[another oldie from 2010 dragged out of cold storage]

[Notting Hill, West London]

The owner of the flat buzzed his caller in through the front door to the house. Thirty or so seconds later there was a discrete knock on his flat.

Liam answered the door. He’d been expecting the person who now stood in front of him.
“Hello Trixie. I didn’t think you were coming tonight.”

“Hi Liam. I had a few things to take care of. Still I’m here now.”
Liam smiled.
“You know I’m always pleased to see you. Trixie.”

Trixie went into the bedroom. Liam joined her there and closed the door.

A couple of hours later, they were both in the kitchen.
“Liam, I won’t be able to come any more. I guess you will have to find another lady of the night for your Tuesday sessions.”

This was obviously a shock for Liam.
“Why won’t you be able to come any more?”

Trixie was finding this a little hard.
“Liam, I’m giving up the game. I’ve made enough money and now I’m getting out while I’m young enough and healthy.”

“Well, good for you. I’m pleased for you. I shall really miss you Trixie. I hope you know that.”

She held his hand.
“I know that Liam. You are so nice and gentle. It has always been a pleasure to come here.”
“Trixie, if there is anything I can ever do for you, please let me know.”

“You are a real sweetie Liam. My best client by a long way.”

“What does Delroy say about you quitting the game?”

“He’s cool. Sorry to see his best girl leave but he always treats his girls nice. He’s a big sweetie really. He has a replacement for me if you are interested. Helga, a very leggy Swedish Blonde?”

Liam thought for a moment.

“I think I’ll pass on her”

He smiled at Trixie.

“If we had met in a different situation, I’d be asking you out for a date”, said Liam with a big sigh in his voice.

“Oh Liam, you are so sweet.”

She kissed him gently. So gently that he got an erection.

As she left him for the last time, she whispered into his ear,

“I’d have said yes by the way.”

[Three months Later]

Liam sat down quite exhausted from all the packing. His flat had finally sold and tomorrow the removers would take all his worldly goods to his new place.

He looked around and realised how bare the place was without his ‘stuff’ all around. For a moment, he looked a bit sad.

After a while, his stomach started rumbling. It was reminding him that it needed a refill as he often joked to himself.

He wandered from the bare living room into the equally bare kitchen. A stack of sealed boxes reminded him that the cupboard was indeed bare.

He thought to himself that there would be nothing to it but he’d have to wander down to Portobello Road and get a pizza or something. Despite the hunger pangs and rumblings from his stomach he didn’t relish going out as it had been chucking it down with rain almost all day. Only for a brief period in the middle of the afternoon had the forecasters statement of heavy rain and sunny periods come anywhere near to being true.

Liam was just about to put on his coat when the door buzzer went off. He had hardly moved when it went off again.

“Ok. Ok. I’m coming.”

He went to the intercom in the hall and pressed the intercom button.

“Hello. What is it? Whatever it is, I’m not buying anything.”

“Liam, it’s Trixie. Can I come in? I need your help?”

“Trixie? What?”

Stunned by her unexpected arrival, he buzzed her into the building

“Please come in.”

Less than 30 seconds later, she was banging on his front door.
Still somewhat surprised by her arrival, Liam opened the door.

The woman that stood there was not the Trixie he’d known for the last four years. She looked like she’d been pulled through the proverbial hedge backwards, sideways and any which way several times.

“Come on in”, he stammered.

She almost fell into the flat and collapsed with her wet coat dripping onto his white leather sofa.

Then she started sobbing.

“Thank you. I didn’t know where I could go…”

Liam sat next to her but didn’t try to comfort her. This was indeed a very different Trixie from the confident, self-assured person who had regularly visited him over the proceeding four years.

He helped her out of her very wet ‘wet-look mac’.

In the three months since their last meeting, Trixie had changed her appearance beyond belief.

Gone was the beautifully cut black bob. Now she had bleached blonde hair with the roots clearly in need of attention.

Gone, was the near perfect makeup. Now she was more like one of the young ‘punk or Goth’ women that you would see all over London.

Gone, was the expensive ‘Bond St’ suits and dresses. Now she wore a skimpy top, denim hot pants and black fishnet tights. Trixie had always loathed tights especially when she was ‘on business calls’.

Gone, were the beautiful elegant Designer high-heeled shoes. Now she wore a pair of Red patent 5 inch really cheap ‘tart shoes’.

“What had happened to you?”

“I was kidnapped.”

“Who by?”

“The Ukrainians, Russians. I don’t know they all looked the same to me.”

“What Ukrainians or Russians?”

“The ones who killed Delroy and then took over his business.”

“I thought you were giving up the game?”

“I did. Apparently, Delroy didn’t erase my name from his ‘little black book’. When they took over they assumed that everyone who’s name was in that book was now their property and as their property, they would do what they want with them. Anyone who argued would not survive long. That was made clear to me right from the outset.”

“I was just about to go out for some food. Why don’t you come with me?”

“They might have followed me,” she said in a panic.

He could clearly see that Trixie was in a state.

“Ok. I’ll go and get something for both of us.”

“Please don’t leave. What if they come while you are out?”

“It’ll be all right. They can hardly mistake me for you, can they?”

“I do need something to eat. I haven’t eaten all day.”

“Don’t you have anything in the fridge?”

He smiled.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m about to move house. After a year on the market, I sold this place. I’m due to move tomorrow. I did tell you that I was trying to sell this place but that was a lifetime ago.”

Trixie didn’t like what she was hearing. She gripped Liam’s arm even tighter.

He held for a long time.

“Let me go and get us something to eat. Then we can talk about what to do with you. Besides, I can have a look around for anything suspicious outside. I live here and my going out and coming back is not out of the ordinary.”

Slowly, she let his arm go.

“I’ll even switch the light off while I’m gone. Just stay where you are. Don’t go up to the windows. If there is someone watching, then you don’t want to make it easy for them to find you. I’ve taken down the curtains in every room apart from my bedroom. Why don’t you stay in there until I’m back?”

Liam spouted that out without thinking but he meant what he said.

