Part 11

Mrs. Butcher was nodding as I spoke and then remarked, “The change in you was almost too sudden to believe. There was no way the Sam I had been seeing would suddenly become the Samantha I now know any other way. I’m a believer.”

The Inspector was still not convinced and pulled out another file.

I said, “If that’s the William Williams file you can follow what I say”

I then started with name, date of birth, parent’s names and birthdays, schooling and work history, including the names of all the girls I used to see, the foreman in the warehouse, amount in the weekly pay and the locker number.

He became more incredulous as I spoke.

I said, “When you spoke to all the people that knew him you would have found that he was kind and considerate, a totally law abiding citizen and the bug that is biting your butt is why he changed to the monster he ended as. I can tell you that he had one major flaw and that was that he thought he should have been born a woman.”

“Sam had one major flaw as well, besides being a pain in the arse, and that was what created the monster she had become. She wanted, with all her heart, to be a man and the transfer to a body that fulfilled all her dreams was, in the end, the one thing that brought her to her death.”

He asked, “So you are Williams?”

“No, I have his personality and some of his skills. I am Samantha and have all the memories of her and her life. I now can do things she never could. I’m a gifted make-up artist when she didn’t know one end of a lipstick from the other. I’m a good artist who may get better and, after all that, I find that I have a gift of fortune telling that neither of them had. The disc gave up its only wish but is still active, drawing on ancient magic to be ready for something else that none of us are prepared for.”

As I was speaking the disc started to hum and the hum turned to a vibration that made the pens in the desk drawer rattle together.

“Inspector, someone is coming this way. It’s someone who is genuinely and truly an evil person. The disc is warning us. If you believe me you can pick it up and it will be just warm.”

“If you are still my enemy it will burn you again. You only have seconds to find out where you stand.”

He had guts, I give him that, as he reached out and picked up the disc and held it in his palm to feel the warmth. Just then there was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Mr. Butcher who said, ”Sorry to butt in on your meeting, dear, but we have been invited to lunch with the Minister and he is here to take us in his car.”

He opened the door wider and the Minister of Housing, a dour and disliked man, put his head in, looked at us all, his eyes resting on me for a moment or two, and said “I only have an hour if you want to eat,” and backed out of the room.

Mrs. Butcher nodded, “I think we are finished here, or it could be that we have just started something else. Thank you for your time, Inspector, and I’ll be in touch Samantha, I am sure we’ll need to speak again.”

She left the office with her husband and I stayed sitting.

The Inspector sat thinking for a few moments, “That disc can certainly pick them. I have had the Minister on my radar for some time. He just never does anything I can book him on. Look, Samantha, truce?”

He held out his hand. I shook it and said, “Certainly, my dear Watson.” He winced.

I stood and put all of the paperwork that had been left for me into my bag. The Inspector was still thoughtful and then asked, “Miss Silvestri, there are aspects of the case that still make no sense. Can I buy you lunch so we can continue this talk, but well off the record, so that I can tidy up loose ends.”

I nodded and we went down to the car where Holmes was waiting patiently. I got in the back with the Inspector.

Holmes asked, “The station then, Sir?” and was told that we were heading for somewhere to eat. He asked me if I had a preference and I named the pub that David had taken us to as I knew we would get a good meal as well as me having a friend on hand.

It didn’t take us long, especially as Holmes was a very competent driver and only used the lights and siren a couple of times. At the pub Alan, the owner, greeted me with a hug and I asked if we could have a quiet corner, or better still, an unused bit of the bar as I wanted to have a confidential chat with my companions.

He took our orders and we sat at a distant table. Watson asked if Holmes could take notes and when I nodded said, “The unofficial notebook Holmes; this is purely between us.”

Over a very nice lunch I gave them chapter and verse of the “Life of Sam” with names, places and times, including the full list of flat numbers where the owners were users.

I told them that the gun had been given to me to hold on to not long after I had been placed with Sarah and that I had no idea why.

I even told them how the tower deliveries worked and that the drugs found in Dots’ flat were taken in the break-in at our flat, along with the gun.

I said that DC Stevens would be able to give him the background on that. With what had been said before, he now fully understood the why and the how everything happened.

I did say that I had no idea why Dot had done the rape and murder, except that it may have been Sam’s need to prove her new masculinity as I had no memories of that kind of desire in my brain.

I told him that if there had been any remnants of those thoughts I would have contacted the police instead of just warning Fiona and the girls. We were having a coffee when the disc started vibrating again between my breasts.

“Inspector, I believe there is someone in, or around, this pub that has less than good thoughts, maybe you should take a look.”

He got up and walked out, through the bar, as if he was going to the toilet. I heard a scuffle and his voice called, “Holmes, your assistance if you please.”

When I followed Holmes there were a couple of stools that were scattered around and the Inspector with his knee on the back of a guy.

“Your cuffs, please” and Holmes cuffed the guy.

“Take him out to the car and wait with him in the back” and Holmes took the guy outside.

The Inspector paid our account and apologised for the upset.

