Mike/Maggie is back and ready to settle the score. He needs information and lots of it and the beginning of his plan to get it is revealed. Still all is not what it seems to be, even the girl that has entered his life. And for the moment there is love and happiness in life.

~o~O~o~

I had been back in Vegas most of a year now and things for the most part were going good. I had worked a few cases at the new agency, but nothing so far that I would call exciting.

In my spare time, and I had plenty of that, I had looked into the accident that had killed Beverly and Jennifer. The police had ruled it a solo accident, but a blind man could see that was not the case.

Her car was damaged both front and back. At the scene it rested in a ditch nose first and the skid marks went way too far for the speed the car was traveling. It took me all of five minutes to see from the pictures that they were clearly forced off the road on purpose.

I was still friends with Mike and when I pointed this out over dinner one night, he said, “I should let a sleeping dog lay.”

It wasn’t like Mike to let anybody have a pass on murder. While I was still a bit worried that my past might catch up to me at any moment, I let it pass.

After the sting went down everybody that lived turned state’s evidence and Mike, along with the other guys at the sting, had brought a lot of drug dealers to justice. Manny was one of the few that escaped the net and had sworn to revenge himself on Mike and I.

It was Captain Mike Chambers now since the sting also got him a promotion. He was working on the gang task force now, as they seemed to be a bigger problem than just the drug lords.

I looked into the affairs of Dr Joyce as well. She had almost turned me into a girl some two years ago. I had a score to settle with her, as well as Ms. Franklin.

Dr. Joyce had somehow landed a big time grant to do Gender Diaspora work. That was right up her all alley, as best I knew. But then I wondered if the people that gave her the grant knew what I did.

I had already done a background check on Ms. Franklin and followed that trail to a very large dead end. Isadora Franklin did not exist before the agency she and Beverly created did. The more I looked the less I liked what I found.

There was more and maybe a lot more and I looked as much as I could between the jobs the new agency gave.

I lived a very low key life. I had a one room studio apartment and drove a secondhand car I bought off a buddy of mine from college. When he moved home, he no longer needed it so I bought it.

I was eyeballs deep in a divorce case when some papers I had filed for came through. I had used the Freedom of Information Act to get some other information on Isadora Franklin.

While the Armed Forces wasn’t happy to give out information to anybody, they seemed more than happy to help me. Isadora Franklin was born Ivan Franklin and had served in Vietnam. He had received a purple heart and a medal of valor citation after he had been wounded and was soon after discharged. There was about three years between his discharge and the starting of the agency that were still unaccounted for.

After far too many nights of sleeping in my car, I finally got the pictures of my client’s wife cheating on him and soon after he got the uncontested divorce he wanted.

With some help from Mike I got even more information on Ivan. He pulled the application for her or his P.I. license. She was listed as being female and when I saw the doctor of record I wasn’t surprised to find Dr. Joyce listed.

I felt a little like I was chasing a ping pong ball as I was now back to checking on Dr. Joyce. She had been in the military as well and deployed the same time as Ivan. She had a medical degree and the stuff that went with it, but I guessed that it was via Uncle Sam that she got it. There was no big college listed for her degree, that happens sometimes when you attend on the G.I. bill.

I went back to Mike as well and got a Known Associates list for Isadora. I checked the names against the men she had served with. Two names all but jumped off the page at me.

One was William David Post. He was my current boss and had been second in command of Isadora’s group. The other was James Michael Baker our new and very flamboyant D.A. The man was more than smart, but I was sure he never read the book on how to win friends and influence people. He had all the personality of a baseball bat.

It made sense to me now that David had allowed Isadora to be partner in the business till she could get back on her feet. She had gotten her own offices about a month ago and moved out without much fan fair. She still listed her business as a courier business. Add to that her connection with the D.A. and it also made sense that Mike wanted me to leave this case alone.

I was between cases with the agency when I decided it was time to lay what I knew on the table to Mike. I wanted to see his reaction or lack of, that would tell me a lot.

I found Mike at Steve’s Place, a small bar and grill that the cops hung out in a lot. He didn’t look happy to see me, but he was sitting alone and offered me a seat nonetheless.

