Jaye Michael

PART THREE: REVOLUTION

Chapter Twenty Three: Conjointments

I can’t get no satisfaction.
I can’t get no girl reaction.
– Michael Philip “Mick” Jagger
and Keith Richards

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 8:45 A.M., AN ISOLATED FARM, LOCATION DELETED CONSISTENT WITH PROVISIONS OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT

There were six people at the farmhouse’s dining room table, a thin man with a crew cut wearing a black suit, an exceptionally beautiful woman with short brunette hair similarly attired in a black skirt suit, and Captain Schultz were on one side while Eunice L., Lyle E., and Dr. Harriman were on the other side.

“Thank you all for coming,” Captain Schultz said, opening the discussion. “Eunice. Lyle. At this time, I’d like to introduce you to your partners until this situation is resolved. Kevin McCord is a graduate of John Jay College with a B.S. in Criminal Science and a Masters in Forensic Psychology. He’s been an agent with the F.B.I. for the last three years. He’ll be teamed with you Ms. Branca.” Kevin’s head tipped towards Eunice L.

“Deborah Caughlin also has a B.S. from John Jay College in Criminal Science along with a Ph.D. in Sociology from UCLA. She’s been with the C.I.A. for two years.” Deborah regarded Lyle E. briefly before returning her attention to Captain Schultz.

“Why are we partnering boy girl?” Eunice L. asked as she ran her hand through her hair and shook her head to move it off her face.

“We felt that mixed couples would be more able to blend in without being noticed. Why do you ask Ms. Branca?”

“Well, I just think it would be more appropriate to team me with Ms. Caughlin and Lyle E. with Mr. McCord.”

“Would you explain your reasoning?” Captain Schultz seemed really interested in understanding why.

“Well, it’s kind of personal,” Eunice L. blushed.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Captain?” Dr. Harriman cleared his throat.

“Yes Doctor?”

“Please remember that the current apparent gender alignments are actually fallacious. I too suggest realignment consistent with Eunice L.’s recommendation, if for no other reason than it may assist them to feel more comfortable with each other.”

“Dr. Harriman, I’m not completely sure what you just said, but I believe the gist of it was that you concur with Ms. Branca’s suggestion regarding partners.” He looked to the others present for their assent. While no one outright agreed, there were no negations so he continued. “Fair enough we’ll swap the partners. Then to continue, Mr. McCord, would you please summarize our findings to date?”

“Yes, sir.” He put his briefcase on the table and pulled out a folder.

“Ms. Caughlin and I examined the lab and Dr. Sternlicht’s house with a full forensic team. From the lab, it appears that our subject has taken samples of at least ten different people’s DNA. His samples are evenly split between the sexes. He only chose to obtain samples from young healthy individuals with clean medical histories and above average intelligence. I have photographs and comprehensive biographies here on each individual whose sample is missing.” He stopped to pull out a series of folders and spread them out. Each had a series of labeled plastic packets with photo-graphs and attached papers.

Lyle E. was examining the photos and stopped at two very familiar ones. “He has our DNA too?”

“Affirmative.”

“We believe he has used at least one of these samples to change his appearance.”

“Which one?” Eunice L. was smiling endearingly but she must have been having problems with her hair as she seemed to keep brushing it out of her face. The funny thing was there did not seem to be a single hair out of place to brush back.

“That, Ms. Branca, is the question of the day,” Mr. McCord glumly responded, “or at least one of them.”

“Call me Eunice.” She smiled and brushed at some hair yet again.

“Yes ma’am.” Mr. McCord seemed a bit unsure of how to proceed. “Ah...”

“At Dr. Sternlicht’s home,” Ms. Caughlin cut in and continued for him, “we found that the refrigerator had been cleaned out and selected toiletries were missing. Most specifically, things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, talcum powder and mouthwash were taken while an electric razor, aftershave, shampoo and deodorant were left behind. While it is possible that someone kidnapped Dr. Sternlicht despite the absence of any indications of a struggle or even a hasty departure, it is highly unlikely that kidnappers would make such selective and unusual choices of toiletries to bring with them even if they were planning to make it look like he had fled on his own. Plus, at this time we have no suspects who would want to kidnap him.”

“You’re thinking he changed himself in to a woman, aren’t you?” It was a statement more than a question from Dr. Harriman.

“Yes sir, we do.” Mr. McCord was talking again.

