Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2009 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

3 - Sunday

David looked in the bathroom mirror as he rubbed his chin. A good shave could only be had with a proper wet razor, and he had been especially careful this morning. He wanted to look his best for Elaine, and she already knew that he was the sort of man who would take care with his appearance, even if a woman wasn't involved. He checked his side-burns before giving his face another wipe with the towel, and then pulled a fresh shirt on.

He was an old hand at this. Even though his original trip had been intended as just an overnight stop, he had packed extra in his travelling bag. He had been rung up too many times before, while away from home, with changes of plan to be caught out in that way any more.

How am I going to deal with this, he thought. His brain never considered that there was any other option. Is she an old maid, or has she had partners before? Said she had never married, but that doesn't mean she hasn't lived with someone. Is she set in her ways, or can she cope with handling an old chap like me? Come to that, am I going to be able to cope with her? I had thirty-five years with Ruby, and that's all I know. Elaine is, well, different. She's definitely not like Ruby, yet there's so much about her that just feels like we've been together for a long time. It would be nice not to be lonely for the rest of my life.

"Good morning, David. Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning. Yes, I did, thank you. I seem to be adapting to the quiet around here."

She smiled at him. "That's good. With the things we bought yesterday, I can offer you a Full English to set you up for your trip home, if you like. Unless you'd like a lighter option?"

He shook his head. "I think I'll accept just this once, thank you. My doctor tells me off for eating too much saturated fat, but once in a while is probably okay. Getting a good breakfast inside of me will set me up for the drive, specially as it's still so cold."

"So, bacon, eggs, beans, tomato, mushrooms. I can't do hash browns, but you can have some fried bread if you like."

"Sounds good. I haven't eaten fried bread since I was in the uniform branch, getting meals in the station canteen. That was long before 'they' decided that kind of meal was bad for you."

They both ate at the big kitchen table, talking about almost anything except the thing they both wanted to mention. Eventually, with the plates cleared away and just mugs of coffee in front of them, David spoke.

"I hope you won't think me forward, Elaine, but I would like very much to come and visit you again."

She arched an eyebrow. "Further enquiries?"

He made a dismissive motion with a finger. "No, that won't be necessary. That case will be closed next week. My interest is... purely personal."

"I would like that," she said simply. "We have each other's phone numbers and email addresses, you can contact me whenever you wish. This time of year, I'm usually in the house, so I should be near the phone."

"You do understand what I'm saying?" he persisted.

"Yes. I spent part of last night doing nothing but think about the wonderful time we had yesterday." She looked directly at him. "I'd like to have some more wonderful times, if I may. But, we both have other calls on our lives, and we know relatively little about one another, so we shouldn't rush."

"I agree. We're both mature adults, we can afford to take our time. But I would like us to be at least friends, even if it doesn't develop into anything more."

"I am honoured to add you to my select list of friends, David. I did that yesterday."

Despite the encouraging signs, David detected a hint of reserve in Elaine, although he decided that most of that was just nervousness. Heck, he was feeling light-headed himself. He decided to change the subject to try and relax them both.

"I see the fog has gone," he said.

She turned briefly in the direction of the outer door, which led to the conservatory. "Yes. The radio said a change was coming. It does mean that the roads will be even more icy, though. Would you like to come and have a look at the back of the cottage before you go? We can go into the conservatory."

The conservatory was warm, although not as warm as the rest of the cottage, due to the fact that it was all glass. The sky outside was a very pale blue, with not a cloud to be seen. The sun was low and shone very brightly, although at that time of year there would be virtually no heat to warm the ground. There was a rough table and four wicker chairs. A number of pots filled with large plants stood on the floor at various points. In a cleared area at one end of the conservatory stood an artist's easel, currently empty.

"Sometimes I bring paintings out here to finish," she said. "There have been occasions when I've started one down at the beach and then had to abandon because of approaching bad weather."

Beyond the glass of the conservatory was a rectangle of ground in which Elaine had planted vegetables. David guessed that she could probably feed herself entirely from her own land, judging by the amounts he could see. Beyond that again was a field, bordered by a low thorn hedge. In the field, looking thoroughly miserable even in the weak sunshine, stood small groups of sheep.

"This is quite a good space," he said. "I guess you can get inspiration for your work even from here."

They talked a little while about her painting, and then David decided that he had better be thinking about getting on the road. He sensed that Elaine had more to say, but he could understand her uncertainty. After all, this was a situation neither of them had remotely imagined happening, and it was disconcerting for both of them. As he followed her back into the kitchen he remembered something that had made him chuckle earlier as he was getting dressed.