“You look a little beat,” I said, as I took the seat.“Well you take my job for a while and see how you feel after a week or two,” he smiled.

“No thanks, my friend. I got all I can do just doing my own,” I added.

“If you came to ask me for more information, I can’t help you. The D.A. found out I pulled Isadora’s application and he was none to happy,” Mike added.

“Well, considering her and Mr. Baker, along with my boss David, all served together, that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Since when?” Mike shot back.

“Vietnam,” I replied.

“Oh really,” he grinned.

“Yes, really,” I replied, as I placed the papers on the table. “You didn’t know?” I asked.

“No, I doubt many other people do either,” he said looking over the papers.

“You think this is why they swept the accident under the rug?” He asked.

“It would make sense if they were covering up something, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I do,” Mike said with fire in his eyes.

“Is there something more you would like to tell me now?” I asked.

“Yes, but it will have to wait till I make an arrest tomorrow,” he replied.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“I busted a punk kid last week with a boat load of military stuff in the trunk of his car. The M.P. landed on us about three seconds later and took everything,” Mike added.

“What you’re saying is Baker let them take evidence he could have used to convict them with?” I replied.

“Yes,” Mike said as the waitress came by.

She stopped and Mike paid his tab and then left. He had something on his mind cause he didn’t even say goodbye. I felt sure he knew something he wasn’t telling me. The question was, was he protecting them or me?

The next morning, David called me and asked me to come into the office. He had a case for me if I wanted it. I hadn’t worked in almost a month now so he was all but sure I did.

I was a little surprised when I got there and found D.A. Baker and David laughing it up in his office. David saw me through the glass front on the office and invited me in.

“I take it you know D.A. Baker,” David said, as he offered me a seat.

“Yes, we haven’t really met, but I do know him,” I replied.

“We served in Vietnam together,” David said.

I tried to look surprised, but I doubt they believed me for a second. “You said you have a case for me.” I tried to turn the conversation to business.

“Yes,” D.A. Baker spoke up. “I asked David to loan you to us for a while to work on this. I don’t have manpower or the overtime in my budget to get it done any other way,” he added.

“I’ll do my best,” I replied, then paused.

“What this case will come down to is insurance fraud. Cars with minor fender benders are being totaled, taken out of state, repaired and then sold back to the original owner for pennies on the dollar. Since we know what they are doing, all we need to know is the Who, and How.”

“One or more than one insurance company?” I asked

“Pretty much across the board, as far as we can tell. We think the same repair shop is doing all the work and is gaining access somehow to whoever the original owner was. They repair the car, change the VIN number and sell them the car back,” he paused to catch his breath.

“If the repair shop is buying them as salvage and doing the repairs, there is nothing illegal about that so long as they apply for or get a new title. If anything, it’s fraud on the repair shops end of the deal.” I smiled.

“Well, there is more to the story,” D.A. Baker continued. I have 25 cases where the owner was about to have his or her car repossessed, suddenly they have an accident and the car gets totaled. They have insurance, of course, and they pay off the car. A few weeks later after the payoff the owner gets the same car back and some we are told for the price of salvage and repair, which is almost nothing,” he added.

“Sounds like someone has figured out a way to beat the system, unless you think the accidents are staged.” I replied.

“That is exactly what we think is happening and we know that two of the returned cars were actually stolen from the L.A. area,” D.A. Baker smiled.

“Did you impound those two cars?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “We’re having the owners and the cars watched to see if we can find any of the other players, but that is about all the manpower I can give this case.

“So the bottom line looks like this,” I stated. “You want me to find out if the accidents were staged and by who. Then you also want me to find out how they are moving or changing cars, possibly even for stolen ones. Is that what you’re asking me to do?”

“We’ll be happy just to find out who all the players are for now,” D.A. Baker huffed.

“All expenses paid?” I looked at David as I spoke.

“Yes,” was his one word reply.

“And if I find any stolen cars, who gets the finder’s fee?? I asked.

“Same split as always,” Dave smiled as I got up to leave.

I figured this would take all of a week to do. Even you can tell me who stages more car wrecks than anybody. If you answered, Hollywood, give yourself an A+.

