Part   Nineteen   "Housebound"

 
Friday 9th December 2016
 

Tammy climbed out of the warm water after a relaxing half an hour of exercise, although her mind had been doing somersaults as she gently did the breast stroke along the otherwise empty pool. To say the previous evening's dinner had been awkward would be a true understatement, Suzie was apparently under orders not to say anything about, about whatever it was. Jenny had also arrived during the evening but hadn't eaten with the sisters. After Tammy had returned to her room that evening she was sure she'd heard Dave Brown's voice on the landing, although she hadn't seen him in the house.

Breakfast was a solitary affair and Tammy's mind gymnastics had now spread to her stomach, relegating her to toast, OJ and half a mug of black coffee. A sealed envelope was brought to her by a maid.

At least she now had a name for her inquisitor, John Smith was the personnel security chief at the Security Service, MI5, and clearly she wasn't the only one being interviewed. Tammy guessed the 'do not talk to' instruction was directed at Suzie's relationship with Tammy, or should others be included?

In any case it was still only eight thirty and she had hours to kill before her interview. Tammy sat in the conservatory to read the newspapers, although, as usual, politics and the Middle East were the two main topics, often appearing in the same articles.

Every time Tammy heard a door swing she would crane her head to see who it was; she was getting jumpy as she still knew nothing about anything, and that bothered her. She gave up with the newspaper and went to her room, but her phones had been removed the previous day and her tablet was now also missing, truling out reading any of her digital books. A glance at the clock revealed it had only just gone nine.

Out of the window an overnight frost was clearing the expansive rear lawn, guaranteeing that Southerners wouldn't venture outside unless they had to. Tammy, however, had lived in the Highlands for most of her life so wasn't deterred by a little cold. Her winter coat was long-gone so she donned her hooded fleece before wandering back downstairs, reminding herself to put it in the laundry soon.

The last few times she'd visited the gardens at Adelaide Adams House it had been in the Spring or Summer so now the flowerbeds looked somewhat bare and lifeless. There were still plants a plenty but, no colourful flora survived. A few of the trees, notably two ancient oaks, were still shedding their leaves but a few more frosts would soon leave even those hardy trees naked in the wintry air.

She walked down to the lake and peered into the water, unsure if anything could survive down there, meanwhile the palm trees on the lake's Southern edge looked distinctly out of place. It started to rain so Tammy turned back to the house.

There was still almost two hours to wait. With some reluctance, Tammy went into the range, after checking that it was clear.

"Ah, Miss Smart, which weapon would you like to use today?"

"Oh, the 26 please."

The range officer returned with her Glock 26, which she signed for. He issued twenty rounds.

"Get yourself comfortable, when you've finished with these I'll test you."

Tammy was well out of practice, and it showed. She asked to fire another twenty rounds before testing but still wasn't happy. After sixty rounds she stopped.

"Sorry, I don't think I'm ready to test right now."

"Miss Smart, I think I'd agree with you, you're clearly not concentrating."

"I do have a few thing on my mind."

She checked her weapon back into the care of the range officer and turned down the offer of taking her targets away.

"Please file them appropriately."

It was half past ten when she re-emerged into the house.

"Tea is served in the conservatory, Miss Smart."

Tammy was startled by the housekeeper who had appeared from nowhere, she muttered thanks and went in search of her hot beverage. She found another wedge of the cake and decided not only was it Dundee Cake but it was also very good, probably not shop bought - although she couldn't be certain.

She refilled her teacup from the pot, at least it was a decent blend but she could have done with a mug of coffee instead. Whilst there was nothing going on, overtly at least, as the clock neared eleven she was getting very nervous and her anxiety was rising fast. Looking for a distraction, Tammy picked up the day's Times and started to go through it again, choosing to try the Sudoku puzzles after failing to get a grip with the crossword.

The conservatory clock ticked past eleven and it was approaching midday when Tammy put the paper down after returning to the unyielding crossword. She gave up waiting and headed up to her room to wash, feeling the need to freshen herself. Within a few minutes there was a knock on her door.

"Excuse me Miss, I've been asked to serve your lunch in your room and I have a message for you."

The maid left a tray on the desk and quickly left. Tammy picked up the note.

