complete makeover, like those reality shows."

"What about, downstairs? I have some rooms there."

"That hadn't been touched, nice job of making it all look like storage. We had a local locksmith and a carpenter go there, to secure it. Strange thing was they both said there'd been there the day before, because of a break-in. The carpenter told us what was hidden downstairs."

She decided she should remove that carpenter from her Christmas Card list. "Oh, I need to go there and collect a few things, enough for a few more days at least."

“I guess that's where your female wardrobe is?"

"Yes, although there's not much in the way of day-wear. Is the building secure?"

"Yes, I haven't been told much, but I don't think that would be a good idea. Give me your keys and I'll collect some clothes for you, although it sounds like we'll have to consider shopping too."

"Okay, but I don't like the idea of being cooped up in here."

"That's understandable. But if the counter terrorist unit are looking after you, then it's deadly serious."

"You're right, I guess."

"Let them do their job. Now, I have a suggestion."

"Carry on."

"I guess you're staying as Gail for the time being, not a bad disguise, but you need to do some work on it. If you like, I'll organise a hair stylist and beautician to see you?"

"Here?"

"Yes, they'll be vetted and know not to ask questions."

"I thought you were a family liaison officer with The Met?"

"I might have another job, as and when needed." She smiled.

Gail was shattered by the time she made it up to her room, and by 8.30 was fast asleep.

 
Doctors

Monday morning came streaming through the windows but it was the presence of the housekeeper, bearing a cup of tea, that woke Gail.

"Good morning Jenny."

"Good morning Miss Jones. It's 7am and breakfast is in 45 minutes. I believe your first appointment is at 8.30."

"Thank you." What was the first appointment? Never mind, a wee, a shave, shower and then the dilemma of what to wear. She chose a denim skirt and simple top, although it was very 'plain Jane' compared to the previous day.

The used clothes had gone by the time she returned from the en-suite shower and Gail dressed quickly. She hadn't used anything in her moulded bra the previous day but had a pair of chicken fillet inserts that gave the semblance of a bust in a light bra. She wasn't entirely happy with the look so threw a cardigan over her shoulders. A light touch of make-up and she was ready.

Down in the kitchen a simple breakfast was offered, although she ate alone. When Gail had finished her second cup of tea, Jenny directed her to a room at the back of the house. Opening the door it was very bright and plainly a medical facility.

"Come in Gail, thank you Jenny."

"Err, hello?"

"Good morning, I'm Doctor Hughes and I just need to make sure you're fit and well."

"Okay."

"I was able to get your medical records this morning and it looks like you haven't seen a GP for a few years."

"I wasn't unwell and wouldn't bother a doctor for a cold or anything like that anyway."

"An annual check-up is still a good idea, although women tend to be more willing than men. Can you slip off your shoes and stand on the scales? Right, 60Kg. Now over there, that's right, your height is ...... 1.75m."

Gail stood there not knowing what was next, whilst the doctor wrote down the numbers and performed a little calculation.

"Your BMI is 19.5, so at the lower end of healthy. Come and sit here so I can take your blood pressure."

He wrote the numbers down but didn't tell Gail what they were, just "Okay, now can you take off the cardigan so I can extract some blood."

This was Gail's least favourite part of the examination so far, she hated having blood taken and really couldn't understand why Dr Hughes needed to fill five vials so she asked.

"I've been requested to complete a full screening, so full means full. So, finally, I need you to strip."

Gail was less than happy at this prospect but guessed that if the Doc had her medical records, he knew she was also David so would have a little extra. She nearly ran out of the room, naked, when the one finger glove was put on.

"Really?"

"'Fraid so, prostate cancer is a killer amongst men so you get a free check-up."

Two minutes later Gail was dressing herself and the Doctor was finishing his notes. He beckoned her to join him next to his table again. A small container sat on the desk.

"Could you pop into the toilet next door and give me a specimen please."

Reluctantly Gail did as asked, and returned to the medical room a few minutes later.

"Thanks, I'll have to wait for the bloods to come back but right now you're relatively healthy, perhaps a little anaemic so I'll prescribe some iron tablets. Your weight is a little low but you aren't, at first sight, likely to drop dead tomorrow!"

"Cheers."

"No problem, if anything else crops up I'll ask to see you again."

Gail guessed that he'd ignored her rather obvious lack of enthusiasm as she walked out of the room. Jenny was waiting outside.

“Did he examine you?”

“Yes.”

“You should have called me! You should not be in a room alone with a male doctor, understood?”

“Yes.” Gail didn't remember having this problem before.

"You've got time for a cuppa if you want one before your next appointment."

"What one's that?"

"I don't know, the Met don't tell me anything here."

So far as Gail was concerned, this was an obvious case of left-hand and right hand not communicating. She followed Jenny to the kitchen where a large teapot was sat ready. What was also odd was that apart from Jenny and the few visitors, she had seen no-one else. If this was a safe house, where was the security?

"Oh, Miss Jones, a bag was dropped off while you were with the Doctor, I've put it in your room."

"Thank you," but was it David's or Gail's stuff?

Gail felt more relaxed after the cup of tea, and had almost forgotten the medical examination. Was there a relaxant in the tea? They wouldn't do such a thing, would they - whoever 'they' were. Now she was confusing herself.

"Your next appointment is in the snug, I'll show you the way."

Once again, Jenny seemed to know more than she was telling or was she getting information from somewhere? This was another room that Gail hadn't noticed. Jenny left her at the door and headed back towards the kitchen.

Gail pushed the door open and walked into the small room, just two armchairs and a coffee table. Water and a box of tissues sat ready. The room's occupant rose and held out her hand.

"Good morning Gail, I'm Dr Fox, consultant psychiatrist, here as a counsellor on behalf of the Met Police."

"Hello," Gail replied - very warily.

"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable. My job here is to make sure you're okay and to see if there's anything we can do for you? I have no agenda and I'm experienced in all matters related to gender and transgenderism, as well as post traumatic stress disorder and common stress-related issues."

"But I'm not ......"

"So you don't consider yourself to be transgendered?"

"No, this is all a bit of fun." Gail did not sound convincing.

"Have you ever discussed your cross-dressing with anyone?"

"No."

"Have you been identified as David when dressed as Gail?"

"Only yesterday morning, on Clacton Pier."

"What happened?

Gail explained briefly, although it was clear that Dr Fox had been briefed.

"Do you have any family?"

"No, I lost both my parents to cancer 8 years ago and I'm an only child."

"So how did it start?"

Gail explained that David was not a pub person and wasn't comfortable in a bar with strangers. He was extremely insecure, a lousy talker and had no fashion sense. He effectively had no social life.

Years earlier, when he was a student, David had been the guinea pig for a few girls who wanted him to experiment and had found he could enjoy himself in this way. Gail was born there but he had owned very few items of female clothing and no make-up.

When the idea of going to clubs came up, he'd tried it as David but wasn't enjoying the experience. That prompted building a female wardrobe and experimenting in private before hitting the clubs as Gail.

David was well known to his nosey neighbours at his Hackney flat and had no plans to introduce them to Gail. That prompted the refurbishment at his office in Islington. It became Gail's place to crash on a Friday or Saturday night but not somewhere David could live permanently.

She told Dr Fox how she saw herself as a part-time party girl. She was never short of dance partners, or men buying her drinks. At first Gail thought she'd get thrown out of the clubs for using the ladies loo, until she realised how no-one pays any attention. The bouncers and door staff recognised her and would let her jump the queue from time to time. It was a world away from a 5ft 8" skinny and unattractive male accountant.

"Why did you decide to dress as Gail yesterday morning?"

"It seemed that it was the best way to avoid whoever was after me."

"So, you're more confident as Gail?"

"I suppose so."

“Who is happier, Gail or David?”

“I am, Gail.”

"Would you become Gail permanently?"

"I don't know, I really don’t." She grabbed a tissue as her eyes welled-up,then took sips of water to settle herself before Dr Fox started again.

"Okay, but how do you see things right now?"

"Virtually all my male belongings were either burned or soaked in foam and water. All I have left is my female wardrobe, albeit limited. So do I carry on as Gail until this situation is resolved or try to recreate David straight away?"

"That's an interesting phrase, 'recreate David'. You're referring to yourself in the third person."

"I kept the two lives separate."

"But I bet you sometimes got to go out as Gail mid-week?"

"Yes."

"And did you do client work whilst dressed as Gail, when you weren't expecting visitors?"

"Yes, sometimes."

"So the two lives are not separate, there's a real blurring going on, but is Gail the stronger personality?"

"I suppose it is."

"In that case, under that exterior shell, which are you? Gail or David?"

"Gail."

"Not David?"

"No."

"If I had a magic wand and you could restart your life as Gail, all day, every day, would you want that?"

"I think so?"

"Still some doubt, that's healthy."

"So am I ready for the loony bin?"

"You mean the white coat brigade? No, not at all. Based on what you've told me, you're probably transgendered. Now, although I'll write that in my report, unless you make an continue to see me or another gender specialist then nothing further that can happen. It's your call. I have a surgery at Queen's Hospital in Romford on a Tuesday, here's my card. If you want to see me under the NHS then I'll need a referral from your GP, do you have private health insurance?"

"Yes."

"Good, that lets you queue jump. The NHS wait can be 6 months to a year."

Gail wasn't keen on queue jumping, but figured it might be useful this time, if she needed to remain as Gail.

"Dr Fox, who do you see here? A man or a woman?"

"Gail, it's not as simple as that, it's more a case of how do you see yourself?"

Gail pondered that for a minute, then decided she'd had enough of the probing. "Are we done?"

"Yes, unless there's anything else you want to ask?"

"Not for now."

"Okay, Gail. We may meet again."

"Bye."

Once out of the room she fully expected Jenny to be stood there but the corridor was empty. She was going to head for the kitchen but decided to go upstairs for a wash and to re-do her make-up.

 
Bye, bye David?

As Gail entered her bedroom in the safe-house, it was clear that many of the possessions from her bedsit were now here. David's wallet was lying on a bedside cabinet, she'd not taken it to Clacton, but the male clothes she'd worn on Saturday were absent. Her full make-up kit, hair dryer and curling tongs were on the dressing table. All of her shoes were there, including the soft slippers that she willingly slid into. Hung in the wardrobe, or in various drawers, were the rest of Gail's clothes, including some bits that she knew she'd never wear., but hadn't been brave enough to take back. Right now, however, she needed to do some shopping!

It was now just gone 11am as she made her way to the kitchen, unsure of how the rest of the day would go.

"Hello Miss Jones, I take it that you've been up to your room now?"

"Yes. Any chance of a coffee?"

"I guessed you might need one so the cafetière is ready. Black or with milk?"

"White, no sugar thanks."

"Have I any more appointments today?"

"DS Keane wants to see you but she's stuck elsewhere at the moment, and you have a hairstylist here at 2pm."

"Is there a copy of today's Guardian?"

"No, we have this morning's Metro though. We'll have a copy of the Evening Standard around 4pm if you prefer?"

"Okay, any internet?"

"Sorry, no."

Gail drank her coffee then went back to her room. She really wanted to know what was going on in the outside world.

Her newly bought mobile phone was sat beside the bed. It wasn't as well-featured as her normal phone, and she wondered if she shouldn't ditch that phone now? Perhaps shut up the David Jones Accountancy business and start elsewhere as Gail Jones, specialising in female clients? It certainly sounded like a workable plan, except her Accountancy certificates were in her male name, how to resolve that?

Picking the phone the first thing she saw was "No Service". She turned it off, then back on and waited for it to connect to a network. Nope. So much for even a bit of surfing.

A phone started chirping away on a writing desk near the window, she didn't remember seeing it before. "Hello?" "Ah, Miss Jones. DS Keane is here and is in the snug waiting for you."

"Thank you, Jenny."

Gail and Emily Keane went back over Gail's interviews of the previous day, which had now been transcribed, and looked for any further information that Gail could recall, mostly without success.

"Why are we being so exact over this?"

"In case your statement is needed in court."

"Oh, but then anyone would know that David and Gail are the same person?"

"No, we'll write these up into several individual statements and leave the personal bits out of the main statements. We'll then use Dr Fox's report to back up your need for privacy, so long as it doesn't create a issue for the court the judge should allow that."

"But it might not end up in court?"

"No, but there will be at least one inquest; you could be called as a witness as one of the Fourani brothers died in your flat and the other was due to meet with you today."

"Point taken, how do we handle it?"

"Wait to see what happens. Other government departments are involved so the procedure isn't always standard."

"Other ........."

Emily looked Gail in the eye and just nodded. This was a euphemism for MI5, or the Security Service.

"Now," said Emily, "can you take a look at these photos and tell me if you recognise anyone."

There was a grainy CCTV shot of two men in dark clothing sat in a van on Green Lanes, north London on Saturday morning and a better one taken outside the newsagent on Sunday morning.

"They look like the guys who were in my office on Saturday morning."

"That's what we think. They were stopped in Essex yesterday afternoon coming back from Clacton in a stolen car but ran away from the patrol and haven't been seen since."

"No names?"

"They had stolen driving licences, but it's only a matter of time before we identify them.”

"So what's next?"

"Mr Brown would like to go through the accounts again, you're to highlight any discrepancies that you may have forgotten from previous years. We're also preparing warrants to hit all of Fourani's premises in one go plus seize all of the bank accounts. Because you would be one of the very few who would know the full business information, that places you at the highest risk. If there was even a sniff that they knew where you were, we'd have a major operation in order to relocate you."

"So I can't even search for news about me or the Fouranis?"

"No, and sorry about that, because you might just be tempted to write on facebook, twitter or a forum."

"Who's running the show here?"

"I'm the case officer but I report to my DI and he's signing off everything. I can't say he was too understanding about you as Gail when we showed him a photo of you. That prompted him to call in the shrink, sorry about her."

"She wasn't too bad but the doctor first thing this morning, was that strictly required?"

"Depends on how you look at it, we need to make sure you're healthy. Having a star witness collapse on us is not an option!"

Gail pouted, "star witness indeed! I bet you've never had the finger up the bum treatment?!"

"Maybe not, but wait until you see the stirrups the first time girl!"

That caused a giggling fit and the two hugged before getting back to business.

"Emily, can you at least make sure I can read the Evening Standard each day? The Metro isn't even decent for the outside loo."

"Outside loo? Oh." Laughs. "I can't see it being a problem, I'll arrange a personal copy for you as the house copy soon disappears on these ops."

"Thanks, two other things ..... was my laptop recovered? It was left at the flat on Saturday morning."

"Not there but Essex Police have the stolen car and say there's a laptop in it. We'll have to look at it first, before you can get it back. Even then ....,"

".... no internet access?"

"Got it."

"Okay and the other thing, I need to go shopping. If I had internet I could use my online accounts, but without it, it means going to real shops."

"I guessed you'd want to, but it's not my decision. Let's see what the stylist can achieve this afternoon. The bad guys have seen you in just one outfit and without a professional makeover, let's see if we can surprise Jenny by giving you a completely new look."

"So you know I'm staying as Gail?"

"Yes. I might be a little premature and forward here but, apart from your clients, who knew David?"

"Virtually no-one."

"And how many knew Gail?"

"Very few, I was just a face on a dance floor."

"So if both David & Gail Jones disappeared, would that be a problem?"

"I suppose not, but I do like Gail as a name."

"Yes, Gail and a new surname, I'm sure we can arrange to have the papers drawn up, it would be a risk to use an outside solicitor. You'd just have to think of a new name that broke the connection to your previous life, for your own safety as well as a new start once this is over?"

"I'll think about that one."

"Oh, we've completely emptied the bedsit at your office and what wasn't delivered here is in storage. We feel it's only a matter of time before it's raided again. I'd suggest you put it up for sale?"

"How am I to do that from here?"

"We'll ask Helen to sort it. Don't be surprised if she comes to see you again, she likes you."

 
Judge, jury & Executioner

"Jenny, is the stylist here yet?" Gail had been left to lunch alone and had finished just as Jenny returned from where-ever.

"I've just taken her, Diane, to your room; she's setting up in there. I tidied your personal bits away but she is completely trusted here."

"What about the usual small-talk?" Gail had treated herself to a new hair style twice, both times miles away from home and work.

"She won't, and neither should you. Off you go."

Upstairs Gail found Diane in the en-suite. "Ah, you must be Gail. I guess you haven't had a decent cut for a while?"

Gail had left her hair to grow, only having it trimmed when absolutely necessary. David was his own boss so he decided the dress code, no-one else. "It's been a while, what do you suggest?"

"Let me wash and condition it first, come over to the bath and I'll wash it there, slip off your cardigan and top, don't want them to get wet, your bra and tights too, don't worry, I've been told what to expect and told enough to know what I needed to bring." She pointed at several cases and a bag on the floor, her voice was calming but without compromise. Gail did as asked.

Gail normally rushed her shower and used a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner that didn't really do a good job. "Yourhair's really dry, you need some strong advice on hair-care Gail!" After 15 minutes, or it could have been longer, Diane was satisfied and had Gail sit in a chair she'd taken into the bathroom.

"Right now you're a passable brunette, but we need to continue and enhance a disguise, don't we, so let's talk colour; I brought several with me." She rattled off a list of colours that Gail had barely heard of. "Now, your skin tone is a little pale, and I don't think you could carry blonde well, so let's look at the earth colours. How does auburn sound?"

"How dark is that going to be?"

"That depends on how long we leave the dye in, but it needs to be enough to sufficient change your appearance, I think you'd look good with a hint of red."

"Okay Diane, I'll let you be the judge." "And the jury and the executioner?" Giggles.

While Gail sat there, waiting for the dye to do its' work, Diane got a nail kit out and started work on Gail's hands. "I think you'll need acrylics, for a while, until your nails have grown. Right now I'll tidy them up, put a light colour on them then I'll do the acrylics tomorrow when we've more time. I can also give you a pedicure today."

It was another half hour before the dye was washed away, gently so as not to splash everywhere. Back in the chair, Dianewas now holding scissors and started making almost random cuts. In practice she was layering Gail's hair and forming a simple bob. Cut correctly it wouldn't need anything more than a wash and a brush to fix it each day.

The floor was a mass of reddish-brown hair, "Diane, how much have you cut?"

"Only the split ends and enough to create a basic style."

Jenny had delivered tea to the bedroom while the girls were busy in the bathroom, so they took five. Gail was wary of small talk but had to ask something, "where do you work normally?"

"For film and TV production companies, I get called in for the difficult or sensitive jobs."

"So, am I difficult or sensitive?"

"Unfair! I was talking about the actors who don't trust the usual make-up or stylists because of past experiences, or unusual transformations. Now, I have something else for you."

She reached into a bag and brought out a box containing a pair of breast forms. "These are theatrical forms, used for TV so have to stand up to close scrutiny. Let's wax you before I attach them. I'll put some clean towels on the bed and warm the wax pot up. Take your skirt off, then go and lie down, this is a heavy duty operation!"

Gail had shaved her legs previously but this was a completely new experience. Diane waxed everything, meaning everything, from Gail's eyebrows to her ankles. It was not a quick process and took Gail some time to get used to the ripping sensation.Afterwards, however, she was amazed how it felt as Diane applied the soothing lotion.

"Can you wait a minute before putting anything on, let the lotion be absorbed. Right, this is the plan: I'll be back tomorrow to do your acrylics then I'll attach the breast forms, that'll give your chest a chance to recover from the waxing. Don't put the chicken fillets back in today, they'll rub on your chest. For that matter, don't wear a bra either, just a cami. No tights either, please."

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning. Thanks Diane."

The stylist tidied up her tools and carried the bags out of the room, leaving Gail very bare and not bothered about it, until she realised that Jenny could appear at any moment. She hurriedly took a clean pair of knickers out of a drawer and started to get dressed. Looking at her useless phone, she saw it was now 4.30 in the afternoon.

After a little make-up and a spray of perfume, Gail made sure she was decent and headed down. The denim skirt remained but a nicer blouse over a vest finished the look, albeit flat-chested. She was now bare-legged, although there appeared to be a little sheen from the toning lotion Diane had used. Walking into the kitchen to check on the dinner arrangements. Sat on the big table was a copy of the evening paper with GJ scribbled in a corner. She was going to read it straight away when Helen walked in.

"Well, well, well, not bad!"

"Thanks, all my own work.""Lousy liar you are too. Come down to the snug for a chat. You've got a while before dinner."

Sat once again in the tiny lounge, Helen first checked if the possessions had arrived,

"Yes, and I understand you have my other bits in storage."

"Including your furniture. Now, we need to get some legal stuff out of the way. I have two authorisations drawn up, allowing Bell LLP to handle your business and personal affairs."

"Who's Bell LLP?"

"Me, silly. Sometimes things have to be done outside the usual police or government structure. My little firm, and I'm a qualified solicitor, handles only a few select cases a year, but we do it properly. If we asked the in-house legal team to draw up any documents, half would have the wrong year on."

"I'd heard stories about them! What am I signing for?"

"Sign here and here as David," Gail did as requested after reading the legalese.

"Now, Emily asked if you'd choose a new surname so we could also kick off the process for new documentation. You don't drive do you?"

"No, never needed to learn in London."

"Too scared to learn probably! Could you have a think about names. Also I'll start the claim on your flat insurance but need a list of the items. Make sure you claim for that laptop."

"But The Met Police have it?"

"And the chances of you getting it in a working state? It was in the flat when you left that morning, right?"

"Okay."

"So include it, here's some paper and a pen. In the morning I'll start the sale of your office and get the utilities and so on off your back. That'll cut your bank account throughput down to a trickle. We'll also wind up your business and close the business account. I'll have the funds come to me temporarily but as soon as we have a new account set-up, I'll transfer the funds there. Finally, we'll close the Gail Jones account, but you might need that money over the next week, or two, so we'll handle that one last. I'll set-up to have your post forwarded to my office. Nothing is to come directly here. Plenty to do."

"What's your fee for this?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"That's right. I get paid a retainer by certain parts of the Home Office to provide non-standard services that stand up to any investigation. You're covered by that retainer. By the time we're done, you'll have a nice little sum in your new account."

"What about my certificates, passport and so on?"

"Choose the name first, I'll handle the rest."

Not entirely certain that she wanted a new surname, but being swept along by Helen's optimism, Gail made her way back to the kitchen. There were some interesting smells that she hadn't noticed earlier. Jenny must have been nearby as the odd use of Anglo-Saxon drifted into the kitchen from somewhere. Gail remembered the folded Evening Standard she'd picked up, the front page had one story, "Huge arms cache found in North London."

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 3

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

 
Murder In Mind
 
DS Emily Keane walked into the kitchen behind Gail. "Well done, you made it possible."

"Me?"

"It was one of the addresses that was supposed to be flats but was really a warehouse with alcohol as the cover product, Behind that we found enough firearms, grenades and ammunition to supply something very nasty. Searches are ongoing at other sites too, all from intelligence that you supplied."

"Wow."

"We do need to talk, right now, in the lounge. Nice hair, by the way."

They found Helen and Mr Brown in the larger lounge, the screen was on with photos from the raids.

Emily explained quickly, with the aid of the photos, how the raids had unfolded and why they'd caught the guards unaware. "No shots were fired, very clean, and I'm told the dogs had fun."

"Miss Jones, I'd like to express the thanks of the Security Service for the information and background information you provided." This was the most I'd heard from the now confirmed spook.

Emily took over. "Gail, I've been asked by my DI to say the same, your help so far has netted much more than the armaments, we have cash, documents and personnel. We're certain that several attacks have been thwarted."

"Do those captured include the two who were after me?"

"Regrettably, no. That leads me onto a difficult issue. We've heard that there's now a contract on your life. We therefore have to review your security arrangements tonight with a view to relocation. There's no evidence they know where you are as yet, but we feel it wouldn't take long now."

"How much is the contract?"

"Half a million pounds."

"So what do we do?"

"One solution is to kill you ourselves." Mr Brown again, he wasn't smiling.

"WHAT?"

"Calm down, we would fake your death and you'd get a new identity, completely new. That means not even Gail could survive."

"You said that was one solution."

"Yes, another is that you live in safe houses for the rest of your life and we relocate you every time someone sneezes."

"Don't like that option either."

"The last sensible option is that we convince everyone that you had a breakdown and that we found the hard drive without your help. Together with a new name and relocation that might work."

"Gail, whatever else happens, you're now the target of a terrorist organisation. That shopping trip is off-limits." Emily was very serious.

"I'll think of something." Helen was positive, what exactly was her role, she certainly didn't seemed fazed by the spook's presence.

Emily: "I'll speak to the DI and we'll call a news conference to put them off the scent, but for now, you're moving soon."

The meeting broke up, and so did Gail. Whilst Emily and the spook left straight away, Helen remained and provided a shoulder for Gail to cry on.

"Come on, lets go up to your room and repair your make-up. I'm staying here tonight too so we'll make ourselves decent then go down for dinner, it would seem to be a roast."

Ten minutes later they met up again and walked to the kitchen. DC Adam Smith was already there and it was clear he was now armed.