Gently, he coaxed Trixie off the sofa and into his bedroom. He held her once more and slowly left her alone. He switched off the lights and left the flat with his mind reeling.

The cool evening air greeting him as he stepped out of the 4-story Victorian Town House and onto the street. There was a cold wind to accompany the rain as he turned up the collar to his coat and headed towards the bright lights of Portobello Road.

Luckily, there was no queue at his favourite Jamaican ‘Take-away’ close to the railway arches.

“Hello there Mr Liam” said the owner Leroy. Liam was a regular customer of the establishment.

“Hello Leroy. Not a very nice evening out there is it?”

“No Man. It almost makes me wish I was back in the Caribbean if you know what I mean. All that sun and sea and rum and the most beautiful women on the planet.”

The beaming smile on Leroy’s face was evident that he missed his homeland.
“Surely you have made enough money from this place to build your dream home by now?”

This was a standing joke between Leroy and many of his regular customers.

“Not yet Mr Liam. Close but not yet.” came his standard reply.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“What will you be having Mr Liam?”

“How’s the Chicken and Peas tonight?”

“As good as ever Mr Liam.”

“Fair enough. I’ll have two to go.”

“Two? In all the times that you have been coming in here this is the first time you have ordered two portions. You have some company?”

Liam laughed.

“I have some company. Yes, this is the first time. And the last I’m afraid.”

“Why?”

“I’m moving out of town tomorrow.”

Leroy’s face dropped.

“Aren’t my Chicken and Peas good enough for you?”

Liam laughed.

“They are by far the best in Notting Hill Leroy and I would not think of going anywhere else. Sadly, for you, I’m moving to the country. Not much call for Jamaican food out there you know.”

Leroy finished dishing up the food and placed the carrier bag on the counter.

“Thanks Leroy. What’s the damage?”

“No charge Mr Liam. On the house. That way, you can come visit us every time you are back in town. If you don’t, I’ll get the voodoo on you.”

They both laughed. Liam understood Leroy well enough. He ‘owed’ Leroy a favour.

“Thanks Leroy. I’ll not forget.”

They “High Fived” each other as Liam left the shop.

On his way home, he stopped at a supermarket, where he bought a bottle of wine and some milk. With a bit of renewed confidence, he turned into Clydesdale Gardens and almost stopped dead.

Two men were almost blocking the path. Not ordinary men but huge men. They were talking in what sounded like Russian but could have been any of the Slavic languages for all Liam knew of them.

They saw Liam and after glaring at him, one of them stood aside and let him pass by.

He hurried down the street and into his building.

He closed the door to the street and breathed a sigh of relief.

As he climbed the stairs, he started to wonder what he would say to Trixie.

Liam let himself into the flat and didn’t switch on the lights.

He went into the bedroom and saw Trixie lying on the bed fast asleep.

He smiled. That would give him some time to think.

Liam went into the sitting room and sat down. He felt relieved that he didn’t have to explain to Trixie that in all probability, there were some Russians outside.

The light from the streetlights was sufficient for him to eat most of Leroy’s excellent ‘Chicken and Rice’ or as Leroy put it, ‘Rice and Peas with some Chicken’. He opened the wine as luckily it had a screw top bottle.

The next thing Liam knew was someone knocking at the door.

Liam woke with a start at the knocks.

He looked at his watch and breathed a sigh of relief. It was 8am. It was probably the removal people.

Still wiping the sleep from his eyes, he opened the door.

Any sleep still remaining, was quickly eradicated.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

There were two police officers standing outside.

“Hello. Mr Patrick?”

“Yes. What can I do for you?”

“I’m DC Carslake. This is DI Jarvis. We are from Notting Hill Police. We are wondering if you can help us?”

“Well, if I can, I will?”

“We are looking for this young lady. I believe you may know her?”

One of them handed Liam a photo of Trixie.

“Yes. Yes, I do. Well, I did. I’ve not seen anything of her for several months.”

He handed the photo back.

“As you can see, I’m moving today. I thought you were the removal people”, said Liam standing to one side so that the officers could see the pile of boxes in the hallway.

“What was your relationship with this young lady?” asked the other officer.

Liam didn’t say anything for several seconds.

“Ok.” He said holding his hand up.

“I was a regular client of hers until three months ago. She told me that she was giving up the game. I never found another lady that was remotely like Trixie. She was special. Why? What’s she done?”

“Thank you for being honest Mr Patrick. Trixie as you called her was indeed a call girl. We have reason to believe that she was indeed giving the game. She disappeared more than a month ago. We have her on CCTV leaping out of the back of a Black Transit in Shepherds Bush last night. We also have her on CCTV heading in this general direction. Yours is however only one of several clients she had in this area.”

“She was reported missing two weeks ago. Her landlord gave us access to her home. We are checking with all her… her clients such as yourself.”

The other one said,

“Do you have a contact number where we can reach you if we want to ask you anymore questions?”

“Yes sure. 07100402399. I’m hardly likely to see hear from her though as I said, I’ve sold this place and I’m moving out of London today.”

One of them wrote it down on his pad.

He heard the removal men arriving.

“If there isn’t anything else, my removers are here.”

“No Mr Patrick. If you do happen to see ‘Trixie’, please get her to call us. We would like to help her. She may have information relating to the murder of her former pimp, one Delroy Thomas. His body was retrieved from a lake near Staines two days before she went missing.”

Liam smiled.

“Certainly, I will get her to call you if I see her.”

The removal men arrived to get Liam out of any more questions.

“Thanks again Mr Patrick.”

The two officers made their way down the stairs.

“Hi” said Liam to the two removal men.

“Why don’t you start with the sitting room? I’ve got a few things to sort out in the bedroom first.”

“Ok Guv.”

Liam went into the bedroom. Trixie was cowering in the corner.
He shut the door and went over to her.

“Hey, it’s going to be all right. The Police have gone.”

“What’s happening now?”

“The removers are here.”

“Oh Fuck. What am I going to do now?” she cried.

Liam sat down on the floor next to her and put his arms around her.
“I’ll think of something.”

He sat quietly for more than 5 minutes.

