Chapter 8

Kenny stared at the scrap-pad in front of him and thought about how he could try to find evidence that someone else might be controlling his former pupils by somehow having control of himself. The first thing that occurred to him was to simply send a Church of Cyberscience message to all those on his database and ask them to report all activities the Church had asked them to carry out over the past year.

His logic told him that the former pupils wouldn't be able to differentiate between orders that he had consciously sent and any that he might have issued while being controlled by another. But something might stand out to his own eyes.

It took him half an hour to compose a message that included the trigger phrase and that ordered all of his 'converts' to set down the Church activities they had undertaken recently. He sent the message in the knowledge that it would be a massive task to wade through the detail in the responses but he knew it was a job he had to do.

His second thought was to take the advice of the old adage 'follow the money' and he immediately began to audit the accounts of the Church to see if there was anything out of the ordinary there. He had never felt it necessary to look at the bank statements too closely before but now he focused on any expenditure or outgoings to make sure they were all legitimate.

Kenny picked up something very quickly, something that shouldn't be there at all. There was a payment going out of the Church's account every month to another bank account. The payment wasn't huge, only £2,000 per month, but it wasn't something that he had set up, at least not consciously. He now had his first hard evidence that his theory was accurate. It seemed that someone was somehow controlling his actions. Kenny found his hands were shaking.

"Fuck! Somebody has found out my secret and is using it against me. How could this fucking happen? Who? Who could be doing this? How did they find out?"

Kenny stood and paced around the room, wringing his hands nervously as he thought about the trouble he could well be in. The first priority now had to be to find out what was being done to him, to try and bottom out the extent of the problem. He decided he would need to install some surveillance equipment around his computer room - with both audio and visual recording capability.

"I need to find out more about what's going on. Hopefully I can record myself and catch any future contacts. If I can, then I'll be able to play the footage back to try and identify who is behind this and what else they've got me doing. After that I need to do something to take back control."

Kenny's secret controller was quietly satisfied with how things were going. Ordering MacGovern to set the lawyer to kill the journalist had admittedly been a rash move but not one that would be repeated in a hurry. A lesson had been learned and in future the dirty work would be left to those with experience. The Hamiltons would simply have to deal with MacGhee as Kenny had ordered them to.

The satisfaction he was feeling came from how well Kenny seemed to be following the last set of instructions that had been given to him. He had already shared the details of the web-site he had designed and the projections for how much money it would generate. Based on a membership of only five thousand, Kenny's web-site could rake in three million pounds a year, six million a year if the members all took up the Platinum option.

The secret controller knew that the Church would need to generate much more income if the money that was being creamed off was to increase. Only small amounts could be siphoned-off currently without raising suspicion but if turnover was higher then the amount that could be taken each month would rise accordingly. The controller wanted more money and wasn't too fussy about how Kenny raised it.

The next few days were something of a holiday for Mark and Felicity. He found several large beachcaster rods in the cottage and proceeded to teach Flick how to cast out into the loch and to appreciate the relaxation that fishing was all about.

Mark was using Mackerel and Razor-fish as bait and although they weren't catching a lot of fish, the time spent in each other's company and the calming setting was just what the doctor ordered. The troubles and danger of only a few days before were almost completely forgotten as the pair found their relationship deepening with the quality time they had together.

The only sour note was when Mark checked in with DI MacIntosh to let him know they were safe and hidden away. Drew passed on his latest information including the arrest of the man who had been intent on attacking them in the museum tea-room. That news brought back the reality of their predicament and left Mark worried that they were no closer to identifying who was trying to kill him.

The other information Drew gave him was more encouraging however, and Mark was quick to share it with Flick.

"Drew says that he's found two more schools that have had 'golden years' periods over the past wee while," he said.

"Oh really! I thought you asked me to look into that?" Flick replied.

"Flick, you can't tell the police what to investigate and what not to. Anyway, he's saved you the bother. What's more is that he's found a link between the three schools. Do you remember the name of the teacher that the councillor in Dundee gave you?" he asked.

Flick's brow furrowed as she concentrated on trying to bring the name to mind but at last gave up and shook her head.

"Kenny MacGovern?" Mark prompted.

"Yes! That's the name," Flick confirmed.

"Well, Drew says that the same Kenny MacGovern has taught at all three schools and that his time in each school corresponds to the periods where their performance peaked."

"Isn't it a bit much to think that one teacher could be responsible for a whole school raising its performance twenty percent above the national average?" Flick asked.

"I don't know, but it's too much of a coincidence for there not to be some connection between them. Drew's still digging so he might come up with something more.

"Anyway, enough of that. Do you fancy some more fishing? It's a bit overcast outside but that kind of weather can often be ideal for fishing, no glare on the water to drive the fish down deeper," said Mark.

"No, I think I'll pass this time. I enjoyed it yesterday, but there's a lesson in what detective MacIntosh has done, we've been too quick to forget just how much trouble we might be in, this place is just too beguiling.

"I've left some of this stuff too long and maybe I should spend some of today doing some work on the Internet. We still haven't looked into the background on the purchase of the casino so I think I'll put in a few hours on that. You go and enjoy yourself though, I know you really like the peace and quiet. Try and catch us something nice for dinner," said Flick.

Mark proceeded to gather together the various bits of tackle and bait and gave Flick a parting kiss as he made his way down towards a spot on the loch-side that he had eyed the day before.

Felicity made herself a cup of tea then set up her laptop computer and logged on to the Internet. Her first search was using google to find out details of the name of the casino and its address. With that information she accessed the web-site for Companies House - the body that all UK companies had to register with.

The web-site had a search facility built into it and it was a relatively simple matter for Flick to enter the name of the casino and call up details of its incorporation. The information provided was pretty scant however, simply the name of the company, its registered address and the date of incorporation.