Dinner was subdued and Gail didn't have a good appetite, despite the quality of the food. There was a bottle of wine on the table and Gail was encouraged to have a glass, she figured it was that or the doctor shoving a needle in her arm to help her sleep.

Gail sat with Helen after dinner and slowly drew up the insurance list for the flat but when asked if she had chosen a new name, insisted that she wanted to keep Jones out of deference to her parents. "It's also not an uncommon name." Helen relented, but made it clear this was not an ideal situation and pulled a document from a folder.

"We'll use a Statutory Declaration, as it can be issued simply and right here, plus we only need to inform a limited number of people that it's been done. I want to make this absolutely clear, however, you must eventually create a credible gap between David Jones and your new name. We'll have to go through this again, in due course but I'll start creating your new legal identity tomorrow."

Gail, suitably advised, felt that she'd still got her own way and signed where Helen indication. Her official name was now Gail Jones, although she was still legally a male. One step at a time.

The rest of the evening was difficult. Outside there was a storm rattling gates, doors and windows. Helen and Adam were very twitchy. At 8pm Gail felt she'd had enough and went up to bed.

There was a tub of iron tablets by her bed and a bottle of spring water. She poured a glass of water and read the instructions before swallowing two of the red tablets.

This had been the third day of the rest of her life, question was how much longer was that life going to be?

Sleep did not come easily, despite the wine.
Hide & Seek

Gail was not well rested when she was woken at 7am on Tuesday morning. She'd gone to bed following news about the contract but had woken twice sweating and needing a wee. Both times she used a cold flannel to cool down and went back to her restless sleep.

Jenny, delivering an unwelcome cup of tea, only said that Diane would be there at 8.30 and breakfast was, again, at 7.45, before she quickly left.

Gail dragged herself through the bathroom, choosing linen trousers and a blouse. The new breast forms were still sat on the dressing table in their box and Gail contemplated wearing them but really wasn't too bothered. Even her hairbrush didn't want to behave, giving her a couldn't-care-less look. This was not the same Gail as the previous two mornings.

She played with her cereal at the breakfast table and left half a cup of tea. Her spirit simply wasn't there. Jenny knew not to interfere but that didn't stop her observing and making two calls from the small office behind the kitchen. The sign on that door said Pantry, but Gail hadn't paid much attention to the areas she didn't use.

Diane found Gail in the kitchen staring at her wasted cuppa. "Come on girl, let's finish off what we started."

"Forget it."

"Don't play that game with me, this is something to cheer you up, I hear they'll send for the shrink if you don't have a smile by lunchtime."

"Look, just leave me alone."

Diane walked out, but only as far as Jenny a little down the hallway. Gail could overhear the conversation, probably deliberately.

"What's up with her?"

"She had a bit of a shock yesterday. You may be wasting your time today, leave it for now, I'll let the DS know."

Diane shrugged and left the house.

***

Helen Bell found Gail, still sat in the kitchen, an hour later. If Gail had put any make-up on that morning then it would have surely streaked by now.

"Gail, we need a chat."

"Go away."

"Listen to me, girl, this is not the end of the world."

"Not the end of yours, but pretty well the end of mine."

Helen started to answer but was cut off. An alarm started ringing everywhere, followed by an announcement, "Code Red."

Helen's tack changed suddenly and she grabbed Gail by the arm.

"Ouch!"

"Come with me NOW!"

"Code Red" went the announcement.

There was running in the hallway and several officers appeared in the kitchen doorway, weapons drawn.

Two of them took over from Helen and lifted Gail, kicking the chair away. They carried her through the kitchen, past the pantry and down a short flight of steps. Gail started objecting but the "Code Red" announcement and the pandemonium was still creating confusion in her mind.

Helen kept pace with the officers and Gail. "Gail, can you walk, we have to get away from here RIGHT NOW and I need you to co-operate."

Gail agreed and was allowed to put her feet on the ground, permitting the two officers to head back towards the kitchen. Helen took Gail's hand and dragged her along a corridor that seemed to continue for 100m, followed by another short flight of steps. Several doors were opened as they passed, finally ending up in the back of an open garage. A van sat here, engine running, and Helen helped Gail into the back. The door was shut and they were on their way immediately.

"What, what happened?"

"We were compromised."

"Compromised? You mean ....."

"Someone found out where you were; you were told that was a risk. Once we know what happened I'll try to give you some more information, but that will have to wait."

The van's windows were tinted and it was difficult to see where they were going, so Gail slumped in her seat, restrained by the belt Helen had attached. Also in the back of the van were two men she'd never seen; they were clearly armed. Helen checked her bag and pulled out a 9mm handgun, ejected the magazine, checked it and re-inserted it.

"Whoa, is that what I think it is?" Gail wasn't certain what question she wanted to ask right now, the obvious one was 'am I safe?' but she wasn't sure she'd get a positive reply.

Helen nodded and dropped the gun back in her bag, keeping her bag on her lap.

Gail had neither a watch nor her phone, or even a handbag for that matter, so had no idea how long they were travelling and eventually drifted off.

***

"Gail, we've arrived, wake-up."

She slowly tried to orientate herself, as Helen helped her out of her seat and out of the van. They were clearly inside a garage, possibly underground or something similar; Gail was not taking it all in.

Helen helped her through a doorway and along two corridors, finally entering a drawing room. She pointed at a sofa and suggested Gail laid on it. The two armed officers followed, checked the room and stood outside as Helen sat across from Gail, who fell promptly back asleep.

***

Gail woke to find DS Emily Keane and Mr Brown had joined Helen in the room. Gail was offered a glass of iced water and took a sip but her first need was a wee and a wash. Helen showed her to the nearest bathroom but didn't leave her alone. Gail used a cold flannel to wake herself fully, daring to look in the mirror at her bloodshot eyes.

Back in the drawing room, she sat and tried to gather her thoughts. She'd been forcibly moved and still didn't really know why. She turned to Emily first.

"What happened?"

"Diane never made it into her work after she left us. A patrol found her car abandoned half a mile from the safe-house and there was no sign of Diane. We received notification from our control first that she was missing, then we spotted two vehicles making sweeps of the area, trying to identify the house. That was enough for the Code Red alarm."

"Diane?"

"We're still looking."

"Oh, my." Gail started to sob. Someone handed her a tissue. Emily waited for Gail.

"One piece of good news, one of the vehicles contained the two males we've been looking for. We have them although they did get injured."

"Injured?"

"The car crashed when we shot the driver, the other car left the area but we think it'll be back, patrols last saw it on the A127 heading into Essex. Regardless of that, the house has been compromised and we can't use it again."

Gail wasn't certain that firing weapons in the leafy suburbs of London was a good thing, although if the two who'd been bothering her were now out of the game ....

"Do you know who they are?"

"Yes, we've ID'd them."

Gail felt she'd not get much further with this line. "Where am I now?"

"You're out of London and very secure. This will give us time to work out how to proceed. We're also arranging for your clothes and things to be brought here later. Please also be assured we're doing everything to find Diane."

"Thanks, Emily."

There was a knock on the door and girl brought a tray in, laden with tea and biscuits. A clock chimed midday, the first confirmation of time since breakfast, as well as the first welcomed cuppa of the day.

Helen suggested she and Gail went to the conservatory at the rear of the house, although she had no idea of the layout of the house as yet. They walked from a dimly lit hallway into a bright, glass covered room looking out onto a large lawn and flower beds.

"Is this safe?" Asked Gail?

"Yes, we only use this house for very special guests."

"We?"

"This is owned by the Security Service*."

"So you're ...."

"A spy? No, no, I have many roles but spying isn't one of them. In fact MI5, as you know it, doesn't have any spies, just surveillance specialists, intelligence analysts, and even more intelligence analysts."

"Why am I being told this?"

"Because I've been told that I can now tell you. You need to realise that the information you've given us so far has implications across many investigations. Later this afternoon, when the rest of the team arrives, you and Dave Brown can go through the data again. We have a new laptop for you and there's a copy of your data loaded onto it."

Gail started to realise that the game had changed.

"Let's go for a walk." Helen stood and walked over to a pair of doors, throwing them open.

"I'm in slippers."

"Never mind, the grass is dry."

Gail stepped out and breathed her first fresh air since Sunday lunchtime. It felt good.
 

Clearance
 
Gail's stroll around the gardens with Helen certainly helped relax her, as well as re-enforcing the message that this location was indeed safe. They walked back into the house close to 1pm and a buffet lunch was set-up in the conservatory.

Gail helped herself to a small plate of sandwiches and pastries, plus a glass of OJ. With the familiar faces around her she was now much more comfortable, although she realised out loud that she hadn't put any make-up on so must have looked a mess.

"Don't worry Gail, your clothes, make-up and personal bits have arrived, Jenny has also arrived here and is now putting everything away in your new room. After lunch go and have a freshen up."

Helen always sounded re-assuring, putting Gail at ease, at least when she wasn't dragging Gail through a house.

After lunch, Jenny arrived to show Gail her new room on the next floor, although there was first a short guided tour of the ground floor, including the library, games room and swimming pool.

"A pool? I don't have a swimming costume."

"Don't worry Miss Jones, we'll obtain one for you, we know your size."

They were soon at Gail's room, Jenny left her on her own. First job was a shower and a fresh start to the day. This time she used the new breast forms in her bra, although it might take a while for her to get used to the change in her centre of gravity. She also put some light make-up on, especially to hide the lines under her eyes.

She walked downstairs and went towards the conservatory but was intercepted by Dave Brown.

"I've set-up in the library, can we take a look at the data please?"

Although Gail had looked in the library earlier, she hadn't realised that apart from the usual bookshelves there was also a projection system and a screen that came down from the ceiling. A laptop was sat on a desk and the desktop was replicated on the projector's screen.

"This is your new laptop. I'd like you, when you have time, to go through the data starting in 2005, and look for any anomalies, I'll supply you with an internal email address to keep me and my team aware of what you find."

"So I'll have internet access?"

"Limited, no social media sites and don't be surprised if certain other sites don't work. There's no wifi so I'm afraid you'll have to use the data points in the library and a few other rooms."

"Okay, what do you want to do now?"

"Let's go through the last full year again, try to find any other buildings we haven't already identified plus any rogue payments. I'd also like you to track down the £170,000 that originally caused your concern."

They spent 4 hours going through the spreadsheets, bank statements, invoices, and myriad of other documents, to & fro. They located two more buildings and started making headway into the missing funds. One invoice was for machine parts, from a supplier near Düsseldorf. That got Mr Brown's interest and he made copious notes on a laptop of his own.

They saw a pattern with some of the invoices, very similar amounts but different suppliers. Looking at the banking records, funds were being transferred to the same account each time. That account number, a German account he said, was noted on the second laptop.

"This is excellent Gail, you have a great advantage over my own team in that you've been handling this data for so long so know the documents and data."

"Glad I can help. Do you have any idea what this could be?"

"It looks like arms shipments, but I'm unsure right now about those payments, they're fortnightly and to the same destination account but raised against multiple sources. Definitely an attempt to hide the payments, albeit crudely."

"I'll leave that for your team to work out."

"They'll enjoy themselves with this, I'm certain. I've already sent the data over. Can you promise me you'll find the time to go through all of this."

"Certainly, doesn't look like I'll be going off on holiday soon!"

"Great."

There was a knock on the door and Helen put her head into the library. "Dinner is in 30 minutes in the dining room."

Gail went up to her room and freshened herself, it had been a little warm in the library. The view from her bedroom window looked out onto the long driveway leading away from the front door, although she hadn't come into the building that way. It was certainly the size of a stately home, but where? She had no idea. More questions.

She walked downstairs and easily located the dining room, due to the voices coming from it.

***

Gail was sat with Helen again, this time in a lounge, having finished dinner. She was sipping from a glass of Chablis, her second, whilst Helen and her made small-talk. Gail was intrigued by Helen, she seemed to be many things, but none of her cover stories seemed to fit exactly.

"Gail, it's pretty clear that we can't go shopping, but I think we have a compromise available?"

"What's that?"

"I have to do some work in my office tomorrow but I'll be over later in the day. If we do some online shopping, I'll have it delivered to my office and I'll pay from my account, just in case. It can come off any money I get for you."

"Sounds like the best we can do?"

"Exactly. Oh, I have some interesting news for you."

"Go on."

"There are several cash rewards for information on drugs and arms shipments that lead to prosecution, plus previously unsolved murders, so far you would have earned £5000 based on the information you supplied."

"Wow, in just a few days?"

"Yes, the raids yesterday morning uncovered much more than we first thought. There's a problem, however, the rewards are handled through Crimestoppers, a charity, not through the police."

"And you're worried about my security?"

"Yes, so we've come up with an alternative idea. You'll be paid an allowance direct from Security Service funds of £2500 per month for every month you're with us, and the balance of any money owed from the various rewards when you're on your own feet again."

"That makes it sound like I'm on the payroll?"

"That can't be done until your security clearance has been completed."

"Eh?"

"We're doing a full background check to clear you to DV level, that's sufficient for Top Secret. You're cleared to SC right now which is why we can have this conversation."

"I had wondered. What's SC?"

"That's clearance to Secret. Consider yourself a contractor rather than an employee! Anyway, final clearance should only take a few more days at the most."

Gail was stunned and not entirely certain what she was hearing.

"However, it's important that we complete one outstanding item tonight. I'll accept that you want to keep your legal name as Gail Jones for now, but we need to arrange for a credible alias for you."

"So, you're not insisting on me changing my name?"

"No, only that you will have an alternative name for professional purposes."

"I've been thinking and I like 'Abigail', so that could be 'Abi' or 'Gail'. Perhaps 'Johnson' as a surname?"

"That could be Gail Johnson, which is too close to Gail Jones."

"How about Abigail Adams then? 'Miss A. Adams' has a nice ring about it?"

"That sounds good. Write it on this sheet and can you do some trial signatures for me?"

That seemed to conclude the evening's business, she wished Helen a good night, finished her wine and went upstairs. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

 
Briefing
 
Although Gail had only spent two nights in the first safe-house, waking up in a different room on this Wednesday morning certainly disorientated her. There was a soft knock on the door and a maid brought in a cup of tea.

"Good morning Miss, breakfast is at 8 o'clock in the dining room."

"Thank you ...?"

"Lisa, Miss."

"Thank you Lisa."

There was a clock in the bedroom, which now read 7.15 so auto-pilot took over. Gail walked into the dining room a few minutes early to be met by Jenny.

"Good morning, Miss Jones. I believe you asked for The Guardian newspaper a few days ago, we'll now have a copy for you each morning."

"Thank you Jenny, what's my schedule for today?"

Jenny nodded, "Helen will be here sometime this afternoon, otherwise you have a free day. I've obtained a swimsuit and will put it in your room in case you want to use the pool later."

"Thank you."

Breakfast was quiet, with only DC Adam Smith in attendance, although he was pre-occupied with a wad of documents. Gail retired to the conservatory with a coffee and her newspaper for an in depth read of which parts of the world were keen on killing each-other. Two UK stories caught her eye, the first was about further raids but in south London this time; more firearms, drugs had been recovered and two Germans detained.

The other one was report of an armed police operation in Hornchurch, near Romford, and a separate but apparently connected incident near Southend. One person was dead, two injured in hospital and a fourth at an undisclosed London police station. The story reported that this was a suspected kidnapping as a distraught, unnamed, woman had been found in the back of one of the cars and was reported as receiving medical treatment.

There was a noise behind Gail and she spun around.

"Oh, Diane!" Gail rushed towards her stylist and threw her arms around the bruised woman. "I'm so sorry for what happened."

They moved onto a two-seater settee.

"Gail, it's not your fault. I've got some ideas as to who gave them my name and I suspect I was followed. I didn't check if I had a tail and then parked too close to the house because of all of the stuff I had to carry. It was enough for them to identify the house. When I left they blocked me in and wanted to know everything, but I wouldn't tell. They hit me a bit but reckoned they knew enough anyway. I was in the car that the police chased from the area and we were eventually stopped by Essex Police. It's not nice having weapons pointing at you, but I was bound up so couldn't raise my hands! I also couldn't say anything about why I was there, which was awkward, until Special Branch intervened."

"Special Branch?"

"They're the part of the police who run counter terrorism and security service special operations outside of London, they use me sometimes."

"Okay, it looks like I've much more to learn! When did you get here?"

"I was brought late last night, but I'm not certain where we are."

"I don't know either. When your car was found, everything went into panic mode and I was driven away very quickly. What about your real work?"

"I've taken sick leave, but as I'm self-employed it's immaterial really. I'll get paid for anything I do here, so I don't mind a few days break."

"I'm sure my nails can wait, and I'm sorry about my lousy attitude yesterday morning."

"Don't worry. Anyway, fancy a walk in the grounds?"

The pair set off and went further than Gail had gone the previous evening, finding a small lake. There were also several grounds-persons who all checked out the two women as they walked.

"Diane, I get the feeling we're being watched."

"We are, get used to it."

"How can you be so calm?"

"Because I've been doing this kind of work for several years and I've seen most things, none of which I can repeat, of course."

"Naturally." Gail had not as yet had a security briefing so just agreed with Diane out of deference rather than ignorance.

Their route brought them back to the house after an hour. "Fancy a swim, Gail?"

"I thought you didn't know this house?"

"I said I didn't know where it is, but I've been here before and know there's a great pool. I keep an emergency overnight bag in my car that includes a swimsuit, just in case, and it was delivered here with me. Have you got one?"

"I don't but Jenny said they'd be one in my room. I'm not certain how it will look though?"

"Let's go up and see. I'll get some bits from my room."

A short while later, Diane had glued the fake breasts into place and helped Gail into her first swimsuit, although this was really a tankini and shorts, chosen for modesty no doubt. Diane then nipped into her own room to change, appearing a few minutes later in her own bikini.

The pool was located at basement level, under the conservatory. Gail found it warm but not too humid, then spotted the jacuzzi and was desperate to try it, but Diane told her to wait.

"Let's do some lengths first Gail, then we can sit in the tub. There's a steam room too, if you fancy that."

"I can see myself down here before breakfast every day?"

"Right, seven tomorrow?"

"You're on."

They swam for half an hour before getting into the jacuzzi.

"How long are you going to be here Diane?"

"Probably just a few days. As a precaution my flat has been emptied and I'm planning on renting a new one elsewhere in London. My car is being changed too. Diane is just a name for my work in these circles, I have a different professional name so I can get back into the swing of it easily."

Tannoy: "Diane, please report to the housekeeper."

"Oh well Gail, that's my free time finished! I've got to be debriefed."

Gail and Diane grabbed the towels and went to their bedrooms to shower. It was gone 10.00 when she made her way back down, heading for the library.

***

By lunchtime Gail had gone through most of the 2005/06 data, quicker than she thought as the businesses were much smaller at the time. Hamiz Fourani had owned a dozen buildings, listed either purpose built as flats or converted from warehouses, Victorian factories and large houses.

One storage facility intrigued Gail, armed with a new suspicion of her deceased client’s activities. The premises had been sold to Bader Logistik Dusseldorf GmbH in March 2006, right at the end of the financial year for £250,000. Given the size of the premises, and the location, this was cheap - very cheap. She logged this information using the email address provided. At 1245 she logged out of the laptop and headed upstairs to wash.

***

After lunch Gail headed back to the library and started work on the 2006/07 data set, she'd been at it for half an hour when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

A stranger walked into the room, clutching a document wallet. "Good afternoon Miss Jones, I'm John Smith and I'd like to speak to you about security."

"If you must, I hope the library's comfortable enough?". John brought a chair up to the table where Gail was working.

"Certainly. Let me explain, I'm a personnel security manager for the Security Service. As you should have been told, we've been obtaining high level security clearance for you."

"Yes, but I don't understand why?"

"There's no way you could continue dealing with my colleagues or remain here if we had any doubts about your identity or background."

"I understand."

"Good. Firstly, I can confirm you have been cleared to DV level. That gives you several privileges but also carries responsibilities."

John then put a form in front of Gail, it was already addressed to her.

"Please sign this, it is an acknowledgement that anything you see or here here is subject to the Official Secrets Act and that you could be prosecuted if you breach that act."

Gail signed, concerned that she might accidentally release the dinner menu and end up in prison!

John Smith laughed, "I hear that one all the time!"

He continued by explaining the rules, regulations and limitations of her new official tag.

"It's really just common sense, all in all. One thing I must make clear, no-one here or indeed anywhere in Government is cleared to read every secret or top secret document, and you must not assume that someone else here is cleared to know what you and Dave Brown talk about."

"Understood."

"Right, give me a few days and we'll arrange a tour of Thames House for you."

"Thames House?"

"The HQ of the Security Service."

"Wow."

He stood, "welcome to the Security Service Miss Jones."

They shook and he left.

Gail sat back down, still trying to come to terms with what was going on around her. On Saturday morning she was an accountant struggling with a few clients, now she was a contractor, or even an employee, of the Security Service with an invite to their HQ. There was also the small matter of a contract on her, or rather David's, head.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 4

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

 
Money, Money, Money
 
After the revelation that she was now cleared to work at one of highest government security levels, Gail struggled to achieve much more work on the financial data. She only cross-checked one address but discovered a repeat of dealings with Bader Logistik Dusseldorf GmbH.
This was all very surreal, she thought, she was virtually an employee of the infamous MI5.

Gail was very relieved when Lisa, the maid, popped her head into the library after knocking gently.

"Dinner is in 45 minutes, Miss." "Thank you Lisa."

Gail shut down the laptop and left the library, the first stop was her room.

***

Diane was missing at dinner time, but Helen clearly wanted to talk to Gail that evening, so there was no surprise when Helen picked up the half empty bottle of Cabernet Shiraz.

"Grab, your glass and come with me." They walked to the drawing room.

"How are you today, Gail?"

"Fine, but I wasn't expecting the security talk, almost like the Spanish Inquisition at times."

"Ah, no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition*!"

They laughed, Gail having inadvertently caused a Monty Python moment. Maybe a dead parrot next time?

"Never mind, you won't see him again unless you do something naughty, in which case the thumb-screws will be deployed."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary!"

"Right, first task is for me to take your photo. Can you stand behind the door, that should be a clean enough canvas."

Helen took several head and shoulder shots, from a variety of angles, plus some full length ones. Next she pulled a small pad from a bag.

"I'll use those photos for your new ID. I also need to take your fingerprints."

"Why?"

"Two reasons, the police need to have your prints to eliminate you formally from the murder enquiries, plus we need them on file. It's a policy. Firstly with ink and then the modern method."

Helen took Gail's hands, one finger at a time and rolled them on the ink pad and then on a form. This took several minutes and left Gail with ten black digits, Helen handed her a few wet wipes.

“Clean yourself off then was thoroughly in the bathroom. We'll finish this when you get back.”

The ink pad had been cleared away when she returned and it looked like the area had been polished. Gail was worried that she'd taken ages, but Helen wasn't concerned.

“That ink is a pig to remove off skin, thankfully the electronic version is a lot quicker and cleaner.”

Finally Helen was finished, she picked up a pack of papers.

"I'd like to bring you up to date with the investigation and have a request." Gail nodded. "Firstly, the German company you identified is proving to be most interesting. The two Germans arrested yesterday both worked for that company but were also wanted in Germany on European Arrest Warrants. Those may have to wait, however, as we've identified them both near your flat on Saturday morning, at the time Hamed Fourani was murdered."

"Oh!"

"They weren't too clever with technology it seems and had done a Google Maps search for your address on their phones, plus plotted a route there. They deny it too, but there were traces of petrol on their boots that they can't explain."

"So no quick flight back to Germany?"

"It's more interesting than that, it seems they are also involved with the murder of Hamiz Fourani and flew into Stansted on Saturday morning. So the Bundespolizei are looking at a joint investigation."

"Bundespolizei?"

"The German Federal Police. They've raided the Düsseldorf company you identified and have detained a grand-daughter of one of the original Baader-Meinhof gang. They are really pleased with the info from you, although your work is under a codename now."

"Codename?"

"Yes, but I couldn't tell you what it is, even if I knew."

"Security, eh?"

"Yes. Onto other matters - I've informed Companies House that your business has been wound up. Your business bank accounts, plus David's personal account have been closed and all the automated payments have been stopped. My office will handle any remaining charges on your office and bedsit, although I suspect there's some advance charges due to come back from the utility companies."

"Thanks."

"That's okay, all part of the service. Now, let's go shopping."

That meant a move into the library where Gail powered up her laptop and accessed several websites for the major stores, just making a note of the item code, plus size and colour, passing this information to Helen. It wasn't going to be a swift process but at least she could improve her wardrobe.

Gail figured, by the time she'd finished, that she'd spent over £800.

"Don't worry about that, it would be covered from what was in those accounts. As it is, I have an outline agreement to settle your insurance claim for the flat. I explained you didn't want them to replace any of your belongings as it might be sometime before you're in a position to move back in anywhere, so far as they're all concerned you're taking an extended holiday out of the country to get over the stress. They weren't happy but we've agreed a cash figure of £12,500, it should be paid into my account by Friday.