“Oh shit. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s staring me in the face.”

“What? What have you thought?” asked Trixie urgently.

Liam smiled.

“That trunk is the something.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is your way out of here”

“Me? No way. I can’t fit in there. Besides, I’d suffocate.”

Liam laughed.

“Not in there you won’t. I used to play in there all the time as a child. It was one of my favourite places for hide and seek games.”

Reluctantly, Trixie got up and opened walked over to the trunk.

She released the single hasp catch and looked inside.

“There’s an awful lot of clothes in here.”

“They are easily removed,” said Liam joining her.

Together, they lifted most of them out of the truck and put them on the bed.
“Get in.”

Trixie slipped off her shoes and climbed inside. Her supple body easily fitted inside.
Liam closed the lid.

“How’s that?”

“Seems ok,” came the voice from inside the trunk.

“How long would I have to be in here?” she added.

“Probably about 6 hours all told.”

“Ok. Let’s do it. Can you let me out? I need to pee first.”

Liam let her out of the trunk.

“I’ll have to lock you in. That way, the movers won’t be tempted to look inside.”

Trixie thought for several seconds.

Then she gave him a small smile.

“I’ll just have to trust you, won’t I?”

Liam squeezed her hand gently.

“Let me see when the coast is clear,” he said moving towards the door.

A minute later, he said.

“They’ve just taken a load down to the van. Be quick…”

Three minutes later, she was back in the bedroom.

As she climbed into the trunk, she gave Liam a little peck on the cheek.

“Thanks Liam. I really owe you for this.”

He looked into her eyes and said.

“Don’t worry about things like that now Trixie. The most important thing is to get you out of here safely and away from those Russkies.”

She pecked him again on the cheek and climbed into the trunk.

As he closed the lid, she gave him a little wave goodbye.

Quickly, he locked the lid and set about putting the clothes into several large plastic bags that were left over from his other packing.

An hour later, everything including the trunk was loaded into the Van. With a decisive slam, the movers closed up the van and prepared to drive off.

Liam watched them go. He noted that one of the Russians from the previous night was standing on the corner watching events.

Liam went back upstairs, got his things together and locked up his flat for the last time.

Once outside, he went up to the Estate Agents “Sold” board and pulled it down.

He went over to his car and drove off to the country only stopping to drop the keys and the “Sold” board off at the Estate Agents in Notting Hill. ‘Sold’ boards outside empty properties were a nice juicy target for the thieves who delighted in stripping properties bare. Kitchens and bathrooms and even light fittings were known to go ‘walkies’ within days of a property becoming empty. Liam didn’t want that to happen to his old place.

---

Liam waited anxiously for the Removal Van to arrive at his new home. It had taken them almost 5 hours to travel from London to rural Dorset.

He breathed a big sigh of relief as the van made its way carefully along the track to the 18th Century Cottage he’d bought with his last bonus from the City Bank where he had worked for some 8 years.

“Hello Chaps. Did you have a good Journey?” he asked as the crew climbed out of the lorry.

“Not too bad once we got out of London and through those roadworks on the M3, but that is the norm these days” said the driver.

“I’ve got a fresh brew in the kitchen.”

“Thanks Guv” said the driver.

He turned to the rest of his crew.

“10 minutes and then we’ll get unloaded. I want to be back home for the Rangers game tonight.”

They all disappeared into the house for some tea.

Unloading took a lot less time than the loading. So, Liam said goodbye to the removers less than an hour later and watched the van drive away.

Once it was out of sight, he hurried inside and released Trixie from the trunk.

“Hello. We’re here,” he said cheerily.

“Hello again” said a slightly grumpy Trixie.

As he helped her out, she complained.

“Everything has gone to sleep. I’m so stiff.”

He smiled.

“Sorry about the little extra time you were in there. I wanted to make things appear as normal as possible.”

“How long was I in there?”

“A little over 6 hours”

She smiled sheepishly.

“I fell asleep on the journey down so it didn’t seem so long”

Changing the subject, Liam asked.

“Hungry or do you want a shower or a bath first?”

Trixie was about to answer when her stomach rumbled loudly.

They both laughed.

“I think we have the answer,” she said. “Which way is the food?”

“Follow me Trixie”

He sat her down in the kitchen.

“I made something while I waited for the removers. It should be ready by now,” said Liam opening the oven.

He extracted a large cast iron casserole pot. He put in on a wooden plate in the middle of the table and opened the lid.

“That smells good,” said Trixie.

He smiled.

“Just a hot pot.”

He put a dish in front of her and said

“Help yourself. There is plenty.”

He opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. He put one in front of Trixie and sat down.

“I think you should stop calling me Trixie. I’m done with all that. For good.”

“Ok. What do I call you?”

She looked at him.

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Ok. I’ll try”

She looked at him harder.

“My real name is Elizabeth Sophia Audrey Christmas”

“That is certainly a strange name.”

“Yeah. My Mum was a movie fan. Elizabeth for Liz Taylor, Sophia for Sophia Loren and…”

“Don’t tell me, Audrey for Audrey Hepburn?”

“Yep. She idolised their films.”

“Christmas is a funny name too.”

“Yeah. My dad hated it. I thought it cool as a kid though, as I had a real ‘father Christmas’.”

“Did you ever think about changing it?”

“Lots of times but I could never settle on a name I liked.”

She added.

“This is good. You’ll make someone a good husband one day.”
Liam smiled back.

“I’ve never found the right woman. One who would understand me and not want me for my money.”

”She’ll turn up sooner or later Liam. Don’t worry about that.”

He laughed.

“Not so easy now that I’ve given up the bright lights of London.”

“How about I call you Sophia. You were always very sophisticated.”

Trixie laughed.

“Ok then. Sophia it is.”

She smiled at him.

“That is what I always went by at school so it is nice that you chose that name”
She ate the last mouthful of her food and pushed the plate back contentedly.

“What more could a girl ask for eh? Good food, good company.”

“Why thank you, kind lady,” said Liam returning the compliment.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, exactly where the hell are we?”

Liam giggled.

“Sorry. Let me give you the grand tour. All will then be revealed.”