"It's funny," he said. "I was thinking this morning, that you have some similarities with the person I'm chasing. You're both the same age, both from the East Midlands, you both had inheritances, you both bought Haystack Cottage, you both have an older brother, you both have two sisters, one older and one younger. If I wasn't so certain that you were obviously a mature woman, I would have almost thought you were the one I was after."

He had intended it as a throw-away remark, just to show that coincidences did happen, but the effect on Elaine was not what he expected. She moved away from him, to stand at the other end of the kitchen, and the look on her face was both tense and determined.

"David, before you go, there is a story that I have to tell you. I shall tell you the whole of it, and when I am finished I shall answer any questions you may have."

To say that David was surprised would be an understatement. Her next words were even more of a surprise.

"Once upon a time, there was a dysfunctional family who lived in the East Midlands. Oh, probably no more or less dysfunctional than any other family, but never mind. The father, let's call him Geoffrey, ran a successful building business. He had a wife, Annette, and four children, two sons and two daughters."

David started. Elaine knew about the case! Perhaps she had talked to Joseph when she had bought the cottage from him. Elaine now had his full attention as she continued talking.

"Robert was the eldest child. He was over six foot and heavily-built, just like his father. Elizabeth was the next child, and she too was well-built, but in a feminine way. She excelled at sports, and played both hockey and women's rugby for her school and after she left school. Joseph was the next child and he had a more delicate build, much like his mother's. I'll come back to him. The youngest was Jennifer, and she was petite. She was so small and agile that she did gymnastics and dance. It used to be a standing joke that each of the children was smaller than the previous one had been, and that if the mother had had a fifth child he or she would have been either a dwarf or an elf."

Too much information! What was going on? Perhaps Elaine had been Joseph's boyfriend or partner, and perhaps she had bought the cottage off Joseph when he went to Ireland. She looked him in the eye.

"But back to Joseph, since it's Joseph you want to hear about." She sighed abruptly. "Joseph wasn't like his older brother Robert. In fact, Joseph wasn't like most boys. Joseph was different. He had realised his difference from an early age. Bracketed by sisters, he wanted to be like them. He wanted to be a girl, to grow up into a woman.

"Unfortunately, back then, nobody understood these things they way they are understood these days. Certainly his father didn't. His father ruled his family very firmly, and at the first signs of Joseph wanting to do something different he corrected him firmly. Joseph learned very quickly to keep his opinions and aspirations to himself, or suffer the consequences."

This was a side of the Stricklands he had never heard about. Of all the outlandish theories he had come up with to explain the case, something like this had not been considered at all. Hardly surprising, really, but he had got no hint about this from interviews with the other Strickland children. Still, it provided a possible motive for Geoffrey's death.

"Nevertheless," Elaine continued, "Joseph couldn't stop, because that was what made him what he was. He experimented with his older sister's clothing and other belongings, and when he was big enough, his mother's things also. As far as he was aware, nobody ever found him out.

"At school, things became awkward. Joseph did all right academically, but showed no interest in the usual sports, to the fury of his rugby-loving father. Despite all attempts by his father, he managed to avoid having much to do with the local village rugby team, and in the end his father stopped trying. Joseph's strengths were rather in English, Dramatics, History and, yes, Art."

With another shock David suddenly realised who was standing in front of him, and he found it difficult to reconcile this gentle middle-aged woman with the person he had been trying to find. She had obviously prepared and rehearsed this account just for him, so despite the distress her story was visibly causing her, he let her continue with a nod.

"Like his brother and his sisters, Joseph left home at the earliest opportunity to go to college. Their father never understood just how his treatment of them had made them want to leave home as soon as possible. As soon as Joseph settled into college, he began to find out more about himself, and soon wanted to live his, or rather her, life the way that she wanted to live it. It proved impossible. Life in halls meant no privacy, and although he did occasionally dress up he was nervous in case he was taken for a gay man. No-one really understood trans-sexuals back then, and homosexuals were having a hard time out in the open.

"Joseph left college, and found a job with a management firm near the college as a systems trainer, instructing businesses how to use new computer systems efficiently. He found a flat near his firm and except when actually at work, began experimenting with living his life as a woman, preparing for the time when he might consider surgery. It was during this time that his mother died.