"I also had your landlord pay back the rent deposit of £2000, he wanted to argue that you'd forfeited it but I pointed out it wasn't your fault the flat was virtually destroyed. His own insurance will have to pay for that to be fixed, although I hear he'll just sell the site to a developer for a tidy profit. Finally, we have an offer on the office and bedsit of £250,000. If all goes well, that could complete next week or perhaps the week after that. So, you see, you can easily afford this shopping!"

Gail couldn't remember ever having this amount of money before, and this was without considering the £2,500 monthly allowance from the Security Service. How much was tax free she wondered? At least, as an accountant, she knew how to claim tax back so she could fund another shopping trip?

Helen got up to leave, but Gail had one nagging question. "How are you able to spend this much time on me, Helen?"

"I only take on one case at a time, so you are my sole concern at the moment."

Diane put her head into the library as Gail was closing down her laptop. "Hi Gail."

"Where have you been, Diane?"

"Sorry, I was a bit late for dinner, I've been in debrief all afternoon. They took me to Paddington Green high security police station for interview and to formally identify the two who grabbed me. Fancy a chat in the lounge?"

"No, sorry but I'm tired. It's been a full-on day for me as well. Are we still on for a swim at seven?"

"Sure."

Diane headed up to her own room with Gail a few steps behind.

 
Close Protection
 
Someone must have known about the plan to have a swim before breakfast, not surprising really in a Security Service building, as a telephone in her room rang at 0645 on Thursday morning. Gail opened her eyes and found the phone next to her bed, when was that installed?

"Good morning, Miss, I'm told you needed an alarm call?"

"Thank you, Lisa. What time is it?"

"A quarter to seven, Miss."

Gail appeared outside her room immediately after Diane ventured out of hers. They talked whilst heading down to the pool.

"Good morning Gail, isn't that a different swimsuit?"

"I was surprised to see it, as I'd left yesterday's in the bathroom after rinsing it. I did struggle a little getting into it though."

"I bet you've never worn a one-piece swimsuit or even a leotard before?"

"Definitely not, I suppose there's a first for everything!"

Their swim was a gentle twenty minutes long, finished with 5 minutes in the steam room. Then back to their rooms to shower and dress for the day.

After breakfast, Gail wondered what was on the agenda for the day, although she did plan to spend some more time on the Fourani accounts in order to tackle the rest of 2006/07. First, however, she wanted to have a quick read of The Guardian newspaper which was waiting for her in the dining room. She walked towards the conservatory.

"Gail?"

"Yes Diane."

"I have my nail kit here, and I had promised to put some acrylics on to lengthen and strengthen your nails a little. Do you have time now?"

"I suppose so."

"Bring your paper, you'll have plenty of time to read it."

They went to Diane's room and Gail sat on the bed whilst Diane pulled up a chair and a small table.

"Here we go."

Thirty minutes later it was done; Diane had added white tips to the mid-pink artificial nails. She put the nail kit away and Gail got ready to stand.

"Stay where you are, there's a couple of things more that I'd like to do. Firstly, you don't have your ears pierced? I guess you didn't want David to have anything in his ears?"

"No, it was fear of being detected."

"Well, right now the reverse is true, without earrings a woman might look twice at you and a bit closer too. Just that little clue could give you away."

"Okay, I get the point!"

Diane reached down and pulled out an ear-piercing gun and loaded a cartridge, "These are 5mm studs and you'll have to keep them in for a few weeks before you can change them for hoops or different studs."

She then reached over and did Gail's left ear, reloaded and did the right ear.

"You didn't warn me about the sting!"

"Most girls don't object, mind you they tend to get their first holes when they're around 10 or 11 years old"

"First?"

"Yes, often teenagers go for a second set. Now, let me tell you about cleaning them, especially after you've been in the pool."

Suitably advised, Diane handed Gail a bottle of cleaning liquid and a bag of cotton-wool pads.

"You said there was something else?"

Yes, I want to give you a lesson in make-up, particularly the 'less is more' principle."

A phone rang before Gail could reply, Diane answered it. "Hello? Yes she is. Okay, I'll send her down."

Putting the handset on the cradle, Diane explained the call.

"That was Jenny, DS Keane has arrived and would like to see you."

"Can we continue this later?"

"Yes, it looks like I'll be here until after the weekend."

Gail met Emily Keane in the library. "Good morning Gail, I'd like to bring you up to speed with the investigations. Some of Fourani's better educated employees who we found in his warehouses have told us that the Fourani brothers had not got on for a few years and that Hamiz wouldn't let his brother see the bank accounts. Hamed went to your flat, expecting to find you there on a Saturday morning, in order to persuade you to hand over the data. I suspect he was looking for the paperwork but you say you didn't have any?"

"That's right, after I scanned everything I returned it. That way I only held it for a few days. Even then, I scanned everything in my office and kept the paperwork in a locked document box; I never took any of the paper documents home."

"It seems that whilst Hamed was searching your flat, he was surprised by the two Germans. They were also after evidence that Hamiz had short-changed them and figured that you, again, could supply the information."

"I wonder how they got my address?"

"We're not certain but I bet you were listed in the phone book?"

"Yes, I won't make that mistake again!"

"Anyway, one of the Germans tells us that Hamed pulled a gun on them when they entered your flat, but it didn't fire. They attacked him, got the weapon from him and shot him with his own weapon. One of them then went to a petrol station and bought a gallon of petrol, we have CCTV of that, they torched your place to destroy the evidence. So, we have them on murder and arson; that's at least 20 years in Belmarsh Prison."

"Good grief. What about Hamiz's murder?"

"The German authorities are still investigating, we'll have a report in a few days."

"Okay. Any information on the leak at the safe-house," she laughed, "unsafe-house?!"

"Yes, one of the protection officers seems to have had a large deposit in his bank account this week, he's looking at a very uncomfortable few years away and no pension when he gets back out."

"Oh. Could that happen here?"

"No. One of the problems we had at the safe-house was the speed at which we needed it, some of our usual officers were on leave or other duties and weren't available. Therefore we used some regular firearms trained officers, including two from a neighbouring force. We have the full complement of our usual officers here."

"I see. How much longer will I need to stay here?"

"Until we're certain that anyone who had knowledge of you has been detained or neutralized. We still have a few people trying to locate you."

"How likely is that?"

"Not very but I think Helen can give you a better answer."

Emily got up to leave, "remember Gail, you are invaluable to these investigations, especially the counter-terrorism angle, therefore protecting you is paramount."

Emily left the room whilst Gail sat there and pondered her words, turning them upside down. What if Gail's evidence wasn't that important, would they have just left her? She started to sob. Emily had left the library door open and Gail's quiet sobs could just be heard in the corridor; Jenny was the first to pass by.

"Come on Gail, I don't know what the problem is but we can help." She sat beside Gail and put her arm around the tearful woman, offering a tissue from a nearby box.

Oh, she was no longer Miss Jones. "I'm scared."

"Don't be, we're all here to protect you."

"But look what happened a few days ago."

"That was unfortunate but we had procedures in place to deal with it and neither you nor any of our people were hurt. The fact that you're now here underlines that we need to take care of you and that you, in return, can assist us a great deal. It's a two-way street. Now, go to your room, sort out your make-up and I'll arrange some coffee and chocolate biscuits in the conservatory."

 
Eye Spy
 

It was just gone eleven o'clock when Gail arrived in the conservatory, finding a stranger in there.

"Hi Gail, nice nails! Anyway, I'm Cloe Gardner and I'm the in-house optician."

She was confused how this stranger knew her, but responded despite her concerns, "Good morning Cloe."

"Okay Gail. I've been asked by Helen to see you about your eyesight and your image. When was the last time your eyes were checked?"

"Several years ago, I'd stopped getting reminders."

"Have you ever worn glasses?"

"No, except in the summer if I went away, which wasn't often. I would usually pick up a pair of really cheap tinted glasses from a discount store."

"I've set-up some equipment in the medical room upstairs and I'd like to do a full evaluation. You do know that several conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes can be detected through eye examinations?"

"I'd heard that."

"Does your family have any history of glaucoma?"

"Not that I know."

Lisa arrived with coffee and biscuits before Cloe had a chance to drag Gail out of the conservatory. Cloe tried to tease some of Gail's history out of her, but mindful of the security warnings the previous day, Gail wasn't saying much.

With the coffee finished, and Gail suitably freshened, she followed Cloe's directions to the medical room. Half an hour later Cloe had completed her intense examination.

"How often are you using a computer?"

"Several hours a day, every day."

"Well, it seems to have taken its' toll on your eyes. You're long-sighted and definitely need correction. I have a small selection of frames here that you can choose from, plus a catalogue with a few hundred others. With your face, I wouldn't go for a very small frame or conversely a large one."

Gail started her search, not entirely convinced she needed glasses.

"If we don't do something now, your eyes will get progressively worse as the eye muscles try to do the correction themselves, that is not good for you!"

"Okay, okay."

"What I propose is that I'll order varifocal lens so you can work from a laptop screen or a projector screen and not have to remove the glasses for distance work. I'll add a photo-chromic coating to the order as well."

Gail finished her search, holding a frame in her hand.

"Let's see what it looks like."

Cloe had Gail pop the sample frames on, "yes, they'll be fine. I'll get back to the office and place the order, expect to see me again after the weekend."

"Okay, thanks."

Gail found herself downstairs and with half an hour of spare time before lunch. She went back up to her room, put on a cardigan and switched her usual slippers for some sandals before heading out into the grounds.

The sandals were wise, but with hindsight boots may have been better. It had rained overnight and the grass was very damp, although the paths were drying well. She decided to walk around to the front of the house and alongside the main avenue towards the front gate. At first she couldn't see any of the grounds staff, then two quad bikes raced towards her. One of the riders spoke to her.

"Miss Jones, could I suggest you head back to the house? I can give you a lift there."

"I was just looking down the avenue."

"I strongly advise against that." He paused a second and it appeared he was getting a radio message. "Ah, I'm told lunch is in 10 minutes, let me give you transport back to the conservatory."

"If you insist." Gail was resigned to this, although it did seem to mean that she did not have full freedom of movement within the grounds. She accepted the invite onto the passenger seat of the nearest quad bike and resolved to question what had just happened.

***

After lunch Jenny asked to speak to Gail alone.

"That was rather silly, and dangerous."

"Why? All I did was go around the front."

"Even so, your security, the security of this location was at risk."

"How come?"

"Oh, did we forget to give you the site briefing?"

"What's a site briefing?"

Ten minutes later, and with the aid of a map, Gail had a better idea of the building and its' grounds. There were areas marked on the map, zones, which denoted where there was a greater than 10% risk of being observed from helicopters, drones or satellites. The rear of the house was covered in evergreens, with only the lake exposed, and was considered much safer.

Gail could also now see the location of the underground garage and covered access, which explained how she'd been brought into the house on Tuesday morning, as well as a fitness room, attached to the main building.

"Right, I understand now, although having a pair of quad bikes heading towards me wasn't fun." She pointed at the map, "I didn't know about the the fitness room, could I go there later?"

"We'll sort something out for you. Now, Dr Hughes will be here shortly and wants to review the results of your medical examination."

"I'll be in my room."

Gail reached her room, kicked off the sandals, then flopped onto the bed. Within a few minutes she was fast asleep.

***

"Gail, Gail, wake-up!"

Gail stirred, but was confused. Her eyes opened but all she could see was a blur.

"Gail, come on. Can you sit up?"

She was lying on top of the duvet and shuffled up the bed as a couple of pillows were repositioned.

"Right, the doctor is going to check your blood pressure, stay still."

Gail finally identified the voice as Jenny's but wasn't going to argue, nor had the energy to move any further. The result of the BP check took only a minute.

"Jenny, call an ambulance."

 
Vixen
 

Gail regained conciousness but had no idea what the time was, or even if it was still Thursday. She was wearing an oxygen mask and had one of those machines next to her that go "beep" every second or so. From her horizontal position she could see very little of the room, but guessed enough to realise she wasn't at the house. She was shifting her head around, causing the oxygen line to move around, it didn't take long for someone to notice.

"Gail? Are you awake?"

"Hmmmm ymmy."

A nurse reached over and moved the mask off her face.

"Better?"

"Thanks. Where am I?"

"You're in the Northwick Park Hospital."

"London?"

"North West London, near Harrow."

"Okay. Now, why am I here?"

"You collapsed, but I'm not allowed to say much. Plus, they won't explain why there's an armed guard outside your room."

There was a cough behind her and the nurse was invited to leave the room, suddenly realising how her last comment sounded. Jenny escorted her out, whilst Dr Hughes came in.

"Now, Gail. Was all this just so you could avoid a chat with me back at the house?"

"What?"

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the atmosphere in here. How do you feel?"

"Light headed, and my eyes aren't working properly."

"Okay, let me back-track a bit. When I examined you on Monday, your blood pressure was a little low, but not dangerously. There were some other issues, but they were less pressing, although connected. When you collapsed today at the house, your BP had dropped alarmingly so you were brought here."

"And now?"

"It's still a little low, but with intervention it will be back to near normal by tomorrow, your eyesight is a symptom of the low BP. However, that's no longer the main concern."

"So what is?"

"You appear to have started the male menopause, the andropause, some twenty to thirty years early, your hormone levels are haywire and your testosterone level is almost non-existent. We did a biopsy of one of your testes and are pretty sure it's dying."

"So what does that mean?"

"Well, fathering children is now out of the question, but without the correct hormone balance you will suffer from a range of seemingly unconnected problems, including low blood pressure and mood swings."

"What can you do?"

"Until we're certain of your long-term intentions, that's something I can't answer. However, I would like to operate tomorrow to perform a bilateral orchidectomy."

"Bilateral what?"

"Remove your testes."

"Oh balls!"

"Quite. Try to get some rest."

Gail dozed for a few hours. Her eyes seemed better when she woke next, she could see the window on the far wall and the orange glow from street lighting. Now she realised there was a cannula in her left hand attached to a drip, using her free hand she rubbed both eyes, then explored her circumstances a little further.

Gail was dressed in one of her nighties, but she felt a tube running from her groin. A little probing confirmed a catheter. Further up her left arm was a strap and a small pack. As she probed it, the strap inflated into a cuff and then deflated, twice.

A nurse came into the room a few minutes later as Gail was lying there, trying to remember everything Dr Hughes had said.

"Ah, good evening Gail. I'm Vikki and I'm on duty until the morning."

"Hi Vikki, what time is it?"

"Ten pm." Vikki reached over to check the various pieces of monitoring equipment, "very nice, soon have you back on your feet."

"Can you remove this?" Gail pointed at her groin.

"Do you mean the catheter? Not yet, you'd fall over if you got out of bed for a wee. Anyway, now you're awake I'll get you some soup."

Gail wasn't asked whether she was hungry or not, typical hospitals! Question was, just how bad would this be?

The soup arrived ten minutes later, in a sealed drinking vessel with a large straw. "So you don't spill it, let's have you sit up a bit more, to make you more comfortable."

To be honest, the soup wasn't too bad, it actually had flavour and didn't taste of sawdust mixed with lukewarm water. So, she was probably in a private room. The NHS did emergency care really well, world class, but often failed in the hospitality stakes. That was rather ironic really, as it was the NHS accountants who were squeezing the pennies out of the budget.

Gail had finished her soup and was given a fresh bottle of water to sip. Vikki made very little effort to chat with Gail, probably due to an interesting chat with a plain clothed armed officer; not your typical hospital arrangement. Gail laid there, not fatigued but bored.

The automatic BP cuff inflated every 30 minutes, irritatingly just as Gail thought she could nod off. What she did find strange was the near complete lack of noise from outside her room, the only time Gail had been in hospital previously, every noise known to humanity could happen during an average overnight stay, no peace for the wicked, or the sick, indeed.

Eventually, Gail drifted into R.E.M. sleep and started dreaming. She was taken back to the time, when she was twelve, that her arm had been broken whilst at school by one of the bullies, purely accidental the school had said. Gail had been taken by ambulance on that occasion to the London Hospital, in London's East End. Whilst the injury concerned David, who was kept overnight on an adult male ward for reasons unspecified, the dream showed Gail at school, and Gail in the hospital. She woke up in a sweat as Gail, in the dream, had found herself on that same adult male ward.

She opened her eyes and confirmed she was indeed in a room by herself. Clearly her dreaming must have accelerated her heart rate and Vikki came into the room.

"Good morning, now what's happened to your pulse?" It was rhetorical, Gail guessed, so just tried to shrug, badly.

"Now, I'm off in a few minutes and Jules will your morning nurse, you'll like her. I'll order some breakfast for you, tea, yoghurt, cereal?"

"Yes, thanks."

Breakfast was delivered some 20 minutes later by a nurse who breezed in, and out, in the space of a few seconds. By the time she returned, Gail had finished the reduced calorie offering. This time she was carrying the day's Guardian, dropping it on a chair.

"Good morning, I'm Jules. Right, let's get you cleaned up." She cleared away the waste and used wipes to clean Gail's face and hands.

"Can I have the catheter removed?" Gail again pointed towards her groin.

"As soon as the doctor agrees, he'll be round by nine."

"Can I sit right up, then?"

"Well, your blood pressure seems to have settled, if you get light-headed at all then we'll have to lie you back down, okay?"

Jules helped Gail shuffle up the bed, having hit a button to tilt the head of the bed up. Before she left the room she handed Gail the newspaper.

Gail hadn't got very far into the news when the door opened and Dr Fox, the shrink, walked into the room.

"Hello again Gail, this is a surprise."

"I wouldn't call it a surprise."

"Bad choice of words, then." She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Gail, "mind if I continue where we left off on Monday?"

"Doesn't look like I'm due in a meeting in the next half hour."

"Ha ha. Now, it's not been a full week since you adopted Gail full-time, so how are you doing?"

"Fine, my name has been changed and I'm busy deleting David from my life."

"Oh, is that a little drastic?"

"Not when there's a contract out on David's life."

"I see, so this is reactionary and not thought through properly?"

"No, there's a plan, but I'm afraid you're not cleared for it."

"We'll see about that."

Gail exercised her lungs, "Guard?"

The door opened immediately and a man quickly assessed the situation. "Yes, Miss Jones?"

"The doctor is just leaving, ensure she doesn't return."

"Certainly, Miss. Dr Fox, I believe you're no longer wanted."

"I am cleared for the Met Police and I won't be treated like that, I also have a clinic in this hospital."

"That's as may be, madam, but this is not a Police matter any more so your complaints are groundless. Now, either leave or my two colleagues will assist you."

Two proto-Neanderthals, carrying sub-machine guns, had appeared in the corner of the room. Dr Fox reluctantly moved towards the doorway.

"You've not seen the last of me!" Unfortunately she apparently misjudged her feet because she ended up spread-eagle in the corridor.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 5

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

 
Bond, Gail Bond
 

"So Gail, what went on with you and Dr Fox earlier this morning?" Dr Hughes was back in the hospital room, accompanied by Nurse Jules, and was unplugging Gail from various tubes and machines.

"I didn't like her attitude, plus I reckon I'd already told her more than I should."

"Sounds like you've had the level 1 security briefing!"

"I did, what's level 2?"

"There isn't a level 1, 2 or anything. I made that bit up. Now, you're a bit tetchy so I'll be give you something to relax, we'll use a treatment room just down the hall."

"Can I have a wee first?"

"You could have used the bag?"

"I wasn't keen on the catheter, I've heard bad reports about what it can do to you."

"Okay, I'll accept that, but the nurse will have to help you."

Gail resigned herself to the intimate inspection, but Jules had plainly already seen that Gail was not 'all woman', without querying anything. A few minutes later Gail was loaded into a wheelchair and taken along the corridor. Now she could see the security team that was in place, some of them looked positively evil, it also looked as if none of the other side-rooms were in use.

Nurse Jules whispered, "it's a closed ward, not enough money to run it all the time."

A few minutes later, and feeling a little better, Gail was assisted onto the table in the treatment room and prepared for the minor procedure. Dr Hughes had been joined by two men in surgical scrubs, one of whom now injected into the cannula in Gail's left hand.

"This is just a little sedative to relax you, I'll now use a local anaesthetic in your sac." He was plainly the anaesthetist.

Ten minutes later, they had completed the removal of Gail's, formerly David's, testes and put a couple of stitches in to close the small hole. A little 'super-glue' was then used, finally a dressing was applied.

"Perfect, it looks like someone had some waxing done this week?" Dr Hughes made the comment to no-one in particular.

Gail was reloaded, slightly dopey, into the wheelchair and taken back to her room to rest and recover from the anaesthetic.

About 1pm nurse Jules gently woke Gail, "how are you feeling now?"

"Hmmmmm, fine I think. What time is it?"

"Lunchtime. Want anything?"

"Tea please."

"Okay, I'll arrange that. Can you sit up by yourself?"

Gail shuffled up the bed, then remembered the earlier procedure and went to feel her groin.

"No, leave alone for now, otherwise you might re-open the wound. Dr Hughes is coming back around in an hour or so to see you."

"Right, I guess I'll still be here."

"Quite. I've left a pen in case you want to try the crossword." Gail reached over and picked up the morning's paper, although she was still not fully recovered. In the end, with six clues completed, she put The Guardian back down, and dozed.

At almost three in the afternoon, Dr Hughes arrived with Jenny. Gail woke due to the increased noise level in the room but was happy to see familiar faces, the smile on her face said so.

"Right Gail, let's check you over and see about releasing you from here." He spent fifteen minutes with her, including extracting some blood and checking her vitals. He finally asked Gail to go to the toilet unaided, satisfied, he told Jenny to arrange her transport.

"Gail, I'll see you in a day or so at the house. I believe there's some medical history that we need to cover. In the meantime, I'm increasing your iron tablets to 200mg twice daily. I'm still concerned about your hormone levels and I'll have these latest bloods thoroughly checked. Finally, I'll arrange for a different gender counsellor to see you. Dr Fox's role has been terminated, indeed I'm concerned that she knew you were at Northwick Park."

"Glad for that."

Jenny returned with a different nurse and a wheel-chair, Gail was handed a dressing gown and slippers and helped into the chair. With Gail loaded, they descended using a goods lift and went to a loading bay, where a minibus waited. Gail was wheeled aboard and the chair strapped down. Jenny, the nurse plus two officers joined her in the back and they were soon on their way. As before, the windows were tinted and Gail had little idea of where they were going.

***

Gail must have dozed again as she was startled by the change in noise as the minibus entered the underground access and pulled up. Gail was unloaded, still in the wheelchair, down a ramp to a small lift. She exited the lift on the same floor as her room, next to the medical room, but couldn't see behind her what it looked like.

Back in her room she was gently washed then dressed by the nurse in a clean nightie but left on top of her bed. Again she dozed, but a simple meal was brought to her after six and the nurse returned to remind Gail to take her iron tablets.

"Sorry, I don't know your name?"

"I'm Anna, Miss Jones, and I'll be on call for you."

"I'm sure I don't need a personal nurse?"

"It's doctor's orders, Miss, plus I'm also part of your protection detail.".

This was getting way too strange and surreal for Gail who was now worryingly certain she was in a Bond movie, Mission Impossible or something similar.

"Okay, thanks."

Gail finished her meal and put the tray on the dresser while she went to wash and wee. She walked back into the bedroom, and was surprised to see someone sat on her bed.

"Good evening Gail, are you fit enough to talk?"

"I think so Helen, what's up?"

Helen motioned to Gail to get herself back into bed, "Doctor's orders," she said. Gail was concerned, Helen was not her usual jovial self.

"What's happened?"

"There's no easy way of putting this, an hour after we left Northwick Park Hospital an RPG was launched through the window of your room."

"RPG?"

"Rocket propelled grenade. It just about destroyed the room, thankfully no-one was on the floor of that wing when it happened."

"My god! They were after me?"

"It seems that way."

"How did they know?"

"We're working on it but that shrink, Dr Fox, is now missing. We're not even certain how she knew you were in the hospital, you weren't checked in under Gail, Abigail, Abi or anything similar."

"Am I safe here?"

"Yes, so far as we can be certain. Our vehicles do not use a direct route here and as you'll already realise we don't use the main entrance for access. Having said that, your security is under constant review."

"That's re-assuring, but for how long will I be useful? It won't take me forever to finish going through the Fourani data."

"Gail, don't you worry about that. We've got plans for you that I'm sure you'll agree to."

"Do tell."

"Not yet, it's officially a work-in-progress. Anyway, I have some good news for you."

"I'm all ears."

"Remember I said that your office and bedsit were under offer? Well, the sale will complete on Monday so you'll be £250,000 better off, less some estate agency fee. I've also had the settlement from your home insurance company, so that £12,500 plus the rent deposit of £2000 are in my office account at the moment."

"Sounds good."

"It gets better, I'm setting up new accounts for you as Miss Abigail Adams, I'll move £12k into a savings account and leave the rest in the current account, for now, but you 'll be able to move it around as you see fit. Your first payment of £2,500 from the Security Service has also been made into that account, so do you fancy some more shopping?"

"I'm still waiting to see the last lot!"

Helen stood and walked over to one of the wardrobes, throwing it open, "ta-da! I brought them over this afternoon. Don't worry about trying anything yet, that can wait until tomorrow. Oh, I added a few bits to the original order including a leotard and exercise togs, I guess you might want to use the gym?"

