By Jillian

Chapter Thirty-One

Tanya exited the elevator and started toward the ICU nurse’s station, her heels seeming incredibly loud in the otherwise quiet area. Reaching the desk, she asked the first person she saw, “Do you have a Cynthia Henderson here?”

Looking up from the chart she’d been studying, the nurse asked, “Are you a relative?”

With some irritation she said, “About as close as you’re likely to find. She was disowned by her family years ago.”

Sighing, the nurse replied as she pointed toward the bed behind the curtain, “Yes, right over there.”

“Thank you,” Tanya said as she headed toward her friend. Pulling back the curtain, she found Cynthia lying there bandaged and bruised. Her first thought was, ‘I was afraid something like this might happen.’

Approaching the bed, Tanya took in the full extent of Cynthia’s injuries. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down upon her friend sleeping. Pulling a chair next to the bed, she sat down and took Cynthia’s hand in hers as she quietly cried.

Tanya was brought back to reality by the sound of her friend’s voice saying, “Hey bitch. What’s up?”

“You’re awake? You’re awake!” she said as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

“You might want to do something about the raccoon eyes thing,” Cynthia joked.
It really doesn’t do a thing for you.”

A nurse entered, responding to the voices coming from the bed. “Oh good, you’re awake. I’ll go tell the doctor.” She then left as quickly as she’d arrived.

“So what happened?” Tanya asked as she gripped her friend’s hand tightly.

“I guess maybe that wasn’t one of my better choices,” she replied. “He seemed like such a nice guy at the bar, but…”

Discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor, who directing his attention to Tanya asked, “Could you give me a few minutes with my patient?”

“Oh sure,” she said as she stood up to head for the waiting room.

“You can come back in a bit. I just need to check a few things.”

“Sure Doctor,” Tanya said as she exited the area.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Bob had been staring at the photographs for well over an hour. Granted, some of that time had been wasted looking at the one's of his sibling, but most of it had been spent trying to get a clear close up of the man who’d left the club with Cynthia the previous evening.

Sitting back in his chair, he put his forefinger and thumb on either side of his nose as he closed his eyes trying to relieve some of the tension that had built up in him over the past few hours. First, he’d discovered things about his ‘brother’ that he never wanted to know and then there was the potential for the first real lead in his case. As much as the latter should’ve energized him, he found that the former was making it impossible for him to feel good about anything.

As had been the case all morning, he found his thoughts wandering back to his discussion with Tommy earlier. What on Earth could make someone think like that? No matter how many times he tried to go through it, he simply couldn’t come up with an answer that made sense to him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Sergeant Parker’s voice asking, “What’s this?” as he picked up the pictures he had laying on his desk. Looking at them more closely the Sarge recognized one of them as their suspect, but then he looked at the other photo and said, “Who’s this?”

“What?” Bob said defensively.

“This one,” Parker said holding out the photo of Tanya. “I remember, last night when we saw this one walking into the club you got all rattled. What’s the deal? You know her or something?” he asked, chuckling.

Finally, Bob replied, “You might say that. You could say we grew up together.”

“Interesting,” commented the Sarge. “Care to elaborate?”

“Not really,” Bob deflected.

Sitting down on the edge of the desk, the sergeant said, “’Fraid not, ol’ buddy. This one’s got you rattled pretty good, and I want to know why...”

Taking a deep breath and letting out a long sigh, Bob eventually replied, “You gotta keep this just between you and me.” Pausing for a moment, he then quietly said, “That’s my little brother.”

“Ouch,” Parker replied.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“So, did you know about this before?” he asked before adding, “I mean, he looks pretty good.”

“Hey!” Bob chastised his friend and partner. Further conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Bob’s cell phone. “Taylor here.”

On the other end, the doctor replied, “Yes detective, this is Dr. Sanders at the hospital. I thought you’d like to know that our patient seems to be awake. If you have any more questions, you might want to head over.”

“Great,” Bob enthused. “I’m on my way.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Okay, no arguments,” Tanya stated. “You are never leaving a bar with someone you just met ever again. Understood?”

Looking at her friend, Cynthia replied, “Yes mom.” Then looking toward the curtain being pulled open, she called out, “Hey Detective.”

As Bob walked up to the bedside, Tanya looked at him and said to her friend, “I see you’ve met my brother.”

Looking back at Tanya, Cynthia said, “No shit? Your brother?”

“Afraid so,” said Bob. Handing a photo to her, he asked, “Is this the man who did this to you?”

She looked at the photo for a moment and shuddered before saying, “Yes. Have you caught him?”

“No. This is a surveillance picture taken last night as you were leaving with him.”

Tanya took the picture from her friend and looked at it before adding, “That’s the guy I saw you leaving with last night all right.” Then directed toward her brother she asked, “How’d you get this? Oh wait, that’s right. You said you were there last night.”