He offered her his hand that she took gratefully.

Liam showed Sophia all over his new home. Then he took her outside.

“This is the reason I came here,” he said admiring the view.

“That is Cranborne Chase. Beyond that is the nearest town, Shaftesbury. The one with that hill in the ‘Hovis’ TV adverts.”

“That is a beautiful view. Far better than your old one.”

“Yes. One that I’m going to really like waking up to in the morning.”

“How much land do you have here?”

“Seventeen Hectares. A little over 42 Acres in old money.”

“That is a lot of land. It must have cost a packet.”

“Yes, it did. Nearly as much as I got in bonuses for the last three years plus what a good part of what I made on the sale of my flat. Most of the others at work blew it on fast cars and the like. I invested it and then… Well, I had enough to buy this place and enough to live on for a long time if I’m careful enough.”

Sophia had an idea of the cost. She knew the sort of figure Liam’s bonus ran to.

What do you intend to do with it?”

“Farm it naturally. Organic mixed farming and being virtually self-sufficient in everything. That will feed me and whatever is left over, I’ll sell.”

“Everything? Even Electricity?”

“Yep. There is a small river down there. It is the River Stour. There was once a water mill. Actually, there are the remains of the water wheel and mill building still there. I’m going to restore it and generate my own electric. The surplus I’ll sell to the electric companies. The water will be collected from the rain and treated by a solar purification plant. That will be over there in the small barn off to the right. I estimate that the thing will pay for itself in about 4 years. Then a bank of solar panels on the barn roof and some batteries and then I can go off grid.”

“What about animals?”

“Chickens, pigs and a maybe few sheep. The land over the hill is perfect for grazing sheep and possibly the odd rare breed cow. The Pigs will have the time of their life in the copse over to your left. Then the two fields in front of you will be veggies and some fruit. That is the plan anyway.”

“Sound like a lot for one person to do on their own?” asked Sophia.

“Yes, it is a lot. But there is no rush. It does not have to be done tomorrow. We are well into the growing season for this year so I’ll work on getting the basic infrastructure sorted out this year.”

“Do you know what comes first?”

Liam laughed.
“Yes. Get a small patch dug over and some herbs planted. Plus a few salad crops and the like. Then a bigger patch for winter cabbages, leeks and other root veggies.”

“What about the mill?”

“That will take some time. I’ll need planning permission for it and the overhead cables from down there to up here.”

“Why don’t you bury them? Overhead lines look so ugly and may even spoil the view?” suggested Sophia.

“They would need to be at least 4ft down to avoid any possible damage from ploughs in the future. That will cost a lot of money.”

Sophia seemed to accept that.

They stood in silence for a while watching the sun setting.

“Well, I don’t know about you but I think there are some jobs that need doing inside.”

“Such as? This is so beautiful.”

“Such as somewhere to sleep tonight?”

“I’d sorta forgotten about that. It has been a hell of a day. From locked in a truck to escape London to standing here watching the sunset in deepest Dorset. That is the sort of day you could only dream about.”

“If we do it together, it won’t take long.”

“What won’t take long?”

“Making up a couple of beds”

Sophia looked really downhearted when Liam mentioned separate beds.
She shrugged her shoulders and went inside with him.

It was nearly 11pm when they finally said goodnight to each other and went into their bedrooms.

Liam lay there listening to the silence of the countryside, the calling of the foxes and the cry of some distant cows.

Sophia lay in her bed unable to sleep. It was just too quiet. No cars. No police sirens. No aircraft flying overhead into Heathrow.

Just after three, she gave up and crept into Liam’s bedroom.

“Are you awake?” she whispered.

“Yes. Can’t sleep. It is too quiet.”

“Me neither. Can I join you?”

“Sure. Climb on in.”

Sophia climbed into bed next to Liam and put her arms around him. In less than 10 minutes, she was fast asleep. He eventually dropped off a while later.

The birds were singing and the sun was streaming in through the windows when Liam finally woke. Sophia was still fast asleep. He hadn’t realised that she was naked when she came into his bed in the night.

He was shocked at the bruises on her arms and neck. Her top had obscured them from view previously.

Carefully, he lifted the duvet up and peered underneath.

There was bruising around the tops of her thighs as well as to her torso. She had obviously been through a lot in her time as a working girl for the Russians.

He smiled when he saw her tattooed foot.

He loved the snowflakes that she had acquired over her right foot. Everyone was different just like the real thing. The light blue ink made them almost invisible when she wore anything heavier than 10-denier hosiery.

He lay there for a while as Sophia stirred herself into life.

“What time is it?”

“A little after 7am.”

“Seven. Far too early.”

She turned over and went back to sleep.

Liam had to have answer the call of nature so he slid out of bed and got dressed, used the toilet and went downstairs in search of some breakfast.

It was close to nine when the smell coffee and Bacon and Eggs cooking roused Sophia from her slumbers.

“Good Morning,” she said half stifling a yawn as she walked into the kitchen still naked.

“Morning Sophia. Hungry?”

“Yes. I don’t normally have breakfast but today, I think I will.”

“Bacon and Egg coming up.”

Sophia sat down and drank from the mug of coffee that Liam had poured for her.

“It is a lovely morning”, commented Sophia.

“The forecast is for a fine day today. Rain tomorrow. I thought about doing some digging and preparing a veggie patch. I can unpack tomorrow”
“What can I do?” I’m not very good at this digging thing. Actually, I’ve never tried.”

They both laughed.

“There are a lot of boxes to unpack in the sitting room and in here”

He smiled.

“I’ll risk the ‘woman’s touch’.”

Sophia glared at him but underneath saw the funny side of things.

“Sophia, I couldn’t help but notice those bruises”

Suddenly she became very conscious of her nakedness. She rushed out of the room and up the stairs. He could hear her crying.

Liam waited for a few minutes before going upstairs to comfort her.

She was curled up in a ball in the trunk wrapped in a towel.

Liam knelt down beside her and took her hand.