“Then let’s set aside the five men for now,” Captain Schultz suggested, “although I’d like you to memorize the identifying information for each of them in case our assumptions are incorrect.” Captain Schultz glanced about him for consensus and then nodded. Mr. McCord gathered the packets for the men and returned them to his briefcase before continuing.

“By checking the records of the local taxicab companies we were able to determine that a man matching Dr. Sternlicht’s description was taken from a convenience store several blocks from his house to his bank and then to the Paramus Park Mall. From there it appears he went to the New Jersey rail station. At that point, we lost his trail, but we suspect he went south to Hoboken and then took the PATH train under the Hudson to Manhattan. We have teams checking the various hotels and motels as we speak and, of course, the rail, plane, car rental and bus terminals are under observation.” He stopped and Ms. Caughlin proceeded to report.

“Credit card records were not informative, however, after discussions with several sales clerks it appears that our subject paid cash for some basic female toiletries, magazines and clothes.” She referred to her notes for a moment. “A black pantsuit, black patent leather purse and flats, a flex-band watch, a chain link bracelet, and a blonde wig, among other things. We obtained pictures of each item and CIA Special Projects, with advice from Dr. Harriman, have produced renderings of what we think Dr. Sternlicht would look like wearing these clothes in each possible body, allowing for difference between his bone structure and those of the sampled.” Mr. McCord was again laying out pictures on the table. The clothes did not appear to fit well in two of the renderings.

“I think we can rule out these two right off the bat.” Lyle E. pointed at an overweight man and a slightly pudgy woman. “Dr. Sternlicht was fastidiously neat. He would never allow himself to appear in public looking less than perfect.”

“That’s true.” Eunice L. chimed in. “He would yell at me for being a slob if I spilled something on my lab coat and he always complained if I wore jeans instead of slacks.” Ms. Caughlin smiled and Eunice paused for a moment, apparently flustered. “I mean it was a lab not an office, or a party, or somewhere it would make a difference.” She looked to Lyle E. for support.

“That’s true,” Lyle E. chimed in and Eunice L. seemed relieved. “If I wore anything but the most conservative clothes he would snarl about me presenting the ‘wrong image’ for a secretary.”

Mr. McCord was again digging in his briefcase and then began to lecture. “That’s consistent with this profile you helped us create. It describes Dr. Sternlicht as being an extremely intelligent and widely read but arrogant man, someone who has little patience for the faults of others and who enjoys showing others he is better than them. He seems to enjoy showing his erudition, preferring multisyllabic words wherever possible. While we are certain he understands the risk of taunting and toying with his pursuers it is highly unlikely that he could resist. Whatever he does will not be blatant. We are not expecting any messages or riddles, but there should be subtle cues.

“The clothing choices are an example, conservative and stylish. Consistent with your earlier comments,” Ms. Caughlin nodded an acknowledgement to Lyle first and than Eunice, “it seems likely that he would not dress down despite perceiving it as a slight additional risk to him. We don’t think he’s left the area–besides, if he has our chances of finding him quickly approach zero–and, fastidious as he is, we expect he will be at one of the city’s better hotels or motels. Two teams are working on that as we speak but we’d like you two out there with us. With your personal knowledge of Dr. Sternlicht, you might notice something we might miss.”

“Then let’s go,” Lyle E. and Eunice L. spoke in unison, but Eunice L. added a “Kay?” and then started giggling, with Lyle E. joining her seconds later. The others looked from one to the other with puzzled expressions.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 10:40 A.M., SUITE 1443, QUEEN’S CASINO AND HOTEL, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

Joanie was bored. Rita was huddled in bed shivering from her fever and John wouldn’t come out, even to talk. The Texan– apparently his name was John too, John Smith if you could believe that–was out at some business meeting and wouldn’t be back for hours. And the guard was too professional to do anything but guard. He wouldn’t let her out. He wouldn’t let anyone else. And he wouldn’t even talk to her. Every time she tried, he would just push her back inside and close the suite’s entrance door. If he wasn’t so huge, Joanie John might have considered having John try to take him out, but he was at least six and a half feet tall with biceps as thick as tree trunks. Frustrated, she plopped down on the couch pouting and grabbed the television controller. Maybe the all pornography channel would give her some ideas. As she watched, she kept thinking about those biceps.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 12:00 NOON, LE BRASSERIE RESTAURANT, 76TH STREET AND 7TH AVENUE

“I’d like a table.”