Tammy wasn't surprised, but it was unusual for the investigatory officers to be apologetic. She figured there were definitely others in the building, apart from Suzie, whom she couldn't and shouldn't meet until all the interviews were concluded - possibly longer. The feeling Tammy had was that she wasn't under suspicion, but she still had no real idea where this was going.

Her tablet was on the tray under a napkin, she started it up and checked she could login, but decided she'd buy a new one as soon as she could, not that she didn't trust the security service, but it wasn't beyond reason to think they had installed, ironically, spyware on it.

Lunch was a salad with a jacket potato that, by now, wasn't fresh out of the oven. The skin was extra crispy, distinctly over-cooked and it looked like the butter had been forgotten, as well as mayonnaise. Zara's baked spuds were always light, hot and fluffy, and for a moment Tammy regretted not being at home.

She picked at the meal, her appetite having grown wings and flown away, washed down with a bottle of chilled water. A banana looked a little green so Tammy left it for now. She freshened herself then picked her tablet back up to do some reading.

By three she'd finished a book, one she'd started a month or two earlier, and was contemplating what to read next. There was a knock on her door and Tammy opened to find the same maid who had been there a few hours earlier.

"Excuse me Miss, I have another bottle of water for you, as well as a note and can I clear your tray?"

Tammy accepted the water and the note, the maid was gone quickly, almost taking the banana as waste. She opened the note, the message was simple - '9am tomorrow' - so nothing more would happen today. No lifting of her room limitations, it wasn’t quite house arrest, though, but Tammy was more confident that she had nothing to fear. She lifted the bedside phone and called 111.

"Hello, I'd like to go to the range."

"It's in use right now, you will be collected in fifteen minutes, Miss Smart."

Delay, delay, thought Tammy. A pang of guilt hit her, she hadn't spoken to her father since Wednesday morning and it was now Friday afternoon. She was incommunicado until further notice and he'd no doubt be aware of the education conference being cancelled. He did have Jenny's number but she wasn't in the office and Tammy doubted anyone else would give him an answer.

It was eventually a twenty five minute wait before a uniformed police officer arrived at her door. He said nothing other than to confirm her name and left her at the range security door. The range light was off so Tammy opened it and stepped inside.

"Ah, Miss Smart, are you ready to test now?"

"I am."

"Good, I'll issue twenty rounds for you to warm up and then we'll start, understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

An hour or so later Tammy had finished with a solid pass.

"Very good, Miss, you were much more confident."

"It felt good, Sir, when can I test with the 19?"

"Tomorrow if you get time or Sunday?"

Tammy wondered if the range officer knew more about her debrief than herself. In any case, she really wanted to head home as soon as this was done with. An escort was waiting outside the range to take her back to her room.

"Congratulations, Miss."

"Er, thank you."

Dinner arrived shortly after six and included a small bottle of red, a Merlot, as well as more water. Tammy was now quite hungry and easily cleared her plate.

There was a knock on her door around eight and John Smith entered her room.

"My apologies, Miss Smart, but I can assure you we will be able to see you in the morning."

"Am I under investigation?"

"Strictly speaking, yes, but we are investigating everyone and everything. This is a very complex matter."

"What is the basis for the investigation?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Smart, but you will have to wait. Is there anything I can arrange for you?"

"Can you let my father know I'm safe?"

"Certainly, your sister has asked for the same message to be passed."

"How is Suzie?"

"Shaken, it was a long session with her today."

"Our other sister is undergoing surgery at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary on Monday, I hope we'll both be able to speak to our family by then."

"I can't make any promises at this stage, sorry."

"Okay, who else is here?"

"It's best you don't know, not for now."

"So long as my mother isn't here, like last time!"

"That's unlikely, but not impossible."

"Great, not, will I be able to swim in the morning?"

"Please call in the morning to see if there's an escort available."

Tammy thanked John and he left her in peace; she was now sure she was not at fault, but who was?

 
Saturday 10th December 2016
 

"Now Miss Smart, I'd like to run through some of your reports."

The lady speaking to Tammy was Sheila Fitzgerald, who had introduced herself as an internal investigator from the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. John Smith was sat next to her, poised to take notes although she'd been told the interview was being recorded. Tammy also assumed it would be videoed although she couldn’t see any cameras in the oak panelled library.

