Sorry about the double up. It's been one of those days!

Uplifting Thirteen

Shelly looked through more of the diary while we were waiting for DCI Jones. She had a very thoughtful look on her face by the time he came in. He was a really well-built and fit guy and she told us that he was the chief of the CID at the station as she introduced us.

He asked what was going on and she gave him the diary, open at the marked page, and asked him to take a read.

I could see his eyes widen as he read.

“Sergeant Halliwell, this is enough to give us both promotions. Are you happy in the Drug Squad or would you like to join me in the CID, starting with what we have here?”

She smiled and said that it was her greatest wish to be playing with the big boys so he said, “Consider it done.”

He then asked Keith to retell his story. Keith ended by saying that Justine had quite expensive tastes but never asked him for money.

I said that I had given him a bundle of cash which I had found when I moved in but the cash that we had brought today had only been found yesterday. I added that the letter had only been in the box today.

Jones asked Keith if he knew of any time that Justine had been in any position where she could blackmail anyone. He blushed and said that he thought she was putting together a plan to blackmail him but he did not want to divulge the situation, especially now she was dead.

“She’s dead!” cried Jones. “That makes it an interesting case as we can’t put her on the stand to testify. Maybe we can get the others now we know the names but we’re going to need one of them to roll over if we want to make it watertight”.

Keith said that the back page of the diary had some numbers which he thought could be safe deposit box numbers but must be coded as we had not found a key in the apartment. Jones told us that he would organise a forensic search team for tomorrow and for us to let them in and just go out.

Margo told him that we had a photo shoot in the country so would be out anyway.

Shelly then asked, “Those posters that went gone up this week, is that you Geri?” I nodded.

The DCI left to organise his elevation to Assistant Commissioner and Shelly escorted us to the door.

She gave me a hug and whispered, “I always thought you were a good actor, but I think you’ll make a great actress. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Margo gave her the address and I gave her my lift key so that they didn’t need to have us take them up or down. On the way home we detoured to see Maureen who gave us extra door and lift keys as requested on Monday. Was that only Monday!!!

Back at the apartment I got the bags we had filled and put them in the fun room, along with the camera and recorder. Later in the afternoon Shelly called me and said she would be around in the evening to scope out the place so she could direct the forensic team and make sure they didn’t destroy everything.

Margo and I got ourselves a light tea and were ready when, the now soon to be DI Shelly, arrived. I showed her through the place and pointed out that there was no furniture that I had brought with me, everything was here when I came in.

I took her to the fun room and told her why Keith was so embarrassed but to keep private. I showed her the bags we had filled with implements and the ones with her old clothes.

I said that about half of my side of the wardrobe was also old clothes from Justine and the only thing missing was the yellow sundress that she had been buried in. It was so thin I didn’t think that anything could have been hidden in it. We sat and chatted with a cup of tea and I gave her a door key to use if we had gone before she arrived with the team.

Margo and I were thoughtful when we went to bed early as it had been a very interesting day. Saturday morning we were dressed and out before Shelly had arrived.

I made sure that I was only wearing things that I had bought this week. It would have been bad form to be wearing something that hid what the team was looking for.

Steve was there to take us all to the shoot, wherever it may be, I didn’t know where I was these days, sometimes. It turned out to be a stately home just out of the city and it was more pictures of Tatiana and me in various good dresses in and around the best features of the stately home, sometimes with Margo and Francine off to one side looking dowdy and upset.

I thought the best shot taken was where we stood in front of a gigantic fireplace with a bottle of the scent on the mantle. I grabbed that afterwards to replace the one I had lent out.

Both Mario and Alberto were at the shoot and they got the four of us to sit in the wonderful lounge when we had changed back into our usual outfits. We had a glass of wine each and they congratulated us on the week’s work.

Mario said that we had compressed three weeks into one and that their boss was very happy, and even happier when he had seen the rushes of the commercials. They remarked that although Margo and Francine had not been considered before, they were now firmly set as the envious losers.

Antonio unrolled an uncaptioned photo from the previous shoot that was an absolute hoot. There we were, looking cool, aloof and beautiful, with our Bonds behind us looking decidedly randy while the others had such a look of envy on their faces we all started giggling.

Antonio remarked that the boss had seen this picture and had extended the budget for the campaign, giving everyone a small bonus and thanked us for making it happen.

