Mark is not sure if he should be happy or sad. The truth comes but it don't sit well with facts. Still there is a plan for a happy life, But that life will truly have to change. For the better or worse you will have decide.

~o~O~o~

It had been 10 months now for Melody and I. We were still together and all seemed to be well or at least as far as I could tell.

Mike and I were recuperating from our wounds and I hadn’t worked a case in almost a month. It’s not like I was in any shape to be out working, but I sure had cabin fever now.

I was working a murder for hire case while Mike was working three other murders that all seemed to be connected. We kept bumping into each other as we worked our cases and it didn’t take us long to figure out we were both pulling at the end of the same chain.

We finally sat down and compared notes. Together with what we both knew it took us only two days to find our killer. He was a pro and Mike and I had no clue or we would have taken some men with us. Instead it was just him and I that knocked on the killer’s door.

A shot gun blast greeted us and I got a piece of buck shot in my shoulder and left hip. Mike was on the other side of the door and got the same just on the opposite side of his body. We both hit the deck before the second round went off and that one missed us completely.

The man inside the house bolted out the door, or what was left of it, so fast he didn’t see Mike and I on the ground. Mike put a round in his left shoulder and I got one in his right knee. He fell like a rock and Mike and I rushed him before he could get a chance to shoot at us again. After he was in handcuffs, Mike called for back up while I used my new cell phone to call us both an ambulance.

They took Mike to the hospital the department used downtown and then I asked them to take me to the clinic where Melody worked. There would be x-rays before anything was done and that would reveal the breast implants I still had. They had been emptied while I was in Mexico, but I still had them. That would start a lot of questions I didn’t want to answer. Melody would see them, but she already knew I had them. I had told her the whole ugly story a while back. Well, all but the part of Dr. Joyce being the doctor that gave them to me.

Melody had taken the revelation of my living 18 months as a woman pretty well. She understood the why part even less than I did. But our love was strong and she never reminded me of it or held it against me in any way. I figured there was a reason, but even after all this time I had no clue as to what it might be.

Melody took great pains getting the buck shot out of me that day and I had been to another plastic surgeon to get the scars taken care of. Now, save the occasional phantom pain, both Mike and I were in pretty good shape.

I was almost embarrassed when Melody pointed out on the x-rays that I had the bone structure of a woman in the hips. And true to what Ted’s mom had told me in Mexico, when I did finally start to get my weight back, some of it had gone to my breast and hips. I was a full B cup now. Thank goodness for baggy clothes, I reminded myself often.

Mike was the Chief of the detective squad now and drove a desk as much as he did his car. I took a really big case to get him out of the office and I didn’t blame him a bit.

After I had shot off my mouth in the bid to keep Melody out of jail, she and I both guessed the agency would starve me for work. That was not the case at all. They had kept me busy with one case after another, almost as soon as I finished one another one was there ready to go.

Even now the boss had called me almost every week to see if I was ready to get back to work. Almost all the cases, save the last one, had been pretty easy to do. For the most part it was divorce cases and the likes. I did get one that I thought was odd.

Isadora bought an old run down Casino. It was small and not in the greatest location as far as businesses went. I didn’t know who the owner was at the time. Still I helped design the security system and oversaw all the installing of the system. It struck me really odd when she moved her business there as it was what you might call the seedy side of town. In fact there wasn’t another business open and working within a mile of her in any direction.

I pointed this all out to David some time later. He told me she had her reasons and some of it was financial as the property was bought for about a third of what it would have cost elsewhere in the city. He never said it straight out, but I surmised that she was having money problems.

Money problems come in two forms, too much and not enough. Too much and you get the fed’s breathing down your neck wanting to know where it came from. Not enough, well, most everybody has been down that street at one time or another.

I still had that itch that told me Isadora was the main reason for the things they had done to me. If not her personally, then she knew the person or persons that had wanted me out of the way. I had precious little time to devote to that itch right now, but I knew sooner or later, if I stuck it out long enough, the truth would come out. It always does.

Melody had been doing the morning run with me for a while now. In turn I would don my tights and leotard and do the aerobics with her. I was strong enough now to do the full two miles and then the advanced aerobic workout we normally did. As we talked later that night, she told me I was plenty well healed enough to go back to work.

“That is if you’re not gun shy now,” she smiled.

“Depends on who is holding the gun,” I smiled back, as I playfully chased her around the kitchen table. “Are you challenging me?” I said, as I caught her and pinned her to the couch with a kiss.

“No,” she smiled, as she hugged me tight, “but I closed on the house yesterday and the movers are coming this weekend.”

“So?” I smiled as I brushed back her hair and looked deep into her blue eyes.

“There’s a lot of stuff around and far more than one woman would have, not to mention the different sizes.” She smiled and poked me in the ribs as if to tickle me.

“What? Now you’re afraid the movers will find out about me?” I chided her, as I took her by the waist and moved between her legs with a firm grip. And yes, we were naked. We had just gotten out of the shower.

“Hold on there big boy or your dinner will be burnt post roast tonight,” she grinned.

I let her up and we went up and got dressed. “I guess I should take all that stuff and put it back in storage,” I said, as I pulled my shirt over my head.

“Yes, you probably should, but don’t forget there is a storage building on the property. I can’t see any reason not to use it rather than pay for one.”

“It would save me fifty bucks a month,” I smiled.

“Oh, you’re not getting off that easy,” she turned and planted a kiss on my lips.

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, I think you should pay me the fifty bucks a month. After all it is my building.”

“Okay,” I grinned. “I see how it is now.” My voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Here all this time I thought you wanted my body.”

The phone rang and it was my boss. A big case had landed in his lap and he wanted me to come in, if I was up to it, tomorrow for a briefing on the case. I told him my doctor had given the all clear to return to work and I would be there.

Melody had dinner on the table by the time I got off the phone. I told her what the boss had said and that I was going in tomorrow.

“What about your things she asked?”

“I’ll get them packed away and in the storage before the movers get here this weekend,” I assured her.

“How are the night classes going?” I asked. She was back in college now part time. I didn’t know it before, but she was close to having her MD. I wanted her to get it, so I was helping with her tuition so she could.

Monday, when I arrived at the office, I got a shock to say the least. At the conference room table sat my boss, along with Isadora and three ATF agents. One of the agents looked even more stunned than me when I walked in the room and sat down.

“Have a seat. We were just ready to start,” David said too me without an introduction. They all know who you are. You can get all the names later,” David added.

We watched a slide show as the lead ATF agent narrated.

“What we have here is a multi-million dollar operation. This semi is loaded with cigarettes and leaves the plant in North Carolina. Assuming all goes well, it should arrive here, our warehouse in Nevada, fully loaded. You can see the truck here again at the Truck Stop in North Las Vegas and then it arrives right on time. Problem is, when we break the seal, the truck is empty.”

“We checked the numbers on the seal, as well as the numbers on the truck and trailer, and they all matched,” an agent at the table spoke up.

“Was the load followed or escorted?” I asked.

“No,” the agent doing the narration spoke again. “We only follow or escort loads that have no tax stamp, loads that will be exported to another country.”

“And this load was stamped?” I asked.

“It was,” he replied. “For California and Nevada each state getting half of the load.” We checked with all the state scale operators that were open along the way and the load weight was right even when he crossed into Nevada”.

“So the load was taken somewhere between the state line and the warehouse,” I surmised.

“Yes, and were losing about one load a month on average,” he added. “This truck has satellite tracking so we know what route he took to get here and the stops he made along the way. After he crossed the state line he only stopped here, in North Las Vegas. So any way you slice it, the thieves are here.”

David had been quiet up to this point, but I could see the question he wanted to ask written all over his face.

“So you want us to follow the next few trucks from the state line and stay with them till the delivery point?” He asked.

“Yes, that is the short version of what we want,” he smiled.

“What we really want is our thieves to make their move on a truck we’re watching so we can catch them,” the agent at the table spoke again.

Isadora left as soon as the briefing was over. David and the lead ATF agent hammered out the details on how it should work out. The rest of us spoke casually amongst ourselves, but the agent that had looked so surprised at me before, was still looking me over. Finally, he blurted it out.

“You’re Mad Dog Taylor’s son,” he looked at me cold and right in the eyes.

“I am,” I replied, as if it were no big deal.

“Hell, boy, I figured you and your mom were both dead after we busted the bikers your dad rode with,” he said as he brought the room to silence.

“A part of my life I am not exactly proud of,” I stated. “After…everything happened the way it did, I moved out and came here. I attended college, got my degree and have been a P.I. ever since. You can check my record if you want,” I added.

“I’m sure there are a few of your Dad’s old friends out there that would still like to see you dead. You know we recovered all the guns and most of the drugs, but we never did find the money or even a single bank account for the gang,” he added.

“If we’re all done here, I have a few a things to do. Let me know when the next truck is due and I’ll cover it for you.”

Dave said he would call and I left the meeting with that same itch, but now it was working overtime. I went straight home and called my mother. I hadn’t spoken to her in over three years and she wasn’t all that pleased to hear from me even now.

There was some small talk, but for the most part I grilled her about the night dad was killed and what she knew, if anything, about the gang’s money.

“Your dad’s brother handled all that,” she told me.

“They didn’t call him Slick Willey for nothing,” she added, “but nobody has seen him since the night your dad was killed either.”

Mom figured Dad was hiding Slick and that was really the reason he was killed.

“Look,” she stated. “You might as well know the truth now. The gang had several million dollars all legit that was invested in the market. Slick worked for some broker and oversaw the account. Once the gang knew they were about to be busted, they all wanted their share of the money to leave the country. When they came for Slick and couldn’t find him, they came for your dad. Your dad wasn’t about to turn on his brother so they killed him. Slick hasn’t been seen since. That answer your questions?” She slammed the phone down in my ear.

That answered a lot of questions and that itch was begging for attention now. Brokers have to have a license to work in the field and that was the first place I would start looking.

Right now I had some packing to do, so I started putting away all the stuff that might suggest there was more than one female living in the house. It took three trips out to the new house to get all the stuff from our current home and the storage out there.

When Melody came home that night, I told her about the new case. I also told her about talking to mom and what I had found out about Dad and Slick. Slick’s real name was William David Taylor, most called him David, but after he started working for the gang everybody started calling him Slick Willey.

To me he was just Uncle David, but then I hadn’t seen him in years. For all I knew he was dead. But I entertained the thought that he might have tipped off the ATF guys and he might be a protected witness now. I know he wasn’t a biker like my dad. Heck, every memory I had of him he was clean shaven and wearing a three piece suit. I tried hard to forget anything that had to do with my dad.

Thursday David called me and I was on for tonight.