At home I packed one bag and headed three hours south to L.A. My guess was that some stunt man had recently quit or gotten fired, moved to the Las Vegas area and was still practicing his craft, only in the real world now.

He would probably also be working with some finance geek that could give him the info on people who were about to lose their cars to the repo man. The geek might or might not know which insurance company they were using, but it was a good bet they all used the same finance company. And no, I didn’t ask Baker if he had checked that angle. I needed the work and the money.

By lunch time I was parked at Warner Brothers and looking for a friend in the special effects department. Darrel could steer me in the right direction to find the stunt people since he worked with them all the time. His face lit up as soon as I stepped into his office.

“Where the hell you been man?” He asked. I trolled Vegas for most of two weeks looking for you after spring break.” He finally paused so I could answer.

“I went to work for a private company, kind of dropped out of sight for a while.”

“Well, from the looks of you they must have been starving you on a regular basis,” he added.

Baggy cloths or not my still very female figure showed and all to well. “In a way for a while they did, but that’s past now. I’m with a new firm and things are looking up,” I replied.

“So what brings you to L.A.? Some chick I would guess?” He said with a smile.

“Not this time,” I replied. “This trip is all business.” I added.

“Anything I can help you with?” He asked.

“Well, I was hoping you could steer me in the right direction at least.” I smiled, as he took his seat again. “I need to know where and how I can find out about stunt men??

“Ouch”. That’s a sore subject around here of late.” He all but frowned.

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, stunt people, as they insist on being called, have their own union of sorts. It’s not a tight knit group and lately they have cost some of the studios big bucks by walking off the set for more money. A few have even quit and went independent, as it were.”

“Think you might could get me a short list on some of the better than average ones that have left?” I asked.

“Sherry, will you bring me the list?” He said over the speakerphone.

It took her only a few seconds to bring it in and Darrel told me most studios had a blacklist. It was basically people they wouldn’t use and people that were no longer available if they did use them. It was a start and after some small talk I left so he could get back to work.

I stopped at a bank nearby and bought a roll of quarters. Then I went looking for a phone booth, preferably one of the new ones that was close to the ground and open in front so I could sit in my car and make calls. Four of the top ten had already moved and three of them were known to be in Las Vegas. It still cost me ten quarters to find that out.

Cell phones were just starting to be a big business item and the prices for service were coming down on a regular basis. I had invested a few bucks in one of the larger companies and I was already getting a return on my money. I would have to check into getting myself one I thought as I headed back to Vegas.

It was late by the time I got back to my place and I just turned in for the night. Tomorrow I would check and see if these guys were actually in town and if so, were they working again. If you need the money bad enough, people will do almost anything for it. That was true no matter what the economy was doing at the time.

I hit the floor around 9:00 the next morning and did my run like always. I got a shower afterwards and headed for the office and a high speed connection to the web. That was the fastest way I knew to find addresses for these guys and see who was who. Two were in north Vegas and one was downtown. The other one had actually gone on to Reno. Well, God bless him, easier to find three people than four.

The first two were half brothers and stayed in the same apartment building. They had taken jobs with a local construction company and were working on what would be a new Nascar race track in a few years.

The man who was downtown? Well, that was another story, altogether. When I found him, he was three days drunk and holding down a piece of sidewalk on what we called skid row. Not the right man for the job or at least not now. He looked like a real bum and since this scam was bringing in big bucks, I took him off the list.

It would be a long drive to Reno, but I could see that trip coming and sooner than I wanted it to.

Since I was already downtown, I went by the station and checked in with Mike. I told him I was working a case for the D.A. and asked for a little help.

“It will have to be very little,” he replied.

I gave him the case numbers I had and asked to look at the police files. I didn’t tell him what I was looking for. The police don’t like it much when you make them look bad, even if they did ask for your help.

I spent the rest of the day going over the files. The same finance company showed up on half of the cases. The other two companies were spin-offs of the first, so they had taken a pretty good hit in a way. The insurance companies always bargain down the payoff on a wrecked auto.