"His mother's death briefly reunited the family. The younger daughter Jennifer returned home to live, and Robert began taking an interest in the family business with a view to taking it over when his father retired. Joseph had been going home every month or so to see his mother, but after her death he went less often, especially as his father deteriorated. He kept in contact with Jennifer, though, to make sure that she was safe and well.

"The day of his d-death -" Elaine paused and briefly closed her eyes. David noted that she did not say 'murder', but kept quiet. Already his whole preconception of the case was changing, and he was prepared to hear it all.

"The day of Geoffrey Strickland's death," Elaine repeated, "Joseph had been at a client's site a few miles from the family house. He had avoided going near it when he could by using the new bypass round the village. He was driving a courtesy car, since his own was being serviced that day. It was a Friday, the last day of his training stint, and he had finished early at the client firm. On the way back, it occurred to him that he could pop back into the family home and pick up some things which had been left there from the time of his mother's death. His father had said that he was thinking of redecorating, and there were items in his old room his father ought not to see there. So that's what he did.

"When he got to the house there were no cars outside, so he parked and went in, using the house key he still kept. He went straight up to his bedroom and collected the hidden items, putting them into a white plastic laundry bag. He was halfway down the stairs when his father saw him, bag in hand. His father was drunk, but still capable of thinking. He went into a rambling rant about ungrateful children, I shan't bore you with the details. Then he saw the bag, and more to the point, because the bag was translucent he spotted the brightly coloured items inside. He grabbed the bag, it tore, and out spilled some of his dead wife's clothes."

"He went berserk, attacking Joseph. Joseph tried to defend himself, naturally, but his father was nearly twice his size, and you know how much strength someone can get when they are violent and drunk. The living room got smashed up. Joseph was chased into the kitchen, and chairs were overturned, things were swept off surfaces, it was mayhem. Joseph tripped on one of the fallen chairs and fell over. The block of kitchen knives had fallen over, his father picked up one of the knives and stumbled towards Joseph. Joseph put up his arm to protect himself as his father fell over a chair, and the knife nicked Joseph's arm."

Elaine paused, and asked David a question. "That's your new forensic evidence, isn't it? It was Joseph's blood on the knife, not Geoffrey's. That's why you're trying to find him." He nodded, unable to say anything. She continued, the pain of the memory plain on her face.

"Unfortunately, as Joseph's father fell over, he hit his head on the edge of the work surface. Joseph went to him and tried to help him, but there was no time. He - died almost immediately. Joseph panicked, being woman inside rather than man. He picked up his torn bundle and left the house in a hurry, stuffing the contents into the car and driving back the way he had arrived.

"As he got back to the bypass he began to cool down, and he realised he needed an alibi. It was too late to go back to the house and call the police, and he wasn't sure that the police would believe his story if he did. Added to that, the cross-dressing would inevitably come out and that wouldn't be good for anybody. So he turned onto the bypass and pulled into the first lay-by he came to.

"Immediately, he called the breakdown service that was contracted for the courtesy car. Once he had done that, he popped the bonnet, opened the fuse box and swapped several of the fuses about. Then he got back in and turned the key in the ignition. Naturally some of the fuses blew. He got out and put the fuses back in their original slots, then smeared blood from his cut arm on the edge of the bonnet. When the breakdown truck arrived, he said that the unfamiliar bonnet had dropped on his arm when he had tried to open it. The breakdown guy gave him a plaster for the cut, couldn't find out what was wrong with the car, and towed him back to the garage."

David nodded when told this. The original investigating team, of which he had been a part, had noted the call time for the breakdown service and concluded that Joseph had been nowhere near the house when his father had died. An intruder had always been the major theory that the police had had for the case.

"Of course, later on, Jennifer came home and found the body, and you were called in. By the time the police had contacted Joseph, he had collected his own car and gone back to his flat, taking the clothing with him. Why his mother's clothing? Well, it was like Goldilocks. Elizabeth was much bigger than Joseph, Jennifer was much smaller. He was the same size as his mother, clothing-wise, although a little taller. After his mother's funeral, his father had bagged up a lot of her clothes to be sent to a charity shop. Joseph noticed these bundles and went through them, taking a few things that would come in useful. After all, his mother wouldn't be needing them any more, and they would serve as a reminder of her memory.

"And that was that. The police were investigating a crime that hadn't happened, with a murderer that didn't exist, and none of the children was suspected. Do you want to hear the rest, Detective Chief Inspector? This is Joseph's story, you're entitled to hear it all."