It was almost midnight when I picked up the truck crossing the state line. The scale was closed where he crossed and I guessed he was using the back roads for just that reason. He never stopped or parked the truck till he arrived at the warehouse around six the next morning. It was a long ride and thermos of coffee later, but he was there. Security checked him through, but he wouldn’t get unloaded till after seven when the dock workers came in. In the meantime, I headed home.

I passed Isadora’s place on my way home and a chill went down my spine when I saw a big Harley parked at her place. I know everybody that rides a Harley is not a biker gang member, but it is the preferred bike of most of them. If Isadora was dealing with them, she was treading on thin ice that was for sure.

The weekend Melody and I spent in the motel while the movers did their job was pretty good. Granted, it wasn’t home, but we had plenty of time for a roll in the hay and we did several times.

By the time she got home on Monday, I pretty well had the house cleaned up. I had even unpacked most of our stuff and had the closets organized as best as I could. Melody and I had already talked about it before the move. High speed web service was available here and it was already connected along with the cable TV. And as we had already decided, the smallest bedroom became my “home” office.

I spent a lot of time there over the next few days tracing down what was left of my dad’s old gang. They had changed their name, but everything else was about the same. I did find out that all their members had to fly a small rebel flag from there bike. Well, that was a start such as it was.

As for Uncle David, well, a blind man could have found him. You can relocate and even change your name, but you will still and always have the same fingerprints. He had recently opened a business close to the border in Brownsville, Texas. He was selling smokes and alcohol and to get his business license he had to give his fingerprints.

Melody already had plans for the holidays. She was going to Florida to visit her mom. I would be eyeballs deep in a case when she left town. At least that would be my excuse not to go. I was going to Texas and hopefully to the source of some information I needed really bad. Ted and his parents weren’t that far from the border and I could make it look as if I was there to visit them.

As the months passed, I followed at least one truck a week to the warehouse and none of then had gone through North Vegas and all had arrived with their load in tact. Other loads had come up missing, but none here in my area. Maybe the thieves knew the ATF was on to them. Who knows?

When Melody left town, she knew I couldn’t go. Not true, but I wasn’t telling her that. I made arrangements with David to cover for me while I was out of town. And no, I didn’t say where I was going or why. Nobody but me knew what and where and why and I liked it that way.

It took me three days to make the drive and I got there the day after Christmas. I had no trouble finding Dave’s place, but it wasn’t so easy to convince him I was who I said I was. When I tossed the picture of dad and I sitting on his Harley across the bar, he stopped dead in his tracks. He leaned over and told me to meet him in the alley out back, then spoke normal to me as he pushed the picture back to me insisting he didn’t know who dad or the kid on the bike were.

He told the barman he was calling it a night and to make sure the place was closed at 12:00 midnight sharp. Tomorrow was Sunday and he couldn’t sell alcohol on Sunday at all. I paid the bill for my two beers and headed out before he even finished telling the barman what to do.

Dave’s big pickup and travel trailer were parked in the alley and he invited me in as soon as he got there.

“How the hell did you find me?” He spat.

“Your fingerprints for your business license,” I shot back.

“Well, you can bet your dad’s old friends aren’t far behind,” he said, as he rubbed his chin.

“I wasn’t followed and I didn’t tell anyone when I left Vegas where I was going. I paid cash for all my gas so there is no paper trail. Relax,” I smiled. “I just wanted to ask you some question and I will leave in peace.”

“Probably not much I can tell you kid, but fire away,” he said.

“Who really killed dad? Was it the gang or the ATF men?”

“The gang, but I don’t know exactly who did it. Hell, boy, they would have gotten me if the ATF hadn’t came to me first thinking I was your dad,” he added.

“How the heck did they make that mistake?” I asked before I thought about it.

“Well, we are twins even if we don’t look alike,” he grinned.

“So they didn’t know dad or have a picture of him till it all went south,” I sputtered.

“You catch on quick for a kid,” he muttered.

“So they arrested you thinking they were getting dad, then let you go once they realized their mistake.”

“Yes, that is close enough to how it happened,” he paused.

“So what is it you’re not telling me?” I asked straight out. “You can run later, if you want to, and I won’t tell a soul I found you, but I have to know what you know.

“Run. Hell, I’m sitting on 10 million dollars of their money they don’t want…”

“They don’t want you. They want me or mom to force you to give the money back.”

“And they almost had you from what I am told,” he added.

“Well, mom is safe. I moved her three years ago. I changed her name and had the court seal up all her records. It would take an act of congress to find her now. You’re safe as long as they think you have the money.”

“Think. Hell, boy, they know I have it,” he spat.

“Not after tonight you don’t. Give me the account number and key code to get the money. Now,” I huffed.

“Why would I do that?” He asked.

“Cause they will get tired of waiting one day and when they do, they will kill you. When that day comes, I want the money to take care of mom.”

“Okay, I’ll do it, but you have to promise not to touch it till I am dead, one way or the other,” he added.

“In that case you have to promise not to tell them where the money is or how to get to it.”

“You got a deal kid,” he smiled and shook my hand.

After he gave me the information I needed, I went back through the bar, had another drink, then left. I drove around town just to see if I was being followed. Near as I could tell, I didn’t have a tail so I headed for home and quick like.

I had mom’s power of attorney so I quickly amended her will and took out a five million dollar life insurance policy on her. She’s still young so nobody questioned it.

I also took out five million on Uncle Dave and used his AKA name as well. I had his fingerprints if the insurance company wanted to play with me over it.

Then as soon as the local brokerage house opened on Monday, I went in and checked the account. Dave’s estimate was right on the money. I asked the man if there was someway I could put that account inside another account. Like a shell, I added.

He wasn’t quick to tell me how to do it as it was borderline breaking the law. But he did, finally, tell me how I could do it and make the account still look as if it was active. It would still be there and still growing, but to get at it they would need both account numbers and key codes to get it.

Later that day from my home pc I did just as he had told me. Now we were all safe and no matter who died first, as long it wasn’t me, I would be well off and could leave the country and never have to worry about any of this ever again. I could do it now if I had to, but the police would sure be on my tail as soon as they realized it was me that took the money.

There was some comfort in knowing the who and why. I still felt like Isadora was the how in this house of cards, but I would have to tie her to some of dad’s old gang. Right now that would be more than just hard to do. With D.A. Baker and my boss, David, in her corner any proof I got would have to stand some hard scrutiny. All I had right now was a hunch that said I was right.

The ATF boys caught the guys that were stealing there cigarettes on New Years Eve. That ended that case so far as I personally was concerned. When they came around to pay their bill, I was there to collect my part. The agent that had known who I really was talked to me openly.

“You know there was a few of your dad’s old gang that got away,” he smiled.

“Yes, I know,” was my quick reply.

“Well, the charges we had on them were nothing great and the statute of limitations is about to go out on them,” he added.

“What? Seven years, more or less,” I smiled.

“Exactly, and it’s been five already,” he added.

I just smiled and told him I had plans to live a long and healthy life.

“Time to go,” his boss spoke up.

“What was that all about?” Dave asked.

“Oh, he was just reminding me about my past again,” I smiled, as I put the money in my pocket.

Melody read between the lines pretty good and I wasn’t surprised when she noticed I was much more calm than I had been. She never said anything out loud, but there was a new ease in our relationship and we both liked it very much.

For now it was back to working divorce cases and there were plenty of them available. They weren’t my favorite thing to do, but it did pay the bills and that was a plus.

My contracted time at the agency was up now. That meant I could take on any job I wanted and I got all the money, not just a share from the agency. I saw this as a good thing and Melody and I celebrated that night in style.

Melody put a damper on our higher than normal mood when she told me that Dr. Joyce was moving her clinic to L.A. She wanted to go with her and asked me to come along as well. I told her no at first. I had worked long and hard to get connected here to the right people. If I went with her, I would have to start all over again.

When she put the house up for sale, well, that was the day my life, such as it was, really went into a tailspin.

I had just gotten home from picking up my paycheck at the agency. I kissed Melody, as I always did, as soon as I was in the door. “What’s with the sign?” I asked.

“Dr. Joyce is moving next week. I figure it will take some time to sell the house and not take a loss on it. You’re welcome to stay till it sells,” she smiled. “And your friend, Mike, along with the D.A. are at the kitchen table waiting to talk to you,” she added.

Mike had stopped by before, but D.A. Baker all but hated me. This was bad and I knew it before either one of them ever opened their mouth. The sour look on Mike’s face didn’t help the bad feeling I had when I sat down at the table.

“I take it this isn’t a social call,” I looked at Mike hard as I sat down.

“No, it’s not,” D.A. Baker spoke, as he passed me a picture across the table.

“Looks like a dead hooker. Should I know her?” I asked.

“Janis Miles and she’s a cop,” Baker shot back.

“Oh, yes, I heard she was killed on the news last night. How did it happen?” I asked.

“She’s been undercover working with a pimp on the west side of town,” Mike stated. “He’s got his hands in everything and Janis was following a lead on his girls. Seems they have moved up in the world.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, the angle Janis was working is thin, but we think it has merit since she’s dead,” Baker spoke again.

“We think he managed to get his girls hooked up with some of the valet services around town, maybe got some blackmail pictures,” Mike paused. “Anyway, his girls are managing to get the valet tickets to some high end cars and they are stealing them like candy,” Mike added.

“Best way to steal any car is with the key,” I grinned. “No damage to fix before you can sell it,” I added.

“Yes, well, thing is none of the cars have been found, at least not on the west coast,” Baker spat.

“So you want me to find the cars,” I said.

“No,” Baker slapped the table. “We want you to take the place of Janis and get the people who are stealing them.”

“I see,” I replied. “You want me to do the grunt work and when the police find the cars later, you guys get the finder’s fees. I don’t think so,” I replied.

“I lost a good cop already,” Baker barked. You really think I give a shit about finder’s fees,” he spat.

“We’ll see,” I said as I stood and went to the office to get a contract. Baker was slick and I wasn’t about to give him an out. I put my name at the top instead of the agency, and highlighted the part where I got all the finder’s fees for any lost or stolen property that I recovered.

Mike just smiled, as I placed the contract on the table.

The contract caught Baker by surprise. He liked doing business with a handshake and often said his word was his bond. Like hell, I thought as he took the time to read the whole contract before he spoke.

“Looks good to me,” he said, as he took out his pen and signed it. “Figured out a plan for getting close to a pimp,” he smiled. “Mike will get you anything you need,” he said, as they stood to leave.

Baker knew what was coming as well as I did. There were only two things that got close to a pimp, money and his girls, and usually in that order.

Melody had listened to the whole conversation even if she had looked engrossed in the show she was watching. I fully expected the look she gave me when she came to the kitchen table.

“Guess you will be needing some new shoes,” she smiled.

“What?” I looked at her, as if I had no clue what she meant.

“Those will never work,” she pointed to my feet. “Not if you’re taking a walk on my side of the fence,” she smiled.