Tomorrow I was gong to Reno and after that I would check out the finance companies and see if there was more than what I saw on paper to this.

I was headed to Reno before the sun came up the next morning. I knew this would be an overnight thing so I had packed my one suitcase again. I figured if I found this guy right off and got the scoop on what he was doing, I could easily be headed back home early tomorrow. When I made my second stop for gas, I called the agency and had them run a credit check on the finance company. I also wanted the names of the local people running it.

A very young girl answered the door when I knocked at our last stunt man’s house. Her mom was home with her and talking to her told me all I needed to know. He was working for the Reno version of the Circus Circus Casino and doing very well. He had a wife and daughter to feed, so he got crossed off the list as well.

Reno was my home town. To say I wasn’t wanted here would hardly cover it. My dad had been the chapter president of an outlaw biker gang. Mom, in a way, was just as bad and had the tattoo’s to go with it. She realized early on that I would never be like my dad and did her best to raise me right. The ATF finally infiltrated the gang and then busted them. My dad was killed by one of the other members. They thought he was a rat or an agent but that was not the case. Mom lived in Florida now under her maiden name, but wanted nothing to do with me.

Just so you know. No, Mike had no clue that I had taken the money the night of the sting. And yes, the police were still looking for it. They believed that Carlos’s goon had stashed it somewhere. And yes, all the female clothes and other stuff from my apartment before were safely tucked away in a storage building. They would come in handy if ever needed and a good disguise again. Last but not least, my natural breasts would easily fill a small B cup.

I didn’t sleep well that night. When I awoke for the third time around 4:00 in the morning, I just got up and headed back to Vegas. It was almost lunch time when I got there, so I stopped by the agency to see what they had found out for me.

Daniel York was the local man in charge and according to the financial statement the company was doing okay. I did some asking around before I went home about Daniel. He was single as far as anyone knew and had a thing for the girls in the chorus line. Seems he could be found most nights at one of the many casinos watching the girls dance.

If he wanted a skin show, there were lots of other and cheaper places around to get it. But then if he passed himself off as a refined business man, the casinos were much easier on the reputation. I was told he never left his office before 5:00 in the evening and was said to be a hard core business man.

Thursday was my day off since I worked a lot on Saturday. I was playing a long shot but I would follow this man around Friday and Saturday and see what he did and where he went.

Thursday morning I went to a local clothing store and bought a leotard and tights. I got a pair of ladies tennis shoes while I was there as well. My next stop was a local video store where I bought an aerobic work out tape. The tape said it was for the intermediate level, so I figured that would work.

Back at home I did my run and then took a shower. I still didn’t have a lot of body hair, so without shaving I slipped on the leotard and tights. My small waist made my breasts seem bigger than they were, but when I looked in the mirror I still saw the body of a woman. Not a very pretty one right now, but I could still pull it off if I needed to.

As I did the aerobic workout, I went over everything I knew in my head. It seemed to me that the car owners had to be part and party to the plan for it to work. So far nobody had been hurt, but this was a dangerous game and that could change at any time.

After my workout, I lounged around the house still wearing the leotard and tights. The spandex was comfortable enough, even if the image in the mirror wasn’t. The new city map of Las Vegas was out now and I spent a good deal of time learning all the new streets. It was just something I did to exercise my brain. Every year I memorized the new city map. You would be surprised how many people have a hard time getting around even in their home town, just because they don’t know the streets.

Around 4:00 in the afternoon Friday, I parked across the street in front of the building where the finance company was. There was a glass front café there so I went in and waited for Daniel to decide it was quitting time. Around 5:15 he came out and got in his car, then headed for the strip.

I followed him, but kept my distance. I knew the streets well so I wasn’t worried about getting lost or loosing him. I wasn’t surprised in the least when he parked in the lot at Cesar Palace. They had a pretty good chorus line that preformed between the headline shows.

When I followed him in, I had no clue we would be there till almost 3:00 a.m. That’s when I saw him meet a girl in the main lobby. She was one of the girls from the chorus line that was for sure. I had to follow them now as this might be the break I was looking for.