“I’m sorry Sophia. I didn’t mean to hurt you”

“It is me who should be saying sorry Liam. You are right. They must look awful. They were done by one of the goons. Sergei. Huge ugly brute with a big tattoo on his neck and head.”

Liam knew whom she meant. It was one of the two ‘goons’ he had met when he was out the evening Sophia had arrived on his doorstep.

“Don’t worry Sophia. You are safe here with me.”

“I can’t stay here forever.”

Without thinking, Liam said.

“Sophia, you can stay here as long as you like. I’ll never throw you out or mistreat you. I never did before and I’m not going to start now.”

She didn’t say anything but gripped his hand tightly.

It was only then did he realise what he had said.

The more he thought about it, the more he actually felt comfortable with her beside him. She had always been more than just a ‘call girl’ to him in the past. Now she was something far more. Far more important to him.

Gradually, she regained her composure.

“I’m so sorry for running away like that.”

“Don’t think about it anymore. If you want to wander around naked then its fine with me.”

“I don’t have anything to wear. I’m not putting those horrible clothes on again”
Liam smiled.

He held her hand and let her get out of the trunk.

“Where are we going?” asked Sophia.

“To find you some clothes,” he said smiling.

Liam led her into the third bedroom on the cottage.

There were two suitcases and several large plastic bags on the floor.

“There should be something for you in there. They might not fit perfectly but they will have to do until we can buy you some of your own.”

He opened the first case to reveal that it was filled with women’s clothes mostly tops and skirts. It was the same with the other case. This one contained some underwear, hosiery and shoes.

Finally, he opened one of the large bags. Inside once carefully pressed were a selection of slightly crumpled summer dresses.

“Whose are these?” asked Sophia.

Liam didn’t reply straight away.

“Mine,” he said quietly.

Sophia turned to look at him. She hugged him.

“I always knew were different from other men. You were so gentle with me. Now I know why. Are you transgendered, a transsexual or just someone who like to dress in women’s clothing like that Lumberjack song?”

Liam smiled.
“I’m a Lumberjack and I’m ok, I like to dress in women’s clothing and press wild flowers,” he sang quietly.

They both laughed.

Then it was Liam’s turn to have a little sob.

“Shhh. Liam. I’m not going to turn into some ogre and make you wear them if you don’t want to. I’m just thankful that you have something for me to wear.

She picked up one of the dresses and looked at the label.
“You have very good taste Liam. Very good indeed. This is only a little on the large size for me”

Sophia hugged him once more.

“You wouldn’t happen to have some makeup around would you?”

“In the small case”

Then Sophia kissed Liam full on the lips and with a lot of passion.

When they broke off, she said,

“Now skedaddle and let me make myself presentable”

Sophia needed some time to think about what had just happened.

Liam tried to put the event of the past half hour from his mind as he put on his boots and went outside to begin preparing a seed bed for some herbs.

It was nearly lunchtime when Liam detected that he was being watched. Sophia was standing by the back door of the cottage.

Liam stopped raking the soil into a fine tilth and smiled at her.

Standing before me was someone much more like the Sophia he knew of old.

“Hello there Sophia. That dress really suits you”, he said trying to compliment her.

“Only if you want to appear older than you really are,” came her reply.

“That is not always a bad thing”, replied Liam.
“especially given the bad men in London.”

She smiled at him.

“You are trying hard to make me feel nice. I’m sorry. Yes, I feel a lot better and this is not a bad fit.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Liam smiling back.

“I’ll not be long out here. I’m just about to plant some herbs and a few veggies. When I’m done, I’ll make us some lunch.”

Sophia shook her head.

“Why don’t I make it?”

Liam chuckled.

“And risk ruining that pretty dress?”

“Don’t you have a pinnie anywhere?”

“No I don’t sorry.”

“I’d better think of something else then but don’t worry. You go and get digging and leave lunch to me.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and went into the cottage.

Liam watched her disappear and realised that Sophia was going to be a long-term project. Strangely enough, he was not as worried about it as he had been less than 48hrs earlier.

Liam did as he was instructed and planted a variety of herb seeds plus some Carrots, Spring Onions and Salad Leaves before putting away the tools and heading into the kitchen.

“Don’t come in here in those muddy boots” cried Sophia as he came inside.
“Eh?”

“I’ve just swept the floor. It will do for now if you don’t drop lots of muck on it!”

“Ok. Ok” said Liam and backed outside once more and removed his boots. He wasn’t going to argue with Sophia while she was still very fragile”

Now bootless, Liam once again entered the kitchen. Sophia had solved the problem of getting her dress dirty by wearing his cotton towelling dressing gown.

“You look very fetching in my dressing gown.”

“Sorry. It is all I could find.”

He smiled back.

“Don’t worry. I hardly ever wear it anymore.”

Sophia smiled back.

On the table were some sandwiches.
“Just some corned beef, onion and pickle I’m afraid.”

“That’s fine. I guess we should go shopping later.”

“Are you sure?” said Sophia suddenly very nervous.

“It will be fine. This is not the sort of place that those Russians will want to come.
They will stand out like a boil on a baby’s bum around here.”

That analogy made Sophia laugh.

“I guess so.”

“Good. We’ll go out and get some supplies. Plus a pinnie or two?”

“Plus a pinnie or two!”

Liam sat down after washing his hands and dug into the sandwiches.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Sophia between mouthfuls.

“Are you in the internet in this remote corner of Dorset?”

“I arranged for it to be connected by the end of the week. Not high speed though. Why do you ask?”

“I’d like to check my bank accounts. I have this feeling in my stomach that they will have been emptied by the Russians.”

“Oh! That is a very good reason to check. Why don’t we take my laptop with us and we can try to find a Wi-Fi hotspot in town?”

“Good idea”

Sophia continued to eat.
“I feel rather exposed without my stuff around me. I know it sound trivial but that is how I feel.”

“What is likely to happen to your flat?”

“That? It is all bought and paid for luckily and thanks to people like you.”

Liam thought for a minute.

“Do you want to stay here?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“Stay here. I know you were going to get out of the game. You never confided in me as to what you were going to do once you did.”

“I did, didn’t I? I didn’t have much idea about what I was going to do once I stopped… doing you know what.”