We both laughed as she stood over my shoulder while I looked through Janis’s daily reports. A picture of Jimmy the pimp slipped free of the papers and I heard Melody catch a quick breath.

“What?” I asked, as I looked up at her face.

“I know that guy. He sends us a lot of business,” Melody said.

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, he has no problem getting physical with his girls, believe me,” she moaned.

“Guess that makes him a good suspect as to who killed Janis,” I replied.

“He would be first on my list,” Melody said, as she headed upstairs.

As much as it pained me too, I asked Melody that night if she could put some saline in my implants. All of Jimmy’s girls were heavy in the boob department. He wouldn’t give me a second look with my B flats. I smiled. She said she could and would, but she wasn’t happy about it either. I was sure it didn’t console her, but I told her I wasn’t thrilled about it myself.

I spent Friday going through and picking out only the most sexy stuff I had to wear as a female. I even picked out only the highest of the high heels I had. Many hookers wore platform shoes but I hated them from the start. Melody was right. I would need some new shoes. Even though I still had my female shape, I knew I would need the corset to fit into the clothes and packed it back to the house with all the other stuff.

Around lunch time I pretty well had all that done. My office closet was now full to the rim. I made an appointment with a local salon and got the full body wax. Hell, yes, it hurt and the girl that did it spared not a single hair. Even my penis and balls were clean and hair free. My body hair didn’t grow very fast so I would be hairless for a while now.

I got home long before Melody did and took a shower if for no reason, but to ease the stinging of my skin. I would see the salon again and sooner than I really wanted. I still needed to get my hair done as well as my nails. And last, but not least, I would need all new makeup as well.

Over dinner that night Melody and I had a long talk. I told her just how much I hated what I was about to do. But it was like she had pointed out earlier, I really didn’t have much of a choice as I had agreed to take the case.

“Well,” she smiled, “you were pretending to be a woman when I met you so I know you can do it. And I intend to help you so long as I can,” she added.

I helped her clean up the kitchen and put the dishes away after she had washed them. Then as if it was the most normal thing in the world, she turned and looked at me.

“Ready to be one of the girls again?” She smiled.

“Do I really have a choice?” I shot back.

“Not now,” she smiled, as if she was taking some pleasure in my predicament.

With a playful swat on my butt she told me to go to the bedroom. So I did. She got her little black doctor’s bag and got the saline and the needle to fill my implants.

“You realize this is going to hurt big time. You haven’t had anything in them for a while now so your body will rebel,” she added.

“It hurt pretty bad the first time so why should this time be any different,” I replied, as I braced myself for it.

I was lying on the bed and she was kneeling between my legs as she pushed the needle in and started to fill my right breast.

“You say when,” she smiled. “We can always add more later if we need to.”

It was worse than I remembered and by the time I was a full C cup on both sides, I was in no small amount of pain. Then as if from nowhere, she pulled out a latex vagina much like the one I had worn before. “What’s that for?” I asked, as if I had no clue what it was.

“Just a little something to make the illusion a little more real,” she smiled.

She used a single stitch to pull my ball sack back and center between my legs. She added some glue so the single stitch wouldn’t stretch the skin and try to pull out. Then she used more glue to anchor the base of the vagina over my sack. She used a vacuum pump to pull my penis all the way into the sleeve that would allow me to relieve myself and then used even more glue to anchor the top to my pubic area.

I laid there motionless till she was done. I hurt so bad at that point it felt like even my hair hurt when I moved. She rolled me over and gave me a shot for the pain in my right hip. I told her I was thankful for that.

“Thank me later,” she smiled. “You need another one to stop you from becoming erect or you will be in even more pain.”

That shot I got in the left hip and I thanked her for that one as well. After all, she could have let me suffer through it on my own. It wasn’t even dark outside yet, but when Melody worked the sheets down on the bed and covered me up to be warm, I went right off to sleep. The last time I looked at the clock it was just 7:00 p.m.

It had never crossed my mind that Melody might be working for the other side as it were. But the fake vagina and empty feeling between my legs when I awoke the next morning gave me pause. She had done almost exactly the same thing Dr. Joyce had done. What made it wore was that I had actually asked for her help. I got it alright and way more than I bargained for.

It was 4:00 a.m. when I got out of bed, long before Melody would even stir. I went to the bathroom that was attached to my office and took a shower. The pain was bearable now and save a few of the finer touches I looked very much like a woman again. Worse yet I felt like one. Even some of the old mannerisms had started back already or maybe they were never really gone to start with, I just noticed them more now.

Over breakfast I suffered through the barbs she sent my way. She was all too pleased with her handy work and that concerned me even more. At one point she actually told me that I was prettier as a girl than I was handsome as a man. That did nothing for my ego, such as I had left of it anyway.

When she left for work, I went straight to my office and dressed as quickly as I could. I put my female ID in my purse and was out the door an hour later. Melody would only work a half day today and I wanted to be home before she was if I could.

The girl at the salon said I was a mess and needed the full makeover so that was what I got. I went with the more dramatic makeup and longer nails, as that seemed to be the given look for most hookers. By the time my perm was done, along with all my nails, it was well past lunch. Melody would already be home by now. Of all the things they had done it was the pencil thin eyebrows that bothered me the most. Go figure.

Melody saw me as soon as I parked the car. She was sitting in the living room right by the bay window that faced the driveway. I figured she was there just for the purpose of seeing me before I actually got in the house. In my current state of mind, I wasn’t ready for more of her barbs.

I paused and took a deep breath before I got out of the car. At least it was as deep as the corset would allow. I pulled down the mirror on the visor of the car and fluffed my now “Marilyn Monroe” blond locks. I pretended to check my lipstick and powder my nose. This was all for Melody’s benefit. I hadn’t looked her in the eye, but I knew she was watching from the window.

I opened the door and spun around in the car seat with my knees together. When I stood, I checked my skirt, then closed the door and headed for the front door of the house. I took a much longer stride than I should have with my tight skirt and four inch heels. It made my walk seem exaggerated and my hips had way too much swing.

Melody, met me at the door and opened it just before I got there.

“My, my, don’t you look grand,” she smiled.

“You think?” I said, as if I was unsure.

“I know,” she smiled. “You will be the talk of the town looking like that,” she added

Melody and I had both missed lunch and now it was almost dinner time. She asked me if we could go out for dinner and I said sure before I even thought about it. My voice went up a notch or two when I was in public and it wasn’t because I did it on purpose, it just happened. That’s all I can say about that.

Melody all but ran up and changed clothes and was ready in a flash. One day, maybe… I could get ready that fast, I chided myself.

We landed at a little piano bar that was known for having good food. Melody was all about the atmosphere of a place. The food could be “so so” and she would still like it if she could relax and enjoy it.

The girl at the Piano was thin to say the least and sang like a bird. She did a lot of her own tunes and they were very good for a solo female artist. Her stage name was Nora Jones. That itch I had come to know so well told me she would make it big time if she ever got a break. I even bought one of her cd’s. She had a very genteel way with the ivory. She didn’t pound out songs like a lot of the men did. I was impressed.

Melody and I were having our after dinner drinks when my day went from bad to worse. Mike came in and spotted us right off. Mike had seen me like this before, but back then I was too drugged up to care. This was making me very nervous.

I would have kicked Melody right in the shin if I could have when Mike told her thanks for the call. She had called and told him where we were and that all but made me mad.

He took the seat that Melody offered him and said he couldn’t stay long. I was almost thankful for that.

“There is more to this story that Baker told you,” he looked at me cold.

“Like what?” I asked.

“This has been going on for almost a year now,” he paused. “We just caught on about three months ago and that’s when Janis went undercover. Nobody but me knew what she was doing or the case she was working on,” he continued. “Not even her husband knew. I had to explain why she was dressed like a hooker, when she was killed, to him and the kids”.

“You think she blew her own cover?” I asked.

“No, and hell, no,” Mike added. “She was one of the best cops I had working for me.”

“Well, the only other option means she told a co-worker and that person ratted her out. That’s not good,” I spat.

“You’re right, it’s not,” Mike stated again. “That’s the reason Baker wanted someone outside the PD to take the case and you’re the only P.I. I know that can do it,as well as being the only one I know I can trust.” he smiled.

“You realize Baker would pull my license and permit in a second if he could,” I offered.

“Yes, well, don’t let his hard as nails attitude fool you. He knows you’re one of the good guys, like it or not,” Mike smiled.

I didn’t look much like a guy at the time and he knew it.

“I put a portable radio and charger in your car,” he added, having enjoyed the “good guy” pun for a bit too long. “Use channel three when you’re out and about. Nobody uses it anymore and I will monitor it all the time till this case is closed.”

I couldn’t resist my chance to get my own barbs in. “Why? You mean a big man like you will be looking out for little old me?” I reached over and brushed his hand. He blushed like he had red hot pepper in his mouth and Melody busted a gut laughing when he did. I figured that would lay to rest the teasing for while.

Mike finished his drink and after some talk he left us. Melody busted up laughing again when he stood up and had that unmistakable bulge in his pants. Mike was glowing like the sunset when he finally got headed for the door.

Mike’s position in the PD meant he didn’t date or get out a lot. He was well known and that made him an easy target. At one point last year his picture was in the paper more often than the D.A. I knew that didn’t go over well.

For the next week by day I studied the reports Janis had given to Mike. By night I was out walking the streets and doing my best to get noticed by the other hookers. I almost got busted by one of the vise cops and he gave me a hard time for all to see. That actually worked out in my favor as it gave me clout with other girls that were working the street.

Jimmy the pimp, finally came around to asking me to be part of his stable. He had lost a girl recently and the lost income was cramping his style.

“You’re a little more…upscale than my normal girl. I like it,” he said.

“Yes, well, your way under my normal clientele,” I replied, as he followed down the street.

“Well, girls aren’t the only enterprise I have on the table,” he said trying to sound street wise as he did.

“Clue me in,” I stopped and turned to face him.

“Well, I move some merchandise for a man that pays in the triple digits for the goods, you see.”

Hot merchandise, I am sure. “So?” I questioned.

“So you got out on an arranged date,” He stated.

I frowned and started walking again as if I wasn’t interested.

“Hold on, missy. I’m talking first class here, nothing but the best,” he added.

I stopped, but tried to seem impatient so he would cut to the chase. Most hookers don’t stick around for chit chat.

“So your date will let the valet park his car, but you take the ticket. Insurance,” he smiled. “That way he can’t run out on you and stiff you with the bill,” he added.

“And?” I questioned, as I tapped my foot on the sidewalk.

“Later, after dinner or whatever, you go powder your nose, present the ticket to the valet and leave with the goods. Simple as that,” he said.

“And “my date” will just let me get away,” I spat.