David was stunned by the confession, which was the last thing he had expected to hear before leaving. He couldn't figure out his feelings at all. Relief that the case had been solved, certainly, but dismay that the potential relationship between himself and Elaine had been... wait a minute.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, puzzled. "If you had said nothing and just waved good-bye, I'd have been none the wiser. Why now, Elaine?"

She had backed against a work surface, her hands grasping the edge, her knuckles white with tension. He could guess how much it must have cost her to speak out. He was leaning against the big kitchen table himself, and he suspected that his knuckles were just as white as hers. As she spoke, the tears streamed from her eyes.

"It had to be you, didn't it? Anyone else and it probably wouldn't have mattered. But it was you. You who I had a wonderful day with yesterday, you who woke things inside of me I never knew were there. I so much wanted to have more wonderful days with you, but I couldn't do that and live a lie. I respect you too much for that. If we are to see one another any more, there can be no secrets between us, and I didn't dare leave it any longer before telling you in case I got snared more deeply."

David suddenly realised the terrifying problem she faced. She had fallen for the one person who could cost her, if not her liberty in the end, then at least a year of unwelcome legal process in the full glare of publicity. But she was not prepared to let even that ordeal get in the way of truth and honesty, she wanted it to be right with him from the start. He felt his heart break as he realised how much it had already cost her. He walked across the kitchen and enfolded her gently in his arms.

"There, there. Now I've found you, I'm not about to let you get away from me."

It was probably the worst way he could have phrased himself. At first Elaine had clutched him like a drowning woman but his words slackened her grip and her shoulders slumped. I've misjudged him! He doesn't care for me at all! I've given myself away, all to no purpose! Her tears were of desolation, of a dream turned into nightmare. David felt her slump in his arms, but didn't understand how he had affected her so badly. Suddenly realising that he'd done something wrong, he spoke again, softly.

"Hush, hush. I told you before, the trail is cold, the case closed. I'm not about to give you up to anybody. I want you for myself."

A huge wave of emotion flooded through her as she understood what he had said. I wasn't wrong after all. Now her tears flowed freely, tears of relief mixed with tears of joy. She clutched him firmly again, revelling in the comfort and protection he offered. He bent his head and spoke softly in her ear.

"I didn't realise you'd fallen as hard as I had. I was quite prepared to take my time, but I see I don't need to."

That started her off again, and he discovered that his eyes were distinctly damp as well. He held her gently, braced against the work surface, until her tears ceased and she composed herself. Then he placed one finger under her chin, lifted her head and kissed her gently on the forehead. She lifted her damp eyes, unable still to believe what had just happened, until she looked at his face and saw that it was true. Then she lifted her face to his, and they kissed.

After a while, he thought it would be wise to move.

"Come and sit down, my dear," he said, leading her to the table and pulling out a chair for her. He looked around for tissues, finding none, and settled for kitchen paper instead, tearing sheets from the roll and giving to her to dab her face with. The front of his shirt was wet through and he pulled another couple of sheets off to try and blot his chest dry, brushing away the wetness from his own eyes as he did so. He pulled out another chair and sat, closely facing her.

"I don't think I've ever been more amazed in my entire professional career," he said softly. "I could never in my wildest dreams have worked out what really happened. I meant what I said, before. What you have told me today I shall never pass on to anyone else, unless you tell me to do so yourself. If what you have told me is the truth, and I have no doubt at all that it is, then it seems you are not to blame for what happened to your father."

She dabbed her face with the paper, her eyes fixed on his the whole time. Her emotions had swung from one extreme to the other and back again over a few short minutes, and it had knocked the energy out of her. She was glad that he was here, glad that someone who understood would stand beside her when she needed support.

"I think, before we say any more," he broke in, "that we'd better have something to drink, even though it's not been that long since we finished breakfast."

David stood and immediately went and filled the kettle and switched it on. Despite the fact that he had never originally envisaged returning to her kitchen ever again, he had remembered where everything was kept and soon had cups, saucers and teapot ready on the table, while Elaine watched him with wonder. He poured the tea and insisted on Elaine taking a sip before sitting and facing her again.

His brow furrowed. "I'm still slightly puzzled," he said. "When we realised that the blood on the knife was yours, we did all the usual checks in case Joseph Strickland had changed his name somewhere along the way, it's standard procedure. I don't recall anything coming up, so are you living here under an assumed name, or is there something about the gender business that happens differently to a normal change of name?"

She gave him a wan smile. "I told you there was more to tell, although it doesn't concern the death of -" she made a visible pause before she could finish her sentence, "- my father. Shall I -"

David waved a hand. "By all means. Though if you think it would be too much, then you can leave it for another day. After all, we've all the time in the world now."