They went straight to the Red Garter Casino and it wasn’t rocket science to know why. The girl was thin as a rail and they had a 24 hour buffet there. I was rather hungry myself, so with a few people between us I followed them through the line and got some food.

I watched them take a cozy corner booth and lucky for me the booth behind them was open. At this time of the morning the place was rather quiet for a casino. I was able to hear him call her by name. Melody was what he said if I heard him right.

It didn’t take long for the polite conversation to become a heated argument. I couldn’t hear Daniel all that well. But I could hear Melody loud and clear.

“I helped you and your chop shop buddies make a lot of money. I want out, Daniel, plain and simple,” she added.

Not to be outdone, Daniel raised his voice a bit.

“You can quit when I say you can. As for the money… you have been doing alright. You couldn’t afford the rent on that town house without me. Never mind the habit you have of powdering your nose,” he added.

“Fuck you,” she said as she got up and headed for the door.

Daniel got up right behind her and followed her as far as the cashier’s cage. I was right behind them both. She was standing on the sidewalk trying to hail a cab when Daniel walked out.

“Come on,” he said, trying to sound sweet when he did. “I’ll take you home.”

She resisted at first then decided it was better than paying for a taxi. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. And tonight I had hit the lucky button at least twice. Not only did I know the players now, Melody’s townhouse was right across the street from my place. The rent there was $750 a month. I know because I had asked about them before I took my place. She could afford that on what she should make as a dancer. But if she had a drug problem and it sounded as if she did, that was a chunk of change to plunk down every month.

From her slightly open living room window I watched her do a line of cocaine. Powdering her nose, as Daniel had called it. Daniel never went in and didn’t stay after she had the door open and stepped in.

Tomorrow I would devise a plan to free her from this idiot if I could and then I would bust his butt, plain and simple. I had no tolerance for men who treated women badly and I had my own good reasons as to why.

The next morning I talked to her landlord. Melody Jane Scott was the name on her lease. I used an agency contact at Caesar’s to find out she had been working there for almost a year now. She was an R.N. and had worked in L.A. for several years as one. The clinic where she worked closed down about a year ago and she moved here. A secondary plan was forming in my head now. I might could kill two birds with one stone if I did this right.

I won’t lie and tell you everything about being a girl was all bad. I did have some perks, but I was much happier as a man. The fact that I was about to become a member of the fairer sex again weighed heavy on my mind. It wasn’t something I really wanted to do.

I went to the storage building that day and rounded up enough clothes to last for a week or two. I wanted it to seem I was down on my luck and new in town if my plan worked at all. I still had my female ID and it was real so that wasn’t a problem.

I called David and told him I needed some help to go undercover at Caesars. I would be applying as a makeup artist, I told him.

He said he would take care of it and that I should keep him informed. I told him I would and dropped it there.

Daniel spent all day Saturday with Melody and most of the day Sunday. I was busy cleaning up the body hair and other things that would be sure to give me away as a man. By Monday it all seemed very natural to me again and despite that I was still nervous as a cat.

It took a few days to get my job app pushed through, but Thursday I got the call and had the job. This would get me close to Melody and allow me to help her get away from Daniel and not go to jail. She would sooner or later know I was a man, but I would deal with that when I got to it.

Melody noticed me as the new girl my first night, as I did her makeup. I gave my sob story, new in town, down on my luck, staying at one of the cheap motels. You can figure it out from there. I won her trust easily and when quitting time came that night, she invited me home to stay with her, but just till I got back on my feet.

She was using the upstairs bed and bath so I got the one downstairs. It was smaller, but I had very few things so it worked out well. I made myself scarce when Daniel came over that weekend and told them I was going looking for a place of my own to stay.

All I really did was drive across the street and park in the back of my building. When I unpacked at her place, I put several bugs around the place. From across the street at my house I could hear every word that was said. Probably wouldn’t help in the trust department with Melody later on, but I wanted to keep her out of jail if I could.

I listened as Daniel told her how she would be involved in an accident Monday or Tuesday, he wasn’t sure at the time. Her car would be totaled, so she would have to ride with me for a while to get to work and back. He promised her she would get a new car in a few weeks just like before.

“You do realize it’s stolen,” he added.