“Well, now sometimes it’s better to have a car stolen than repossessed,” he smiled.

I gave him a fake business card and told him to give me a call. I guess it wasn’t good enough to drive your car out into the dessert and short out the battery and let it burn anymore. This was nothing more than insurance fraud with a new twist.

I called it quits around three in the morning and called Mike the next day for a meeting…in person no less.

“I take it you have good news,” he all but asked.

“As good as it gets from a girl in my position. You remember the Piano bar we were at the other night?” I asked.

“Sure, what time?” He asked.

“How about 7:00 p.m.? I’m going to ask Melody to meet us there, too. I’m sure she will make you feel…more comfortable than being there with just me,” I added.

“Right,” Mike said, as he hung up the phone.

I called Melody and she said she would be there at 7:00 sharp. She had been working a lot more than normal lately. I suspected it was part of the impending move to L.A. that had been keeping her busy.

I waited till I saw her pull into the parking lot before I even got out of the car. Nobody would think anything about two women meeting for dinner. I hadn’t seen Mike yet, but I knew he would show up sooner or later.

Melody and I took a booth back in the corner like we had before. We could see the door so we would know when Mike came in. I swept my skirt as I sat and scooted into position.

“You’re acting more and more like a natural woman every day,” she chided me.

“Well, it’s not like you don’t remind me every time I goof up even a little,” I shot back.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a good thing if someone made you as a man now would it,” she smiled.

“No, that would not be a good thing,” I said, just as Mike came through the door. I waved and he noticed me right off. It was no guess that Mike would sit next to Melody and he did.

“I take it you have a good reason to bring me here again,” he smiled.

“Well, of course.” I tried to sound offended. I wanted to see if you could leave here on two legs this time instead of three like before. Melody busted up laughing on the spot and Mike’s face was red as a cherry.

“Really,” I smiled, as Mike squirmed in his seat. “I wanted to tell you face to face that it’s an insurance scam. I guess rich people would rather have their cars stolen than have it repossessed.” Melody got in the conversation quick now.

“You bet they would,” she injected. “If word got out that a socialite male got his car pulled,” he couldn’t buy a date in his own class. That would be social suicide,” she added.

“Okay, that covers the why,” Mike smiled.

“Jimmy’s girls are set up for dates with these men. When the valet parks the car, the girl takes the ticket, later she leaves with the car and that’s all I have right now.”

“And that covers the how,” Mike sighed. “I guess we can drop the investigations on the valet services.”

“I would say so, but we still don’t know who is setting up the dates or taking the cars or where the cars are being taken to even. For all we know, it could be a repo service that is running the scam. Have you been getting feed back from the services on the ones that have been reported stolen?”

“No,” Mike replied. “The few that will even speak to me seem to be real mad of late. I guess we know why now,” he added.

“Not happy someone is taking their share of the pie,” Melody chimed in.

“Right,” Mike and I answered at the same time.

“And we still don’t know who Killed Janis,” Mike reminded me.

“Well, when you start arresting people, I’m sure that will come out, sooner or later. You know somebody will talk if the D.A. offers them a deal.”

“We’ll see,” Mike said, as he stood to leave.

He was walking much better this time than last. Melody and I finished our salad and headed out behind him. We both had cars there so she headed home while I headed for the strip. The salad made me feel full with the corset on as tight as it was, but I knew that wouldn’t last long.

I pounded the sidewalk till around three in the morning and then headed for home myself. I was tired and hungry and in a not so good mood at the time. The vise cop had given the once over again and I would be bruised for sure come morning.

Before now, I had always gotten along with the cops, but this guy was testing my nerves and I was about to snap. He might near have pulled my arm out the socket tonight to get to my purse. It was a common thing for a hooker to get her purse searched. Many of them used drugs and that was what he was looking for. I would settle up with him later and enjoy it when I did.

Melody left that weekend for L.A. with Dr. Joyce. It was a tearful goodbye for us both and I told her once I was done here I would find her in L.A. After all I sniffled, someone has to change me back to normal. Her last words hit me hard.

“You look pretty normal to me,” she smiled through her tears as she closed the car door and drove off.

I felt about as low as a snake right then, but Melody hadn’t been so easy on me lately either. She had all but forced me to wear the corset as tight as I could and now my waist was smaller than ever. She had added a little more saline to my breasts so I was a D cup again and there were other things. Little things that made me question whose side she was really on. She had even given me an extra shot of hormone blockers before she left.

For the next two months running I had a date almost every Friday night. It was always a last minute call that gave me no time to prepare for what I knew was coming. Each time I had driven the cars to the remote parking lot at the McCarran Airport. And then took a taxi back to town and my own car. By the time I could get back there the car was gone.

I know what you’re thinking. Call Mike and have him wait at the airport for you. Then both of you follow the stolen car when it’s picked up, simple as that.

Nope, not going to work that way. If he is with me or I am with him, then he is entitled to half of the recovery fees.

I know it sounds like I am not really all that hot on finding the person that killed Janis.
Melody knew Janis personally. She had called her the night she was killed and told Melody that Jimmy had threatened her with a gun. I figured he did more than that and it would come out in the end. And no, I didn’t tell Mike I knew about the call. That would have made Melody look suspect and I didn’t want that at all.

I took a chance that Jimmy would hold true to form and rented a car and parked it out by the airport. I took my hand held scanner as I was suspect of the taxi service as they always seemed to be close by. On Friday I got that last minute call and had to rush downtown to make my date.

The night went the same as most had before. When I parked the car at the airport, I took the walk to the main building and called the taxi just like normal. I listened on my scanner when the call went out to see where the closest car was. The driver said he was ten minutes away and rolling right then. I almost felt sorry for him as I wouldn’t be there when he got there.

A tow truck rolled up just after the taxi called in that the fare was a no show. I watched as the driver loaded the car and headed back towards town. He wasn’t wasting any time about it either. He took the car to the company’s lot and put it down. He parked his truck and got in a different car and went home.

I went home and started checking to see who owned the towing company. Under a maze of paper work and holding company crap, I finally found the name of the owner. I was shocked and mad as hell at the same time. If you guessed Isadora Franklin as the owner, give yourself an A+ and there was more. Care to make a guess on who was listed as the board members of the holding company? I’m sure you can. David and D.A. Baker, her two best friends from the service.

This whole thing smacked of a setup now and I was the stool pigeon. I unplugged every phone in the house and turned off my cell phone. I needed to think and I didn’t want to be disturbed. The sun was coming up before I turned off my computer and lay down on the bed fully dressed.

I didn’t sleep long and when I got up my brain was still working in overdrive. Isadora Franklin seemed determined to mess up my life and I had no good reason as to why. After several cups of coffee, I slipped on my heels and drove over to the florist and picked up some flowers, then headed for the cemetery where Grandma and Grandpa were buried.

It would be quiet place to think and I had plenty of that to do. None of this made any sense at all now. Sure I could watch the towing company till they moved the car, call it and the case would be over. But the D.A. had maneuvered into a position so when I did that, it messed any and all chances of getting the people at the top. We would get Janis’s killer sure…I thought to myself.

I parked the car at the cemetery and gingerly walked along the path between the graves. The place was always well kept and the grass was a deep green this time of year. My heels would easily sink in the soft ground. I stopped at the grave of Rose Marie Franklin Singer. Next to her lay Houston Singer and it almost brought a tear to my eye when I placed the flowers in the granite vase. I slipped off my heels and sat on the bench at the foot of their graves.

I said a silent prayer for them both and wished even now that Grandma was here to help me make some sense of this. Grandma had been the rock of this family the whole time she was alive. To her there was good and evil and noting in between. You either said yes or no and either way you stood your ground. She wouldn’t have it if you didn’t. She had raised as me as much as my mom did.

I remember once I got into a fight at school sticking up for a girl I liked. The school called Grandma and, of course, she came running. The principal wanted to expel me, but Grandma would have none of it. She asked me what had happened and the girl in question backed my story. Grandma was a smart woman and knew the boy I had fought with was related to the principal.

I wanted to run and hide when Grandma stood in the principal’s office and started in on the woman. “So the truth of the matter is you want to protect your nephew while you punish my grandson for doing what was right. You have tried to twist the facts to fit your position. Well, I’m not much on “facts”. They change real easy when the truth comes out. The truth never changes no matter what the facts are.”

I went home that day with Grandma and was back in school the next. What she had said to the principal about the truth and facts was a theory that had never proven wrong for me.

It was well past noon now and I could hear my stomach making noises even through the corset. I was hungry, but food was the last thing on my mind. I felt so stupid as I slipped on the heels and stood to walk to the car. There was an empty plot to the left of theirs and then there was the grave of Thomas C. Franklin. I paused. It was as if Grandma was trying to tell me something. I wrote down the birth and death dates and went on to my car.

I stopped at Pizza place on my way home and got one to go. I could eat at home and I didn’t want the distraction of being out in the public eye as a woman. At home I hooked up the phone in my office and called Mom. I told her I had gone to the cemetery and put flowers on the graves.

“You’re a good son,” she said as her voice turned sad.

“I miss her,” I said to mom almost crying as I did.

“Well, she was hard core,” Mom said. “But you never had to guess where you stood with her. So long as you did what was right she would back you to the end,” mom added.

“The world needed a lot more people like her,” I replied.

“Well, I miss her too, everyday,” Mom said and I was sure she was crying now.

“Why does she have the name Franklin on the stone?” I asked Mom.

“That’s a long, ugly story. I’m surprised she didn’t tell since you two were so close. The short version is this. She was married before to Tommy Charles Franklin. They had a son and he would be my half brother now, but he died in Vietnam. After his death, Tommy went to pieces and swore his son was still alive. He stayed drunk for years after that. Mom even told me he once stopped a woman in town and swore up and down that it was his son. But he was drunk at the time, so nobody believed it. They were already divorced by then,” she added.

The lights were on now and mom had flipped the switch without knowing it. I told mom I loved her and I hadn’t in some time. I could hear the tears streaming down her face when she told me she loved me too and then we hung up.

I went back to the military records I had on Ivan. I checked to see who his parents were and Mom’s story checked out. He was my uncle or aunt, as the case may be. I wasn’t sure if he had gone ahead with all the operations involved to be a real woman or not.

So now that I knew the truth, what should or could I do with it. I still felt stupid sitting there in my dress and high heels. More to the point I felt like my whole life had been manipulated practically from the day I left college. It was Saturday and I figured Isadora would be at home. I called her and asked for a meeting. So she invited me over for dinner at 7:00 p.m. She gave me the address of her house and I was surprised that it was just a few blocks away.

I put on some soft music as I undressed and filled the tub for a hot bubble bath. It was one of the pleasures of being a girl that I actually enjoyed. Grandma often gave me a bubble bath and I remembered that well.