“So? Do you want to stay here?”

Sophia thought for a while.

“I’d like to stay here for at least a while. At least until I get myself together if that is all right?”

Liam smiled.

“I’ll never force you to leave Sophia. I want to promise you that. You mean a lot to me.”

“Hey, are you coming on to me?”

Liam looked down at the table.

“Yes. I suppose I am.”

“Oh my god! Why?”

Liam was stunned.

“Why? Because I like you very much… Sorry that’s all wrong. Let me start again.”

“I’ve always felt at ease with you Sophia. Right from the beginning, from your first visit. Then helping you out has brought it home to me. I missed you. Not just having a quickie but everything about your visits. I’ve never been able to talk to a woman like I can talk to you. I…”

“Liam, I think you are a great guy but I hope you can appreciate that I’m not looking for a long-term relationship at the moment.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Liam, you are and always have been the perfect gentlemen to me. For that, I’m truly thankful. I do enjoy your company that is sure. Here I am wearing your clothes which if I may say so, are delightful and I’d love to wear some more of them. I’m not going to suddenly get up and leave you here. I just want to take things one day at a time.”

Sophia leaned over and gently kissed him.

Then she whispered,

“Thank you. I needed to know that someone needed me. You really don’t know how good that feels.”

“Sophia, I will be here for you when you need me.”
A single tear ran down her cheek. It was a tear of happiness.

---

Liam took Sophia into Shaftesbury that afternoon. She borrowed some money from Liam and bought herself some knickers because as she said to Liam,
“Yours are a little big and certainly not my style.”

They found an outlet of a Coffee chain and while Liam went to get them some drinks, Sophia logged onto her bank account.

When Liam arrived with the coffee, Sophia was grinning.
“They haven’t touched it.”

Liam sat down beside her and saw the sum in her current account.
“Err, isn’t that rather a lot of money to be sitting there doing nothing?”

“Eh?”

“Sorry. Old banking habits die-hard. What I meant to say is, isn’t that rather a lot of money to be left sitting there at risk. The bad guys could easily be trying to hack into your account as we speak”

Sophia thought for a minute or two.

“You have a good point. What should I do about it?”

“Do you have a place where you stash your earnings?”

“Yes why?”

“One idea would be for you to move it all there”

“Not possible I’m afraid. The ‘stash’ as you put it is in Geneva.”

“Ok then, open another account somewhere and transfer it?”

“Nope. I need ID. All my real ID is back at my flat in London, or it was the last time I saw it. Don’t worry, I don’t expect the Plod to find it. It is not sitting in a drawer.”

Liam thought for a while.

Finally, he said,
“Ok I have an idea. I’ll tell you on the way home.”

Intrigued, Sophia logged out of her bank account and shutdown the laptop.

As they walked out of the shop Sophia said,
“There is one place I need to go before we go to your home.”

She directed them into the Mobile Phone shop that was next door to the Coffee Shop.

Fifteen minutes later, they emerged with a new phone for Sophia and a ‘dongle’ thingy for the laptop.

Sophia spent most of the journey home programming all the phone numbers she could remember into the phone.

“I think you should be careful when calling anyone. Well, at least for a while. Can you make the phone withhold your number from the caller?”

Sophia thought for a moment.

“That is a good point. I don’t know. Well, actually, I don’t know how to do it.”

“RTFM,” replied Liam.

“RTFM? What does that mean?”

“The polite version is ‘Read the Frigging Manual’.”

“Opps,” said Sophia smiling.

Liam saw this and smiled. He liked it when she smiled.

When they got back to the cottage, Sophia was eager to find out all about Liam’s idea.
As he was putting the food away, he calmly said.

“Why don’t I go and get the things you want from you flat?”

“What if they see you? You know the same ones who were outside your flat?”

“Eh? I didn’t say anything?”

“You didn’t have to. I watched from the window in the dark. Don’t worry they didn’t see me. I stood well back.”

Liam smiled at Sophia.
“I was planning on going in disguise.”

“Disguise? What? Oh yes. I get it now!”

Suddenly, she was up and eager to go.
“What are we waiting for?”

“For one thing, I would be going alone. It is far too risky for you to go as well. The second is that I wouldn’t want to park my car anywhere near your flat in case the number plate is recognised. Thirdly, I walk in heels like a complete prat! And before you ask, I don’t have any flats in my size.”

“You want me to teach you?”

“Exactly”

“Ok” said Sophia in a matter of fact way.

“There is something else,”

She smiled.

“I knew it. Well, what is it?”

“I’d like you to give a statement to the Police. We can pick the time and place but I think you need to tell your side of the story. Then you need to sell your flat. It is not going to be safe for you in that part of London for the foreseeable future. You could do it by giving a solicitor power of attorney.”

“You seem to know a lot about this?”

“My mother had it for my Dad when he was dying of pancreatic cancer. The solicitor will sell your house for you.”

“What happens to all my stuff?”
“The solicitor can send in a crew to remove all your stuff and clean the place ready for selling.”

“Hey, wait a doggone minute. Are you saying that I don’t keep my place clean?”

“No. It is not that at all.”

“Well, what is it then?”

“Besides the three months worth of dust and mail waiting for you, there is all your stuff. According to the plethora of TV programmes about selling homes, they need to be dressed. Specifically, they are tarted up in a particular way to please the buyers. Fresh Coffee on the go or newly baked bread, smart cushions and all that. Apart from the place being spotless. Always the stuff you can’t see just because it is your place.”

“Wow. I didn’t know you knew so much about selling homes.”

“I did sell my old home recently didn’t I? After more than a year on the market too. I had to get someone in to tart the place up. Once I did that, the place sold in three weeks.”

“Ok. Ok. I get the message,” said Sophia smiling.

“That one hell of a lot of ‘one more things’ though” she added after some thought.

“I know. We have a lot to do. I need you to make me walk more like a woman and I need to dress and appear as someone of a certain age.”

“What sort of certain age?”

“At least 10 years older than my current one. What you said about the dress and appearing to be older. By appearing to be an older person, I’ll raise less suspicion than I’d otherwise would.”