"I had mentioned that to Jenny."

"Okay, that's enough excitement for now, I suggest you get some rest."

"If you insist, Doctor!"

"Cheek!"

Helen left Gail to her thoughts, the most prominent of which was the whereabouts of Doctor Fox and how the news of her stay at the hospital was leaked. She dozed off trying to rationalise unknowns.

***

Saturday morning arrived overcast and certainly not the summery day it should have been. Gail was left until 8am when the maid, Lisa, brought her a cup of tea and a copy of The Guardian.

"Good morning Miss, I'll go and fetch your breakfast now you're awake."

With that she was gone. Gail sipped her tea and turned over the paper to see the headline, which concerned the attack on Northwick Park Hospital.

Gail started reading the article, but there was scant information and tons of conjecture, with neither the hospital management nor the police admitting to knowing very much about the terrorist act. Her breakfast arrived just after she'd dashed into the loo for an overdue wee. There was a note on the tray, Gail unfolded the paper to read the message, "don't forget the iron tablets! Jenny".

It was nine o'clock by the time she'd finished the meal, the first order of business was a good long shower.

There was a knock on the door as Gail stepped out of the shower, she quickly wrapped herself in a towel before inviting the waiting person into her bedroom. Her visitor was Nurse Anna, "I've come to check the wound, I guess the dressing has come off?"

"Yes, can I just dry myself off first?"

"Sure."

Gail knew she was being silly, but she was uncomfortable having the girl there, even if she was a nurse and would have seen every version of the human body by the time she had finished training. She went back into the bathroom to complete her drying, regretting not having a clean nightie to put on, or even clean underwear. Oh well.

She hung up the towel, wrapped a smaller one around her head and walked back into the bedroom.

"Can you get on the bed," asked Anna, who was now putting on a pair of medical gloves. She took Gail's blood pressure then examined the site of the minor operation, declaring it clean and healing nicely.

"No need for a dressing as such, but can you use a pantyliner for a few days and change it at least twice daily? If there's any blood or discharge on it then you must let me know. Okay?"

"Yes, but I don't have any pantyliners?"

"You do, there's a new box in the bathroom. Do you know how to put them in?"

"I think so."

Gail grabbed some clean underwear and checked the box of liners, correctly identifying how it went, hardly rocket science but a new experience nevertheless.

***

An hour later Gail walked into the conservatory with her newspaper, the overcast sky had turned to rain and creating a drumming sound on the glass roof. Gail found the sound strangely comforting, given the strange world that she seemed to inhabit at the moment. Her mind was cast back to the previous Sunday when she was on a train heading for the Essex coast, pursued by two criminals who were now in prison cells - hopefully.

Lisa had seen Gail's arrival at the rear of the large house and obviously informed Jenny, the housekeeper, who arrived with a pot of coffee on a tray.

"Did you see my note?"

"Yes, Jenny, thank you for the reminder."

"That's alright, just don't give us another scare, okay?"

"I'll try not to. Is there anything for me to do today?"

"You are not to go into the library until tomorrow at the earliest, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"And swimming is out of the question for a few more days."

"Yes."

"But you're cleared to sit, read, and chat, just nothing to excess."

"Understood."

Jenny left Gail to continue her digestion of the Saturday paper, by 11 she'd completed most of the main section, leaving only 6 supplements to handle. By now her eyes were suffering so she put the paper down, eventually falling asleep.

Gail stirred when someone sat next to her. When she'd fully woken she found the nurse, there was also a blanket over Gail.

"What time is it?"

"One o'clock. I suggest you go up to your room."

"What about lunch?"

"I suspect you couldn't handle lunch at the moment?"

"Perhaps not a full lunch?"

"You go on up, I'll ask the kitchen to do you some soup."

"Okay, okay." Gail wobbled slightly before regaining her balance and toddled back up to her room.

Lisa arrived with a bowl of soup ten minutes later, but Gail was curled on top of her bed. Lisa placed a blanket over her and returned the soup to the kitchen.

***

Gail did awake a few hours later, and made it to the dining room where she pushed her dinner around the plate for half an hour before giving up. She did however accept and finish a banana that was given to her.

The day effectively ended there, she went to her room and changed into a nightie, remembering to swap her pantyliner for a clean one. Her bed had been changed and there were fresh towels in the bathroom. She slid under the duvet and was off into dreamland shortly after.

 
Reject
 

Sunday morning was much brighter than the previous day and that morning's cup of tea arrived just after seven.

"The kitchen would like to know if you would like breakfast in your room again, Miss?"

"Thank you Lisa but I'll be down today, I'm feeling a bit better."

So began another day. Despite Gail's statement, she was not fully recovered, so didn't take any risks. That meant a little common sense was needed, no swimming, no working in the library and generally taking it easy; she was sure no-one would complain.

Gail had just finished breakfast when Helen arrived, accompanied by DS Emily Keane; this was not a social call. "The conservatory, please." It wasn't a request either.

Emily kicked off the meeting. "I believe Helen has briefed you so far?" "Yes." "Right, we have CCTV of the attackers but they were in camouflage kit so their faces were obscured, their vehicle had been stolen a few hours earlier."

Helen was staying quiet. "So that's a dead end?"

"No, we had a stroke of luck. They drove onto the M25 and went past one of our unmarked cars, which triggered an automatic stolen vehicle alert. They crashed whilst being chased and we have them in custody."

"Sounds good, but I suspect there's a catch."

"We believe they're Iranian however they're not speaking and have no ID on them."

"Iranian? Oh."

"Quite." Emily agreed.

"What about Dr Fox?"

"She's still missing but now a nurse has also gone missing, or rather failed to report for her next two shifts without explanation."

"Is that connected?"

"Maybe, it turns out that she's half British, half Iranian, and we believe she was one of the nurses that went to your room."

"Oh, heck."

"Now, Gail, in the accounts that you have gone through, do you remember any bank transfers or cheques that looked like maintenance payments? I suspect there may be some maintenance paid? We're thinking this nurse may be family, or the result of a relationship a few decades ago."

"Not that I can recall."

"Some of the guys at HQ are looking through the bank statements looking for payments but it wouldn't do any harm for you to do the same - tomorrow."

Helen now spoke, "Gail, the security service is taking the lead in the search for this nurse, as well as Dr Fox. We'll find them. In the meantime our assessment of your security remains valid."

"In English, does that mean I'm safe?"

"Err, yes."

The meeting broke up, although only DS Keane left.

"Come on girl, let's try some of these new clothes on?"

Gail sighed, her energy levels weren't back up to full as yet. "After lunch please."

"Okay, okay, sorry if I'm a little pushy."

"Accepted. I'm going upstairs for a doze," she also needed to take her iron tablets, something that had slipped her mind earlier.

***

It was around midday when Gail was fully awake, although the knocking on her door may have helped.

"Hello? Come in."

Doctor Hughes and Nurse Anna walked in, carrying some equipment, medical equipment, obviously.

"Hello Gail, how are you today?"

It always seemed to be a pointless question from a medical professional, as 90% of the time they could tell at a glance, the standard answer being about as much use as a damp paper bag.

"Fine, I guess."

"I'm not so sure about that. Let's give you the once over?"

So, two minutes later her blood pressure and pulse had been noted. Asking Gail to stand, her weight was taken and finally several vials of blood were drawn.

"Blood pressure is up, good. Right, can you lie back down so we can check the wound?"

Not the most dignified thing Gail had ever done, but she complied nonetheless.

"Very good. Keep using the pads for a few more days but tell Anna or me immediately if you see any blood or other discharge?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Now, we have the results of the bloods taken on Thursday and Friday, although there's little to choose between them. This confirms you have entered the andropause, male menopause if you wish, and your testosterone levels were down to 15% of normal before the orchidectomy. This goes some way to explain your tiredness and drop in blood pressure."

"What's the fix?"

"That's a question that I'm not strictly qualified to answer. Hormone treatment is the broad answer but how it's achieved requires a hormone specialist and a large degree of certainty from yourself."

"Certainty of what?"

"That you want to remain as Gail, live as a female? After all, we're barely over a week down from when you took this persona full-time."

The nurse elbowed the doctor as Gail started crying.

"Look what you've done, leave me with her."

Reluctantly the doctor left the room.

"Gail, here's a tissue - good job you don't have any mascara on today! Come on, dry your eyes and let's talk."

"I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"Err, what does he want me to say?"

"Nothing, Gail, nothing. He was just a little insensitive, he means no harm."

"So what's next?"

"Your health is number one priority, but you are going to have to make a choice soon, but hear me out. Are you comfortable as Gail?"

"Yes."

"Would you consider being David again?"

"No."

"Simple as that? I don't think it's as clear cut as that, which is why you will meet a specialist later this week."

"Obviously not Dr Fox?"

"Plainly not."

"Good."

"There, now how about you have a wash, put on some slap and come down for lunch?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, some good food will contribute towards your recovery."

It was another twenty minutes before a refreshed Gail made her way to the dining room, although it was still empty. Jenny passed and told her there was a ten minute delay so she walked back to the conservatory where the sun was streaming through the glass roof.

There were some quiet greetings from those present, but everyone seemed to have been warned not to engage Gail too quickly in conversation, just let her get comfortable first. The nett effect of which was to make Gail suspect something was going on. She was about to speak up when Jenny appeared in the doorway.

"Lunch is served."

***

Conversation had returned to somewhere near normal, although any discussion of Gail's health - physical or mental - was definitely off the menu. She finally received the day's Observer newspaper and settled back in the conservatory to peruse it, not really up for a full in depth analysis of the news. Any attempt of the crossword would have been pointless on this day.

Her eyes were starting to suffer a little, when she put down the paper, wondering if she shouldn't have had her eyes checked several years earlier? Leaving the conservatory, she found Helen in the hallway.

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be to do this fashion show!"

"Great, lead the way!"

Two hours later, there was a pile of rejects and a 'maybe' pile.

"That was hard work, but fun."

"See honey, I knew you'd get into this lark. I'll arrange the returns unless you want to change your mind about anything there." She waved at the reject pile. "And it's your last chance with the other pile."

"No, I think we now know what suits me."

"Ha ha! Not so fast! You've got much to learn Miss Jones."

What was left was around three quarters of the previous week's online shopping experience, with every top, skirt, trousers and frock checked. The leotard and undies could await until needed.

Helen scooped up the unwanted items and bade farewell, she wouldn't be at dinner. Gail climbed onto the bed and promptly dozed off.
Leads

Gail was feeling more lively on Monday, almost a week since she'd arrived at this country house. She wanted to get back to some research, particularly if she could help in the investigation concerning her attempted murder, some irony indeed.

The house seemed unusually quiet and Gail was alone for breakfast, which was odd, the only others she'd seen so far today were Lisa and Jenny, neither of whom used the dining room for meals.

Before settling into the library, she decided on a walk. She actually had a mission this morning, which was to find the fitness room. In the end it wasn't hidden at all, just in an area she hadn't looked before. Out of the conservatory, and to the left, was a covered walkway to a single story wooden building.

Putting her head in the door she found the recently arrived nurse on a running machine, although she seemed to be in a mind of her own, listening to music via headphones. Glancing around, Anna suddenly saw Gail and stepped back from the machine's panel, which cut the motor.

"Safety cord," she said, explaining the item that was tied to her.

"Oh," replied Gail, "I've never used one of these before."

"I'll show you but you are not cleared to use any of the kit here until Doctor Hughes says so."

"Understood."

Anna gave Gail the tour, although several of the machines looked as if they had counterparts in all the best medieval torture chambers. They returned to the pair of running machines.

"Tell you what, even though you're not dressed for it, if I start you on a walking pace you can get the idea of it. Nothing fancy. Hold on while I connect the safety cord."

Gail had ten minutes on there at a medium walking pace, it was clear that she wasn't in shape but strenuous exercise was out of the question for now. Maybe a gentle swim tomorrow?

Walking back along the walkway, instead of heading back to the conservatory she followed the path to a door on the side of the house. It was locked and bore a security sign warning access to pass holders only. Strange, as Gail hadn't seen any passes other than the police ID cards that were usually found around the necks of officers.

Walking back to the conservatory, she now saw metal shuttering that could be closed, effectively sealing the glassed room off. She was learning more about the building each day, but not about her future. Even so, she was trusting Helen with her financial interests and felt that Emily was keeping her up-to-date with the police investigations. Finally, as Gail closed the conservatory door she considered just how much had happened, and how her life had drastically changed in little over a week.

She sank into one of the chairs, re-positioned a cushion and slept lightly, waking when she felt someone in the room with her.

"Good morning Miss, it's just gone eleven and I though you might like a coffee?"

Gail rubbed her eyes. "Thank you Lisa."

The coffee was a little stronger today, perhaps a new blend, and Gail felt a buzz as she drank. She refilled her empty cup and took it, re-invigorated, into the library.

For the first time since Thursday morning that Gail had been in this room, and even earlier than that when she'd done any research into the Fourani accounts. After firing up her laptop a few emails from Dave Brown arrived, one was an email saying not to worry about getting anything done for a few days - plainly regarding her hospitalization - the other was a plea for any help locating the suspected family connection to the nurse.

That email included the name of the missing nurse, Fatima Hussaini-Davis, Gail couldn't recall seeing the name Fatima, nor any of its' derivatives, but did recall several payments to an individual named Davison. She went back to the 2005-6 spreadsheet and conducted a search.

The results showed several, seemingly random, payments by cheque to 'J. Davison' during the period she was examining. The amounts varied from £100 to £2100 and were all recorded as "services rendered". Gail made a note of the cheque numbers, plus the relevant originating bank account numbers. She then checked 2006-7, finding similar payments, although the later ones were direct account transfers, the last payment was in 2007. However, she now had a bank account number for 'Davison'.

Gail gleefully typed this information into an email and sent it to Dave Brown's team at MI5. She then sat back, taking her eyes of the screen, and wondered how she could justify this connection? Apart from the similarity of 'Davis' and 'Davison', she had very little reason for her joy. After a few minutes her self-doubt was rampant. Gail restarted her search but could find nothing else.

Her laptop pinged and Gail clicked to open a new email.
 

Thanks Gail,
 
From your information, we've identified J, Davison as Janet Husseini Davison, also known as Janet Davis. It would seem she was a student at the London School of Economics the same time as Hamiz Fourani. It also seems that Fatima is Janet's and Hamiz's daughter even though Janet married another Iranian at the time. My team now have several leads to follow, great work.

Dave

 
Gail started to sob, but in this case it was because she'd realised that sometimes a little faith can lead to the truth. Now, where had that come from? She grabbed a couple of tissues from a nearby box and dabbed her eyes, realising that she'd done enough today. Picking up her cold coffee cup she started to walk back to the conservatory.

Jenny seemed to be waiting in the hallway, "Ah Gail, lunch is in a few minutes and I'll take that cup."

Gail had almost finished her lunch, a simple bean salad, when Helen arrived, seemingly up to date.

"Well done Gail, brilliant work!"

"It wasn't that good, I was finding it hard to justify what I'd sent."

"No, you don't understand. You identified something that got your interest, and you ran with it. Because of that, there's an operation in full swing at the moment."

"If I helped a little, then I suppose I've earned my fee?"

"I'd say it's better than that, Janet Davis, or whatever name she's using now, was convicted six years ago of supplying Class A narcotics. The informant was Hamed Fourani. She was eventually released six months ago, it would have been sooner but she managed to supply cocaine whilst at East Sutton Park Prison in Kent and was convicted of that too."

"Oh."

"Oh yes, so your little nugget has opened up the investigation somewhat. Well done." Helen reached over and gave Gail a hug.

"Now, why don't we celebrate and do some shopping?"

Back in the library, Helen used Gail's laptop once again to access online clothing stores, as well as a large pharmacy chain's website.

"What do I need from here?" Asked Gail.

"Well, it's time for another womanhood lesson. You need some more make-up, a manicure set, more nail varnishes, some hair clips and bands; just for starters. You need to be able to slightly alter your look depending on where you're going and what you might be doing there."

"I see, I just tended to use the same look every week in the clubs as I was comfortable doing it that way."

"It might not matter as much in a dark club, but it sure as hell matters at social events, business meetings or High Street shopping."

"I think I'll need some help."

"Already sorted, just working out which day the style consultant can see you."

"Here?"

"No, in this case it'll have to be somewhere neutral, like a hotel room, as her brief will be quite restricted."

"Fair enough, but at least I'll get a day out!"

"Exactly. Now, let's choose what you need then move onto the clothing, I don't think you have any sun dresses? Don't forget purses and bags! How about an MP3 player and some music?"

The next two hours were filled with giggles from the library, until Gail declared that her eyes had done enough.

"That's about another £650 we've spent, but as I said before money isn't an issue,"

"What about the sale of my office?"

"The funds were in my account this morning."

"So how much am I worth?"

"Right now, a little over quarter of a million pounds. I've moved the latest money to your new savings account so that will earn interest straight away."

"Which bank is it?"

"We're using the Trustees First Bank for your accounts at the moment, but keeping an option of moving to Coutts when your assets improve, for better security."

"Coutts? Isn't that the Queen's bank?"

"That's what I heard."

"Can we get out of here?" Gail signalled it was the library she was referring to.

"Sure, fancy a walk?"

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."

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.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 8

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

 
Debrief
 

Gail was alone in the pool the following morning, but decided against using the jacuzzi. She was back in her room for her shower when she realised this was the first morning she'd not seen nor spoken to anyone since she'd woken.

At breakfast she only saw Jenny, neither Anna or Helen were anywhere to be seen. Unusually Jenny wasn't talkative, Gail sensed something was wrong but couldn't identify it. She grabbed Saturday's paper and hauled it down to the conservatory.

There was a light mist but the morning had the hallmarks of becoming a decent summer's day. Gail settled down for a read, It was half past nine when the first signs of trouble appeared, in the form of Helen.

"That was hard work." She slumped into a chair.

"What was?"

"Debrief, because of our trip to Kew Gardens."

"Oh."

"Yes. Anna's still in there, with Emily Keane and her DI. I've been warned not to do that again, presumably Anna will be as well. If he had the authority I think the DI would remove Anna and me from the job."

"Whatever for? No-one could have predicted a bag snatcher."

"Indeed, but he was able to get very close to you and that is one of the problems. The other issue is that I identified myself as a Met Officer and now park security have been in touch through Richmond Police Station."

"Why?"

"The bag snatcher is known and they want a statement, from you and myself. Plainly Emily is not keen."

"I see. Does this mean I won't be leaving these walls again?"

"Not at all, but more stage management next time, whenever that is?"

"Oh bugger, I can see that shopping experience disappearing into the mist," she waved towards the garden.

"Don't pin your hopes on it happening in the near future, Gail."

Gail felt uncomfortable, yesterday's excursion into the outside world was her first taste of freedom for almost two weeks, indeed it was exactly a fortnight ago when she had found raiders in her office and the burnt remains of her home. It wasn't that she considered herself to be a prisoner, but neither was she free to walk out of the gates nor to contact anyone outside of a restricted list, in both meanings.

She then decided to look at the issue from the other side. There had been three, at least, attempts on her life in the past two weeks so without this protection she would most likely be dead. Her knowledge and skills were helping solve a complex picture of drug supply and arms smuggling involving known German terrorists. Very sobering indeed. Gail sighed, she was having difficulty reconciling the two positions.

She tried to read some more of the paper but she'd reached a page listing the weekend's festivals, none of which she could attend. The paper landed on the floor, not by accident.

Anna arrived at the conservatory doorway but decided not to add her gloom to the proceedings and headed back into the house. Gail was surprised when Jenny asked her to go to the library.

"Why?"

"Debrief, your turn."

"Me?"

"Yes, everyone is being interviewed."

Gail's day was not improving as she opened the library door. Inside were Detective Sergeant Emily Keane and a man whom Gail had never met.

"Come in Gail, take a seat. This is DI Reynolds, my superior."

"Good morning DI Reynolds," Gail tried to sound convincing, despite her reluctance.

"I'm pleased to meet you at last Miss Jones," the DI was also unconvincing.

Over the space of the next hour, Emily took Gail repeatedly through the events of the previous day, starting in the swimming pool when the excursion was initially planned. It was clear that procedures hadn't been followed but Gail was getting a different message. Emily, every time she was pushing Gail for an answer, was catching the eye of her DI, it looked as if the DI was running this show but wanted Emily to squirm. Gail finally had enough, and interrupted Emily.

"I'm sorry Emily but I need to say something. DI Reynolds, I don't know who you're trying to blame here, but as far as I'm concerned you have no respect for this operation. The first time you speak to me is when you're looking for a scape-coat. I've had enough of it. I am employed by the security service and I don't answer to you."

"You ungrateful pervert."

Emily looked at Gail and told her to get out of the room. Gail fled, in tears.

She burst out of the conservatory, not even certain if anyone had been sat there, and headed down the garden towards the summerhouse. Helen was sat on the veranda.

"The little prick!"

"Slow down Gail, who and what has happened?"

Gail repeated what she'd just experienced and her analysis of DI Reynolds. Then she recalled a comment Emily had made some twelve days earlier.

“I'm the case officer but I report to my DI and he's signing off everything. I can't say he was too understanding about you as Gail when we showed him a photo of you. That prompted him to call in the shrink."

Gail repeated this to Helen. "That explains a few things."

"Does the DI know where we are, the building I mean?"

"No, although Emily is cleared."

"Could he insist that I went with him? I feel he's going to try and remove me from here."

"Only if it was because of a criminal investigation, even then he doesn't have the final say. Why do you ask?"

"I have a horrible feeling about him, as if he was just looking for an excuse to have a go at me, at us."

Helen spoke, but not to Gail. "Anna, if you are listening, could you get down here - we need your input."

To Gail, "let's have some ice cream, I think there's a few in the icebox of the fridge." She returned with three as Anna was walking down the path.

They concentrated on their ices for a minute before Anna spoke, "we have a problem."

"Obviously!" Said Gail and Helen together.

"No, we have another problem, DI Reynolds wasn't brought here in one of the security vans but in a car. It doesn't have a GPS jammer fitted and I think I saw him on CCTV checking his phone. He was getting frustrated as it wouldn't send a message, obviously he hasn't been briefed about our security devices."

"Need to know?" Asked Gail.

"Exactly," said Helen, "he may be in charge of this Met Police anti-terrorist investigation and will receive intelligence from the security service but that does not allow him access to security service premises or files except where there is a well defined need to know."

"So what do we do?"

"We have to tell Jenny."

"What can she do?"

"Plenty."

Helen was elected to go to Jenny, Gail assumed there was an urgency as the DI could ask to leave.

"Oh, he could ask but I suggested the driver took a meal break. That gives us half an hour." Anna was smirking as she said this.

They sat there for a few minutes longer before Helen was seen walking back out, enjoying the sunshine.

"We have a plan."

That was it, the fewer that knew the plan, the better. The three sat there for almost an hour before walking back to the house so they couldn't be implicated. Lunch followed, but there was no sign of the housekeeper.

***

Jenny walked to the conservatory doorway mid afternoon looking pleased. "Ah Gail, I believe we've solved a problem." She turned and walked back into the house.

Some time later Helen arrived with a huge smile on her face.

"What's up?"

"We thought DI Reynolds was going back to central London, but his driver told us he was to take the DI to Chelmsford."

"Chelmsford?"

"The HQ of Essex Police is in Chelmsford."

"Oh."

"So she asked if he could drop her at Enfield, which wouldn't be too far out of the way. She then took two portable jammers in her bag and watched while he tried to get the information out of his phone. Apparently he become quite irate. Jenny said she could fix his phone and convinced him to hand it over but confiscated the phone instead. When the car pulled up in Enfield, instead of the railway station they were at Enfield police station, Jenny had arranged to have the DI arrested for a breach of the Official Secrets Act."

"Sweet. What's the Essex connection then?"

"His step-brother is a Detective Inspector in Essex Special Branch, who are still actively looking for you."

"No German connection then?"

"None that we've found so far. But there's some worrying news, on his phone were several photos of you taken here today."

"Great."

"Look, we've got the phone and we don't expect that he would have been able to send the photos anywhere. There are two major issues here, firstly that he was going to supply the location of this house, and you, to a third party plus his obvious personal dislike of you."

"What's next?"

"We need to make sure all vehicles have jammers fitted. In the meantime I need to find Emily and brief her, especially as we've just had her boss nicked."

 
Acting Up
 

After the hassle on Saturday, the fallout from the Detective Inspector's arrest had been measured. His Essex-based step-brother had been temporarily relieved of command too, although it was unclear which of them was the driving force or if a third party was actively involved.

Gail decided that a low profile was needed, after catching up with Helen and Anna in the pool, so she slipped down to the summerhouse veranda with her Sunday paper and a coffee; there was a rumour that the ice creams had been restocked, almond and pistachio apparently.

The sun broke through early in the morning and by ten o'clock it was very warm. It had taken a few days for Gail to realise that the photo-chromic layer on her glasses really did work, the change was barely susceptible to the wearer. She also found herself continually touching the glasses to make sure she was wearing them.