Around six I decided I would wear the black lace cocktail dress that Melody had given me just before she left. It was lined well enough that it wasn’t see through, but I couldn’t wear a bra or the corset. I slipped the black garter belt around my obvious waist line and attached the stockings first. They were high quality since Melody never bought any of the cheap stuff. Every pair of panties I put on showed right through the dress, so the only choice was to go without. Finally, around six thirty, I slipped on the black 4 inch heeled pumps and headed out the door.

I wasn’t happy even a little that I was going to confront Isadora in a dress. I blamed her for my being in this position and it would be easy for me to lose my perspective. I knew she would be cool as a cucumber, she always was. She was probably more accustomed to having her hormones out of sorts than I was. Never mind that I was really going trolling for information while I was still playing her game.

I didn’t even get to knock on her door. A maid answered it almost as soon as I got there. Isadora was just a few steps behind her and greeted me warmly.

“Glad you could make it,” she smiled as she shook my hand gently.

“Thanks for the invitation,” I returned her jester in kind.

“A glass of wine?” She offered.

“Sure, but only one. I still have to drive home later,” I smiled.

“Nonsense,” she beamed me a smile. “You can stay here if you don’t want to risk the drive home.”

She was being far too nice and she had to know I was there for information. There was no guarantee I would get any, but I was sure going to try.

“I hear you have been a very busy lady of late,” she looked me over as if something was amiss.

“Yes, the police asked me for some help on a stolen car thing. I think I have got it pretty much figured out now.”

“So what brings you here?” She asked me straight up.

Before I could speak the maid came in and told us dinner was served. She told the maid that would be all for tonight and she, along with the cook, could go for the night. I waited till I heard the back door open then close, it squeaked so it was easy to tell. I figured we were alone now.

“I wanted to know if you were once known as Ivan Franklin.”

“I was,” she smiled, “but please never mention that name to me again.”

“So you’re content to allow everyone to think you’re dead. My mom has a half brother that she doesn’t even know.”

“I was still legally a man when I told my father about what had happened. There was very little of my manhood left, but he refused to accept that the son he once knew was gone. After the shock wore off, he told me he never wanted to see me again and forbid me to tell Rose or any of the rest of the family. Despite what your research might have turned up, he was still my father and I did as he asked. I suspect if it had been you and your father, you would have done no different.”

I was stunned. I was expecting a revelation of sorts, but what I got was not what I had expected. “Was there any hope of you being a man again?” I asked.

“A Vietnamese soldier stuck a bayonet through my groin. An inch higher and it would have gone out my….well, I am sure you can figure that out. So after I lay in the jungle bleeding for most of three hours, he figured I was dead and cut it off at the base of my belly. Now, what do you think?”

“I would say you had no choice in the matter as it was. But that is not the story I found in your military file,” I added.

“The file you read was true, but incomplete. The military doesn’t like for stories such as mine to…become public knowledge,” she smiled.

So you saved two men’s lives in a jungle war that nobody wants to talk about. Then you come home and all but ruin my life. Is there a contradiction here or is it just me?”

“Would you rather be dead?” she said rather smug.

“Well, no, but hardly explains all this,” I pointed to myself.

“Your dad had many friends till they all got busted. A few are still out there and would love nothing more than to see you dead. Had you gone to Florida with your class for spring break after you graduated, you would be dead now. They were waiting for you and I knew it. I couldn’t very well let my nephew walk into a trap now, could I?”

“You knew this how?” I asked.

“Who do you think bought the bar and set your Uncle David up with a whole new id? How is it that your mom, my only sister, gets a check every month to pay her bills? And who do you think is paying off your dad’s old friends to keep your mom and Uncle Dave alive?

“I’m guessing that would be you,” I paused to think.

“While your dad’s old friends were in Florida looking for you, I took you in and changed your appearance and gave you a new id. You didn’t show and when they came back, I told them you were gone and I didn’t know where. Hide in plain sight, kiddo.”

“But you didn’t tell me any of this up front,” I added.

“My dad may be dead like yours, but he is still my dad and I gave my word. If you hadn’t figured most of it out on your own, I wouldn’t be telling you this now. And if you open your mouth, I will do a lot worse,” she added.

“Do they know I am back here now,” I asked?

“No. Since I took my business out of town, they come by and ask, of course. So far as they know you’re still on the lamb. I get them drugs and booze at no cost to them and they go away.

“Baker gets you the drugs from the police impound and David my ex-boss owns a liquor store so he get’s you the booze,” I added.

“You’re a smart kid, I’ll give you that,” she smiled.

“So how did you see this playing out? I couldn’t stay in a half-state forever.

“Your Uncle David will never make it on the lamb. He’s a business man and likes the suit and tie crowd. They have already found him once and they will again, it’s just a matter of time. Frankly, I give him another year tops.”

“And mom?” I asked.

“They won’t touch her unless they can find you first. Too risky to try to flush you out. They would have to sit on her for too long, hoping you would find out and come to her rescue. Your mom is quite safe,” she smiled.

“That leaves me,
‘ I said rather glum.

“The way I see it you have two choices. Stay as you are now and wait them out or try to force their hand and get them sent to jail. It would be easy enough for me to set them up so they got caught with the drugs and booze, but that is short time.”

“I don’t see staying like this as an option,” I smiled.

“What do you think? Melody really loves you.” She smirked.

“Is there anything about my life you don’t know?” I asked?

“Not much,” she smiled.

“Okay. So tell me about Melody and Dr. Joyce.

“This is going to take a while,” she smiled, as she looked at her watch.

I looked at mine and it was already almost ten.

“Dr. Joyce is a part mad scientist and part doctor. She thinks she can make a man over into a real woman. By that I mean give him all the plumbing and such so they can have kids and a family, so on. She convinced a bunch of blue bloods back east she could do it and they gave her a grant for five years to try it. My doctor says it will never work and I tend to trust her.”

“Melody is a wannabee, plain and simple, and you got her the job with the doctor and now she’s the head nurse. The truth of the matter is she’s a mole. The blue bloods back east wanted someone they could trust to watch over Joyce and their money. She’s probably worth more money than you and I put together if it’s true that she is one of their daughters. I haven’t confirmed that part yet. She was engaged before she landed out here and it was an ugly break up. She still sees him when he comes out here for business. So I doubt she is into you for the long term,” she added.

“I thought Joyce worked for you,” I replied.

“She did, but just long enough to get her name noticed and sell the blue bloods on her project, as she calls it,” she smiled and took a big drink of her wine.

I sat there quietly trying to come to terms with what I knew. None of what I thought I knew was right….well, some of it was. But it was nothing like I had really thought it was.

“I take it you’re not happy as a member of the fairer sex. It suits you,” she added.

“Up till now it was a means to an end…”

“Just not the end you had wanted,” she smiled.

“No, not really,” I hung my head.

“You were hoping to settle a score with me and Dr. Joyce as well,” she added.

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” I replied.

Her cell phone rang and it gave me a few more minutes to think. I was still very rattled at all the stuff I had found out.

“Really. Make sure they search his apartment. The gun he used to kill that cop is there. It’s a collector’s piece. I know he didn’t toss it,” she said.

“Well,” she turned and looked at me, “you’re off the hook,” she smiled.

“How so?” I asked.

“That was one of my girls. Your pimp Jimmy was found tonight with a hole in his head and it was one he didn’t need,” she grinned.

“He’s dead,” I replied.

“Very much so, but it will be much easier to solve the murder of that cop now that the police have the gun with Jimmy’s prints on it,” she added.

“I already had him pegged for that. I wanted to recover the cars he had his girls stealing. They stole a bunch of them and I’m betting the recovery fees would be big bucks.”

“1.3 million, give or take a few dollars,” she smiled. “And that includes the one you took last night.”

“Is there anything that happens in this town that you don’t know about?” I asked.

“Probably, but then I have over one hundred girls in a fifty mile radius of the city. So outside of that it might fly under my radar,” she smiled larger than normal.

“Well, with Jimmy dead and the murder weapon found, D.A. Baker will close the case. When he does, I lose any chance of getting the cars back or the fees,” I added.

“You can have them for a price,” she added. “A man named Wayne runs the auto auction over by the fairgrounds. I bedded him and found out who was running this scam. I offered to let him use a towing company I own to pick up the cars. I know when and where the cars are being moved.”

“And I would pay for this how?” I asked.

“As long as you’re in this town, don’t let me ever see you wearing anything but a dress,” she spat. “I will not stand by and see you killed for being stupid,” she added.

I nodded my head in agreement.

“Monday night they have some trucks bringing cars in to sell off. After they unload they will park out back and after the auction they will load all the stolen cars and leave. See. That was easy, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t cheap,” I spat.

“Okay, if I held a gun to your head, the little one, and said your manhood or your life, which one would you choose? No time to think about it. Right now, tell me.”

“My manhood, I guess.”

“And I would take it, but your dad’s old friends would take it and then kill you anyway,” she smirked and lit a cigarette.

It was well past midnight when I headed home. It felt odd to give Isadora a hug before I left, but she was one tough gal, that was for sure. I wanted to call mom. I know she would have jumped for joy to know her brother was alive. Even as a girl, it wouldn’t matter to mom. I had promised to keep her secret and I would, but I sure felt bad about it.

After all the things I had found out tonight, I was sure that Isadora pretty well had my back, as it were. At home I slipped off my heels and the dress was put back in the closet for another day. I didn’t bother with the stockings and garter belt. I just curled up in the bed and went to sleep.

I spent most of the Sunday on the phone with Melody catching up on the week. We had done so almost since the day she left. I had more reservations about her now than I did before, but I didn’t let on about it in any way. The time would come when her true self would show through.

Monday Morning D.A. Baker got a lot of first page ink. He had the man that had killed a female police officer. Granted he was dead, but a search of his residence had found the gun that killed her and it still had his prints on it. A reporter asked if there would be an investigation into his death. As he told the story, a girl shot him in self defense after she had a heated argument and he started to beat her up. The girl would not be charged. I felt sure she was one of the girls that worked for Isadora and that was why.

The whole story took half of the front page and I was sure Baker was pleased with himself. I called Mike and ask him to get the D.A. to get us a warrant for the auto auction later tonight. Mike wasn’t very optimistic about getting it, but then he hadn’t seen the morning paper either.

After tonight I would have some money that I could spend and not raise too much suspicion. The insurance company’s might take as much as thirty days to pay me, so I wasn’t getting to leave town any time soon.

My first solo case had been a success, but then I had gotten a lot of help from Isadora. She even gave me a list of all the cars to look for tonight and it was a good bet they would be there.

High on the list of things I needed once I had the money was a new car. My old Honda was running on will power and I was ready for something new. I wanted to upgrade some of my equipment as well. Things were going digital right and left these days and my analog stuff was well out of date.