Her eyes started streaming again, and he just wanted to get up and hold her close, to look after her. He understood, though, that it was important for her to purge herself of the past, to let someone share her terrible secrets before she could progress, so he stayed in his chair and just reached out a hand. She grasped it with one of hers while she mopped her face with the other.

"Okay then," she resumed eventually. "There were two people at the place I worked who didn't like me, and who found out that I'd been dressing as a woman. They started a number of nasty rumours about me, using words like queer, pervert, paedophile. None of which was anywhere near true. I was forced to leave the job and move to another town, but the rumours followed me, and I had to move again and again."

David nodded. "We wondered at the moving around, and that aroused our suspicions when the case was re-opened."

She shook her head. "It was purely because of these poisonous people, who just wouldn't let it drop. Unfortunately, since my father's death we'd all become quarter shareholders in the firm, so that anyone could find out where I lived quite easily by applying to Companies' House. After a year of this, I wanted to sell my share of the firm to the others, but they couldn't help. If anything, they wanted to sell as well, since although the firm was doing quite well none of us were that interested in the business. By chance another firm nearby suggested a merger, so we gratefully sold it to them for a reasonable price and divided the proceeds four ways.

"Around that time, I had discovered that people would pay money for my paintings, so I took a risk and bought this house. Rather Joseph did. The couple who had built it had overspent rather badly, and couldn't stay living in it. No-one wanted it because it was too experimental for the time, so I ended up with it at a reduced price. By that time, the isolation and the access to the sea seemed to be just what I needed. However, by some means I was found again and I had to find a way to make them think I'd moved elsewhere.

"The isolation meant that I could practice being a woman without any distractions, but I was careful to keep Joseph around as well. I'd spent most of my share of the money on the cottage, so I was living very frugally for a while. That's why I have such a good kitchen garden, I could never have afforded to buy vegetables a lot of the time, even out here. Fortunately, the O'Malley inheritance turned up just when I thought I'd backed myself into a corner."

"Oh, yes, the O'Malley inheritance," David said. "That was a fair pile of money, wasn't it?"

"Yes, even divided six ways, us four and two cousins. And none of us had the slightest inkling that it was there at all. Well, with all that money I worked out a way to cover my tracks and stay where I was, and that was for Joseph Strickland to sell the cottage to Elaine Williams, and move to Ireland."

"You mean you sold the cottage to yourself?"

"In essence, yes. But there was a twist that I, that Joseph, could do which I discovered when I went to Ireland to talk to the solicitors about the bequest. Because my mother was an Irish citizen, I was eligible for an Irish passport. So I applied for and was issued one - in the name of Joseph O'Malley."

"Oh! I see. That was clever. So how did you handle that?"

"It required a bit of thought, but I'd had a lot of time to think about it. I rented a room in Manchester for a short period. Joseph Strickland went to Ireland by plane from Birmingham to Dublin to see his solicitor, and to drop hints that he was thinking of staying in Ireland. Joseph O'Malley crosses the border and catches a plane from Belfast to Manchester. He goes to his rented room and Elaine Williams emerges. She travels down here to talk to the estate agents and conclude the sale, complaining all the time about how long Joseph Strickland is taking answering the letters. The same thing in reverse when Joseph Strickland is needed for any purpose. Once the sale is concluded and the money shuffled around from account to account, Joseph Strickland vanishes from sight.

"So, it's Joseph O'Malley who does the Real Life Test, Joseph O'Malley who takes a holiday to Thailand for gender reassignment surgery, and Joseph O'Malley who legally changes his name to Elaine Williams, and comes to live here permanently." She sighed. "And lives here quietly and happily until a charming man knocks on her door to talk about things she long thought buried."

David smiled. "I'm sorry, I must have caused you a great shock."

"Yes and no. I thought that my careful disguising of my trail would be enough, and it seems that it would have. The only problem was -"

"I got stuck here and we ended up dancing together," he finished for her. "If you're willing, I want to do a lot more dancing with you."

It was after lunch when David finally departed. He had considered staying another night and calling in sick in the morning, but decided that he needed to present a normal face to the world, get back to routine. However, he had made firm promises to call Elaine when he got home, and he had decided that he would call her every night from then on. He also decided to see if there were any way his retirement could be speeded up, because he couldn't wait to get back to the house once known as 'Haystack Cottage' and the one person who would brighten the rest of his life.