He turned to me. “I would love to take that disc off you to see how it works but I’m sure that it is just a solid piece of metal. That guy has been on our wanted posters for the last month and we’ll get a commendation for bringing him in. I am sorry that I can’t take you back to town now but the publican can call a cab for you which I will pay for the next time I see you.”

“I thank you for your frank discussion today, it puts full stops to a lot of loose ends and I think we may need to get together in the future to take the Minister down. If that disc just vibrated with the scum we just arrested, I hate to think of the evil that the Minister has, the way it acted in the office.”

Alan called David and we sat and chatted for a while as I collected my thoughts. David was only a half an hour away and we took the opportunity to stop for some snuggling before he dropped me off at a train station so I could get back home again.

I told him that I had been having lunch with an Inspector from the drug squad but he had not been able to take me back to town because he had arrested someone in the pub. I promised that I would fill him in once I had more information but that I was not two-timing him as it was an official but un-official exchange of information. Besides, I now had the papers to show that I was, once again, an innocent member of the general populace.

When I got back to the flat I put the papers where Sarah could check them over before putting them in the safe. I then rang her at work and told her that I was now a free woman and that I was taking her out for a meal tonight.

I told her to wait at work and that I would call in around her finishing time. I then took a shower and got myself ready for a trip back to the city, taking another few notes off of my stash.

When I got to her office, Sarah was chatting with a couple of the girls who she said were wanting to go and celebrate one of them falling pregnant so we agreed to join them, giving her the opportunity to choose, just in case she was already in the odd food stage.

We had a lovely night, full of girl talk. Of course we couldn’t go through the evening without being approached by guys wanting to buy us drinks and, no doubt, take us home afterwards. We did rebuff all advances and the two of us got home, well fed and a little tipsy, about eleven.

Before we went to bed, I made a cocoa each and she had a look at the paperwork before putting it away in the safe.

I also told her about my interesting day with Watson and Holmes and the disc going mad when the Minister arrived on the scene.

She told me that he had a long reputation as a man-about-town and womaniser but seemed to have been quiet since he had been elevated to cabinet status. She did say that he was not a likeable man and that he did not seem to care.

Oddly, it all went better for him in his conservative with a capital ‘C” electorate as he only acted like the majority of the men around him.

Part 12

On Tuesday morning Sarah went off to work again and I had the morning to myself. I did some laundry and cleaning before putting on a nice dress and going down to the local supermarket for some needed supplies.

Coming out I saw Jerky, the dealer that Sam had been getting the drugs from.

He saw me. “It’s Sarah, isn’t it? I spoke to you before outside the tower”

I lied that I was and he asked of Studs was likely to come back. I told him that Studs was long gone and that I had been interviewed by the drug squad in regard to her association with a now-dead rapist and murderer.

I suggested that he should stay clear of the tower for a while as I thought that it may be under observation in case Studs returned.

He said that there were some things that were being kept for him and went pale when I told him that it was all in the possession of the police and that they had asked me about a gun.

He muttered his thanks and hurried away, no doubt off to execute ‘Plan Z’, the one where he finds a bolt-hole until things blow over.

It turned out that I was right about the observation as I saw Holmes sitting on the bench when I got back. He beckoned me over and I sat next to him with my bags at my feet.

He pointed at the bud in his ear and said, “I’ve just had word that you had a chat with your old friend Jerky, can you tell me what was said?”

I related our conversation, making sure that he knew that Jerky thought that I was Sarah.

He smiled and I was suddenly taken with how handsome he was. Am I thinking lewd thoughts?

“That was perfect, we put a tracker on his car and he’s now leading us to his special hidey hole to probably pick up false papers. If we’re lucky he’ll have some stock there as well and we’ll be able to put him away for a while.”

We sat in silence for a few moments and I said, “I can’t just keep calling you Holmes. Don’t tell me that your parents called you Sherlock, it would be too terrible.”

He laughed, “They weren’t that terrible. They called me Mycroft instead.”

I agreed that I had better keep calling him Holmes and he smiled that it was all for the best if I did.

In the stories Sherlock was gifted, if on the edge of the spectrum, while Mycroft was simply weird.

I asked if they were keeping an eye on the tower or if it was just me and he told me that it was all part of an area operation which included most of the various squads.

“It’s a strange one,” he mused, “Inspector Patterson is in charge. He is Homicide. There have been a number of disappearances of teen to twenty year old girls over the past six months. All were very pretty and you fit the profile exactly. We are just trying to find out how they disappeared as there are no links between them and they came from different backgrounds. It is a strange case and the whole station is baffled. Just make sure you and Sarah don’t go with strange men or take short cuts down dark alleys.”

We stood and he helped me gather my bags, “I’ll be off, now. Just be careful, both of you. I, for one, would be very upset if either of you got hurt.”

I watched him walk away and wondered just what he meant by that. As far as I know he had never met Sarah but, there again, she had met a lot of the local force during her time with the legal office.

I knew I had to ask her about this. I went up to the flat, put everything away and then had a light lunch before heading off to the salon to start work.

The week continued as usual, I was kept busy doing make-overs. Friday was a bit different as there was going to be a ‘Butch and Bitch’ evening in one of the pubs and we worked on a few guys that came in for waxing, make-up and reworking their wigs.