As far as she knew, the day was free, but that word had a strange meaning within this cocoon. Having said that, if a senior police officer in the anti-terrorist team can seemingly go freelance, then who could she trust? Walking towards her was Emily Keane.

"Fancy an ice cream?"

"I'd heard a snippet there was a secret stock down here."

"Lies, all lies! I'll deny everything!" Gail used a false Italian accent, badly, but Emily laughed regardless. Gail went into the summerhouse and retrieved two ices.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Gail, I was under orders to conduct the interviews but it was on his terms."

"I guessed that you weren't comfortable."

"I wasn't."

"What will you do now?"

"I have to go back to New Scotland Yard this morning to see one of the Assistant Commissioners, can't say I'm looking forward to that, but it's not optional."

"Well good luck, anyway, do you know what they're going to say?"

"It could go either way, most likely is a full investigation. I could even be suspended."

"Is that likely?"

"Again, I don't know. I just have to accept my fate, although if it's bad then the Federation will become involved."

"Federation?"

"The Police Federation is a staff union for police officers."

"Okay, so you wouldn't have to deal with anything on your own?"

"That's the idea. I have to go, I'll try to let you know later what happened."

"Thanks."

Emily finished her ice cream and walked slowly back to the house, to Gail it was hard seeing the pressure that was on Emily, but as a serving police officer she knew the rules. Gail tried to read her paper but couldn't concentrate. She closed her eyes and dropped off to sleep.

The sound of a phone ringing woke her. "Hello?"

"Ah, Gail, found you. Lunch will be served shortly."

"Thanks Jenny."

Gail gathered herself and headed across the garden then up to her room. She had a wee and a wash then remembered that she hadn't taken her pills that morning, she wouldn't want to get pregnant accidentally, would she? She was also running out of the iron tablets she'd been taking for most of the past fortnight.

She was alone for lunch, it seemed that everyone else had left the house. This reinforced her view that she was a form of prisoner here, even if it was in her best interests, apparently.

After lunch she decided to head into the library to spend an hour on the accounts. She first checked her emails, there was a new one from Dave Brown.

 

To: Abigail Adams
From: Dave Brown
Subject: Tour
 
Hi Gail
 
Thanks for everything so far, there are some very interesting leads affecting investigations in the UK and Germany. Our sister agency in Germany, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) have asked if they could speak to you. If you're willing we could combine a tour of Thames House with the meeting. They'll be over on Wednesday so could you let me know asap.
 
Regards
Dave

 

Gail hit reply and quickly typed an acceptance, with the caveat that she'd need to make sure her minders wouldn't object. She then started on the 2009/2010 accounts, making notes as she went. By four o'clock she'd finished that tax year and was now seeing a definite pattern. She opened a new email.

 

To: Dave Brown
From: Abigail Adams
Subject: Black hole
 
Dave
 
As I mentioned previously, I have long suspected there was a tax avoidance scheme running across the accounts. Within one year it might be mistaken for a regular set of transactions but there's a pattern emerging across multiple years. What I've seen is payments for goods with a refund several days later. I don't believe any goods were actually shipped so this is a cover for moving funds, as the refund is always 80% of the original sum. The goods themselves vary, as does the amount. The paperwork specifies different addresses and business names, but one occurred several times, Iranischen Zentrums für Kulturaustausch (Iranian Centre for Cultural Exchange), in Düsseldorf.
 
The account number changed only once, I'll attach a sample of the documents but the total funds effectively transferred run to over £500,000 annually.
 
Regards
Gail

 

Satisfied with her afternoon's work she shut down the laptop and walked towards the stairs. Jenny caught her just before she could head for her room.

"Gail, I'm working on this week's appointments and meetings, is there anything specific you'd like to do? Within reason of course!"

"I've had an invite to Thames House on Wednesday so that's one thing and I could do with a visit from a hair stylist, plus a waxing is needed."

"I'll arrange transport for Wednesday, presumably I'll receive a formal request tomorrow. As for the other bits, leave that with me and Helen to sort out. Anything else?"

"I'd still like a trip to Brent Cross or another shopping centre."

"I'll take that one under advisement! Oh, dinner's at six."

Jenny turned to head off so Gail took this as a cue that she could continue up to her new room, remembering to turn the correct way at the top of the stairs.

As she had two hours to kill she figured using the fitness suite was an idea, She changed into her leotard but left the tights off because of the warmth of the day. She put some sweats on over the leotard and headed back downstairs.

She was alone in the suite with every machine at her disposal but chose the running machine, she could do with getting into shape! One thing Gail noticed was that several of the machines had been moved towards the walls and an area, approximately 10mx10m, had been created. A pile of exercise mats sat in the space.

She shed her sweats and climbed on, starting at a sedate walk and slowly building it up to five miles per hour, holding that for twenty minutes.

Sweat was pouring off her as she stopped and she kicked herself for forgetting to take a towel. She gathered up her sweats and carried them back to her room, using the jacket to mop her brow. Once there she filled the bath and slid in, enabling the water jets. She didn't want to get out but dinner was fast approaching. She quickly washed her hair in the shower and dressed simply, in a frock she couldn't remember ordering. Maybe it was one of Helen's little extras.

Given that she'd seen very few people during the day, she was a little surprised to find Emily back, along with Helen and Anna. Anna, it turned out, had requested a day off to do some shopping of her own and Helen had gone to her own office in Stoke Newington to catch up with some work.

Emily was the one person Gail had feared would not return. "How did it go?" she asked hesitantly.

"Not as bad as I thought, the Assistant Commissioner wanted my opinion on the Kew Gardens incident but agreed, apart from some procedural issues, nothing could have been done to prevent a determined bag snatcher. He'll deal with the Kew security office by paying them a visit, he's a keen amateur botanist as it happens."

"So was that it?"

"Not quite, whilst the DI is suspended, pending dismissal it would seem, I've been given the acting role."

"Acting? As on a stage?" Gail was now confused.

"No, I'm now the Acting Detective Inspector responsible for this terrorism investigation."

"That's great news."

"Unfortunately that means I'll have plenty of work back at New Scotland Yard so my visits here won't be as often. I'm back here tonight as we need to give you a briefing in the morning and I don't fancy the Monday morning traffic."

"You can't do the briefing tonight?"

"No, I'm shattered and there's no immediate urgency."

Dinner was served and chatter reduced to a minimum as the traditional Sunday roast was devoured.

After dinner Gail went first to her room to freshen then for a walk down the length of the garden, perhaps she'd eaten more than was good for her? There was a little walled area on the far corner that she'd initially thought was a part of the boundary wall but where a tree had been lopped she could now see a small gate.

Inside the enclosed space were flower beds, a herb garden and a vegetable path but set in the centre was an open space, currently occupied by Anna. Her nurse and close protection officer was going through a range of exercises that looked like a martial art, Gail waited until she'd completed the latest sequence of movements before speaking.

"Anna, that looked interesting?"

"It's Tai Chi, I'm using it help me concentrate, that guy shouldn't have got so close to you on Friday and it's my fault."

"Don't beat yourself up Anna, it could happen to all of us?"

"It mustn't happen to me again, or I'm out of the business. That's why I'm doing the exercises."

"Is it self-defence too?"

"No, for that I use a form of Taekwondo. I'd be happy to teach you some defensive moves."

"Here?" Gail waved around the garden.

"No in the fitness suite, I've arranged for some exercise mats to be delivered."

"I saw them earlier."

"How about we have a taster session tomorrow, but have a very light breakfast!"

"Fine. What do I wear?"

"Leotard and tights, or sweats, will do for now, but we'll get you a dobok if you want to continue the training."

Gail wished Anna a good evening and walked back to the house. She'd never thought about self defence before but perhaps it would be sensible now. She did wonder, however, what was a dobok?

 
Salt
 

Monday morning found Gail and Anna in the fitness suite on the exercise mats that had now been laid out. Despite the relatively soft landing, Gail wasn't convinced this was a good idea.

"The first thing we need to cover is how to fall."

"Fall?"

"Yes, how to fall safely so you can be up straight away. You can use a fall to gain the upper hand. Let me show you."

They spent half an hour doing exercises before Gail called a halt, she was panting badly.

"Same again tomorrow morning then?"

"I'll think about it!"

She reached the stairs to head up to her room when she realised that the muscles in her legs were aching badly. She pulled herself up to her room using the hand rail, finally reaching her bathroom. She was aching even more after that climb, even taking off her exercise wear was difficult as she couldn't stretch legs nor arms. She dragged herself into the shower.

Gail was more relaxed when she left her bathroom and decided on a long linen skirt to hide any bruises that might be forming; Lisa found her in the conservatory with her legs up and quickly arranged refreshments. She'd barely taken the first sip of coffee when Emily bounced in.

"Where have you been, we need to do this briefing?"

"Self defence class with Anna."

"Oh dear, you're going to feel that all day."

"I gathered that. Can we do the briefing here?"

"'Fraid not, it will have to be the library for security."

Gail eased her way out of her seat and winced more than once as newly formed bruises rubbed on the chair. She carefully picked up her coffee but felt too insecure in her current state to carry the biscuits as well.

Once in the library, and not comfortable at all, Emily brought Gail up to date, concentrating on the attempts against her.

"There's no new intelligence that suggests anyone else has been given the contract on your life but there's still a concern that information gathering is ongoing. To that end we can't rule out a connection to the Essex investigation, although that has been firmly shut-down."

"What is it with Essex?"

"I don't know, it could be a personal motive based on transphobia, homophobia or something deeper. The West Midlands major incident team have been brought in to dig through the mess."

"Why the West Midlands? What's Birmingham got to do with this?"

"Nothing, as far as we know, so there's no contamination."

"So right now, there may or may not be something in this."

"Yep."

"Great. What about the ones arrested for the RPG attack?"

"They're talking now, it could be the difference between ten years or thirty years to life."

"When do they get to trial and will I be needed?"

"The trial won't start until the new year, at the earliest, and because you weren't there at the time you aren't needed.”

"What about that nurse, Fatima?”

"Fatima is remanded at the same prison as her mother, who was recalled from parole. They're both charged with kidnapping, actual bodily harm and false imprisonment plus we have Janet Davis on a serious drug charge, she'll be inside for some time."

"How long before that trial?"

"Dr Fox is not currently fit so we're using the time to investigate further, there's every chance we'll find something else to pin on them."

"Sneaky."

"Perhaps, but it's how we have to play the game these days, in any case we'll want to tidy up some other loose ends first."

"What about the Fourani's businesses?"

"We've obtained a winding-up order and closed everything other than his residential properties, although we still can't be certain we know about every property."

"I'm working on that, Emily."

"Yes, I know. It's still rather a complex situation but as we search the buildings we're coming across more ammunition and cash, hidden in otherwise ordinary places, some of which Fourani didn't own any more. The caches, that we've found, are spread across North and South London several miles apart."

"That sounds like advance planning for a revolution?"

"We guess it's an insurgency that was being planned, but when and by who? Maybe you'll find something?"

"I might have already, it's being analysed."

"Okay Gail, don't tell me as I'll only be briefed if it's relevant."

"Fair enough, but I've been warned not to say too much."

"Sensible advice. We're done unless you have any questions?"

"Nothing I can think about."

"Okay, can I suggest you get into the jacuzzi?"

"Good idea."

***

A soak, followed by lunch and Gail was starting to feel better. The self-defence workout was a good idea, as a woman she'd guessed she would be bound to encounter more problems than as a man. Add to that her security services role and she could become a target.

Helen was missing again, although no-one seemed to know why. Jenny found Gail.

"I've managed to get you an appointment for your hair but there's a slight problem."

"Problem?"

"Yes, given that I guessed you would want your hair done before Wednesday, I haven't been able to arrange for a stylist who has clearance to come here, I do however have someone who can see you at her salon after five when they normally close."

"So the problem is that I have to go out!"

"Yes, Anna is available and I'll arrange for a driver. Given that you're not known the risk is minimal and you're booked in under the name of Abi."

"How can you be certain this is safe?"

"The lady, Wendy, is my sister."

"Oh, is that allowed?"

"Yes, although it can be frowned upon. We've used her before for makeovers and she doesn't ask questions."

"Right, is it far?"

"About fifteen minutes away in Hitchin. Be ready to leave by 1645. You'll get dinner when you return."

Gail headed out into the garden and sneaked an ice cream from the summerhouse. Instead of sitting there she walked to the walled garden and sat in the central area on a bench, stretching her tortured legs out. It was so peaceful, there was just the sound of birdsong and the occasional bee dancing amongst the flowers. The air was heavy with scent, it was the closest to the perfect environment she could get.

Bang!

Gail spun around to see what had made the noise, dropping off the seat into a crouch as Anna had shown her. Across the far side, stood by a second gate, was a man carrying a shotgun. Gail decided to get out quickly and fled out of the garden. She realised she didn't have her bag so didn't have a pass for the security door. She ran straight into Jenny.

"Man with gun!" She pointed down the garden, panting & hysterical.

"Calm down Gail, did he have a peaked cap and a shotgun?"

"Yes."

"That'll be Bert, he's the vermin control man. He's been doing this for years, sort of came with the house. I obviously forgot to warn you he was going to be here today."

"Thanks." Gail was not sincere.

"Don't worry, he never hits anything because his eyesight's not too brilliant and we give him salt cartridges not buckshot."

"Even so? How was I to know that?"

"Well, I'm sorry. You won't see him again for a few weeks, if you're still here."

"I'll be in my room, I presume there's no marauding mole-hunters up there?"

"Unlikely."

Gail spent an hour upstairs, trying to kill time rather than get killed by projectile salt. She put the radio on but became depressed when all she could hear was wall-to-wall political rhétorique! She switched to a station with music output and flopped on the bed.

Gail stirred to the sound of a phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Miss Jones, I was asked to let you know it's half past four."

"Thank you Lisa."

Gail's hair was a mess and her make-up needed work, but given she was going to a stylist, minimal war paint was needed. This time she remembered her bag and switched on her mobile, although there was no signal yet. She was downstairs and in the car-park by the appointed hour, just.

Expecting to use a van she was surprised to see a standard saloon car sat there, although she couldn't name the make. Anna suggested she sat in the back and they were off. This was the first time she experienced the drive through the underground roadway, coming out into the open air at a pair of serious looking gates, topped with barbed wire. The gateway was next to an apparent abandoned farm building bristling with Keep Out signs.

The car came out onto a typical country road, lots of bends and the occasional short straight bits. Signposts were strangely lacking although eventually she did spy a sign for Hitchin. They pulled up outside the salon just after five, Anna told Gail to remain in the vehicle while she checked the place out.

Wendy was the spitting image of Jenny and welcomed Gail as if she'd known her for years, "my sister has told me everything about you," she gushed. Gail wasn't so sure so just played along.

"Now, what are we going to do?"

"Could I have a tidy up and maybe lighten it, blonde perhaps?"

"With your hair I'm not sure that blonde would be sensible, why don't I darken the auburn you have but create highlights using foil?"

"That sounds right."

"Good, over to the sink then."

Two hours later, Gail was back in the car heading towards the house. The changes were subtle but screamed woman. Wendy had also found time to wax Gail's legs, from the knee down. Unfortunately the morning's bruises would be certain to show if she didn't wear tights.

It was a weary Gail who ate alone in the dining room, Anna had disappeared again.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 9

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

 
Life, The Universe and Everything
 

Gail was alone in the pool again, and similarly at the breakfast table.

"Good morning Gail, you have a couple of appointments today."

"Not too many please Jenny, I do have a packed diary!"

Jenny managed a smile, even if the joke was becoming rather worn.

"Quite, the doctor would like to see you this morning, when he manages to get off the motorway, and Helen will be here for dinner."

"Not too bad then."

"No, also I can confirm your transport is arranged for tomorrow morning. The meeting is at ten so you'll head from here at eight thirty to make sure."

"That'll be fun, driving into central London in the morning."

The doctor finally arrived at ten o'clock, less than happy with Tuesday's M25 traffic, although the combine harvester on one of the nearby country roads came a close second place in his ire.

"Medical room please, is that nurse around?"

"I've not seen her this morning."

"Damn, I'm supposed to have a female present for any patient who presents female, if you get my gist. I'm sorry that it was overlooked two weeks ago."

Gail ignored the apology as too little too late. "Is the nurse there for your or my protection?"

"Both."

They reached the medical room and went in, but Doctor Hughes left the door open.

"An examination is out of the question, given the circumstances unless there's a problem?"

"No problem down there doctor."

"Fine, as usual tell me or Anna if there's anything, but I wouldn't expect any issues now. Right, next is an armful of your finest blood."

The repertoire of checks concluded with height, weight, blood pressure and a listen to her ticker.

"Good good, you've put on two kilos in the past ten days, plus your colour is better. We'll drop the iron tablets down to one a day, I guess you're remembering to take them plus the HRT?"

"Yes, although they're really birth control pills, aren't they?"

"Of course, but little point calling it a contraceptive in your case?"

She laughed.

"Now Gail, I think I don't need to see you again unless something crops up. Here's a prescription for sixty iron tablets, that'll be good for two months, by which time you should be registered with an NHS Doctor."

"I'd hope so, it's a bit stir crazy being stuck in here."

"I understand, I do, but there's a reason for everything whether or not we accept it."

"I know, and thanks."

Gail walked to her room and stared out of the window wondering if she'd finally explored all of the property? Could she get out undetected? Unlikely. What would happen to her security clearance if she decided to go solo, to escape? Could she re-establish herself?

Gail tried to busy herself but it wasn't working; the author Douglas Adams once wrote that 'Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so' and on this day Gail knew that to be very true.

When lunchtime had finally arrived she asked for a tray and took it down the garden, just for something different to do. Gail had no energy today for the fitness suite and no brainpower necessary for analysis of the accounts so she made her way back into the house as the skies were darkening and went to her room. She stared at the ceiling for a while then dozed off, mostly due to a lack of anything else better to do.

Gail was woken by a knocking on her door, although a few moments later there was a crash of thunder that would definitely have grabbed her attention.

There was a knock on her door again.

"Come in."

"Gail, we're worried about you."

Gail pulled herself up the bed, "hi Helen. I had nothing to do."

"I think we need to get you sorted for the long-term."

"Sometime soon?"

"Working on it. I understand you have a meeting at Thames House tomorrow?"

"That's right, the German federal security service will be there."

"Yes, I've been tasked with getting you there and back safely. Anna will join us but she's not cleared for Thames House yet, the best we can hope for is an 'accompanied' pass for her. You have a standard pass, as do I."

"What about the long-term?"

"Let's talk after dinner, you've got fifteen minutes to make yourself presentable."

"Why would I need to tart myself up, who's going to see me?"

"Right now, just us, but you need to be prepared for life, the universe and everything. Come on!"

Helen left Gail to it. The storm outside seemed to be ebbing as Gail made her way down. She'd changed out of her creased skirt and was now wearing a dress, with make-up repaired. She remembered her bag as well, this time.

Dinner was okay, but her appetite wasn't all there, so much for the doctor's good report that morning! Gail was ushered into the library by Helen as soon as they were done pushing food around, her friend had that brown envelope with her again.

"Let's finish this off, Gail. Here's a new Oyster card for the tubes and buses, there's no need to top it up. Next, we have new Institute of Accountancy certificates for Miss Abigail Adams, finally I have your indemnity insurance certificate and membership of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors."

"I can't afford their fees."

"It's covered."

"I also only did the basic course, so I can't have this."

"Yes you can, and don't worry about any training. Let's finish this then I'll tell you what we have in mind."

"Okay."

"We arranged a flat for you over a week ago in Amersham on the far western side of London. Initially it would be a correspondence address for you to establish your new identity but in time you would be able to use it."

"Use it for what?"

"To live there, as a base for your work."

"But what work would I be doing?"

"That depends on what comes up, but you would be a very selective independent accountant and auditor, Your clients might be individuals, families, small businesses, large companies or bigger corporate villains. You wouldn't need to go touting for work, it would be delivered to you. You'll brought in as a freelancer alone or part of a team to deal with cases of internal fraud, pre-taker accounts or maybe just the annual returns. While doing that you would analyse the accounts for Dave Brown's team."

"So would I be working on a salary from the security service?"

"Yes, although you'll have to declare any income from your fees."

"Of course. What about security?"

"The flat would be secure, of course, plus we'd arrange for Anna to share the flat for a while, it's a two bed apartment, until we found someone else or you were happy on your own? Obviously, you won't meet any clients at the flat."

"A bit of a change from here?"

"Yes, and you might already have moved if it were not for the more recent incidents."

"So when can it all happen?"

"Dave Brown is signing this off so plainly wants to talk to you before he agrees to a start date."

"Give me a clue, how soon?"

"We'll talk tomorrow."

 
Need To Know
 

Wednesday morning was dull, outside Gail's bedroom window at least, but she was getting out of the house for the second time this week so the weather was unimportant. Today's trip was one that many people only dream of; Gail was full of questions but Helen was not prepared to field many of them.

"Come on Helen, I want to know all about spy HQ."

"Gail, settle down, it's not spy HQ, it's the home of the Security Service. The spies are the other side of the river." Helen giggled.

The spies in this case were in their strange building on the South Bank of the Thames, as seen in recent James Bond movies. The First World War codename was MI6 but it's properly now known as the Secret Intelligence Service. Gail's trip, however, was to Thames House, home of the Security Service, also known as MI5, on the north side of the River Thames. It was a curious matter that the buildings of MI5 and MI6 faced each other across London's iconic river.

Their journey into Central London started in one of the blacked out vans but the driver soon used an intercom to talk to Helen.

"I've been told that the traffic on the A10 is lousy, there's a lorry on its' side by the North Circular junction. The whole area is at a standstill."

"Plan B then."

"Roger."

Anna, sat next to Gail, was less than happy with this development.

"We don't have enough personnel, I suggest we abort."

"That's not an option today."

Anna reached into her bag and pulled out her weapon, transferring it to a bum bag after checking it. Gail was starting to get worried.

"What's plan B?"

"We divert to Enfield station and take the train. Do you have your Oyster card?"

"It's in my bag."

"Good, but please keep that bag close to you this time."

The van dropped them at Enfield Station in North London and they quickly found a south-bound train into Liverpool Street. There was a procession across the busy concourse into the adjacent Underground Station, with Gail as the filling in a sandwich, Helen in front and Anna behind. They went through the gates together and straight onto the Circle Line Westbound platform, thankfully on the same level as the gates.

Helen insisted that they move close to a platform exit, in case of an incident, but her and Anna's constant scanning of the area brought them to the attention of a roving British Transport Police officer.

"Good morning Ladies, I'm a little concerned that you're acting suspiciously. Where have you come from today?"

"We caught a train from Enfield Town, officer."

"Do you have your tickets?"

"No, we all used our Oyster cards."

"Okay, where are you going?"

"Millbank."

"In that case your best stop is Westminster. What's the reason for your trip there?"

"A visit to The Tate, our first time there!"

"Enjoy your day, ladies."

The officer, seemingly satisfied, wandered away just as a Circle Line train was arriving. They said nothing to each other whilst on The Tube during the fifteen minute journey to Westminster Underground Station. Even once out of the Underground, in the shadow of the UK's Parliament, they walked in silence.

Finally they reached Victoria Tower Gardens on the southern side of the Palace Of Westminster. The crowds were thinning out and Helen was reasonably sure they wouldn't be overheard.

"I must say I was a little worried back at Liverpool St."

Anna was more direct, "we should have aborted the journey as I said."

"No, this is more than a sightseeing tour and can't be re-arranged."

Gail decided to stay out of the argument, even though she was the reason they were walking alongside the River Thames. Ten minutes later they reached the impressive front entrance of Thames House, home of the Security Service.

"Anna, your pass couldn't be arranged in time so I suggest you meet us back here at 2pm."

Anna was now even less impressed with Helen's decisions but had little choice, you do not get into this building without prior clearance. Helen and Gail walked up the steps together and through the outer doors. A light on one of the doorway scanners flashed and two guards moved towards the ladies. Helen spoke softly but without hesitation.

"Good morning, yes I'm carrying a firearm, I will of course be handing it in. My permit and pass are in my bag, my colleague has her pass but this is the first time she's been here. She is not carrying a weapon."

She was directed the visitor reception and instructed to place her weapon in a hopper set into the wall, once she'd shown her pass. Gail was also asked for her pass, so handed it over.

"Miss Adams, I see this is your first visit to Thames House."

"Yes."

"What's your connection to Miss Bell?"

"She's my security escort today and has been my liaison with the Security Service and Met Police for three weeks."

"Okay. You're clear to proceed to the Yellow zone. Given that you've not been here before I have asked for an escort however your pass is authorised for unescorted access to the Yellow zone and Green Zones. Please make sure your pass is on show at all times."

The receptionist handed back Gail's pass and now addressed Helen.

"You're needed in Personnel."

That was that. They now proceeded to a set of airlocks and pressed their passes on a panel, opening the first door. There was a delay of thirty seconds before the second door opened with a slight hiss, they were now inside the secure area.

"Helen, do we have to do that every time we come here?"

"'Fraid so. I'm off to Personnel, I'll catch up with you at lunchtime."

Gail stood there as people passed in and out of the building and didn't see the young man approaching.