Later that night a dozen of Mike’s best men along with me parked in a circle around the auction. It happened pretty much just as Isadora had said it would and all but one of the cars was recovered. I had gotten the info for the sting so I was pretty sure Mike wouldn’t challenge me for the money. There was rule a too about public officials taking such things. I wasn’t sure it applied, but I would sure bring it if I had to.

It took me till Wednesday to file all the paperwork and I found out that day that the house had sold as well. I had thirty days to move before the new owners took it over. I had planned to go see Melody, but with the sale of the house going through as it did she was coming to see me. She had to sign the contracts and pick up her part of the check.

Isadora stepped up and offered me one of her rentals till I decided what I would do. The movers would come when Melody did and take all her stuff back to L. A. for her. I wasn’t leaving here or at least not till I had the money from the cars.

Even wearing girl’s jeans and tennis shoes, it was a lot of work moving myself to the new house. Breasts or big breasts anyway has a tendency to get in the way of everything. At least mine did and I was never so glad when it was all done.

After I had the place pretty well settled in, Mike came to see me.

“Nice to see you,” I said when I opened the door.

“Likewise,” he replied.

“Want a drink or a beer?” I said, as I offered him a seat at the kitchen table.

“A beer would be nice,” he replied and hung his coat on the back of the chair.

“So what brings you around? I haven’t seen you since the night of the auction,” I added. “Something wrong?”

“Just you in that dress and makeup all the time now,” he spat.

I guessed it was time to come clean with Mike and I did. I told him about Dad and his old friends that would be looking for his son. I pretty much put it all on the table, save the truth about Isadora.

“So you figure by appearing to be a girl you will be safe?” He all but asked.

“Well, bikers aren’t known for their brains. Their brawn sure, but I doubt they will be looking for me as a female.”

“What about your Mom?” He asked.

“She’s safe or at least for now,” I paused and took a sip of the beer in hand.

“You really plan to wait them out like this, don’t you?” He asked.

“Well, unless I can bust them big time and put them in jail for life, I don’t see it as a real choice. It took the ATF over a year to infiltrate the gang and then a good many of them got away. All I would do now is open myself up for more or something worse than it is now.”

“What about Melody?” He continued with the questions.

“Haven’t told her the whole story just yet. She knows most of it though and so far she has been pretty understanding.”

“Understanding is one thing. You don’t think she will go looking for a real man with you looking like this?” He pointed.

“Well, I got wind a few days ago that she might have already done that. I can’t confirm it, but that is part of the reason I moved out. She’s coming up this weekend to sign the paper for the sale of the house and move her things to L.A. As you might have guessed, I am not leaving here, not right now anyway.”

“Why not change yourself back to a man, if you even can, and take in on the lamb? That’s got to better than being a woman,” he spat. “I know you have the money to get lost any time you want to and a plane to get you there.”

He was fishing. This was way too many question from a man I knew and trusted. And now that money had entered the conversation, I had the feeling I knew where he was going. I didn’t want to lie to Mike so I tried to change the direction of the conversation.

“After I talk to Melody this weekend and see where we stand and I get the money from the insurance Companies, I might do just that”, I smiled.

“So you have already decided to run. It’s just a matter of when,” he shot back.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Well, let me know where you land. If I keep getting death threats like I have been, I might want to join you,” he smiled as he finished his beer.

“Since when?” I asked.

“I busted a bunch of punks a while back. Part of an upstart street gang and I shot one of the two brothers that were the leaders. He lived, but he will always walk with a limp. The other one has his sights set on me and the threats are getting wilder all the time,” he added.

“Well, if or when I decide to run. I am leaving the states and I have no plans for ever coming back, period,” I spat.

Mike stood up and took his jacket from the chair. I had on a rather low cut top with a black skirt and my four inch heels. I walked him to the door and even in my heels he was still a head taller than I was. I’m sure he wasn’t trying to make me blush, but at the door he stopped and leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek. My cheeks felt like they were on fire as we said our goodbyes at the door.

A kiss from Mike was almost like a stamp of approval. Still I shuddered at the thought. If I stayed like this, I was sure that wouldn’t be the first or last kiss I got like that. My mind raced in every direction counting the days till Melody would arrive.

At eight Friday night she arrived with the mover’s right on her tail. I stood in the driveway and watched from the window till her business deal was done. The second she took the check the movers sprang into action. When the agent and new owners left, she came out and talked to me for a while.

“I cooked you a nice dinner and the table is already set if you have the time,” I told her.

“I can’t spend the night,” she replied. “But I would love a good hot dinner,” she smiled.

Over dinner we talked about almost everything. Her life, my life, the clinic and so on. They were working sixteen hour days and still turning away patients. She seemed rather happy and more so than I had known her to be. But on the more serious side of things, as much as she said she loved me, she couldn’t risk her new found reputation by living with another woman. I was more than welcome to come to L.A. and be with her. That was what she said she wanted, but I would have to be a man if I wanted to live with her all the time.

My heart sank a little more that night than it already had. I was all but sure Isadora was right. She was still seeing her old boyfriend and if I was living with her as a woman, then he might think she had gone lesbian. Considering her work and the other people she was around on a regular basis, it wouldn’t be a big stretch to think that.

Just as I had a past, and it wasn’t very pretty I’ll admit, Melody had one as well. After she left me that night, I figured it would be a good thing to look a little deeper into hers. It almost felt like working my own divorce case. I hated that type of work, but like I said before it did pay the bills.

Indeed, Melody had been engaged before she came out here. A very wealthy man with a home in the Hamptons back east as well as one in L.A. He was big into international banking and had offices almost around the world. There was a wealth of information on him, but very little about Melody, save the already known rather ugly breakup. The tabloids seemed more intent on wrecking him than her and that was odd. The women always become the scapegoats when wealthy men are involved.

I had to wait the full thirty days to get most of the money from the cars that had been recovered, but one man brought me the check personally. He was a kind man and rather shy if you would. He tried to make some small talk after he had given me the check, so I invited him in.

“I’ll come straight to the point,” he said taking in my breasts as well as my legs when we sat. “I would like to offer you a job working for us, the insurance company, I mean.”

“And what would that be?” I said, as I crossed me legs nice and slow just to see his reaction.

“We insure nothing but the very best in automobiles, antiques, one of a kind, and that sort of thing,” he paused.

“Go on,” I said, as I rolled my shoulders just a bit so my cleavage was sure to catch his eye.

“Well, as much as it pains us to admit it even with GPS tracking and all sorts of other electronics, we still loose a lot of cars ever year.” He finally placed his briefcase on the sofa next to where he sat.

He was all but sweating and twisting in his seat, but he hadn’t taken his eyes of my breasts yet.

“We fear that there is a ring much like this one working in California right now,” he smiled and finally looked me in the face.

“And you want me to help to find them and the cars,” I added.

“Well, yes, if you are willing. You seem to have a good record with finding stolen autos,” he gulped.

“I would be more than glad to help you out, if you’re willing to pay me double the normal rate,” I smiled, as I turned so he could peek up my skirt just a little. The sweat was pouring off his head by now and when he went looking for his cell phone, he tried wipe it away unnoticed with his hanky.

“She’ll take the job, but at twice our normal rate,” he spoke into the phone. “Very well. I will give her the file and leave immediately. The job is yours at the rate you asked,” he added, as he handed me a folder full of papers.

He gave me his business card as well and made a beeline to the door. He was an accountant and after what I had just put him through, I almost felt sorry for him myself.

Once you realize that very few things happen by chance, I had to wonder if Isadora hadn’t put in a good word for me knowing I would take it if just for the money involved. I would probably never know, but then I wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Over the next week I studied the file and had several nice dinners with Isadora. She said she had nothing to do with me getting the job, but I did have a good track record for finding stolen cars so she wasn’t surprised. She had hit the same dead end that I did as far as getting any information on Melody was concerned. We were pretty well both on the same page at the time.

“I wouldn’t suggest spending too much time in California,” she said.

“What makes you say that?” I questioned.

“That’s the home of your dad’s old gang,” she smiled.

That was true and something I hadn’t really considered. I think she reminded me of it because I was talking to her about going down there as a man at the time. I wanted to be with Melody and she knew it. The more I pushed for it the more things just seemed to get in the way. I had been living as a woman for four months now and it was starting to feel a little too comfortable.

As hard as it was to do, I made an appointment at the salon for that Monday and then packed up my now few belongings and put them in storage. Later that same Saturday I bought a cute little Toyota four wheel drive pickup. It was more like a chick truck and wimp as far as horsepower was concerned.

I would love tell you about all the salesmen that had their eyes glued to me from the second I walked in the place. That would take a lot of time though and I guessed it was normal for a pretty woman to be treated that way.

Monday, while I was at the salon, I got my hair permed again and the roots touched up. When the girl doing my nails asked me about it, I told her not to trim my nails back. I was accustomed to them being long now, so it wasn’t such a hassle as before. I felt pretty when I left there and I hadn’t felt that way in a long time. My heart sank as I had done this of my own free will and I wrestled with the feelings of guilt and shame and so on. I reminded myself that it was something that I pretty much had to do and that helped some.

Early Tuesday morning I left for L.A. I knew where Melody lived and I knew she would be at work as well. She had given me a key to her place so I used it, but I wasn’t there to stay. I put a bug in her phone and laced several around the house. I left with that feeling of guilt riding me hard.

There were three other apartment buildings on the same block that would allow me to watch her place. Once again I was lucky and got one right across from her place. It was on the second floor and had an entrance from the back of the building. I rented it on the spot.

As sad as that day was for me, it was something I had to do. I had to know who she was and whose team she was playing for. I could still talk to her on my cell phone and she would have no idea where I was unless I told her.

I settled in and set up my equipment so I could hear what was going on at her place. I called the contact the insurance company had given me there and set a meeting for dinner. I sat down with a map of the city and started to memorize it. I also marked the spots where all the cars had been taken from. I had to leave before Melody got home, but I was hopeful the tape machine would catch something useful.

The café Henry Thomas had picked was a bit upscale, but I had no problem fitting in and was taken to his table pretty quick like. After he told me all he knew, he gave me another folder with ten newly stolen car reports in it. He wasn’t a big man like Mike, but I could tell he could hold his own in a fight. The last thing he told me was what he felt was the most shocking thing of all.

“We think the cars are being handed over by the owners in exchange for the insurance money,” he blushed.

“What would be shocking about that?” I asked.

“Well, most of these cars belonged to men,” he blushed even more.

“And?” I questioned.

“I’m not sure how to say this. You seem to be a lady of means. I wouldn’t want to insult you,” he added.

“I don’t see that being a problem,” I smiled.

“Well”…he leaned over the table and lowered his voice. “We think these men are also being blackmailed by a prostitute ring.”