The web-site advised that more details could be obtained but only by paying a fee. Flick dug out her credit card and entered details so she could access the premium service and that enabled her to find out that the sole owners of the casino were the Church of Cyberscience.

"Who or what in the name of hell is the Church of Cyberscience?" she pondered out loud.

Returning to google, Flick entered 'Church of Cyberscience' and hit the enter button. There were 930 'hits' and she began to work her way through them but it quickly became clear that none of them was a match and none of them gave her any clue about an organisation called the Church of Cyberscience. All Flick knew was that this was an organisation connected to the Glasgow criminal gangs and which now owned a Glasgow casino.

Taking a chance, she picked up her mobile phone and keyed in DI MacIntosh's number - perhaps the detective had some knowledge about the Church of Cyberscience? She was surprised when her call reached Drew rather than his answering service.

"Hi, Drew?" she queried.

"Yes. Who is this?" MacIntosh asked.

"It's Flick, you know, Felicity. I'm Mark's girlfriend, we met at the Burrell Museum."

"Of course, I'm sorry for not recognising the voice. How are things with you and Mark? No trouble I hope?" Drew asked.

"No, we're both fine. I was hoping you could help me out though."

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I've been trying to dig up something on the Hamiltons. So far I've managed to find out who the registered owners of the casino are but that's where I'm stuck. According to Companies House the casino was bought by an organisation called the Church of Cyberscience. I've never heard of that and I can't find anything about it on the Internet. I was wondering if you've heard of it?"

"The Church of Cyberscience? No. I'm sure I've never heard of it. It's the kind of name that would stick in your mind isn't it? It sounds a wee bit unusual, you know - a church owning a casino? They don't normally go together," said Drew.

The pair passed a few more minutes chatting before Flick disconnected the call, none the wiser. She realised that she had reached a dead-end and decided to change tack completely by running a google search using the name 'Kenny MacGovern' and 'Scottish teacher'.

This search was more fruitful and she was soon reading a number of articles about the teacher. He seemed to be very well regarded in education circles and had risen to the post of head teacher while still young. Flick found that he had been involved in a number of national initiatives to improve Scottish education and had also represented Scotland at some prestigious events internationally.

One site she found was particularly interesting to Felicity. She stumbled over a web-site called 'Ratemyteacher' where pupils basically had the opportunity to post messages giving an assessment of their teacher. The site allowed them to 'name and shame' and even allowed them to enter a numerical rating for the teacher's performance.

Searching the site using Kenny MacGovern's name let Flick see that he had the highest rating of all of the teachers in Scotland. The number of posts against his name was also incredibly high compared to other teachers and as Felicity browsed through some of them she saw that they were all really positive and complimentary. None of MacGovern's pupils seemed to have a bad word to say about him. Randomly selecting a few other teacher's names, she found that this was highly unusual. Each teacher seemed to have at least one or two pupils who hadn't enjoyed their time in class and some of the messages posted were quite poisonous. Somehow Kenny MacGovern had avoided that.

"Either he really is the best teacher since Socrates or there's more to Mr MacGovern than meets the eye," Flick thought to herself.

Mark's return interrupted her musing and she was startled to see that she had been in front of her computer for nearly four hours without a break. That realisation brought with it another, her back was aching from having been hunched over the screen for so long. She stood and stretched, trying to ease the stiffness that was there.

Mark held up three good-sized Cod with a grin of triumph.

"See the hunter return with his spoils!" he said with a laugh. "Once again I demonstrate my prowess - the hunter will be able to feed his family."

Flick laughed at his cave-man antics and took the fish from him.

"Okay mighty hunter, let the little woman clean these and see if she can make a decent meal out of them. I didn't realise just how hungry I am."

"Find anything interesting?" Mark asked as Flick passed him on the way to the kitchen.

"Lots about Kenny MacGovern," she replied over her shoulder. "I also found out that the casino is actually owned by something called the Church of Cyberscience."

"What the hell is the Church of Cyberscience?" Mark asked.

Flick's answer carried from the kitchen.

"No idea. I couldn't find anything on it at all other than its name in the register at Companies House. I even called DI MacIntosh but he's never heard of it either."

"Maybe it's time I called in a few favours," said Mark. "I didn't get my reputation for being an ace investigative journalist without having a network of contacts. It's possible I might know somebody who can help us here."

Flick's head appeared round the kitchen door.

"In what way?" she asked.

"First rule in an investigation - always follow the money! The purchase of the casino obviously involved a transfer of funds. I just need to find out where this Church of Cyberscience keeps its money and maybe we can find out a little bit more about its activities," Mark replied.

"And just how are you going to do that? I mean, banks don't just give out details about their customers to anybody you know."

"I told you, I've got contacts," Mark responded with a knowing smile.

Mark dug out his mobile phone and scrolled through the contacts he had stored away. He highlighted one and pressed the send key on the phone. Flick was left hearing only his side of the conversation.

"Mike? Is that you? Hi, it's Mark MacGhee."

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just trying to earn a buck."

"Yeah, I'm working on something at the moment actually. That's why I called, I'm looking for a wee favour."

"Mhmm, the usual rates apply. Look, there was a casino purchased in Glasgow recently. The buyers appear to be an outfit calling itself the Church of Cyberscience. Do you think you can find out which bank the funds transfer came from?"

"How long do you think that will take?"

"Okay, you've got my number. Ring me as soon as you get it."

"Who was that?" asked Flick.

"Mike Marchmont, one of my sources - for a fee of course. He's a financial analyst with one of the big investment banks. If anyone can find out where the funds to buy the casino came from, he's the man. He thinks it might take him a day or two," Mark replied.