"Miss Adams?"

"Err, yes."

"I'm from Mr Brown's team, would you like to come with me?"

***

Gail next saw Helen a few hours later and was feeling exhausted as they carried their lunch trays to a vacant table in the self-service restaurant. Gail guessed that telling Helen anything about the morning's meeting was out of the question at the moment, similarly asking Helen about her own appointment was not permissible here.

"Are you finished with meetings, Gail?"

"Yes. It's only 1pm so what do we do when we've finished lunch?"

"I have a treat for you."

Helen took Gail up in one of the lifts and exited on the Executive Level. They walked past a long line of offices following signs for 'Terrace'. Finally, after the fourth set of doors, they walked into daylight. There was a lounge area but beyond that was a glass wall with views along the Thames and across central London. Almost directly across was the rather odd MI6, or Secret Intelligence Service, HQ. As the day's early low cloud had lifted, the sun was now shining brightly. The view was, truthfully, impressive.

"Wow!"

"Indeed, I still remember the first time I came up here."

Gail took in the view, wishing she had a camera but understanding that she wouldn't have got it into the building. It was with regret that they headed back to the lifts and descended to the main lobby. Helen had to arrange to collect her firearm, which delayed them for a few minutes. Finally they passed through the exit airlocks before they walked down the steps and into the street.

Anna wasn't to be seen so Helen pulled out her phone, checked there was a signal and called Anna's number.

"Okay, see you there."

Helen turned to the South with Gail following.

"Where are we going?"

"Tate Britain."

"Is Anna there, enjoying the art?"

"No, she's in the café dealing with her caffeine habit."

Helen and Gail took a few minutes to reach the gallery, although crossing Millbank was a challenge in itself with the constant black cabs, red buses and multicoloured coaches. Once in the building they followed the signs to the café, finding Anna in a far corner, surveying the room. She did not look happy.

"If you propose this fiasco again, I'm resigning from the job."

"Calm down Anna, I didn't exactly have an easy day either, and I have no idea how Gail got on as yet."

They sat to drink the coffees Anna had organised then Gail asked one of the most important questions of the day.

"How are we getting back?"

Anna now looked smug, "the van will be outside at two thirty. That's five minutes from now, drink up and and get moving."

"Who put you in charge?" Asked Helen, although she wasn't going to argue.

Anna ignored the comment and led them down to the street. Their transport pulled up almost immediately and they climbed in for their ride back to the country house.

"Well Gail, tell us about your day?"

"Interesting and need-to-know. Sorry."

The rest of the ride was in near silence.

 
Nutters
 

Gail headed to her room, taking the lift from the underground parking area direct to her floor. She was in no mood for Helen or Anna's bickering and was trying to get a hang on what she had seen and heard several hours earlier in Thames House.

She stripped and slipped into her bath, turning on the tiny jets. The aim, of course, was to relax her before any more hassle started. She'd been warned by Dave Brown about who did have the authority to be told what had been discussed, Helen and Anna were not on that list, but Emily Keane was. Even then, what she'd learned about the structure of MI5 was for her ears only.

There had been several briefings during that morning, starting with Dave Brown's assistant giving her an idea about what they were doing with her data and how she could improve what she was sending them, they called it 'the product' and said the quality of the product was key to a successful investigation. The officers from the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) joined them a little while later. By agreement the meeting was in English, although one of Dave's team was a German speaker - just in case.

The German security officers had been kept informed of the Fourani investigation from the very first day when Hamiz was found dead in Düsseldorf. Their investigations had been concluded as the murderer had been arrested in London. Of greater concern now was the flow of money, arms and drugs between the UK and Germany, plus the implied support of terrorist groups. The greatest threat in Europe was from Al-Qaeda affiliates, one of which had been sent money from Hamiz Fourani.

"We are considering our options."

They wouldn't be drawn on the exact nature of their investigation beyond the terse statement. Gail was more open with them. A set of the Fourani accounts had been loaded into a laptop and displayed on a screen. Gail spent some time explaining what she'd found but neglected to say she had built the files herself. Dave had warned her not to say anything that could give away her identity. Even so, one of the Germans did ask if she was free after lunch.

Once the Germans had left the building Gail and Dave sat down alone, one of the matters Dave Brown had wanted to discuss was when Gail could move to her own apartment. This conversation was held over coffee in one of the senior management lounges, well away from anyone else. Dave had been straightforward when he spoke to Gail, finish the Fourani accounts first because she couldn't take those files with her. This had confused Gail as she, or David, had created the files. The answer was simple, why would Abigail Adams have files created by David Jones that were the subject of a criminal investigation. Gail had no answer to this.

So, first finish the accounts, then arrangements would be put in place. There would be a transitional phase whereby Gail was seen in the local shops but was still staying at the house; this would test for any leakage, in security terms. How long before the move was now in Gail's hands, although she was warned not to rush.

Gail had also been told that she needed to continue her self defence training. This, she was told, was that a woman is two or three times more likely to be assaulted in a random attack, she needed to be able to defend herself. He'd also suggested she had a couple more sessions in the firing range, she was unsure why.

"Because it's there and you might not have access to those weapons again," she was told.

Gail laid in the warm water for twenty minutes but her skin was starting to resemble a prune so she reluctantly got out and manoeuvred herself into the shower cabinet. As the water danced off her chest she felt a tingling sensation from her nipples that was not entirely unpleasant.

By the time she was out of the bathroom it was nearly five o'clock so she blow dried her damp hair into shape then attended to her make-up. Now that she was completely refreshed she walked downstairs, it was now only 30 minutes before dinner so she walked to the library to undertake one task.

There was an email from Dave Brown:

 

To: Abigail Adams
From: Dave Brown
Subject: Today's meetings
 
Hi Gail
 
Thanks for coming to see us today, my team were really impressed with your knowledge of the Fourani accounts and how you've identified the anomalies. Plainly the BND are concerned about any apparent legitimate organisation that is really a front for a terrorist group and the Iranian Centre for Cultural Exchange might meet this criteria. I've heard this afternoon that they are planning to hit it very soon.
 
I hope you can manage the fortnightly meetings here, they'll be beneficial for both of us. My offer stands, by the way, if the freelance work doesn't succeed then you're welcome to join my team and work here, keep that in mind.
 
Regards
Dave

 

Gail smiled, she now had a place to go, if she needed it, and Dave Brown seemed very genuine. Her guide for the day, Andy, had been very charming but had stopped short of asking Gail for a date, never mind,

After logging off she made her way to the dining room and was pleasantly surprised to see Emily sat there. Helen and Anna seemed to be engaged in non-verbal warfare so Gail changed her usual seat to be closer to Emily. Tonight, for a change, there was a bottle of red wine on the table, Emily poured Gail a glass, her first alcohol for about a fortnight.

Emily proposed a toast, "a successful day." Their glasses clinked, the other two were not invited to join the toast.

"How's the new job going, Emily?"

"Busy but I'm really enjoying the challenge. I'll definitely apply for inspector next time there's a promotion board."

"If you don't get the promotion how long could you remain as acting inspector?"

"How long is a piece of string? Difficult to know, DI Reynolds could come back or another experienced Inspector might be moved to my unit or someone else promoted to take my place."

"How are the rest of the team taking it?"

"They're professionals so personal feelings don't come into it. Having said that, several of the female, and younger male, officers have lodged complaints against DI Reynolds so the investigation will widen to include this."

"It doesn't sound as if he'll be back."

"Maybe, but there is the chance, however small, that he'll be cleared. Now, we must have a chat about your day after dinner."

"Yes."

Dinner was served, interrupting any conversation, although Emily and Gail would not discuss national security issues at the table. They took a refill of wine into the library and settled into two of the comfortable armchairs.

"Gail, I understand that the BND are going after an Iranian centre in Düsseldorf that's a front for an Al-Qaeda affiliate. Your research has proved the Fouranis were supporting Al-Qaeda operations in Europe. This may explain why they were so keen to remove you from the scene, in case you could prove the paper trail."

"Quite, but why did the German hitmen take out both Fourani brothers? BND are having trouble with this."

"I suspect that Al-Qaeda wanted to expand in Germany and use that as a base for all of Europe, the remains of Baader-Meinhof were not prepared to accept that and wanted to cut off the Al-Qaeda funding."

"But Hamiz Fourani was paying the Germans as well, obtaining his weapons and ammunition through them."

"It's complex, but we believe Fourani was hedging his bets, whether the far right German groups tried to establish here or whether it was the Al-Qaeda lot. He built arms dumps that his own men could have access to and sold excess weapons to other criminals. A very dirty business."

"What's the risk against me now?"

"If the BND can take out the Iranian centre, that should prevent anyone paying for the contract - if there's no money then there's no job. Remember, everyone who's had a pop at you so far is either in custody or, in one case, dead."

"True, it's just whether there's another nutter out there."

Emily laughed, "London is a city full of nutters, especially those politicians in Westminster!"

Gail nearly spat her wine out. "Quite! I take it you're staying tonight?"

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be on the fermented grape juice, would I? I have a task here tomorrow before heading to my office."

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night, you did good today."

Gail tried to watch the TV evening news but was feeling sleepy. What was going on between Helen and Anna? It wouldn't be resolved tonight so no need for her to worry about it, before the morning that was. After a wash she changed into a clean nightie, noticing that the bedding had been changed whilst she was out. Under the fresh linen Gail was so comfortable that she fell asleep within a minute.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 10

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

 
Stalling

Gail woke in a positive mood, she now had a clear idea of what was necessary to get out of the house and set up on her own. There was also the fall-back promise of a job inside the Security Service, yesterday's trip had been worth it despite Anna's objections.

She swam alone and took her time showering afterwards, finally joining Emily and Helen for breakfast later than usual, Anna was absent and Gail was unsure if she should ask. In the end, Helen decided to tell her.

"Anna has left us, she has been removed from the post."

"Oh, why?"

"I'm not able to say at the moment, we'll decide shortly if you need another protection officer but it's clear you don't need a nurse now."

"True." Gail was confused, Anna hadn't been friendly at all yesterday but was that reason enough to lose her? "Helen, was this connected to your meeting yesterday?"

"Sorry Gail, I can't say."

Gail also knew that Emily had stayed overnight to attend to a task, but that hadn't involved herself so was it connected to Anna? Anyway, Gail now needed someone else.

"Helen, Anna was starting a self-defence class with me, I would like to continue it."

"I'll speak to Jenny and see what we can do."

"Thanks."

Emily had sat there quietly and clearly didn't want to get drawn in. Without waiting for a refill to her tea she left, apologising she couldn't stay longer. She stood and walked towards the hallway.

"I have a ten o'clock meeting with the Assistant Commissioner, unfortunately. Here's my new business card if you feel you need to talk."

"Thanks, bye."

"Bye."

Gail turned to speak to Helen but she had disappeared. Gail really wanted to find out more about Anna's sudden departure but would remain in the dark for now. Without anything better to do she walked into the library and shut the door behind her.

During yesterday's meetings in Château MI5 Gail had been promised the relevant IBAN codes for each of the German Banks plus a full list of the international prefixes. That information had arrived by email so Gail printed it off. When she collected the sheets they were each headed "NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED", even unrestricted information has to be marked in this strange environment.

Now she started on the very latest accounts, those that finished on 1st April 2014, working backwards. Dave Brown had asked her specifically to search for any one-off German account transfers so she used Excel's search facility to scan the worksheets. This took some time given the sheer number of German financial houses but she had a hit on one account that was disguised as a routine payment, with only the account number to tell otherwise.

Gail had trouble finding the associated paperwork for this entry and kicked herself for not spotting this whilst Hamiz Fourani had been alive. Too late to worry about that now. She ploughed on, diving into the previous tax year, 2012-2013, to make the same searches. As each year was a separate sheet, in a separate workbook, the searches were done manually. Gail was sure she could have done this faster with a VBA program but she'd never bothered to investigate Microsoft Excel © to that extent.

Another hour's work produced six similar responses, although none of them exactly matching the others. These were anomalies, to be sure. Gail typed them up into an email and sent it off to Dave Brown's team.

It was nearly eleven o'clock when she exited the library and headed towards the natural light of the conservatory. Jenny found her almost immediately.

"I understand you would like some self-defence training?"

"Yes, I had done one session with Anna before...."

"I know. Anyway, one of the security team is a qualified instructor and is happy to do a session with you each morning before breakfast when they would otherwise do their own workout."

"Thank you, what time?"

"As soon after seven as you can get down to the fitness suite. Now, would you like a coffee?"

"Yes please."

Gail sat and picked up her newspaper, it was as full of doom and gloom as ever. On the Home News pages there was a short article about a Metropolitan Police Inspector who had been charged with subverting the course of justice. The Inspector wasn't named but Gail had a good idea who. The question was, however, why 'subverting' and not under the Official Secrets Act? Maybe there was some bargaining going on? Also, why hadn't Emily mentioned this?

An unrelated short article reported that a senior Essex Police Officer had been sacked after indecent images were found on his home computer. Gail again suspected who this was and that there had been a cover-up.

Lisa brought her a coffee, and some post.

"Lisa, is Helen still in the building?"

"No Miss, Miss Bell left just after breakfast."

Gail waited for Lisa to leave then attended to the day's mail. This was the first post she'd seen in three weeks but it was very predictable, all four letters were from her bank. One was the PIN for her debit card, another was the PIN for her credit card, next was a statement and lastly the sign-on information for internet banking.

The statement showed the deposits that Helen had told her about, including a salary payment from Coleman & Sons. Gail laughed, this was the company name on her ID card. It was plainly done this way so that anyone couldn't make the connection to MI5, but in this case her alleged employer was a manufacturer of mustard, yellow mustard! Gail pondered this, if she had access to the Yellow Zone of Thames House then maybe someone requiring access to the Red Zone would have an ID from a strawberry jam maker?

Gail checked the address shown on the statement, it was in Amersham but without a map it would be difficult to see where it was, Gail definitely needed to be close to the station and hoped that someone had remembered that when sorting out the flat. She gathered up the paperwork and took it up to her room, dropping the envelopes in the bin.

Her phone rang, "Hello?"

"Hello Gail, just to let you know your driving instructor has arrived."

"What?"

"Your driving instructor."

"I know nothing about it."

"Helen had the information a few days ago."

"And didn't pass it on. Great. Is the instructor cleared?"

"He's a police instructor."

"Okay, give me a moment to choose some sensible shoes, fix my make-up, get out of this skirt ..."

"I'll tell him ten minutes, please remember to take your pass and phone."

Gail took eleven minutes, the extra minute was taken while she headed back to the bedroom to collect her handbag.

"Hello, I'm Gail."

"As in Abigail Adams?"

"The same." He had obviously been given the cover identity.

"Have you driven before?"

"Never."

"Hop in the passenger side and we'll go somewhere safe."

He drove her out of the underground roadway then out of the security gate before turning hard left and into a farm entrance. They reached a security gate that was hidden from the road then continued past some farm buildings, parking in a marked 'waiting' area.

"Okay Gail, let's swap places. This is a test area for advanced driving and we're the only visitors today. The car is a manual, if you want to drive an automatic after you pass then that's your choice."

Gail was wondering why she'd let herself be railroaded, but this tuition would set her back £50 an hour in parts of London.

"How many lessons do I get?"

"Your test is booked for next Thursday."

"Next Thursday?"

"That's what I just said. Now, our time is limited, we only have until 1pm and it's well past 11."

"Okay, okay, what's your name?"

"John."

"Thanks, John, just tell me what to do."

Gail stalled the car ten times in five minutes getting used to the clutch, crashed the gearbox several times and wiped the windows when she was supposed to be indicating a turn. Fairly standard new driver issues. As the roads were private there was no traffic to contend with and no-one to see her mistakes.

It was approaching one o'clock when John called a halt and asked Gail to drive them back to the house.

"On the road?"

"This isn't a ruddy flying car."

"I mean, oh, forget it."

She carefully drove to the farm's security gate which opened automatically and out briefly onto the small road that fed the house's private entrance. Gail pulled up at the gate not certain what to do.

"Do you have a pass?"

"In my bag, I'll find it."

"Typical woman."

"I heard that!"

"Sorry."

"I have my pass, what do I do with it?"

"Open the window, there's a card reader in the wall."

Indeed there was, the gate slid open and Gail drove forward then down the ramp into the roadway. A minute later she pulled up in the underground car-park, then stalled the car. The instructor pulled on the hand-brake as Gail had forgotten.

She was already getting out of the car when he reminded her.

"Eleven o'clock prompt tomorrow."

Gail didn't say anything and just walked up to the security door to get into the house itself. She was wondering where her pass had gone when there was a call from behind.

"Would you like your bag?"

 
Justin
 

Thursday's lunch was quiet, Gail found herself eating alone, again. Jenny was keeping out of the way too with Lisa on solo table duty. Once that was concluded, Gail wondered what to do for the afternoon. She still had her bag with her so went outside then turned left to reach a security door, her pass unlocked the door and she entered the control suite.

"Who are you?"

"Abigail Adams, and I'd like to use the range."

"This is a restricted area, you shouldn't be able to get in here."

"My pass is valid for here, could you please ask the range officer if I can go in?"

Gail could tell that the officer hadn't met her before but surely he'd been briefed? He picked up a telephone and spoke briefly before hanging up.

"Can you wait for a couple of minutes, that is wait for the green light?"

"Thank you. I'm also supposed to be having some self-defence training in the mornings, do you know who that might be with?"

"That'll be me, Justin"

"Thanks Justin, don't be too hard on me."

"I'll try, but an attacker wouldn't give you an easy time."

The range safety light turned green so Gail didn't need to give a response. She opened the range door and walked inside.

***

Gail removed her ear defenders and shook out her hair. This had been hard work, the range officer had been acting as a tutor and hadn't been light on her. Her aim, however, was improving as well as her handling in general. She arranged for another session the following day.

Figuring she needed a shower she headed upstairs but instead changed into a swimsuit and walked down to the pool for her second swim of the day, this time she wanted the steam room as well.

***

Suitably cleansed and relaxed, Gail walked into the library and settled down to do some analysis of the Fourani accounts. Following a request from Dave Brown at the Security Service she was going backwards through the accounts, having started on the 2014 accounts a few days earlier.

By four thirty she had decided that was sufficient for the day and took a slow walk out of the conservatory and along the paved path, ending up outside the walled garden. Inside was Justin sat on a bench, Gail joined him.

"Hello Miss Adams."

"It's Gail. Hi again."

"I'm sorry I was a bit abrupt earlier but I hadn't read my security briefing fully, I was expecting some middle-aged woman and not a lovely young lady."

Gail pondered this back-handed compliment, "I take it that you've read the briefing now?"

"Yes, apologies again."

"Apologies accepted."

"I'd like to make it up to you."

"How?"

"Dinner?"

"I always eat here."

"So I was told but I'm part of your security detail so how about dinner for two tonight in one of the nearby pubs?"

"Is that appropriate?"

"I might be stretching the rules slightly (cough) but think I can justify it. Be ready for seven, I'll inform the housekeeper."

"Okay, I accept."

He leant over and gave Gail a kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush profusely. Feeling embarrassed he immediately stood and withdrew to the house, leaving Gail wondering what she'd started.

Gail waited there, not entirely sure if she should change her mind, that was her prerogative after all? Finally she walked back up to the house and met Lisa in the hallway.

"I won't be eating here tonight."

"Yes Miss, I have just been told."

"Is there a problem?" Gail wasn't entirely certain of Lisa's position.

"No, erm, no Miss."

"Thank you Lisa. I best get myself ready, could I have a pot of tea, please?"

"Certainly."

Gail helped herself up the stairs and, one on her room, started pulling frocks out of the large wardrobe. The pile of rejections was growing on her bed as she heard a knock on the door. "Come in Lisa."

Jenny was the one who brought the tray in, she was plainly not happy.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Trying to work out what to wear, are you going to help?"

"NO! I am very close to vetoing this plan and sending young Justin back where he came from."

"Look, Jenny, why take it out on me? He was a bit sweet and may be stretching the rules a little but I actually get an evening out and, if I'm not wrong, there's no-one else here?"

"No-one else? Ha! Do you have any idea how many have to be fed each day, and not just you, my prima donna."

"Jenny, is that what you really think? Am I a bloody tart? I've spent three weeks incarcerated and out of the blue I get an offer of a meal out with a polite gentleman. Whilst this is a new experience for me there's no way I manufactured the situation. Take what opinion you wish but I'm going out! Now, I would like to shower so, if you don't mind ...."

Jenny spun on her heels and exited Gail's room; this was not over, apparently.

Gail actually had almost two hours to spare so it was barely enough time to get herself readied for the evening, but she first had an idea. Four minutes later she was back outside, carrying her bag, walking into the walled garden. She sat down and prayed this would work, as she turned on her phone. Hopefully this far from the house she might get a signal?

She scrolled down the names looking for Helen's number, amazingly it started ringing.

"Hello Gail?"

"Hi Helen. I need to talk to you."

"Where are you?"

"At the house."

"I can't get there right now, is it urgent?"

"I think so."

"Right, can you see the yellow padlock emblem on display?"

"Yes."

"Press that in 3 seconds, it will take a few more to work."

"Okay."

The display background on Gail's phone turned into a large yellow padlock with the word 'Secured' written across it.

"Are you still there, Gail?"

"Yes Helen."

"So, what's the issue?"

Gail recounted her conversations with Justin, plus her experience with the driving instructor, ending up with Jenny's attitude problem.

"I see. Firstly my mistake that I forgot to tell you when your first lesson was happening. No excuse for the instructor's behaviour though. When's your next lesson?"

"Eleven tomorrow."

"I'll try to deal with it before then. Now, the Justin case."

Gail snickered, Helen hadn't realised what she'd said. She continued.

"He's a qualified close protection officer but I have some concerns here so can understand Jenny's position. However, if you are going to be in the outside world again very soon then you need to experience life as a woman. To that end I'll authorise the evening."

"Thank you."

"Gail, I know you are feeling caged in there but it won't be for much longer. Go to your room and get ready, I'll call Jenny and put her mind at rest."

"Thanks Helen. Are you coming here over the weekend?"

"Sunday maybe, depending on other things."

"What can you tell me about Anna's sudden departure?"

"Nothing yet, sorry. Anyway, get up to your room and get moving."

"Yes, Mum,"

"Cheeky!"

Back upstairs, for the third time that day, Gail stepped into the shower. This time she made certain that all of her make-up was off, that her hair was conditioned, her skin moisturised and any body hairs were razored into non-existence.

That only left the issue of what to wear.

At seven on the dot Gail let herself into the car-park and met Justin by their transport for the evening. He held a door open for her as she swept her maxi dress into the car. The journey wasn't long, no more than fifteen minutes, and Justin pulled into the entrance of a sixteenth century inn. Gail waited until he'd walked round and opened her door before making any move to exit the vehicle.

Several hours later, Gail crawled into bed, her own bed naturally. Justin had been the perfect gentleman and the meal had been acceptable, although the house wine was not. Gail was asleep almost instantly.

 
MCP
 

It was almost the weekend so Gail thought she could have a bit of a lie in, foregoing her morning swim. No such luck as just after seven her phone rang.

"Had you forgotten?"

"Forgotten what, who is this?"

"Justin, I'm in the fitness suite expecting you for your self-defence lesson."

"Oh, heck. Give me a few minutes, I don't think my nightie is appropriate?"

"That's a shame."

"Get lost!" She did however laugh as she said it.

Gail didn't bother with a bra and her falsies, just throwing on a vest and clean undies, then her sweats. That would have to do for now. She looked in the mirror and decided this was a bad hair day but quick work with a damp brush sorted out the worst of it, at least she didn't now look like she'd be dragged through a bush.

It was quarter past seven when she arrived at the fitness suite, Justin stood there with hands on hips.

"Sorry, I could make a sexist remark right now, but I guess you aren't in the mood?"

"No, Justin, I had enough of that from the driving instructor yesterday. Can we just get on with it?"

They worked on a few techniques, not quite the same as Anna's methods, but Gail was not happy.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"No it isn't."

"Look Justin, I had a lovely evening yesterday but I'm not sure if this is appropriate."

"In what way?"

"Sorry." Gail turned and walked out, she figured that Justin may try to stop her but was past caring. She was fond of Justin but did not want to become involved with him. Did he know her secret? How far could a relationship go? She had no real answers to these questions as she entered her bedroom and turned the key in the door.

Now Gail was truly confused, she hadn't considered what might happen if she became too close to any of the staff and hadn't planned for the eventuality - as if you could. She flounced onto her bed and curled up, sobbing. Had she done something wrong? How was she supposed to feel? How would a real woman feel? She still didn't know any answers.

It was ten minutes before she felt able to get into the shower, using copious amounts of tissues to blot her eyes, rather silly as she was about to soak them anyway. That's human nature for you.

By the time she made it downstairs for breakfast the redness in her eyes had faded although he appetite had escaped. A few minutes after she arrived she felt distinctly unwell and ran to her room, almost knocking Lisa over on the stairs. She had an urgent appointment in the bathroom and needed to get there immediately, pausing only to turn the key in her door.