This wasn’t going how Liam had envisioned it when they were in the town but giving Sophia something to do might help a lot with her recovery.

That evening, Sophia got started.
“The first thing is to get used to wearing heels. Any heels will do to start.”

“I don’t have anything but these,” said Liam holding up a pair of court shoes with 4in heel.

“Good point. You can start by wearing them for a bit. What is your size? A Nine if the ones I’m wearing are anything to go by?”

“Yes, A nine or a ten.”

“Ok. You wear them while I get on the Internet with my new dongle thingy and see what I can find. I give you a shout if I find anything.”

Liam felt like saying ‘yes boss’ but thought better of it.

Liam put on the shoes and got on with unpacking more of his possessions. It didn’t take long for his feet to start aching. He sat for a while before carrying on.

After about half an hour, Liam heard Sophia call from downstairs.
“Suzi Darling. Could you come down here for a minute.”

“Suzi Darling?!” Liam got the joke. He slowly made his way downstairs.

Sophia was sitting at the kitchen table peering at the laptop screen.
“How are your feet?”
“Sore.”

“Yeah. Isn’t being stylish a drag?”

They both laughed.

“It will get better but it will take time”

“What have you found?”

“These” said Sophia pointing at the screen.

“They look… sensible”

“Yes. Those are for the mission”

“Hey, what with this Suzi thing? And what’s with this ‘Mission’?”

Sophia laughed.

“Your mission should you choose to accept it is to remove these items from my flat without being detected.”

Liam understood the meaning. He held up his hand.

“Ok. Ok. I get the ‘Mission’. What about this Suzi thing?”

“I need to call you something when you are impersonating a member of the female species don’t I?”

“I suppose so. Why Suzi?”

“It was the name of an old friend of mine from school. Do you have a name that you use when… You know…?”

Liam smiled. I’ve never thought about it before. I need to think.”

Sophia smiled. “Don’t take too long about it”

She turned back to the screen.
“These are for your general use.”
Liam looked at a pair of 2in “Mary Jaynes”.

“The strap will make them feel better on your feet. No training needed.”

“Then we’ll get these,” said Sophia flipping to another page.

“Ok” said Liam reluctantly as he saw the pair of ‘ballet flats’ that were on the screen.

Sophia held out her hand palm upwards.
“What’s that for?”

“How do you think I’m going to pay for them? My cards are in London.”

Even more reluctantly, Liam opened his wallet and gave Sophia a credit card.
“Here take this one.”

He grabbed a pad and wrote down a PIN number.
“Here’s the PIN”. Why don’t you use it as if it was your own until we get yours back?

Sophia didn’t take it straight away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure”

Then Liam smiled.
“There’s only a £500 limit on it”

Sophia grinned as she took it from him.

“Cheapskate.”

“Yep, that’s my middle name. If I hadn’t been careful with my money, I’d still be working at the bank and you would really be up the creek without a paddle.”

*

The new shoes arrived a few days later. Liam put the ‘Mary Jaynes’ on his stockinged feet and started walking around in them.

“They are a bit easier than the other ones. They feel more secure on my feet”
Sophia smiled and kissed him.

Over the following week, Liam wore those shoes all the time unless he was wearing boots outside. Two vegetable beds were dug over and sown, the garden was tidied up. Sophia made the inside really nice even though she missed her things, after a while, she got used to his style in décor.

Sophia had moved into his bedroom. Nothing was said about it but they shared the bed together. They ventured no farther than hugs and kisses. There was no need for sex, things were, well different between them.

“I think you are ready” said Sophia the day another delivery was made to the cottage.

“Am I?”

“Yep. With these clothes and my expert makeup, you are going to be the perfect middle aged woman”

Liam grimaced.
“I’ve never been out in public before.”

“You’ll be fine. I know it besides, my reputation is at stake here,” she replied trying to make light of the problem.

“I hope so.”

“Have you thought about talking to the police and seeing a lawyer?”

“Yes, and yes”

“Yes, and yes? What sort of answer is that?”

“Yes, I have thought about talking to the police. Yes, I’ve thought about seeing a lawyer.”

“So? Are you?”

“Yes. I think so. This past week and a bit has been really great. I feel more like myself now. Apart from the hair, I could go back to what I looked like, you know before.”

“There is the wig that was delivered yesterday. Then everything would be as it was.”
Liam looked at Sophia.
“But it won’t be will it?”
“No. No it won’t but it is a big step.”

“And?” said Liam trying to get it out of her.

“I can’t go back to London.”

He held her hand.

“No one is asking you to go to London. I’m not anyway”, said Liam.
“But the Police?”

“They can come down here. Well, not exactly here but far enough out of London to make following them harder than it would be if we went to them.”

“Ok. I’ll do it. You have persuaded me.”

Liam smiled.
Then tomorrow, I’ll call the police and head up to London. I should get there at rush hour. Then there are a lot more people around.

“Have you decided on a name? One that is not part of your real name?”

“I think so. How about Sylvia”

“Sylvia. Is there any reason for that?”

Liam smiled.

“There was a pop song called ‘Sylvia’s Missing’. I heard it on the radio the other day and the tune just stuck in my mind.”

“Hello Sylvia. It is nice to meet you at last.”

“Hey, not yet.”

Liam chased Sophia around the kitchen. As he was wearing heels and she wasn’t, she let him catch her. Then they embraced for a long time.
That night, they had proper sex for the first time in quite some time.

“Time to get up Sylvia,” said Liam as he looked at the clock.

“Five more minutes.”

“No. Time to get up. I have a road to hit in case you have forgotten? You have a lot to do to make me look beautiful before I head up to London.”

“Ok. Ok.”

An hour later, Sophia began her work transforming Liam into Sylvia. She began with his eyebrows.

The transformation took over an hour. Eventually, Sophia announced that she was finished.

She removed the covering from the mirror allowing Sylvia to see herself for the first time.

“What do you think?”

“I think you have done a fantastic job. Not too much but enough to hide who I really am.”

Sophia grinned.

“Good. Now we need to get you dressed.”