I didn’t blush. “Do you have any idea from what area these women might be working?”

“Same as most, Hollywood blvd.” He sat back in his chair. “An off duty officer saw one of the cars get taken while he was in a coffee shop. He tried to tail the car, but lost it,” he added. “The name of the coffee shop and the location is in the report,” he smiled.

I tried to excuse myself to the ladies room, but he said he had to go. He paid the tab and that was nice of him. I did stop at the ladies room and then headed back to my place.

I all but fell into the couch, as it was as worn out as I was. Melody still wasn’t home either. I figured from what she had told me she would be late getting home, so I kicked off my heels and started to read the new report I had.

I fell asleep somewhere around ten that night, at least that’s what the clock said the last time I looked at it. I got up and undressed and went to bed the proper way. Tomorrow would be a long day as well. Melody still wasn’t home, but that wasn’t enough to miss the sleep my body needed. Tomorrow I would try my luck at seeing a car get taken. If it worked, I was well on my way to solving the case.

Melody was home when I got up, but so far there was nothing on the tape. It only started when it heard something. So far it was still at the start of the tape. I got dressed and was out the door almost at the same time as Melody. It was a sure bet she was headed for work and I was too.

I made my way towards Hollywood and the place the off duty officer had seen the car taken. I wanted to get a look at the place and see if it would work for a surveillance spot for me. He had been lucky to spot it or so said the report. I wanted a place that was well located and had lots of glass to see out of. Of course they could see me too, but then I had the advantage they had no clue why I was there or who I was.

I only knew a handful of people in California and to me that was a plus. The less people that know you, the less likely you are to bump into one on the street and have them blow your cover. The drawback is you have a much smaller pool of people to help you. It took me a while to get there, but reality set in real quick.

There were three police cars and two ambulances parked in the lot of the café. It wasn’t hard to figure out that this was a central location to get a call from. These days it was all about “Response time”, the faster the better, so this was like a post for the boy in blue.

The café had a glass front almost floor to ceiling and the end that faced the corner street was glass as well. This would be a great location to work from so long as the boys in blue didn’t figure out what I was doing. I went inside and took the corner booth. I could see a long way in either direction.

It seemed to me, as I watched the people on the street, spandex was very popular along with super thin woman. Based on what I saw, I just thought I was thin. These women looked half starved to death. Either way I was overdressed for the occasion.

I had a late breakfast while I was there and got the lay of the land listening to a couple of cops in the booth next to mine. I knew then I wasn’t the only one looking for the stolen cars or the recovery fees. One even pointed a couple of other P.I.’s that he knew were there in the café. It was time to leave now, so I paid my bill and tried to attract as little attention as possible.

A few blocks from the house I spotted a gym and stopped to see if it was open to the public. It was and I bought their cheapest membership. The girls that sold it to me pointed out the store across the street that sold workout clothing. I took her advice and bought a spandex leotard and tights. Black was the only color she had at the time to fit, so black it was.

I went home from there and back to bed. I wasn’t tired, of course, but thieves tend to work at night so I was going back to the café after hours, so to speak. I slipped my scanner in my purse along with the ear piece so I wouldn’t forget it later. If there was a stolen car reported tonight, I wanted to know it as soon as the cops did.

I slept till nearly seven that evening then got up and headed for the gym. It was so much easier to move without the corset and it was time I well enjoyed. Back at the apartment I realized quickly enough that I couldn’t wear the corset under the spandex suit I had bought either. A few hours a day without it shouldn’t be a big deal, I told myself. I did wear pantyhose under the suit and while I took my tennis shoes with me, I wore my three inch heels.

The traffic wasn’t nearly so bad as it was during the day and I made good time getting there. I had picked up a movie script to read while I was there. If I was asked, I would tell them I was an aspiring actress. There were no cops there when I arrived, but the two ambulances were still parked out back of the building. I figured once the night creatures settled in the boys in blue would make the scene.

I had a salad for dinner and without the pressure of the corset I still felt full. I turned on my scanner and slipped the ear piece in and now I waited and watched.

Around midnight three big biker goons came in and thankfully they sat at the opposite end of the building from me. They were drunk and loud, but drinking coffee now as if that would sober them up. Around 2:00 a.m. two of the local cops came in and had lunch. They made the bikers nervous I guess so they left pretty quick like. I saw nothing suspicious all night save a few hookers walking the street, so just before sun up I went home.

This became my routine every night and soon I knew the staff at the café by name. My cover story worked and for the most part I felt safe. So far not a single car had been taken that I could see and I hadn’t heard a call go out on the scanner for any high end cars being stolen either. The bikers and the cops were regulars at the café as well. It was an odd combination I know, but they seemed not to bother each other for the most part.

A month had passed now and Melody hadn’t had a single visitor or a phone call on her home phone. I had spoken to her on the weekends same as always. She knew I was working a case and I had told her I would catch up to her when I was done. I think it was in part the fact that I was so well accepted as a female that caused me to let my guard down. That was a not a good thing to do and I should have known better.

I decided to leave the coffee shop early that Sunday night, the streets were deserted and the radio was almost silent. My truck was parked in a rather dark spot given all the lights in the area and I was jumped from behind just as I was opening my door. It was the three bikers that jumped me and the fight was over before it even started for me.

The police that came in that night found me in the parking lot and got the ambulance out back of the building to take me to the hospital. I was half conscious and hurting like there was no end. In my wallet they found Melody’s card from the clinic and, of course, it had Dr. Joyce’s number on it as well. I tried to tell them not to call Dr. Joyce, but they did.

When she arrived at the hospital, she was rather shocked. I had three broken ribs, both eyes were black, my forearm was fractured, as was my left ankle. She realized who I was and that was the only reason she was shocked. She signed the papers and had me moved to her clinic. Again, I tried to protest, but she was my doctor of record.

The ambulance took me to the clinic and as soon as I was checked in the men left. Dr. Joyce gave me shot that knocked me out. She told me she was going to so I wouldn’t be in such pain. In a way I was thankful I was in pain, but helpless to stop her. There was no telling what she might do to me. And Melody was sure to find out I was here, that would not be good.

When I came to, I still felt like death warmed up. I hurt all over and I could feel the bandages on my face. I managed to find the call button for the nurse and after some time she did come to check on me.

Dr. Joyce was with her and she began to explain about my injuries. My broken bones weren’t severe enough to need a cast, but she suggested that I not get in another fight any time soon. The cuts on my face had been stitched closed and that was the reason for the bandages. As she unwrapped my face, she told me the ribs would hurt for some time to come if I took a real deep breath. “All in all,” she added, “you came out if it rather well.”

I stayed another two days till the pain was under control with very little meds and then she sent me home. It wasn’t till I was there that I realized I had been in the clinic almost three weeks. A lot of things struck me as odd as soon as I realized this. First I hadn’t seen or heard from Melody. Second, as far as I could remember, there were no cuts on my face like the doctor had said. Third, Henry Thomas had somehow gotten my truck from the café and then brought it to the clinic. My purse, along with all my id and the keys to the truck, were all there….including one thousand dollars that was in my wallet.

The police report listed the incident as a mugging. If that was true, why was the money still here? Never mind that it was three to one so why didn’t try to rape me as well. Once again I had a lot of facts, but no way to know if it was the truth. At first glance I would have said it wasn’t.

I felt dirty to say the least and headed to the bedroom to get undressed and take a shower. When I paused in front of the mirror that covered the closet door, I got a full view of my naked body. From the lower rib area to my knees I was one very large bruise. My groin area wasn’t spared either so I guess they had kicked me there as well. They didn’t look it in the mirror, but my breasts felt as if they were bruised too. I was a mess to say the least.

I spent most of a month hold up in my apartment. I listened to and watched Melody, while I listened to the scanner for any report of a stolen car that fit the profile. I put lotions and creams on my body every day trying to speed the healing process along. I did get out to buy food and stuff such as that, but I was never too far from home.

I had more than one or two nightmares about the beating and in a lucid moment I saw the small rebel flag on the back of one of the bikes. I had to believe now that Isadora was right about Dad’s old gang and was probably right to have started me down the path I was on. Had the police not drove up when they did they would probably have beaten me to death. I decided that day, be it right or wrong morally any way, my best hope for staying alive was indeed to become the woman I appeared to be. I would finish this case and take the money and run, although, I still thought it was always a bad thing to run.

The vagina I saw between my legs was still fake to me. I could touch it and feel it and once even had a rather nice orgasm, but underneath I knew what was there. That would change and maybe sooner than I wanted it to, but that was the way it had to be.

I had called Melody and explained about the beating I had taken and why I didn’t call. She expressed her concerns, but it seemed empty to hear her say it. Her boyfriend from back east had come to visit and stayed the weekend. Her father had called too and I knew who she really was. It was ugly, but I will keep that to myself for now. Once I knew though a lot of things seemed to fall in place. I wasn’t the only one keeping tabs on Melody and now I knew why.

It was time to finish this and get out while she and I were still alive. I spent every night at the café for months, but the bikers never came back. I did see a few drive-bys, none of them ever stopped. I had a dozen spandex body suits now and that was what I wore every night. I kept my hair and nails done just so and did nothing out of character that might even suggest I was man. My breasts seemed to be growing, but when I stepped on the scale, I hadn’t gained any weight. Worse than that, I was often wet between my legs like a real woman would be. I didn’t have time to dwell on it right then as I was watching a woman put a briefcase in the trunk of a car. It wasn’t her car either. A man had parked it just a few minutes ago.

As quick as I could in my high heels, I went to the truck and started to follow her. The silver anniversary Jag fit the profile and for the moment I was very happy. She hit the ten freeway and got in the fast lane going east. We were almost out to the fifteen by the time the car was reported stolen, the tag number was given and it matched the one I was following. A smile crossed my face and I took a sigh of relief.

When we passed the ten and sixty interchange, she took the next exit. She was headed north now and was picking up the pace as she went. There wasn’t a lot of traffic out that night so I stayed back. I didn’t want to tip my hand. She stopped at what looked like an old military airfield. She left the car with a security guard and took another car and left with the briefcase. Another guard parked the car in a hanger and when he turned on the lights, I could see it was full of cars.

I knew where the cars were now, but this girl had me wondering. She left there casually and headed north again. She only went about a mile and then turned off on a dirt road. The moon was full that night so I turned off my lights and followed her. She stopped this time at a farm house. As she stood by the car, she strapped a pistol to her leg, then she took a wrap style skirt and hid it. The skirt was cut over the bodysuit. I would have to try that sometime.

She took the briefcase and headed toward the house. A single light came on and then a few seconds later there was gun fire. I counted about ten rounds before all was quiet. Considering where we were, I doubted anybody but me had heard it. I waited several minutes then slipped on my tennis shoes and took the .44 Magnum from my purse. As I moved towards the house, the girl came out. She was shot and only made it a few feet before she feel and dropped the briefcase.