All was not well as she sat on the porcelain throne. Finally she felt able to get up but slipped a pantyliner into her knickers, just in case. What had caused this? It seemed that a nightie was appropriate.

Gail remembered the two glasses of wine she had the previous evening, she hadn't been happy about the quality but had not complained as she didn't want to spoil the evening. She fell onto her bed and again curled up, falling asleep as she hugged her stomach.

It was another fifteen minutes before anything happened, although to Gail it could have been hours. She was stirred as the phone rang, Jenny went straight to the point when Gail answered after almost thirty seconds.

"What's wrong?"

"Stomach."

"How bad?"

"Acid."

"What do you think the cause is?

"Maybe last night's wine, it wasn't the best."

"Leave that with me, I'll get Lisa to bring up some antacid and a cold bottle of water for you."

"Thanks, my door's locked."

"Don't worry about that."

"Thanks Jenny."

She rang off, it didn't seem to take very long after the phone reached the cradle before there was a knock at the door, followed by Lisa entering.

"How did you get in?"

"It's a security measure in case one of our other guests decides to be silly. Now, I'll get a glass from your bathroom so you can take this."

Lisa left shortly after and Gail slumbered for a few hours. It was lunchtime before she was able to get back out of bed, even if this was a short trip into the bathroom. By her next trot to the porcelain throne she was feeling a little better and had finished half a litre of water, almost a pint. When she next awoke the bottle had been replaced with chilled water indicating there had been a visitor.

Finally at five she felt able to get up, the risk being that she wouldn't sleep that night. She wrapped a dressing gown around her and slid feet into into some comfy mule slippers then gingerly walked out of her room, mindful that she didn't want to be too far from the loo.

She met Jenny on the stairs.

"Gail, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I can't lay up there all day and I hope the worst is over."

"If you want to sit in the conservatory I can have some sandwiches brought to you in case you feeling hungry later?"

"Not sure but thanks for the thought."

"It's nothing, now I'll have Lisa strip and remake your bed so it's fresh when you get back up there."

"Thanks again."

Gail shuffled down the stairs and headed to the back of the house. It was quiet, Gail took advantage of a foot stall and soon had her feet up. Jenny brought a jug of iced water and a glass, there was some lemon and lime in the water, and a couple of antacids on the tray. Her newspaper was also waiting for her.

"Jenny, what happened to the driving instructor?"

"Oh, you had a lesson this morning? I think the security team dealt with him after he made some disparaging comments about you. His manager was expecting him in the office an hour later."

Giggle, "he definitely fell into the MCP category."

"MCP?"

"Male Chauvinist Pig."

It was Jenny's turn to laugh. "Oh, that restaurant you went to last night?"

"Yes?"

"It had a visit from the health inspector at lunchtime who ordered the destruction of their wine stock, none of which was as claimed."

"Serves them bloody right."

"I don't suppose you'll go back there?"

"Not likely, even with the promise of a free lunch."

"Come on Gail, don't turn down everything automatically. Anyway, I'm sorry about last night, I wasn't up to speed on the plan but Helen explained that you'll be going out into the real world again soon."

"That is the plan, but first I have to finish a job."

"Not today you don't, and take tomorrow easy too."

"Thanks Jenny."

The plate of sandwiches, salmon and cucumber, arrived soon after and Gail felt brave enough to try one. She also had a stab at the crossword in the paper and checked what was happening in the outside world; nothing good as it happens. In European news there was a report of several raids in German cities by anti-terrorist police. She smiled, knowingly, then picked up another sandwich.

At one point Justin came into the conservatory, looking quite chasten. "I've been told that you're unwell probably because of last night's meal. I'd like to apologise."

"It wasn't your fault the wine was off."

"No, but I took you there. You also might have misinterpreted me?"

"In what way?" Gail was toying with him, plainly feeling strong enough.

"I have feelings for you, that's unprofessional and wrong, I'm going to ask to be taken off the operation."

"Justin, I'm happy to work with you so long as you respect me and we keep this a business relationship. Understand?"

"Yes, boss."

He sauntered off outside, slightly happier than when he walked in. He hadn't, however, noticed Jenny in the doorway from the house.

"You're learning Gail!"

"It just felt like the right thing to say. It's not Justin, I'm simply not ready for any relationships."

"Take it at your own pace, you'll work it all out in the end. That reminds me, Dr Young phoned yesterday, she'd like to see you on Monday as it's almost two weeks since your last appointment."

"Oh, you mean Hannah? I liked her."

"It's the first time we've used her but it looks like she'll stay on our books considering the number of gender confused folks there are in the Security Service these days. It used to be a sacking offence you know."

"I can guess."

Jenny changed her tack, "I see you've finished the sandwiches. Would you like anything else?"

"A yoghurt or something similar?"

"How about a banana with Greek yoghurt?"

"Sounds good."

Gail finally made it back to her room just after eight, as promised the bedding was fresh. She did however allow herself a quick shower before sleep took priority.
 
----
 
This book - Accountancy Can Be Deadly - concludes with Part 12.

This book, and the follow-up - Spying By Numbers - are also both available for Kindle.

The third book, Diminishing Returns is currently in production.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 11

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

 
Spooks
 

Saturday was almost a complete non-event for Gail. Her energy levels were well down, her appetite was nearly non-existent and her willingness to chat was absent. Indeed, she probably said less than a dozen words between rising and returning to her bed in the evening.

She woke at a decent hour on the Sunday morning but any talk of self-defence or driving tuition was still off the menu, she could however manage a light breakfast.

The day itself started slow and even seemed to drag. The Sunday paper wasn't as fulfilling as normal but the country was still in 'silly season' when the Government was on summer holiday. Gail did take a walk down to the summerhouse and helped herself, perhaps unwisely, to an ice cream. There were no ill-effects thankfully so she just sat in the late summer sunshine listening to the sounds around her.

She'd grown fond of a wicker chair that had several large cushions to make it more comfortable. It was big enough to curl her legs up so she was facing towards the lake. In this relaxed state she didn't hear or see anyone approaching.

"Good morning Gail."

She span around suddenly towards the voice, regretting the sharp movement instantly. Gail grabbed her neck and rubbed it as recognition kicked in.

"Hi Helen."

"I understand that you weren't well?"

"I suppose it was self-inflicted?"

Helen pulled another chair over. "Nonsense, the wine you had was off but contained a chemical to mask it so you couldn't have known. I've seen you handle two, or three, glasses before and it's not a big problem. It looks like new management will be needed in that pub though!"

"So why wasn't Justin unwell?"

"He was on soft drinks, wasn't he? That's what he said when he was interviewed."

"Interviewed? That serious?"

"Yes, definitely. We had to eliminate if there was a risk to you."

"I suppose so Helen, am I that valuable?" Her eyes watered and she reached for a tissue.

"Of course you are, all of our guests here are valuable, in their own special way. Talking of which, we've had to speed things up a little as the house is needed for another guest at the weekend."

"Someone like me?"

"No, this one's coming from another country and is more like the standard visitor for here."

"I'm intrigued."

"Sorry Gail, nothing more can be said. Now, how about you move on Friday?"

"Can everything be ready? I haven't finished the accounts."

"We're working on that. One thing is that you'll still need a close protection officer until we know the threat's been dealt with."

"How can that be done?"

"We still have the plan whereby David is killed off."

"But didn't Diane give up my new name?"

"She only knew you as Gail, not as Abigail, so I suggest using Abi as your name for any social contacts. There's also the issue of finding someone, anyone, in London, even with the correct full name."

"True, the hiding in plain sight principle?"

"That's it, however you will still have someone with you."

"Okay, who?"

"I could say Justin but I bet you'd object?"

"You bet I would, I couldn't handle a male, there would be implications."

"We'll work on it, something else for the brainstorming."

"So, what's there to do?"

"How about we decide what clothes and accessories can be moved by van on Monday or Tuesday and you can see the flat at the same time?"

"I have Hannah here Monday, but I don't know what time? Plus I'm supposed to be having driving lessons."

"We'll shelve the lessons for now, but a little more self-defence could be useful. Now, onto the most important issue."

"What's that?"

"Ice cream!"

Gail's mood had changed during just that short chat with Helen, she finally had a defined leaving date, even if it was because the house was needed for a spook from an unnamed country. Then she remembered, doing the work she did, could class her as a spook too. She was back in her room by now, changing her skirt due to a small accident with the chocolate shell of the ice cream.

Taking the opportunity to have a freshen, she actually felt up to lunch today; her tummy had actually settled - just as well considering the freezing treatment it had just had.

Gail and Helen sat together for lunch, careful not to discuss anything they has said earlier. Gail had no idea of the consequences but believed only her and Helen knew of the plans. Surprisingly Helen invited her into the range after lunch.

"Why?"

"It's precautionary, but it never hurts to learn?"

"Okay, but I'm not doing bad."

"Let's go."

An hour on the range with Helen was a challenge as well as a practice, it left Helen feeling bad about it.

"Sorry."

"What about?" Gail was panting after the activity.

"I did beat you."

"I didn't think there was a competition, besides seems you have had much more practice!"

"Hmmmm, maybe."

They'd moved into the conservatory, giving Gail access to the ammunition there, although it wasn't clear who threw the first cushion.

There was a cough, causing both to look up; Jenny glared for a moment then walked away. The girls recovered their senses, replaced the cushions and straightened their clothing.

"How about we meet after dinner," asked Helen?

"Sure, maybe?"

"Still not 100% ?"

"Guess not."

"Go have a lie down."

Gail felt like saying something but knew Helen was right; she wasn't firing on all cylinders that day so a couple of hours R&R wouldn't do any harm.

They both walked up the stairs to their rooms, going opposite ways at the top. Gail kicked off her shoes as she walked in the door before flopping on the bed. There was a fresh water bottle from which she poured into a glass. Picking up the TV remote she selected the BBC rolling news channel but couldn't keep her eyes open as the world's doom & gloom played.

Her phone rang just after five thirty with a reminder about dinner. Gail's first look in the mirror wasn't good, her hair was a mess and wouldn't respond to a brushing; that required a quick shower. It was therefore a somewhat different looking Gail to walked into the dining room half an hour later, her third change of the day.

Gail avoided the wine that was on offer, a Cabernet Shiraz, and sipped barley water instead as she ate. She had tons of questions for Helen but now wasn't the best time. Indeed, after the meal finished, Gail decided that any other business could wait until the morning.

 
Amersham
 
"So how are you doing, Gail?"

"Fine, Hannah, apart from a lousy weekend."

"Under the weather?"

"Yes, I'd had some dodgy wine and an icky tummy."

Gail and Dr Hannah Young were stood outside the conservatory just after breakfast on Monday morning. It was now four weeks since the escape from London when David Jones had taken the persona of Gail Jones. A month of disguises was now a complete identity and she was comfortable. They set off, across the lawn, towards the summerhouse.

"Would you ever consider going back?"

"Back to Hackney or back to my old self?"

"Either, or both?"

"No."

"What's your aim then?"

"I leave here later this week to my own place with a career as an accountant again."

"What if it goes wrong?"

"There's a fall-back plan but I'd rather not discuss it."

"For security reasons?"

"Quite."

Hannah thought about her next question before putting it to Gail.

"Have you had any doubts about transitioning?"

"None, not that it was even an option four weeks ago.."

"Wasn't this just to escape, to hide?"

"It might have been at the time but it changed within two days. Over the previous six months I must have wondered what it would be to live full-time as Gail but I dismissed it then as unworkable."

"So why decide now and not six months ago?"

"Confidence for one thing, wondering if I could keep my business running when clients found out and being scared stiff at the prospect of the Charing Cross Gender Clinic.”

"That was then, what do you say now about the same questions?"

"I'm more confident and don't see myself as anything other than a woman, I'm starting up a new business with backing and everything on the transitioning path can be private as I will have enough resources."

"What about surgery?"

"I don't have a time-scale, plus I'd like some development here first." Gail cupped her breasts briefly.

"That's a common response, but would you go ahead with surgery?"

"Yes, without a doubt."

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"Well, what arrangements can be made for me to see you after I've moved?"

"I have an NHS and a private clinic at Hillingdon hospital every few weeks so could see you there. If you are on a private health scheme that covers gender identity then the cost isn't an issue."

"I'll have to check that out. Unfortunately I don't know my new home address and I haven't established a personal email address yet, can I have your business card?"

"Certainly. Anything else?" Dr Young dug into her handbag.

"Yes, time for an ice cream?" They’d reached the summerhouse veranda.

"No I think I'll pass on that, but you need to watch your weight Gail."

"Okay Hannah, are we done?"

"Yes."

"I'll walk you back to the house."

Gail was grateful that her shrink had arrived early as Helen had reminded her that they still had a fair bit to talk about. Emily had also arrived just as breakfast finished, although she had soon snaffled a boiled egg and soldiers. The three of them met in the library once Gail was free. Helen sat, listening, as Emily took charge.

"I understand you're moving this week, Gail?"

"That's right, although I've not seen the place yet and there's still a few unanswered questions."

"I've had a request from Helen to provide you with an armed officer for a few weeks."

"Thanks Emily, I hope it's a female officer?"

"Of course, we may use someone from the Diplomatic Squad or one who's recently finished at Buckingham Palace."

"So I'll get all the Royal Family gossip?"

"I believe that would be high treason and it's still a capital offence!" Emily laughed. "Anyway, I'm here with news."

"Go ahead."

"The Germans raided several places including the Iranian Cultural Centre and detained two of the staff there. These were supposed to be clerics but in practice were collecting funds for various Al Qaeda groups."

"That's what I suspected."

"Yes, a few bank accounts were seized, there were several million Euros waiting to be transferred."

"What about the rest of the personnel there?"

"They've been allowed to remain as they weren't involved, but their activities will be monitored just to be sure."

"You said there were other premises?"

"Several warehouses were visited, the Police found a small arsenal of weapons and arrested more Iranians who had been granted asylum in Germany."

"They had a strange way of thanking Germany for taking them in?"

"Indeed. Now, amongst what else they discovered in the warehouses was plenty of documentation. Included in that were names and addresses of contacts in London who we weren't aware of. The ones we could locate have been brought in and we're talking to them. So, that information that you identified has resulted in anti-terrorist arrests in two countries so far, with several other European countries about to detain others on the same basis. An entire network is being brought down."

"Wow. So this is big?"

"Yes, I've been called to the Cabinet Office to attend a COBRA meeting this afternoon so I can give the PM and ministers a heads up. They'll want to know where the intel came from but, don't worry, we'll protect your identity."

"Thanks. Were any of the arrests here a threat to me?"

"We're working on that but we've seen nothing as yet. That's everything I can give you."

"Thanks Emily, you best get going now if you're going to make it to Downing Street in time!"

"Bye."

With Emily gone, Helen took over.

"Now Gail, how do you fancy a drive?"

"To the flat?"

"Yes, come on."

They nipped down to the garage just as Emily was leaving, A minute later they were following in Helen's car. Their route took them onto the M25 London Orbital at Junction 24 and heading anti-clockwise to Junction 18 to pick up the Amersham Road. Gail was getting more certain of the house's location being in South Hertfordshire, close to Potters Bar, regardless of Helen's denials and repeated use of unsigned country lanes until they were some distance away.

Despite Helen's attempted distractions it only took just over forty minutes to cover the journey, they pulled up outside a modern looking apartment block.

"I take it we're here?"

"Yes, here's a set of keys. You're in Flat 8 on the top floor."

"Was that for security?"

"No, it was the only empty one in the block but it does allow for some discrete surveillance. Come on, let's go in; the red key opens the lobby door."

Gail opened the door easily and walked into the lobby. There was an attendant sat at a desk inside.

"Hello, I don't believe I've seen you before? What's your name please Miss?"

"Abigail Adams."

"Ah, just moving in?"

"Yes, first time here. "

Helen now walked into view.

"Miss Bell? I didn't see you there."

"No worries Harry, you'll be seeing plenty of me and my client this week."

"Yes, you said your agency was setting everything up, I believe you've just moved back into the country Miss Adams?"

Gail picked up on the ruse, "That's right Harry. Anyway, I'm busting to use the loo."

"I won't keep you."

They used the lift and rose to the eighth floor, there being one flat per floor. When Gail let herself into the place she was amazed first at the space, then the view over the Chiltern Hills.

"It's wonderful, thank you Helen!" Gail threw her arms around Helen and kissed her.

"Less of that young lady, I'm on duty! The toilet is over there," she pointed, "and the kitchen is opposite. I have two pints of fresh milk in my bag and you're stocked for tea and coffee."

"Put the kettle on then, I'll be back in a mo."

The flat was indeed spacious, with two decent sized bedrooms, a third small bedroom that had been equipped as an office, plus the usual kitchen/diner and lounge area. The tour did not take very long.

"Have you chosen which bedroom you want, Gail?"

"Oh, the one furthest from the front door."

"I'll arrange for your clothes and bits to be brought over and put in there. Everything else that you might need is here, we'll do some shopping on Friday to fill the fridge. The phone and fibre broadband are on now, there's a military specification encryptor on order so you could work from here if necessary plus you'll have secure communications. There's a safe, plus video entryphone. Harry, the doorman is there Monday to Saturday from 8 to 5 to deal with deliveries and unwelcome guests. What do you think?"

"I think it's brilliant, and I'm so grateful that you've done this for me."

"Gail, you're only just beginning a wonderful relationship with the Security Service, your information has already saved countless lives, resulting in the confiscation of millions of pounds and euros. I think we can afford this!"

"If you put it that way!"

"Now, did you know that Amersham is the last station on the Metropolitan Line of the Underground network, it's also on the Chiltern mainline into Marylebone Station, so there's easy access into London and Oxford. If you look out of your bedroom window you can see the station, it's about a mile away. An easy walk until you get a scooter. Forget parking a car anywhere near the station, though."

"Right. Hadn't we better get back for lunch?"

"And to start packing, but first wash those mugs up."

 
Sophie
 

By Tuesday morning Gail had packed much of her clothing away, although a portable clothing rail had been found for most of those things that shouldn't be creased. These had been sent off to the flat in one of the vans whilst Gail got on with some of her investigations in the library.

Helen had disappeared on Monday afternoon, claiming other duties. This didn't disappoint Gail as much as she'd feared now that she was about to be a free agent again, sort of. The continued tie to the Security Service was more of a safety net than a leash but it was also where most of her work would come from.

"Gail, it's almost lunch time, you've been in there for hours."

"Thanks, Jenny. I just want to get as much of this done as possible."

"Well, it's break time."

"I'll be with you in ten minutes."

"Okay. Oh, there's a package for you in your room."

Gail shut down the laptop and packed it away in the supplied laptop bag. There'd been an email from Dave Brown thanking her for the recent work and giving some more details on the German operation, none of which she could repeat - naturally. He'd also requested the laptop back so it could be modified, quite what that meant she was unsure.

She walked upstairs to freshen up, finding the package on her bed. She identified it immediately as a mobile phone but wondered why she now had two? This question would have to wait for Helen's return as no-one else seemed to have answers.

Lunch brought a new face to the table.

"You must be Abigail Adams?"

"Yes, sorry you have me at a disadvantage?"

"Ah, apologies, I'm DS Sophie Grieve and I've been asked to be your close protection officer."

"Right, I wasn't expecting anyone before the end of the week?"

"I was available, I finished with the Diplomatic Protection Group two weeks ago and have been on leave, when I was called by DI Keane yesterday it was good timing as I didn't have to wait to be replaced."

"That's good timing then, I suppose you would like to see the flat?"

"Yes, but tomorrow is soon enough. First I'd like to get to know you, we can't appear to be strangers."

"Quite, but I'm unsure how much I can tell you."

"Apparently there's a John Smith coming here this afternoon to give us a security briefing."

"I've met him."

Lunch arrived so they concentrated on the food. Gail knew if she and Sophie didn't gel then someone else would have to be drafted in, not ideal as time was running out. Sophie would obviously have to know Gail's personal secret and so far had only been given the Abigail identity. She excused herself after lunch so she could have a wash, although Sophie then followed her up the stairs and into Gail's room.

"Oh."

"Sorry Abigail, but if we need to get to know each-other then it has to start somewhere."

"Can you at least not follow me into the bathroom?"

"Sure."

Gail returned a few minutes later, Sophie was sat on the bed. It didn't look as if she had been opening drawers to check Gail's sizes, or lingerie preferences for that matter.

"Abigail, Is there somewhere better we can talk?"

"The sun's out, so why don't we use the hidden garden?"

After pausing at the summer house to collect some vital supplies they walked into the walled garden and settled on a bench. Gail was uncomfortable, but knew this was a necessary step.

"Sophie, why don't you tell me something about yourself?"

"Okay, I'm 31 years old, single. I'm London born and bred, have a degree in psychology, I love good food, music and theatre, I also enjoy hiking. I've been a police officer for nine years and was promoted a year ago. I spent five years in the Diplomatic Protection Group."

"Right, how much of a briefing have you been given about me?"

"That you're an accountant working for the Security Service. I know that there is, or was, a contract out on you and several viable attempts have been made to kill you. There have also, apparently, been some security lapses. The plan is that I stay for a month to start with, with an option on a two month extension."

"Well, that's some of it. I'll be working from the flat alot but we'll have no visitors there who are not cleared, okay?"

"I guessed as much."

"Okay, I'm 32 years old, from Hackney originally, and I've worked as an accountant since I left college a decade ago. Abigail is not the name I was born with but it is my name now, Although I'm known as Gail here, my name in public at all times must be Abi or Abigail and never just Gail. One other thing, I'm transgendered so if that makes you uncomfortable then we best finish there."

"Not at all, it turns out my brother was transgendered but apparently couldn't handle it, he committed suicide when I was at university ; that's one reason I joined the police, to help deal with hate crime."

"I'm sorry you lost your brother, did you know her female name?"

"No, and I never met her either. All I know is what he wrote in a letter to me shortly before he, she, died."

"So sad."

"I'm over it now, but I still get the feeling I never really knew him, or her."

Gail reached out and took Sophie's hands in her own. There was an unspoken conversation going on, Gail knew that she could trust Sophie.

There was a cough from behind, Justin was stood there.

"Hi Sophie, long time no see?"

"Hello Justin, are you still up to your old tricks?"

"What, me?" He started to turn red.

"Yes, you. I'm sure you didn't come down here to try ask for another date with me?"

"No, there's a visitor at the house to see both of you. He's in the library."

"Thank you Justin," Gail was forceful in her delivery of those words, Justin turned and walked away. Once he was clear of the garden, she needed to know more.

"What's the problem Sophie?"

"He comes over smooth but he's really just working out how quick he can get to third base."

"I noticed."

"He had a go at you too?"

"Let me tell you about it as we walk back."

The security briefing with John Smith was mostly the blah-blah type but Gail's interest peaked when he said a technical guy would be coming around the following week to install some security equipment. He also warned Gail not to disclose her previous identities to anyone, including Sophie.

"I don't need to tell you not to disclose who you work for?"

"Not at all. I don't have my cover story fully arranged yet, though."

"I'm sure that's something Miss Bell will be handling?"

"Probably."

"Could you send Miss Grieve in now?"

"Certainly."

Gail was pleased to get out of there, even though she knew enough of the workings of the Security Service that such advice could save her neck, literally. In her time guarding royalty and diplomats, Sophie had obviously had many briefings but Gail doubted she had worked directly with the spooks before.

It was just the two girls in the dining room for the evening meal, Gail again passed on the wine.

"What are you doing after dinner, Abi?"

"Just heading to my room for an early night."

"Okay."

"Do you fancy a swim in the morning?"

"There's a pool? What time?"

"Yes, it's in the basement. Meet by my room at seven?"

"I'll be there."

 
----
 
Accountancy Can Be Deadly - concludes with the next chapter, Part 12.

This book, and the follow-up - Spying By Numbers - are also both available for Kindle.

The third book, Diminishing Returns is currently in production.

Accountancy Can Be Deadly Part 12 Final Chapter

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

 
Windsor
 

Gail now knew Sophie was fit and a very good swimmer but, contrary to her efforts, Gail decided she still wasn't as fit as she should be. She suggested that perhaps a go on the running machine later would be an idea?

"I'll join you, if there's two machines?"

"I think there are, but they were moved to make room for the crash mats."

"Oh good, Gail. When can we go there?"

"Come on Sophie, we're sat in the jacuzzi in our swimsuits and haven't had breakfast, let alone a shower."

"Okay, but when?"

"Depends what I'm told at breakfast for today's diary, but I can't do any of my accounts work right now as my laptop's been taken."

"Stolen, from here?"

"No, taken to the IT guru for surgery I think."

Helen joined them for breakfast.

"A change of plans ladies, we're putting the move back to Saturday."

"Why?"

"The surveillance equipment won't be in and tested by Friday morning."

"What about the house? Won't it still be needed by then?"

"That plan slipped by a couple of days too, but that's as much as I can say."

"Can we still go down to the flat so I can show Sophie around?"

"Yes, but don't take anything more of your own stuff with you until we know it's fully secure. Some of the communications equipment was removed yesterday as an alarm was found to be faulty, your clothing and possessions have been delivered to a storage facility for now."