Before long, the transformation was complete.
There standing before Sylvia was to all intents and purposes was an almost middle-aged woman complete with handbag.

“You are a wonder Sophia.”

“As long as you don’t have to speak to anyone then you will be fine.”

Sylvia went to kiss Sophia.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m not having you ruin your lippy.”

They both laughed.

“Right it is your turn” said Sylvia handing Sophia a mobile phone.
Reluctantly, she took the phone.

She dialled the number on the business card.

“DI Jarvis please.”

“Oh. Tell him its Trixie.”

There was silence for what seemed an eternity.

“Hello Inspector Jarvis. This is Trixie. I gather you wanted to speak to me.”

“I’m ok. I’m safe and trying to get my life together once more.”

“Yes. I’d be willing to meet you but I’m not coming to London.”

“Why? Frankly Inspector, I’m scared for my life. I’ve seen what those Russians do to people who cross them. You were lucky to find Delroy.”

“Yes. Tomorrow is fine.”

“I hope you don’t mind, I want to keep my whereabouts a secret.”

“I’d like you to get the 10:50 train from Paddington Tomorrow. Buy a return ticket to Bristol. I’ll call you when the train has left with further instructions.”
“Yes, that is fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then she ended the call.

“Are you ok with this?” asked Sylvia.

“Yes. I need to get it over and done with. Besides, I’ll have my Sylvia with me”

“Eh?”

“I can’t turn up with Liam, now can I? That way he could find us, here couldn’t he?”

Sylvia waved her hand in submission.

“Ok. It is time I left.”

“Are you clear as to where everything is and what to get?”

“Yes. Yes. We have been over it a number of times.”

Sophia hugged Sylvia before the latter got in the car.
“I’ll phone you when I get to Kew.”

“Bye. Keep safe?”

Sylvia drove off into the afternoon.

The drive to London was pretty uneventful. She parked the car near Kew Gardens Underground station and after calling Sophia, she hailed a Taxi.

“The primary school in Addison Gardens please,” said Sylvia in as soft a voice as she could manage.

“Ok luv,” replied the driver.

Sylvia sat back and waited for the journey to end.

The Black Cab pulled up outside the school.

Sylvia paid the fare and said sweetly, “Keep the change.”

Then she was gone.
She walked along the road away from the cab and waited for it to drive off.

There were children playing in the school playground. Several people were out and about. Nothing seemed untoward.

She crossed the road and walked up to the front door of No 56.

She hesitated for a moment before pushing hard of the door and to her relief it swung open. With an air of assumed confidence, she entered the building and climbed to the upper floor.

Just before the top of the stairs, Sylvia stopped and bent down. She reached under the edge of the stair carpet and extracted a key. It was just where Sophia had told her it would be.

With a slight smile on her face, Sylvia went up to the front door of Sophia’s flat and opened the door.

Without pausing, Sylvia went inside and closed the door behind her.

She leaned back against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.

The place smelt unlived in and musty. She walked into the sitting room. Three very dead potted plants sat on the floor. She turned around and saw one set of footprints in the dust on the wooded floor. The Police had been here as they said they had been.

Apparently, no one else had been here since Sophia left to go shopping several weeks earlier.

Sylvia spent the next twenty minutes collecting everything that Sophia had requested and putting most of it into her copious shoulder bag. What remained, she packed into a supermarket carrier bag.

With a little tinge of regret, Sylvia left the flat once more. The place was really nicely furnished and gave her a bit more insight into what had made Sophia tick when she was not ‘on the game’.

After stepping out into the early evening sunshine, she briefly looked around the road. She could detect nothing untoward on the street. She walked away from the house and headed for Holland Road and a Cab back to Chiswick.

She had however failed to notice the man in the house opposite with a long lens on a camera taking picture after picture of this ‘woman’ who had entered the apartment of a ‘Missing Woman’.

When Sylvia got back to her car, she phoned Sophia.
“Hey, It’s me. I’ve got everything. Yes, I’ll see you later.”

Before getting into the car, Sylvia tossed the phone into the hedge of the house outside of which her car was parked.

Three and a half hours later, the two women embraced once again.

*

Before 9am the following day, they left the cottage and headed north. At 10:50, Sylvia parked the car at Didcot Parkway station. They waited until 11:25 then Sophia called DI Jarvis.

“Hello Inspector Jarvis. Please get off the train at Didcot. Yes, that is the next stop. You should be here in a few minutes.

Right on time, the train pulled into the station.
Sophia got out of the car and walked across the road and called the DI once more.
Then she went into the Café and sat down to wait.

A minute or so later, DI Jarvis joined her in the Café. They talked for nearly an hour before he shook her hands and left. He made a brief phone call and went back into the station.

Sophia waited until the next Paddington train pulled away before paying the bill and walking over the road and getting into the car.

“That’s it. All done” said Sophia.

“Home?” asked Sylvia.

“Yes please”

They pulled away from the station not noticing that DI Jarvis was standing by the station entrance making a note of the car registration number on his pad. He had a small smile on his face as he turned on his heels and went back into the station.

They arrived home in late afternoon to find the veggie patch trampled.

“Oh shit,” exclaimed Sylvia as they inspected the damage.

“Who would do this?” asked Sophia.

“By the tacks, probably a Wild Boar or at least a large pig.”

“Boar? What are they?”

“The ancestors of domestic pigs. Not an animal you want to meet on a dark night.”

“Did you know about them?”

“Sort of. I knew there were some on the loose in Dorset but not around here.”

“What are we going to do?”

Sylvia smiled.

“Start again but only after we have built a fence.”

Sophia sighed.

“Is it worth it?”

Sylvia stepped back shaking her head.

“What do you mean?”

“All this?”

“What? I’ve wanted to do this for years. I thought you were not really interested in this as well?”

Sophia smiled.

“I was just wondering how determined you were in living the ‘Good Life’?”

“Did I give you the right answer?”

“I think so.”

Sylvia took a deep breath.

“What about you?”

Sophia smiled and said,
“I think we should start building the fence tomorrow.”

[continued in Part 2]