I checked her pulse as I looked around. She was dead, but I was sure she wasn’t the only person there. I slowly made my way into the house and now I was the one who was shocked. The bikers that had beaten me were there and still alive for the moment. There was cocaine all over the floor and several growing pools of blood.

I stepped back out to where the girl had fallen and took her gun. I put one round each in the groin of the Bikers. Then I called Henry Thomas and reported that I had heard gun fire at a house and gave the location. I told him I had followed the stolen Jag out to that area, but had lost it. I put the gun back in her hand and then took the briefcase and opened it in my truck. I guessed it was about fifty thousand dollars all in small bills. I put the case behind my seat and headed home.

I only had to wait two weeks for another car to be stolen and it went to the same place as the jag. This time I called it in and Henry Thomas was the first to arrive. Before I allowed him to see the cars, I made him sign the waiver that gave me all the finder’s fees. The cops left the place alone till the security guards came in, they were arrested and soon told the whole story.

Henry Thomas might even get a promotion; he made ten arrests over the next two days. And as much as they hated it, the insurance company gave me a check for five hundred thousand dollars. Of course they fired me too, but then I wasn’t too worried about that part.

It was time to leave and to come clean with Melody about what I knew. It would be interesting to see if she filled in the few blanks left. While she was at work one day, I went to her place and took out all the bugs. If she didn’t take the news well, I didn’t want her to know how I found out either.

I called her on Friday and told her I was coming down to visit on Saturday. She seemed really happy to hear that and I wondered if she really was. The plan was simple. She and I would take a vacation and while we were alone I would tell her what I knew and offer her the chance to run away with me. If she accepted the offer, that was fine. If she didn’t, I would bring her back and I would never be seen again.

I spent most of the week with Isadora and eased her fears that I might become a man again. I hadn’t decided to have the operation and become a real woman either, but I was leaving the states till all this had time to die down. With my bags and some money in hand, Isadora drove me to the plane. I took off and then landed a short time later in L.A.

I took a cab to Melody’s place and she acted all but thrilled to see me. I told her I was going to Mexico for a couple of weeks and asked her to come with me. To my surprise she said yes and we left the next day.

We spent our days at the beach and our nights in a little beach cottage well suited for lovers. Thursday night would be our last and when we decided to pack before we went to bed I knew it was time.

“I know who you really are Melody. I know your father was a top nuclear scientist and he defected to the U.S. I know you and your father are watched by the C.I.A. and they even created a boyfriend for you.” I dumped two point five million dollars on the bed. “Come away with me now. I have a place already paid for and more money than either of us could ever spend. The C.I.A. has no clue where you are right now and they never have to again.” She smiled and for a moment my heart was happy, as I felt she would say yes.

“You know so much and yet you know so little,” she sat on the edge of the bed. “What you said is true, but I can never be free of them, at least not till my father dies,” she spoke softly letting her Russian accent show. “My mother was American and I was born in the U.S. They watch me to protect me from the K.G.B. and others who would try to get back at my father. For a while they even suspected you were after me for that reason. I knew you were beaten badly and in the clinic where I work.

“You knew,” I spat.

“Yes, and I know what they did to you,” she held her head down.

“What do you mean, what they did to me?”

“You will never be a man again. What you have between your legs is real now and has been since you were there,” she began to cry. “It was because of me and I hate them for it,” he added through her tears.

I all but fell over on the bed. I was a woman now for real and if I knew, Dr. Joyce may be more woman that I wanted to be. This was the most twisted thing I had ever heard of and I struggled to get my head around even the idea of it.

Early the next morning I put all but a few dollars of the money in the bank. Then I flew Melody back to L.A. At the airport we cried again, as we said our goodbyes. I had the plane refueled and paid cash, then headed back to Mexico.

From there I hopped from island to island till I made my way to Aruba. I had already applied for citizenship and bought a home there on the beach. As soon as I settled in, I moved all my money to a numbered account at a local bank. I called Isadora and told her where I was and how to find me in the event of an emergency.

As the days passed, my hips and breasts just seemed to get bigger and bigger. I know it’s hard to believe that a woman can have F cup that are natural, but my mom did. I could only guess with my body full of female hormones I was well on my way to looking like her in that department.

Uncle David finally died, but it was of natural causes. He had a heart attack in his sleep and was found dead the next day by his barman. Isadora called to break the news and said I should move the money that David had given me now. I didn’t need it, but someday mom might so I took it while I could.

Two years later Mom was killed by a drunk driver on New Year’s night. I flew home and paid all her final expenses. Isadora was there for the funeral and it was the first time I had ever seen here cry.

“Well,” she sobbed. “It’s just you and me now, kiddo.”

“Yes, it is,” I replied, as I closed the car door and she headed home.

I went back to the islands, but freely stayed in touch with Isadora now. She told how about the time I had bust the stolen car thing in California. The bikers quit coming around. In fact, she hadn’t seen them since.

Mike and Melody were still my two closet friends, but I seldom talked to them. I had gotten a message to Mike through Isadora as to where I was and how to find me. I never expected to see him, but I felt like it was the right thing to do.

When Isadora told me that Melody’s father had died, I hoped she would look me up. True, I wasn’t a man anymore, but I still cared for her deeply. There was some time left on the grant money according to Isador, and Melody was still working at the clinic.

Not long after that call Mike came knocking on my door. He was still recovering from a bullet through the shoulder. In fact, he told me he left the day he was released from the hospital. “I guess that angry brother finally caught up to you,” I said, as I helped him into a chair.

“Yes,” he replied, “in some pain and they are still alive. Looks like you’re doing good,” he all but questioned.”

“Still getting accustomed to the island life, but yes, I am doing okay.” Mike was a big man and a man’s man as well. Still I had to tell him that what he saw was real now. I was a woman, not all that proud to be, but that was the truth, like it or not.

“I always figured you would end up like this,” Mike said.” You were always pretty as a woman and still are. I can tell you that now,” he added.

“Was there some reason you couldn’t before?” I asked.

“Melody,” he replied. “I always wanted you for myself, but as long as there was hope for you and her I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Mike wasn’t big with words, but what little he said meant a lot to me. It was well past sunset and too many beers later that I helped him to bed. When I finally got him there, he used his one good hand and pulled me down on top of him. He gave me a kiss that made chills run up and down my spin. His one arm would reach around my waist and he wasn’t letting me up either.

I finally took off my bikini and eased myself on top of him. His penis was rock hard and standing straight up. I got on my knees and eased myself down on top of him and it was a feeling like no other. I ravaged his body well into the morning hours and fell asleep wrapped up in his arm.

I was up the next morning and had cooked breakfast before Mike even stirred. He took the cup of coffee I offered him and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. I put the food on the table and then sat down and had a cup of coffee myself. He didn’t say thank you. Good morning. I had a great night,” he just looked at me really hard.

“Marry me?” He asked.

“Do what?” I said stunned.

“You heard me. I want to marry you,” he replied in a smooth even tone. “Do I have to tell you I love you after all this time?” He added.

“It’s not that simple, Mike. By island law I am still a man and two men can’t marry here.”

“So I am sure we can get it done somewhere,” he smiled.

“Yes, we could in Mexico, but are you sure that is what you want? This is not some fantasy,” I pointed to my body.

“When can we go?” He asked.

“You really do want me, don’t you?”

“It’s all I have wanted since the day I met you,” He smiled.

“You realize you will be branded as a gay man after this.”

“So long as you and I are happy, let them pound sand,” he smiled ear to ear.

“Okay, we can leave tomorrow. I will make the arrangements.”

The next day I started bleeding and I was sure I was having my period. Up till now I just had the symptoms, never the bleeding.

Still Mike and I went to a small village in Mexico and were married that day.

From then on he and I were attached at the hip. He wanted to do something besides lay around in the sand so he opened a medical supply house in the village where we lived. When I called Isadora and told her the news, she was happy for Mike and I.

Mike and I made love often and even sometimes on the beach. You have to be careful about that. One sand in the wrong place is never a good thing, but as sure as night must follow day, I missed my period. I went to the doctor and found out indeed I was pregnant.

The first six months wasn’t so bad, but I wouldn’t wish the last three on my worst enemy. The doctor had to do a C section and take James Michal, but I had 6 pound 8ounce boy. Mike was a very proud father and I did all I knew to be the best mother I could.

I breast fed him till my breasts dried up, but by then he was eating baby food and using a sippy cup. And yes, I went on the pill as soon as the doc allowed me to.

Mike turned out to be a wonderful father and great husband. I don’t think for us things could have worked out much better.

Isadora came down for James 2nd birthday. We had a party, of course, and we all had a great time. Isadora had invited Melody at my request. Enough time had passed now that I figured she had a man of her own, so I wouldn’t be upset if she did. She did get there a day late, but Mike and I were glad to see her nonetheless.

Isadora wanted to go house shopping so with James and Melody in tow we went.

Melody was shocked that Mike and I were married, never mind that we had a son.

Isadora found a palace she liked and started to negotiate a price right then. She got the agent down to a reasonable price and got it on paper even. I felt sure she would buy it and retire here when the time came.

Later on I answered a ton of questions for Melody in private, of course. She wanted to know everything. So I told her. Yes, I had a regular period now, even though I had all the symptoms long before I even bled the first time. I had carried James full term, but I didn’t risk natural child birth. I showed her the small scar from the C section and then she believed me.

“Of all the people Dr. Joyce did the operation on, you’re the only verified 100% success,” Melody said with a tear in her eye. “Dr. Joyce is dead now,” she added.

That didn’t make me heart broken, but I knew how much Melody liked her and believed in her work. “What happened to the clinic?” I asked.

“Well, the grant money died with her. I wanted to carry on, but the people that controlled the money said no, so that was the end of that,” she smiled.

“So move down here and get some grant money locally. You can carry on her work here. You know Mike and I will help you all we can. I would bet Isadora could fund you and never miss the money,” I added. She said she would think about it and get back to me. That weekend she went home and it was just Mike, James and I again.

Melody had one quarter to do before she got her MD and she did that as soon as she got back. Isadora called me and asked if I would go in half to set up a clinic and fund her to carry on the research Dr. Joyce was doing. Mike and I had already talked about it and he was game, so I told her, yes we would.

Six months later Isadora and Melody came to the Island to stay. There was tons of money floating around the Island and soon Melody had her clinic in full swing. In fact, Isadora and I only bought the building and covered her payroll for the first six months.

Melody became Aunt Melody to James. It was so cute to watch Isadora cringe when James started calling her Nana. She fawned over the boy like he was her own and he never went without anything he wanted. Mikes love for me only grew and we all became a family in a way. And I loved him more than words could tell. We were all happy now…and we liked it that way.

The end.