As she was saying this, Sergeant asked Bob, “So you weren’t kidding me earlier, were you?”

Looking at him, Tanya asked, “What?”

“He had a picture we’d taken of you last night on his desk and when I asked him who you were, well…”

Bob then said, “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Bobby, I know you’re ashamed of me and all,” Tanya said to her brother. “But really.”

“Can we talk about this later?” Bob asked his ‘brother’.

“Sure,” she replied.

Directing his attention again toward Cynthia, he asked, “And you’re sure this is the man?”

“Absolutely.”

“By any chance can you remember the car?”

“I won’t forget that one any time soon. It was an early ‘70s Cadillac Coupe Deville. Black, fully restored.”

“Excellent,” he said. Bob then took the photo back and handed it to the Sarge saying, “Let’s put out an APB on this guy and his car.”

“I’m on it,” he said, taking the photo and leaving the bedside.

Once Parker was gone, Bob directed his attention back toward Tanya and asked, “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Just a sec,” she replied. Then to Cynthia she said, “Sweetie, I know you could use some rest and I really need to get some sleep before work tonight, so I should probably be going, okay?”

“Okay,” she responded.

Returning her attention to her brother, Tanya asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

“Not here,” he said. “Come down to the cafeteria with me for a minute, okay?”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Charlie crawled out of bed, noticing the flashing light on his answering machine. Hitting the play button, he listened to the message, “Hey Charlie. It’s Sandra. I got your message. Sure I’d like to go out with you. Are ya busy tonight? Call me back.”

He looked up her number where he’d written it down the day before and picking up the phone, he dialed. On the third ring, she answered, “Hey.”

“Sandra? It’s Charlie.”

“Charlie!” she enthused. “I’m glad you called.”

“Listen, tonight would be great. What say we meet at the bar at the Hilton around 8?”

“Awesome!” she said happily. “See ya there!”

Hanging up the phone, he thought, ‘Excellent! Another one.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Bob and Tanya sat across from each other drinking coffee in silence for several minutes before Tanya said, “You wanted to talk?”

Putting his cup down, he nodded saying, “Yeah.” Taking a second to compose his thoughts, he asked, “What’s the deal here?”

“What do you mean?”

Gesturing toward the way she was dressed, he said, “With this.”

“I think you know by now.”

“Yeah, but why?”

“Why?” she repeated his question. “Well, my doctor says that most likely when I was still in utero my brain got hit with estrogen at some point when it should’ve gotten testosterone, which feminized my brain patterns.”

“Oh, come on. You expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t care if you believe it or not, Bobby,” she hissed.

After pausing for a moment to let tempers calm back down, Bob asked, “So what do you call yourself?”

“Tanya,” she replied.

Pointing towards her chest he asked, “Are those real?”

“I can’t believe you’re asking me that, but yes they’re real.”

Furrowing his brow, Bob then asked, “So how do you…?”

“How do I what?”

“You know,” he gestured to his own chest. “Hide them?”

Grinning, she replied, “Very painfully. It involves Ace bandages and heavy clothes. Not pleasant and I don’t plan on doing it much longer.”

“What does that mean?”

Taking a deep breath, Tanya said, “I’m going to start my real life test soon.”

“Again, what does that mean?”

“It means, big brother,” she started, “That I’m going to start living full time as a woman.”

“As in all the time?”

“As in all the time. I know this is probably freaking you out, Bobby. Sorry.”

Looking at his new ‘sister’, Bob said, “It’s just that the only thing I know about this stuff is from the streetwalkers and drag queens we’ve picked up. It’s all kinda weirding me out a little.”

She looked at him sadly and said, “Yeah, I know.”

“So what about work?”

“What about it?”

Bob took a second to word his question better, “What’s going to happen with the clubs you’ve been playing when you...you know...change?”

“It’s entirely possible I could lose work, but I won’t know until I try.”

“Heavy,” Bob finally responded.

Tanya then added, “I’d been thinking about maybe making the change at the clubs gradually, but then again maybe it’d be better to do it all at once. What I’m wearing now would probably be okay ... as long as I go light on the eye shadow,” she grinned.

After thinking for a second, Bob said, “Just let me know if you have any problems.”

Taken aback, Tanya smiled wanly as she responded, “I didn’t figure you’d approve.”

“Who says I do,” Bob replied. “But this is family. If they mess with you, they’re messing with me too.”

She looked at her brother with a new-found fondness in her eyes as she started to cry and said, “Thanks Bobby.”

He reached out his hand and took hold of hers across the table. After sitting in silence for a while as she got control of her tears he asked, “So do Mom and Dad know?”

“Dad, no. Mom, sort of. She knows I’ve always been different, but I don’t think she knows completely.”

“Are you going to tell them?”