"Why?"

"If someone or something got in there then it would become contaminated."

"What?"

"Look, right now we have to treat it in exactly the same way as when we received the keys two weeks ago. It was potentially contaminated so was deep cleaned, swept for bugs, checked thoroughly for electrical, gas and telephone faults, swept again and finally swept yet again after the furniture had been delivered. It's an ongoing process."

"I understand, I think. I take it that you're informing everyone that the date has changed?"

"Very few people need to know the change of plan, if necessary we load a van on Saturday morning with most of the rest of your gear and meet the other van plus the technical team there."

"Right."

"Why don't you two spend an hour on the range then we'll go for a drive?"

"Sophie, I'll just go to fetch my bag."

"Bag, Gail?"

"For my pass, otherwise we're not getting in there."

There was no doubt Sophie was good with a handgun but Gail was now getting plenty of practice; she was able to hit the target 80% of the time. The range officer commented that Gail would in good time reach the required standard for police certification with sufficient practice.

"But this is just a past-time whilst I'm here, I have no need for a weapon as I'm just an accountant."

"Madam, I wouldn't let just an accountant in here, we have been instructed that you are to have full access at any time it is practical."

"Who said that?"

"Someone very senior, well above my pay grade."

"Come on Gail, lets meet with Helen, we're done here."

"Fine by me. I need to go to my room first."

They walked out of the security control suite into the warm summer air, Gail pointed at the doorway opposite.

"That's the fitness suite, take a look inside whilst I freshen up."

 

The drive into Amersham a little while later seemed to take less time on this Wednesday morning, probably as traffic on the M25 was lighter than on Monday. It certainly didn't feel like a forty minute journey, but Gail sat in the back listening to the other two girls dig the dirt about mutual acquaintances and police stations of the realm.

"We're here, Gail, you open up."

She opened the exterior door and stepped into the air-conditioned lobby.

"Good morning Harry."

"Good morning Miss Adams, I see you brought a friend?"

"Yes, this is Miss Grieve and she'll be staying with me for a few weeks."

"Ah, I was informed you would have a house-guest but that it was a Miss Greig."

"Sounds like a simple typo."

"Typo?"

"Typographical error."

"Yes, I suppose it does."

Helen finally walked in behind the other two and asked why they were stood there.

"We've just been fixing a spelling mistake."

Having resolved that issue the three girls headed up to the eighth floor and into the flat. There were several men and women working in there who immediately stopped. One challenged the small group.

"Stop, who are you?"

Gail took the initiative.

"I'm Abigail Adams and this is my flat. With me are DS Grieve and Miss Bell, both of whom are warranted and armed. So, it's your turn now."

"I'm sorry Miss Adams, I didn't recognise you. We've already had a couple of odd visitors here today, although none had a key. I'm Jimmy Ruddle and this is my band of counter espionage engineers. Are you going to be here long?"

Helen took over, shooing Gail and Sophie off to do a tour of inspection.

"Guys, about these visitors - any names or photos?"

"No, sorry. The door camera isn't working yet and we're not in a position to ask for ID from someone knocking on the wrong door."

"What time was this?"

"Just after nine."

"There's someone in the lobby from eight onwards to prevent random walk-ins, what time did you get here?"

"Not long after seven. There is a rear delivery door by the way, we use that one."

"I'll have to speak to Harry downstairs on the way out. In the meantime, don't open the door to anyone, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Helen caught the girls in Sophie's allocated room, the first place they'd checked. There was an animated discussion about decoration, apparently Sophie was a bit of a goth.

"Keep it down, you two, what seems to be the problem?"

"Helen, the room's too light. I need opaque curtains, dark carpet, purple or black bedding."

"Sophie, you might only be here four weeks, that's the extent of your initial assignment. We're not redecorating the room. If Abigail is agreeable however, you can choose some alternative curtains and bedding, although they'll have to come out of your generous expenses package."

"I suppose I could live with that."

"Expenses package?" Gail was interested, Helen picked it up.

"Gail, hmm Abi, if Sophie is here twenty fours hours a day for four weeks then the usual forty two hour week doesn't apply, instead of overtime she gets a daily allowance that is designed to cover any ad-hoc expenses. Don't forget she also has her own home to maintain."

"How much is this allowance worth?"

"One hundred pounds a day on top of basic salary. All taxable of course."

"A day? Blimey, I might be able to help with the tax, though."

The subject was dropped as one of the sweep team wanted to check the bedroom. The girls quickly concluded their tour and headed back to the lobby. Harry was absent, a sign simply said:

 

 

Helen's question would have to wait for another day.

They would be too late for lunch back at the house so drove to Windsor to use a random café. Sophie did not relax once while they were in a public place and, of course, the car-parking was some distance from an acceptable eating establishment. They finally, after fifteen minutes of searching, settled on a courtyard café off a pedestrian lane with two exits. The seating was rearranged to provide line-of-sight to both exits.

The service wasn't fast but the quality of the food was superb, Sophie had been pensive throughout the lunch, easing up while they were waiting for the bill but, now that had been paid, was again anxious.

"Sophie, You're taking this too seriously."

"No, she is not, Abi. Given your recent history we are right to be concerned. Some incidents have been shown to be benign whereas others have been malignant. The ones we need to worry about are those that haven't been clarified yet, that includes our recent trip to Kew. And, no, we are not discussing it any further here. Come on!"

They walked directly back to the car-park where Sophie performed a check of the vehicle but clearly wasn't happy. Helen picked up on it immediately, pulling her phone out as she told the others to move well away from the car. Once they were a good distance from the car, she made a call.

"DI Keane, Helen Bell. We're in the River Street car-park in Windsor. We have a Code Blue, repeat Code Blue."

"Received."

"Sophie, did you check the vehicle in Amersham?"

"No."

"So anything malicious could have been done before we got here?"

"It's conceivable."

They could now hear sirens in the distance, Helen moved the other two well outside the car-park, about 200m away. Then they waited, while normal members of the public went about their business until the police cleared them away.

 
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
 
A cordon was quickly established whilst the nearest bomb disposal squad, based a few miles away at RAF Northolt, was on the way. This created quite a crowd but the police pushed everyone back several streets, although they struggled with a group of three ladies.

"That is my vehicle, if I presume you've checked the number plate then you'll know it's a Met car."

"You still have to move."

"Look, I can pull rank on you. Concentrate on the public and point the Bronze Commander in my direction when he or she gets here."

The young PC moved away, he'd deal with the public first and catch up with his Sergeant in a short while to take advice. He ended up arguing with a line of taxi drivers so missed the bronze commander's arrival. Helen didn't.

She introduced herself to the senior Police Officer who had arrived in the Windsor carpark, assuming control of the contained situation, although in fact it had already been declared safe.

"So it was you who called it in?"

"Yes, the evidence pointed to the vehicle having been tampered with."

"We'll hopefully confirm that when the car reaches the fleet HQ. Who's the suspected target?"

"I can't discuss that now as it's an counter terrorism case, but it is imperative we now get back to base."

"Go by tube?"

"Our base is outside the tube network, unfortunately. Now, given the circumstances I'd suggest a different mode of transport, although it's outside my normal authority."

Their helicopter had landed at South Mimms Motorway Services by the northern edge of the M25 where a van from the house was waiting to collect the small group. The backup Met Police chopper team hadn't expected to be used as a glorified taxi service instead of their usual surveillance and tracking role, even less so as they hadn't been told the final destination in this cloak & dagger arrangement.

Finally back indoors, Helen went straight to the library to use the secure phone whilst Gail and Sophie sat in the conservatory. Gail was finally able to ask questions freely.

"Sophie, what was wrong with the car?"

"Something didn't feel right. There were some scuff marks around the door frames on the near-side but no jemmy marks or other damage. There were also some disturbances under the car but it was difficult to see what it might be until it's on a ramp being examined properly."

"So was there a bomb?"

"No, almost definitely not. My suspicion is that either someone had tried to break in, or it was an attempt to plant a tracking device."

"Oh. When will the answer be known?"

"Later today I suspect. No doubt Helen's on the case."

***

When the call came, the three had just sat down for dinner, Helen took the call on her an extension in the dining room.

"Yes, okay, yes, thank you."

"News?"

"Yes, Gail. No sign of explosives or a tracker but plenty of suggestion someone had tried to get into it either in Amersham or at the car-park. Why they wanted to get into it is another matter. The carpark's CCTV is being checked but I was told one of the cameras is out of action so it's of limited value. Some prints have been found on the car and will be checked, they'll also be checked against our own prints to eliminate ourselves."

"Right, so we weren't in danger?"

"Not necessarily, but we weren't careful either. That's the same problem that we had in Kew Gardens."

"I remember it well."

"So do I. Gail, I want a report on today's events written by the morning, you too Sophie. I'm staying tonight as my replacement car won't be here until the morning."

"Report?"

"Yes, you two may have heard or seen things that I didn't. Sit down and write a report from the moment we left here, include everything relevant. Even if there's nothing new in your report it will still be useful to get you into the practice of writing them. That comes with the territory I'm afraid."

"Do you have the receipt from the café? I could put in a VAT refund claim at the same time?"

"Get lost, Gail. I'm going up to my room, good night."

***

By the time Gail and Sophie reached breakfast, Helen had already departed. Gail had spent two hours the previous evening compiling her report in draft and then in manuscript as she didn't have a laptop at this time, she was pleasantly surprised how much detail she could remember. Sophie, in comparison, did have a laptop with her and only needed to connect to the printer in the library to obtain a hard copy. With Helen absent, they asked Jenny what to do with the paperwork.

"If Helen's asked for them, I'll fax the reports to her office, she'll probably swing by there at some point today."

That put Gail at a loose end, she and Sophie still needed to get to know each-other before they moved into the flat but neither felt like talking much this morning. Gail was also still regretting her breakfast choice of kippers, it was repeating every few minutes; any suggestion of exercise was beaten back.

It didn't help that this was the wettest day of the summer. Gail had seemingly lost track of time but that day's newspaper announced it would be the August Bank Holiday on Monday meaning. She worked out that children would be back in schools in less than two weeks, not that Gail had any children of her own, nor nieces or nephews. Indeed, she wasn't even certain if she had any living relatives. That suited the Security Service, unsurprisingly.

Out of desperation for something to do, Gail went down to the range, Justin was in the control room.

"Hello Miss Adams."

"Formal again, I see."

"I've been," cough, "advised to keep it formal, Miss."

"In that case I won't ask about your history with DS Grieve."

"I couldn't possible comment. What brings you down here?"

"I'd like to use the range."

"It's occupied at the moment so I'm afraid you can't go in there."

"Who's using it?"

"Two of the house staff are having their weekly practice."

"House staff? I never would have thought they would do that."

"Had you considered why an accountant would use Police issue weapons? These are illegal in the hands of the public in this country."

"I've been advised to practice when I can, but today it's to occupy my time."

The light over the range door changed from red to green and shortly afterwards it swung open allowing the maid and housekeeper to exit.

"Hello Miss, are you waiting to go in?"

"Yes Lisa, I didn't know you did this?"

"Have to keep my hand in, Miss, just in case."

Gail was about to ask what the 'just in case' meant when she was called in by the range officer.

Forty-five minutes and several targets later, Gail was very happy. She was now missing the target 10% of the time and those on target were starting to gather around the inner rings. The usual range officer was waiting for her when she exited.

"If you can deal with the strays then your score will be more than acceptable. You can expect your licence soon."

"Thank you, but I still don't know why I'm being given this privilege."

"As I said yesterday, that answer is not known to anyone in my pay grade."

The rain had eased off whilst Gail was underground but it was now nearly lunchtime. Sophie was absent, Gail understood that she had gone over to Amersham to check the area out for safe walking routes, likely ambush points and any potential enemy surveillance locations.

"She's welcome to that task," thought Gail.

She avoided the fish that was on offer at lunchtime and had a simple vegetable soup. The aim was to be able to use some of the gym equipment a reasonable time after eating.

It was just after two when Gail walked into the fitness suite. She'd changed into her leotard but wore sweats over that. She also remembered a towel.

Taking off her top, she started on a running machine. Gail pounded away for half an hour, steadily increasing the speed. Once into a rhythm she didn't feel any strain, although the moment she stopped her calf muscles complained; she was bent over rubbing them when Sophie walked in.

"I wondered if you were in here?"

"I've just run several miles so I'm not jumping back on that machine."

"I wondered if you fancied a rowing race?"

"Rowing race? Okay, I've never done that before on dry land but let's give it a go before I change my mind."

Gail had assumed the rowing machine was all about arms and shoulders so regretted her unconditional agreement within the first few minutes. There were muscles and tendons being used that she didn't even know she possessed. This was true torture. Sophie meanwhile was pulling far ahead on her linked machine. Gail wobbled back onto her feet, panting badly, then she grabbed her towel to mop her brow.

"You win. I'm going for a shower."

"Same again tomorrow?"

Gail felt no better off for all her exertions, indeed even after a long soak in the bath to help relax, she was still feeling the cramps that had started in her legs. She phoned housekeeping for a glass of iced water, and sipped this as she read. When dinner time arrived it was just her and Sophie with no sign of Helen returning.

Sleep came easily that night.

 
Abigail Must Die!
 

Gail's phone rang at seven in the morning as she was putting on her swimsuit.

"Hello?"

"It's Jenny. There's an urgent conference call in the library in fifteen minutes."

"I was on my way to the pool."

"Sorry Gail, this really is urgent and may take some time."

"Okay, I'll get dressed and get down there, could I have some coffee?"

"I'll have that waiting."

"Thanks."

What could be that urgent? Jenny hadn't mentioned Sophie once so was she in this meeting or not? There was a knock on Gail's door as she was pulling on a pair of slacks.

"Come in."

Sophie opened the door and looked impatient in her swimsuit with a towel over one shoulder.

"Gail, I was waiting for you."

"Sorry Sophie, I've been called to an urgent conference call. I take it you weren't called?"

"No, what's it about?"

"I don't know, all I know is it's urgent. Sorry, but I must get moving as it's almost time."

Gail rushed downstairs, the library door was open and Jenny was waiting in there with the handset of the secure phone in her hand. A pot of coffee was on the desk next to some paperwork.

"Yes Emily we're secure. Gail's here now, I'll just connect Helen then you're setup."

Jenny pressed a few buttons then handed the handset to Gail before leaving the room, firmly shutting the door behind her.

"Gail, are you on your own?"

"Yes, Emily"

"I suggest you lock the door before we continue. Helen can you confirm your location is secure?"

Gail did as asked, missing Helen's response, then returned to her seat. On the desk in front of her were the originals of hers and Sophie's reports.

"This briefing is classified Secret. Please confirm you both understand?"

They did.

"Now Gail, we have some disturbing information. You'll recall that Anna was withdrawn last week"

"Yes, but I didn't understand why?"

"You weren't informed at the time as it did not appear to be relevant, however that has now changed."

"Is this related to yesterday?"

"Yes, let me explain. The initial investigation into the incident at Kew showed that Anna was not carrying out her duties in accordance with instructions meaning that her position became untenable. A further investigation has now brought us to the conclusion that the incident at Kew was staged."

"I don't understand, she chased after the robber."

"Indeed, but the robber was her nephew, David Grieg."

"Oh, shit, Grieg?"

"Quite. This now confirms that the address of your flat, plus your new identity have been compromised."

"How?"

"We're working on it. Helen, can you take over?"

"Thanks Emily, David Grieg's fingerprints were found on the car plus the sweep team at your flat have identified David and Anna Grieg from photos as the visitors on Wednesday morning."

"So it was no typo?"

"No and we suspect she was going to obtain a key for the flat posing as your flatmate. Unfortunately we've not yet been able to speak to Harry, he was found yesterday morning in undergrowth behind the building."

"Oh, is he going to be okay?"

"He's only just regained conciousness, unfortunately the CCTV in the lobby was disabled."

"How did they get in the building?"

"Through the rear delivery door and up the staircase. The lock showed it had been tampered with."

"So what now?"

"We're working on it. Reconvene at 1100hrs?"

Emily and Gail confirmed, Gail put the handset back on the cradle. She finally poured a cup of coffee from the waiting cafetière and sat wondering what the hell was going on? Who could she trust? Emily and Helen had been with her from the first day at the original safe-house and had never lied to her, even if they hadn't always said everything Gail wanted or needed to know.

Diane had been kidnapped by terrorists then compromised by Essex Special Branch, finally today she'd heard about Anna's treachery. How could these people do this to her? Who next? She started to sob.

Jenny was outside the library door and, although she wasn't deliberately listening, could just hear Gail through the sound-proofing. She used a key to unlock the door.

"Gail, come on dry your eyes. Everyone's working out what to do."

"I've been betrayed!"

"We all have. Now, if we have to relocate you later then you need a good breakfast as lunch may not happen if we need to get moving. I'll make you a fresh pot of coffee."

"How much do you know?"

"Enough, enough to know that we're now in lock-down."

"Lock-down?"

"No-one gets in or out of this house until further notice."

"But you said I would be relocated?"

"You will, as soon as the lock-down is cancelled. Get some breakfast then go to the range."

"Why?"

"Food first, then speak to the range officer."

What was strange was the presence of Justin in the hallway, in combat uniform and armed with an automatic weapon.

"What are you doing?"

"There's a threat, this is my position."

Gail knew what the threat was, but could the house be at risk?

Breakfast was a strange affair. Gail wasn't certain if Sophie had been in the pool but she hadn't long sat down before Gail entered the room. The strangeness was amplified as Sophie was in a bullet-proof vest and had a sidearm on the table.

Gail went up to her room and grabbed her bag, but decided to take the pass out and hang it around her neck using the lanyard to make sure that all the security personnel knew who she was. She then went down to the range as requested.

"Ah Miss Adams, I've been expecting you."

"That’s a line from a film, isn’t it? I'll think of the film title in a moment. Why am I needed?"

"Please just go straight into the range."

Gail entered the range. The red light was showing but the door wasn't closed. Inside, the range officer had a store open that clearly contained substantial fire power, this she knew to be the armoury from her previous visits.

"This is your firearms licence, sign at the bottom and on this receipt."

"Why?"

"Otherwise what we do next is illegal."

"Okay, what?"

Gail put the licence in her bag as the officer removed a tray from the armoury and put it on a table, there was another receipt.

Sign here."

"What for?"

"You're signing for a Glock-26 handbag gun, the same as you've been using."

"Why?"

"Too many questions. You would have qualified in a few days anyway but circumstances dictate that I issue this now. Sign here!"

Gail reluctantly signed and picked up the weapon, checking that the safety was on, as well as several clips. One clip was inserted then everything was transferred to her bag. What the hell was going on? Jenny was waiting in the control room.

"Gail, Anna knew the location of this house as well as the main entry points. We don't know what her motive is but she can be extremely dangerous. You have been issued that weapon to protect yourself in case our defences fail. Once the threat is over I'll take the weapon back from you and return it to the armoury. Whether or not you choose to use it in the meantime is down to you complete with the consequences."

"I'm not at all comfortable with this, I'm an accountant not a law enforcement officer."

"But you impressed the range officer with how quickly you became competent with that weapon, which to be honest doesn't suit most of the team here."

Gail wasn't convinced but knew there was trouble brewing. She was outside the conservatory when her mobile rang.

"Hello Helen?"

"Hi Gail, can you get to the library?"

"Sure, but why is my phone working?"

"Later, get to the library."

Gail rushed into the library and shut the door behind her, the secure phone was ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hi Gail, can you please push the blue secure button in 3-2-1 ... still there?"

"Yes Helen. What's going on?"

"We decided to do a dummy delivery to the flat using one of the vans, but with armed officers in the back. The vehicle was rammed and an attempt made to get the driver out but the officers overwhelmed them. Anna has an arm injury but will live to see her trial, David Grieg discharged a pistol towards the driver and was shot, he died instantly. One other was detained unhurt but we don't have a name or any other details yet."

"So is it over?"

"No, we don't know what else Anna had planned, nor why, or even if someone else is running the show?"

"That's too many unknowns."

"Quite, the problem now is that we have substantial evidence that your location and identity have been compromised, Abigail Adams has to effectively die today. We then start again."

"Again? Where do I go? Another new identity?"

"The answer to the first question is being sorted at the moment, listen to Jenny and do as she asks. Have you been issued with a weapon?"

"Yes, a Glock-26, the same as I was using in the range. As I said to Jenny and the range officer I'm not happy about that."

"But you are competent and right now everyone in that house has to be capable of helping with security, that includes you and the chambermaid."

"I know, I understand the issues it's just that I'm uncomfortable."

"Look, I'll be in my office all day unless something happens. If we need to talk, use the secure phone. Don't forget the conference with Emily at 1100."

"Okay, bye for now."

She hung up and walked back to the conservatory. Suddenly there was a huge explosion from the far end of the garden and the ground shook, followed by alarms everywhere. Then another explosion, much closer. The security shutters came down quickly between the two explosions causing the house lights to come on, then suddenly go off. The house was now in a state of confused darkness. Another explosion near the front of the house knocked Gail off her feet, falling initially against a wall then her head made contact with the tiled floor.

She was later told that Justin had found Gail slumped just inside the conservatory and, with Sophie's help, carried her to the emergency room in the basement. She came around within a few minutes but was deemed to have suffered concussion so would require a trip to hospital, not the best outcome possible especially given the security risks. Another plan was needed.

Once the all-clear was given a full evacuation was ordered. A military helicopter landed on the front lawn and the house front door was opened, something Gail had never previously seen. She was instructed not to take anything other than her bag, her belongings would follow. Sophie assisted Gail board the chopper, although Gail was not yet aware of the revised plan, were they flying to a local hospital?

The flight took them to army barracks in Hereford, where Gail dropping into the medical office to be checked out. It was whilst she was there that Gail's phone rang, she opened her bag to retrieve it then remembered the Glock handgun that was also in her bag. She wasn't the only person to spot the firearm.

"Hello Helen."

"Where are you?"

"Safe at the moment."

"Can you enable Secure on your phone?”

"Got it."

"Right, we're secure, where are you?"

"SAS barracks, Hereford."

"That's pretty safe. What's the plan?"

"Sophie and I have just discussed Cornwall seeing as we're not that far from the South West. She'll organise a car when one of these fine officers drops us into Hereford town centre."

"Okay, keep me informed."

"Bye."

Gail slid the phone back into her bag, unaware that several armed personnel were now looking at her strangely. The senior officer spoke.

"Madam, is that a handgun?"

"Er, yes, a Glock 26. I have some spare magazines too. I understand it takes NATO standard ammunition if you can spare me a box?"

"We'll see about that, but why would an accountant be carrying a concealed weapon?" Gail still had her ID card around her neck.

"My job title is irrelevant, my firearms certificate is also in there, feel free to have a look. By the way, where's my bodyguard?"

"Outside. I'd like you to find the certificate, slowly now please."

Gail had the certificate in a side pocket so pulled that out easily. She unfolded it and handed it to the officer.

"This is a Met Police Firearms Unit licence."

"If you say so, it was only issued this morning and I hadn't had a chance to read it, what with being attacked by terrorists and all that."

"Who do you actually work for?"

"The Security Service, on a joint Met Police Security Service counter terrorism initiative." She made up the name on the spot, it seemed to impress the officer.

"What about your bodyguard?"

"She's just finished with the Diplomatic and Royal Protection Team and is my close protection officer, she's armed with a Glock 17, personally I find the '26 easier to handle."

"I'm not happy with you two having weapons on this base."

"I was even less happy being issued with it this morning. As soon as your doctor has cleared me then we'll be gone. I have to go into hiding whilst a new identity is dreamed up for me, again. I promise we won't trouble you again, probably."

END

 
----
 

This book Accountancy Can Be Deadly, and the follow-up - Spying By Numbers - are also both available for Kindle.

The third book, Diminishing Returns is currently in production.

Character Index (Book 1)   Accountancy can be deadly

 

 
 

 
 

Lead character	GailJones/David Jones/Abigail Adams
- - - -
Police	DS/DI Emily Keane	SO15 Counter terrorism unit
	DC Adam Smith	SO15 Counter terrorism unit
	DI Reynolds	SO15 Counter terrorism unit
	Helen Bell	Family Liason officer/Solicitor/MI5
	John	Police driving instructor
	Justin	Site security & self-defence trainer
	DS Sophie Grieve	Close Protection Officer
- - - -
Security Service	Dave Brown	Fraud & Terrorism expert
	John Smith	Personnel Security manager
- - - -
Household	Jenny	Housekeeper
	Lisa	Maid
	Diane	Beautician/Stylist
	Harry	Apartment security
- - - -
Medical	Doctor Hughes	Police doctor
	Dr Fox	Psychiatrist
	Cloe Gardner	Optician
	Fatima Hussaini-Davis	Nurse
	Vikki/Jules	Nurses
	Anna	Gail's personal nurse/
	Dr Hannah Young	Gender Counsellor
- - - -
Criminals	Hamiz Fourani	Property owner
	Hamed Fourani	Brother of Hamiz
	Janet Husseini Davison	Mother of nurse Fatima Hussaini-Davis
	Iqbal Hussein	Husband of Janet Hussaini