It wasn’t something I had ever thought I would be doing in my previous life. On the Saturday one of them came back and showed us the photos that he had taken. I must say they all looked like real women and the ‘guys’ were over the top in a way that the old Sam would have appreciated.

Saturday I was about to finish my last customer when Sarah came into the salon.

I could tell that she had been crying and gave her a quick hug, telling her to sit with a cuppa until I was clear.

She did look a little better by the time we left, mainly due to Ingrid telling her that she looked a fright and dragging her to one of the chairs for a quick repair session.

On the way home she was quiet and I just waited until she was able to sort her internal problems out. We had a meal and were sitting with a cup each when she finally came out with it.

“I‘ve broken it off with Roger,” she sobbed, “He has been the perfect gentleman up until today and I thought that it could be love. Today we went to the jewellers and looked at engagement rings. I picked out a lovely one that was not too expensive and he told the jeweller to put it aside for a while.”

“We then went to a café and sat with some coffee and cake and he told me that he would buy the ring and give it to me in the morning when we woke up. Well! That’s when I woke up. All he’s wanted is to get into my pants and he thought that I would roll over with the carrot of a nice ring!”

“I told him that I was going to wait for my wedding night and he got angry, telling me that I should consider myself lucky that he loved me. It went from bad to worse and I told him to get out of my life and he stormed off in a huff.”

I gave her a hug and she sobbed for a bit, “You know, he did seem pushy, especially when we were alone together. He had hands that were all over the place and sometimes it felt good but other times it just seemed strange”.

“He used to take my hand and put it on the bulge in his trousers as if that was guaranteed to get me horny but I would always make sure that I could find something to break the moment. It’s such a waste, why on earth can’t I find a nice guy?”

“There’re plenty of nice guys out there, sister dear; I was talking to one the other day. His name is Holmes and I think he may have a bit of a crush on you.”

She looked startled. “Are you talking about the copper? If you are I have to agree that he is one of the nicest guys I have met around the courts but he has never shown interest in me in that way.”

She then got thoughtful, “Actually, now I think of it, he has been very attentive whenever I was around. I would never have guessed.”

I then went on to tell her about our conversation and she agreed that we had better keep vigilant, especially as we needed to stay aware of the Minister as well.

We had an early night and she came with me when David picked me up on Sunday to take me to my first painting session. She said that she wanted to try to paint something if she was allowed.

When we got to the studio Zach set her up with a canvas on an easel and some paints and we left her to it. He had set up a canvas for me and asked me what I wanted to paint.

I thought I would do a bigger version of the train picture and he and David went off to discuss business while I did my thing.

I used a light pencil to recreate the original picture and then added the colour. It was fun and also very soothing. I had finished just before lunch and went to have a look at what Sarah had achieved.

I was no expert but I could see that she also had talent as her landscape of a grassy meadow with some cows grazing was, if a little bland, nicely done. We covered the two pictures and went to find the boys so they could take us to lunch while the paints dried.

All in all it was very pleasant. I was happy to see Sarah with the sparkle back in her eyes and realised that the painting had been soothing for her as well, it must be some kind of twin effect.

After lunch we went back to the studio and looked at Sarahs’ work first. Zach was quite excited because he could see talent when it smacked him in the eye.

He gave her a paint box with all of the equipment needed and a small easel and a pack of canvas, telling her to do some more work for him but to try to paint the things around her, rather than trying to reproduce an old master.

I then revealed my picture and David gave me a big kiss, then Sarah gave me a hug, “If this is your foresight in operation, it looks as I am going to have an interesting future.”

I had recreated the picture of David standing next to the railway engine. However, in this one there was far more detail. The colours were as real as I remembered from the trains at the Bluebell and I now had David standing next to the name plate on the side of the boiler.

His father was poking his head out of the drivers’ cabin and I had added carriages behind the tender. I had painted Annette leaning out of a window and, further along and next to an open door, I was about to get on board with a stroller that contained a pair of babies.

Further along the platform there were a group of normal people but, walking towards the front carriage were Sarah with her arm linked to Holmes.

“I can’t explain it but the picture just seemed to take on a life of its own and I was just there to add the paints.”

Zach said that it didn’t matter how I did it because it was brilliant. David said he wanted it to hang in the office and Zach said he would organise to get it framed.

They asked me if I minded and I said I was just happy if it got a good home. They got me to sign it before we left.

Taking us home in the car, David was upbeat about the picture and said that if that was the future he will be happy to live it.

He asked who the guy was that I had put with Sarah and I told him that it was a guy who had a crush on her. He asked about Roger and Sarah told him straight out that it was over between them.

“That’s awkward,” he said, “Zoe told me yesterday that I’m invited to a high level dinner next Saturday evening and that I’m expected to have the two of you with me as you made quite a splash at the presentation.”

“I suppose you can ask your admirer because Roger has not specifically been invited. Zoe told me that the host for the evening is the Minister of Housing so it is a real lift in my status as I’ve never been invited to his events in the past.”

Marianne Gregory (C) 2022