“Sunday,” she admitted.

“At Mom’s Birthday? That sounds like a disaster in the making.” After taking a drink from his by now cold coffee, a sly grin found its way onto his face as he asked, “So does this mean I have to call you ‘little sister’ now?”

Looking into his eyes, Tanya replied, “I’d like it if you did.”

Thinking about it for a moment, Bob finally responded, “I don’t know about this.”

Tanya sadly said, “That’s what I figured.”

Bob then continued, “But I’ll try.”

The smile that suddenly appeared on Tanya’s face lit up the room.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Bob walked into the ‘Slipper’ as the staff was setting up for the evening. Heading directly to the bar, he took out his badge and placed it next to the photo directly in front of the bartender. “This guy look familiar?”

Picking up the photo, the bartender said, “I don’t know, let me take a look.” After staring at the picture for a few seconds he responded, “Not really, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like I memorize the face of every guy that wanders in here.”

“Can we check with the other staff? Especially anyone who was working last night?”

“Sure,” the bartender replied. “Why don’t I get you the manager and he can put you in touch with anyone who worked last night.”

“Great,” said Bob.

The bartender walked around the bar and headed into the office with Bob following closely behind. Opening the door, he announced, “Jimmy, there’s a Detective Taylor here to see you.”

Before looking up Jimmy loudly muttered, “What do the cops want?” Then noticing that the aforementioned officer was already in the room, he said more loudly, “What can I do for you Detective?”

Walking up to the desk, Bob held out the photo and said, “I’d like to speak to your staff to see if any of them recognize this man? You know, like is he a regular? If there’s a particular day of the week he comes by most often, that sort of thing.”

“Sure, whatever you need,” Jimmy said as he handed the photo back to the detective. Directing his attention to the bartender he then said, “John, make sure the detective has a chance to speak with everyone on staff. Anyone who isn’t here tonight let me know and I’ll get him numbers and addresses so he can contact them.”

John the bartender led Bob back out into the bar where he began introducing the officer to everyone on staff.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Tanya tried to take a nap, but with so many different thoughts racing around her head she eventually gave up on that as a bad idea. Instead, she found herself deeply engrossed in her book. Loosing track of time, she was startled back into reality by the alarm she’d set going off to tell her it was time to start getting ready for work.

Wandering into the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided that she was going to fully commit to her transition and begin her real life test. So after examining the outfit she’d worn to the hospital she decided that it would be the perfect way to make the change without shocking too many people. After all, she reasoned, the jeans and camp shirt weren’t all that different from what she’d normally have worn as Tommy.

Of course, that’s not to say there wasn’t anything different about her current look. One only had to go so far as notice that her small but noticeable breasts were prominently displayed to know that. Add to that the bolero jacket, heeled ankle boots and far more feminine than usual jewelry, not to mention the expertly applied makeup, and the whole image screamed ‘girl’.

Satisfied that her appearance made her gender clear to all without being overly frilly, she gave her hair a cursory brush and touched up her makeup, saying to herself, “Here goes nothing,” before grabbing her guitar case and heading out the door.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

As Bob left the club ‘Slipper’ his cell phone rang. Flipping it open he answered, “Taylor.”

“Find anything?” asked the Captain.

“Hey Cap. Some of the wait staff recognized our guy from the photo, but other than tell me that he was a regular nobody knew anything. Sounds like this might be a good place to keep an eye out for him.”

“Good work. I’ll send over an unmarked car and have a couple of guys man the stakeout tonight.”

Bob offered, “I don’t mind taking tonight.”

“No, Bob,” the Captain countered. “You’ve been at it for several days without much sleep. I’d rather you get some rest tonight. We know who we’re looking for now, so let somebody else sit in a cold car this evening.”

“Come on, Skip. This is my case. Do you really think I want somebody else making the arrest?”

“Listen Bob,” the Captain ordered. “Our guy knows he had a close call last night, so I’d be surprised if he tries the same spot again for a few days. The stakeout is just in case.”

Slowly Bob relented, “Okay, you’re the boss.”

“Nice to see you finally remembered that,” the Captain joked.

“Let me know if anything happens.”

“Will do,” the Captain replied. “Now go get some rest.”

Bob closed his phone and headed for his car.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

As Tanya parked her car, out of habit she flipped down the visor and looked in the vanity mirror. She checked her makeup and fluffed her hair, flipping the visor back into position as she got out of the car. Getting her guitar out of the back, she then wrestled her small portable PA system out of the trunk and headed inside.

Before she reached for the handle to open the door she took a deep cleansing breath and said to herself, “Here goes.” Once inside, she hauled her equipment directly to the stage area and began the process of setting up.

Her progress was delayed by the approach of one of the waitresses, who after looking at her closely addressed Tanya, “Hey there. You changed. Do you have a new name to go with the new look?”

