It was almost midday before they left the motel. Stevie had to do her male act all over again, in order to pay for the petrol at the adjoining filling station, and then they headed straight to the university, where Stevie found the cash machine and used Leonard's card to withdraw the maximum the machine would allow.

'We don't know how long you're going to have to remain Liz,' she explained, handing over the money to her.

'But all we have to do is find the girls and force them to hand over the tool to release me,' Liz said. She looked around, at the almost frantic activity around them. 'I didn't realise it was normally this busy around the campus. Is there some special event on?'

'It's moving day,' Stevie said. 'Everyone's parents drive here, load up their cars with the term's accumulated junk, then take their loved ones home with them. For all we know, the three girls may already have left. I suggest you stay in the car, whilst I whiz round to their rooms and find out if they're still around.'

It seemed a good suggestion to Liz, who was still nervous about appearing in public, especially since one of the three girls might suddenly appear and denounce her. She sat in the car and listened to the radio for a few minutes, and tried to make herself appear inconspicuous. In the films, the private eye never had any problem with keeping watch in a car for hours. The problem was that people were continually milling around the cars, carrying boxes, rolls of bedding, suitcases, sleeping bags, rucksacks, and all kinds of other paraphernalia, and loading them into the cars. They were forever walking immediately next to her car, and virtually every bloke clocked the size of her breasts, and then did a double take.

'Why do men never look you in face?' Liz demanded, as Stevie returned, and got into the car. 'They're always peering down at my chest.'

Stevie smiled. 'I think I've had this conversation before,' she said. 'Do you want to have a debate about it, or would you rather I told you what I've found out?'

'Go on.'

'It looks like all three girls have left the campus,' Stevie said. 'I've had a look in all their rooms, and they've been cleared.

'That's not unusual,' she explained, seeing Liz's look of incomprehension. 'They hold conferences here in the vacation, and use the student rooms for the attendees.'

'But what's happened to the box that Betty came in, that you saw last night?'

'I found the box in one of the dustbins, but it was completely empty. I guess one of the girls must have taken the tool home, with them.'

'But I can't stay like this until the start of next term!'

Stevie smiled sympathetically. 'I don't think you have any choice. I know it must be really terrible for you.'

Liz made some comment about having to make do, before Stevie continued, 'Obviously, you can't go back to your mother's house like that. We'll simply have to find somewhere you can stay until next term. Of course, there are some nice holiday flats in the centre of Seacombe. It would be quite fun to live in one of those for a few weeks. At this time of year, we could rent one quite cheaply.'

Liz stared at her, thinking of how Stevie had casually used the term "we", of their frolics that morning, and the amount of fun they could have spending several weeks in a holiday flat.

She couldn't stop a huge grin spreading right across her face. 'Yes, that sounds quite a good suggestion. In fact, I'm due some holiday from work. I could ring them and tell them I want to take it now.'

Stevie returned the grin. 'That's great. And I'll telephone my parents and tell them I'm staying with a girlfriend over Easter.'

And the other thing she really must do, she told herself, was to find a good hiding place for the tool to release the bodysuit, which was practically burning a hole in her pocket. She had almost dropped it on the floor as she dressed that morning.

Her smirk grew even larger as she thought how perfectly everything had worked out. She'd guessed ages ago what it was that Leonard really found compelling about women, but dropping that comment last week to the girls about the University mascot had been inspirational. Everything had grown from that, just like, she thought, putting a bun in the oven and watching it form - whilst the exact shape may have been a little uncertain, the result was inevitable!

Author's Note: I hope you have enjoyed this story. I have organised the pages this way so I can see how many people read to the end of my story. Unfortunately, it means you cannot leave a Kudos on this page, but merely by reading this page, you have recorded your visit. Please feel free to leave a comment if you wish. Go back to the main story page.