“Certainly. Is Madam expecting company?”

“No.”

“Very well. Please wait here and I’ll have a table prepared.”

“No. I’ll wait at the bar.”

“Madam would probably be more comfortable waiting here. It will only be a few moments.” The maitre d’ stood between Dr. Sternlicht and the lounge waiting for her to sit.

“In case you had failed to notice, it is difficult to prepare a table when one is immobile.”

“Yes Madam. If Madam will please be seated here in the waiting area I will be happy to have a table prepared.”

“Then move so I can sit in the lounge.”

“Madam, we prefer to have our customers wait in the waiting area, which explains the apropos name we use to describe it.” He remained immobile. “If Madam wishes, there is an excellent little bistro three blocks away without a waiting area.”

“You mean the Parisian? That is a tourist trap, nothing more.”

“If that is Madam’s opinion.” He still did not move. Dr. Sternlicht glared but bit back another retort and turned to storm over to the waiting area.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1:30 P.M., LE BRASSERIE RESTAURANT, 76TH STREET AND 7TH AVENUE

“Was the meal satisfactory Madam?”

“Yes. Now where is your pay telephone?”

“Next to the rest rooms, Madam.”

“Thank you. Now I can call my attorney and have him file charges against you and this establishment for harassment.”

“If Madam wishes, but it should be noted that there are no laws against rudeness madam or Le Brasserie might file counter charges.” He sniffed haughtily and walked away.

Dr. Sternlicht went to the pay telephone. She was almost surprised to see that it worked. Dialing a number, she waited and then left a message on the answering machine, not expecting a human to answer. “Send your representative to meet Dr. Sternlicht at the Old Home Restaurant at 7:00 P.M. sharp on Wednesday, October 25. Bring $50,000 in small bills, hundreds or less, and the codes for an account in the Cayman Islands for the remainder. Your representative must be the same person Dr. Sternlicht originally met at the Old Home Restaurant on October 4th to discuss this.”

Leaving the restaurant, he hailed a cab. “Forty second and Seventh Avenue.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1:30 P.M., CRAZY JACK’S ELECTRONICS AND NOVELTIES STORE, 238 42ND STREET, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

“If you’re done evaluating the merchandise, that’ll be one thousand dollars.”

“You are certain these documents are legitimate?”

“Of course they’re not legitimate, but they’ll work. The driver’s license matches information currently on the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles database. The state of Rhode Island computerized all their birth and death information a couple of years ago and the birth certificate is a copy of a legitimate certificate from their files. The death record for this person seems to have accidentally gone to data heaven. As for the various college degrees, they’re still yours. To make them completely legal, you’ll have to contact each of them with name and sex change information. I’ve just sped up the process by putting a new name of these diplomas. So, how about some money now?”

“Certainly.” Several large bills changed hands; the documents were replaced in the manila folder they came from and Dr. Sternlicht, now Dr. Maxine Stern, turned to leave.

“Have a good day, and congratulations. It’s a great job.”

“Excuse me?” Dr. Stein asked in confusion.

“The sex change. It’s a great job. I never would have guessed.”

Maxine sneered, “Yes. It is, isn’t it?" Turning, she added an extra bit of wiggle in her walk as she left.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2:40 P.M., COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

“Yes, Lieutenant. We have her here on our Psychiatric Unit. She claims to be a man, a salesman named William Barrett from Grand Forks who sells...what was it...oh yeah, tractor parts. The delusions include a wife and two kids. They’re remarkably elaborate. The people she claims for her family even exist.”

“I assume you’ve ruled out the obvious like gender reassignment?”

“Certainly, this woman is biologically intact. She could give birth which is why we have her on Nordette …”

The Lieutenant looked confused.

“… birth control pills along with Haldol, an antipsychotic medication and Ativan, an antianxiety medication...to slow her down and keep her from hurting herself.”

“That sounds like her. May I speak to her please?”

“You can try, but she hasn’t been saying much to anyone since she started on her medications. Follow me.”

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 4:20 P.M., COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

“Yes, sir. We have what I believe is the last missing item. I will personally return with it on the next available flight.” Lieutenant Roegler hung up the pay telephone and returned to the psychiatric ward’s nursing station to insure that the release forms were signed.