Reaching out a hand she replied, “Tanya. Tanya Taylor.”

“Cool. Nice to meet you Tanya,” Connie responded. “Need anything?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine for now. I’ll come up to the bar to get my soda once I’m done here.”

“Okay,” the waitress said as she returned to her duties. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Great,” Tanya replied as she returned her attention to hooking up the PA system.

Once everything was ready, Tanya made her way to the bar where they already had her Diet Coke waiting for her. “Thanks,” she said to the bartender as she picked up the glass and took a sip.

Then the manager came out of his office and headed straight for Tanya. ‘Uh-oh,’ she thought.

“Got a second?” he asked her as he directed toward his office.

Tentatively she responded, “Sure.”

Following him into the office, she watched him sit behind his desk and stood there uncomfortably for a moment while he looked at her warily. When the silence became too oppressive, she asked, “What’s up?”

“You,” he replied. “What’s with the new ‘look’?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I don’t know,” he stated. “Can’t say I’m thrilled with this change, but I’ll leave it be as long as I don’t get any complaints.”

“I can’t imagine there being any. In the past I’ve gone pretty much unnoticed and the few that have spoken to me thought I was a girl before.”

He clasped his hands together with index fingers raised and pressed them to his lips for a moment before asking, “What do you mean?”

“Well,” she began, “For example, Connie just asked me if I’d finally gotten tired of my ‘tomboy’ look.”

“Okay,” he finally responded. “But if there’s any problems,” he said barely disguising his discomfort with the situation, “you’re outta here, got it?”

“Got it,” she replied before turning and exiting the office. Once back in the bar proper, she headed directly to the stage where she was met by Connie, the waitress from before.

“What did he want?” she asked.

“Guess I’ve been put on notice,” Tanya said. “If anyone complains about me, I get fired.”

“Wow, really?” she asked.

Pausing for a moment, Tanya finally replied, “Can’t say I’m shocked. I knew there’d be some fallout from this.”

“What prompted the change?”

Gesturing to a nearby table, Tanya led Connie over and took a seat where she then responded, “This isn’t something new. I’ve been on hormones for several months now. The only thing that’s changed is that my brother found out about me, so now I don’t really have any reason to hide who I really am.”

“You mean your brother, the cop?”

“The one and only.”

“How’d he take it?”

“Hard to tell just yet,” Tanya answered. “But at least I think he’s willing to try, which is more than I expected.”

“Cool,” Connie enthused. “He seems like a nice guy, from when he’s come in to see you.”

“He is. He’s just kind of conservative, I guess you’d say.”

Getting up to go back to work, Connie offered, “Well good luck. And have a good show.”

“That’s the plan,” Tanya said as her friend walked back toward her customers, leaving her to stew for a few minutes in her thoughts.

Chapter Forty

Charlie entered the lobby of the hotel and first made his way to the front desk. Once he had the clerk’s attention he asked, “Any chance of booking a room for the night?”

“Certainly, sir. Will that be cash or credit card?”

Pulling out his wallet from which he removed two hundred dollar bills, he placed the money on the counter and said, “I seem to have forgotten my ID.”

Smiling conspiratorially the clerk said, “That’s not a problem sir,” as he took the money and handed Charlie a key.

Charlie then smiled as he took the key, turned and headed toward the bar where he was supposed to meet his ‘date’. Walking in, he scanned the room for the ‘girl’ who’d sent him her picture earlier to make finding her easier.

Spotting her sitting alone in a booth, he headed straight toward her and slid into the other side of the booth saying, “So I take it you’re Sandra?”

Holding out her hand in a gesture of friendship, she replied, “That’s me. And you must be Charlie?”

“Must be,” he joked as he took her hand and gently kissed the back of it.

“Such a gentleman,” she cooed.

Seeing that she already had a drink in front of her, he turned toward the bartender and asked, “A beer, please?”

“So Charlie,” Sandra started, “Have you lived around here long?”

“Just a couple of months. Before that I was back East.” The bartender brought a glass of beer over and placed it in front of Charlie. He looked up at the man and said, “Thanks.”

After taking a long draw on his drink, Charlie asked, “What about you?”

“Oh, I’ve lived here for a few years now,” she replied. Grinning she added, “Can’t imagine going back to that little town I grew up in at this point.”

Sandra finished her drink and instantly Charlie was signaling for the bartender to bring her another. Joking, she asked him, “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

Smugly he looked into her eyes and replied, “Maybe. Would that be so bad?”

“Only if you expect me to drive home tonight,” she countered.

“Not a problem,” he said. Pulling his room key out of his pocket he added, “I mean, this is a hotel after all. Last I heard they were in the business of providing lodging.”

“Looks like you planned ahead.”

“Always, my dear,” he offered, still holding out the room key.

To Be Continued...