I asked if he had another copy and if we could have both to frame. I thought one would look good on our lounge wall and so did the others. He did have another so we left happy.

On the way back home we got Steve to pull over and showed him the picture. He almost fell out of the car laughing “Those guys are going to be so pleased at that one; they’ll be the talk of the town. They could start a band and call themselves the Randy Bonds.”

When he dropped us off the search team were packing up their truck. Shelly was still in the apartment and told us that they did find what they were looking for. In another secret compartment in the fun room wardrobe, along with some false papers for Justin dated some years ago.

She then got serious, “Now, that letter you brought in. It had the fingerprints of two of the named robbers on it but it’s what it said that’s going to be a problem.”

She gave me a photo taken of the page, which just had ‘We know where you live now, bitch. Thought you could stiff us, did you? We’re coming for what’s ours.’

She said that I should be out of the place for a while and I told her that I was going to be in hospital for most of the next week. She suggested that we leave today and book into a hotel. This we did and when we had a bag each ready to go she had a couple of policewomen in the lounge with her, one made up to look like Justine.

“I hope you don’t mind but these two will live here for a few days and Cathy here will get out and about to draw the crooks in. There will be three armed boys coming in during the night with bedrolls and they will be in the end room so we should have enough to subdue any attackers. There’ll also be a couple of patrols nearby.”

We said cheerio to Tati and Francine and went down to an unmarked police car which drove us into the city to a hotel near the hospital, where we had booked in for a week to start.

Sunday morning we were having breakfast in the hotel dining room when a little girl came over and asked if I was the lady on the big poster and if I was a supermodel.

I said yes and no, which she had to think about for a few seconds before she got it. She then held out a menu and asked if I could sign it, which I did once Margo had produced a pen.

When she had gone back to her table to show her parents her prize, Margo laughed, “It’s a good job Tati isn’t here as that would be another one she’ll leave out of her autobiography. She should have got a Bond to ask her for one; that would have gone in.”

We had a very pleasant and quiet day, strolling hand in hand and window shopping. We turned one corner to see a street market in full swing and we wandered along the stalls, picking up a few nice hand-made items.

There was a jeweller at one and we spoke to him about matched rings so he pulled a couple of boxes out of his case and said “These are ones I have made but I don’t put them out for show here as they are too expensive for the normal punter. I have seen your picture this week so you may be just the right girls for these.”

‘These’ were two glorious gold rings, intertwining snakes eating their own tails with tiny diamond eyes that we both fell in love with. I had seen enough ‘Antiques Roadshows’ to know they depicted never ending love.

They were identical and, luckily, both were in sizes that fitted our fingers. They were different and they were us. I paid for them with my bank card and we wore them as we left with the boxes in our bags.

We had a good dinner in the hotel before retiring to our room to give my manhood a workout. In the morning I sat reading the paper while Margo ate her breakfast. I was only allowed some water.

We walked to the hospital and checked in. My surgeon was there and greeted me with a smile before giving me a sheaf of papers that needed my signature. I read through the stuff quickly and saw that it was mainly disclosure that I knew what I was here for and that everyone else would be blameless if anything went wrong. I was about to sign when a couple of words caught my eye.

I stopped and asked him what they meant as I didn’t think I needed orchids.

“Oh, those are two extra procedures that Babs said you should have; I thought she would have told you.”

I pointed them out to Margo and her eyes went wide.

“It’s a good job we exercised your Mr Happy last night, one of those removes your balls and the other hides your dick in a cleft where your balls used to be. You’ll come out of the operation looking like a genuine girl.”

The surgeon said that they would also give me laser hair treatment while I was under so I would have a Brazilian that never grew back.

I asked Margo if she was good with that and she smiled, “I told you, darling, it doesn’t matter to me as I love you as you are. It does matter to you because you would never father any children but your future career will need this done someday. A permanent Brazilian is a real bonus, you’ll love it.”

She then turned to the doctor, “Doesn’t this need a Real Life Test or something as well as lots of doctors saying Geri wants it done?”

“No, this is all being done as a private patient. NHS knows nothing and needs to know nothing. She consulted two doctors the other day, me and a gender specialist, and we have both signed off on the procedure. Being a fully funded private patient lifts you to a whole new level.”

Marianne Gregory © 2022