She continued, "On the ninth of April your sister reported a black car that was seen near your apartment in Docklands. You both reported this?"

"Yes, I'd also seen it before last Christmas and in the summer, the driver appeared to be watching us going in or out of the building."

"Did you check the plates?"

"No, but security at Thames House told me the plates didn't match the car."

"Have you seen this car anywhere else?"

"No."

"Now, let me take you back to the attack in the coffee shop in the summer?"

"I hate to think how many times I've recounted that one."

"You reported that your choice of coffee shop was purely random, and yet you were in the right place at the right time?"

"For me it was random, but the US agent, Kerri Emerson, had seen the full hit list, so maybe she steered me?"

"I see, you do know that Kerri Emerson doesn't exist?"

"Sure, I don't know her real name but I'm convinced she's accredited correctly, much the same way I don't know if that's your real name but I don't doubt that you do work for six?"

John Smith chuckled and scribbled on his notepad, Sheila ignored the comment.

"Is it conceivable that Miss Emerson deliberately took you to that coffee shop in full knowledge of an imminent attack?"

"Well, if she did, she didn't give me any warning as my weapon was in my bag when the action started. A heads-up would have been good but I really don't think she had any advance warning either. I'm sure the coffee-house CCTV will confirm that?"

"What do you know of the group behind that attack?"

"True Freedom? An ideology that apparently has no basis in religion and is really an organisation that extorts money through terrorism, or at least it used to be?"

"Used to be?"

"My thoughts were that it was shut down, rolled up."

"Have you had any other dealings with True Freedom?"

"No."

"Are you certain?"

"Pretty sure, I mean no one has come up to me and said they were from TF?"

"Okay, in your own words, tell me how you met the American agent and finish at the coffee shop."

That took some time as Sheila repeatedly made her go back over her testimony, although was this for completeness or to catch her out? Tammy was a little concerned, especially when her stay at GCHQ was being queried, that she might be giving information to someone outside of the 'need to know' area but John had re-assured her.

"Sheila has nearly full access, I'll stop you if it's outside of her remit though."

"You logged some security concerns during your stay down there?"

"Yes, one person was far too interested in me."

"Who was that?"

"Sharon Gainsborough. I've since had information that she was behind the data thefts from universities."

John looked up from his notepad, "Really? Where from? I've not seen that in any of your reports."

"No, I didn't report it as I felt no-one wanted to hear what I had, I was being shut out. I also only had it from one source and I couldn’t verify it."

"So what was your source?"

"Kerri Emerson."

"How did you contact her?"

"I didn't, she contacted me."

Sheila Fitzgerald shuffled some papers, clearly unimpressed with Tammy's attitude.

"What was your concern with Sharon Gainsborough?"

"As I said, she was too interested in me and I thought she was having a meeting with someone I knew, someone I was investigating."

"Who was that?"

"Martin Gore."

“We’ve established that it wasn’t Martin Gore, do you have any other suggestions who that person was, Miss Smart?”

“No.”

“Do you know Sharon Gainsborough’s current location?”

“No.”

“Have you been in contact with her?”

“Not since I left GCHQ.”

"Why did you go to Room 40?"

"It was continued specialist training after my stint at GCHQ."

“I see.”

“When was the last time you visited your apartment?”

“September.”

“Who was living there at the time?”

“My sister, Suzie, and I.”

“Why did you leave there?”

“I went back to Thurso, I wasn’t achieving anything in London and I needed a break. I made a choice one afternoon and travelled the same evening, it was the best decision I’ve made recently.”

“And you haven’t been back to the apartment since?”

“No, but my mum and Angela have been there.”

“When was that?”

“October.”

“What did they tell you about that visit?”

“That the place needed a tidy up and that Suzie’s new boyfriend had moved in.”

“Name?”

“Err, Alex I think.”

“Have you met him?”

“Nope.”

“Who does he work for?”

“Dunno.”

“Aren’t you concerned about your sister?”

“Of course, but she’s old enough to be responsible, and that includes bad decisions about boyfriends.”

“Really?”

“She moved into the apartment as her last boyfriend was a layabout who was two-timing her.”

“When was that?”

“In January.”

“And the black car first appeared in April?”

“No, in December.”

“We’ll take a break there, you can take refreshments in your room.”