That sparked yet another argument and it was bad enough this time that he left. I arrived just a few minutes after he was gone and found her crying on my bed.

“What happened?” I asked, trying to sound as if I had no clue. In her emotional state, I knew all I had to do was let her cry on my shoulder and it would all come out on its own. She spent the next three hours pouring her heart out to me and I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for her.

She told me all she knew about the operation and how it worked. She was a nurse and had hoped to find a job in that field here, but when money got tight she took the first job that came along.

As we sat at the kitchen table, I asked her if she was an R.N.

“Yes,” she replied. “What makes you ask?”

I was looking at the paper and I showed her the help wanted ad that Dr. Joyce had been running for weeks now. “It says you have to be an R.N., but it might not be right for you,” I added.

“It’s a clinic,” she lamented, “and those seem to close on you just about the time you’re getting settled in. I’m not so sure I want to work at another clinic,” she added.

“I’m sure it pays better than dancing at the casino,” I replied.

“True,” she smiled, “but you have to pass a drug screen and I have been doing a little coke now and then of late.”

“So push it aside for a couple of weeks and then go apply. I bet she will hire you on the spot,” I tried to reassure her.

“Let me sleep on it,” she smiled.

The sooner I could get her to take the job the sooner I could bust this deal wide open. I would have to bargain with the D.A. to keep her out of jail, but busting the white collar guys always got him good press. He was a glory hound and I would have to play on that when the time came. Also, the sooner I busted up this party the sooner I could come clean with Melody.

For the next two weeks I watched Melody as close as I could. She had been in a car wreck last Tuesday so we were together quite a lot now. She hadn’t powdered her nose, as they called it, for the whole two weeks, so I was hoping she was going to take the job at the clinic. I was also hoping she would become my girlfriend after this was all over as it would give me a pipeline into the affairs of Dr. Joyce.

Friday before we went to work she asked me to take her by the clinic. She was going to apply for the job. I was pleased and gave her a really big smile along with a yes. I figured Dr. Joyce knew good help when she saw it and she hired her on the spot. Tonight would be her last night as a dancer. She was happy, but I was thrilled beyond belief. I had gained enough weight that to wear my old clothes I had to wear the corset and it was getting old quick.

From my tiny office backstage I called David and had him set up a meeting with the D.A. for Monday. I told our friend at the casino he would need to get his old makeup girl back from vacation as soon as possible, as well, this was my last night.

I got all the tapes together over the weekend at my house. Daniel had not been seen for the last two weekends running. I was headed to the office as soon as Melody took off for work come Monday morning. Well, that was after I got all the bugs from her place. I didn’t know how she would take what she sure was to find out, so I played it safe. I took the rest of my stuff as well. Who knows, she might forgive me, but then she might not.

As soon as Melody was out of sight, I packed everything up and put it away at my place. I took the tapes and headed straight for the agency. I braced myself as well as I could for the storm that D.A. Baker would cause when he realized I had removed any mention of Melody’s name from the tapes. If he wouldn’t play ball, someone else would have to give her up.

Baker all but blew a gasket when the last tape ended and he still didn’t have the name of the girl. It was after 7:00 in the evening now and who knew how long it would take for him to cool off. I called Mike and asked him to pick up a girl at this address and bring her here for questioning. I didn’t give him her name, just a general description of what she looked like. He wasn’t pleased to do it, so I told him to be nice. He knew what I meant.

Melody recognized me the second she was in the door. She was stunned, but give her credit she never mentioned the female name she knew me by.

D.A. Baker, meet Jane Doe. Jane, this is D.A. Baker.

She took a seat beside me. If you’re willing to offer Jane full and complete immunity from prosecution, she might be willing to turn state’s evidence. I had started the ball rolling. Now, I waited to see where it landed.

Melody caught on quick and didn’t say a word to anybody.

“Come on, she’s in this up to her ears, at the very least she knows all the players,” he blustered!

“That’s the deal Baker. She started a new job today, but she has enough money to leave here and never return if it comes to that.”

“I don’t have to know her name, I can get a Jane Doe warrant,” he fumed, as he picked up the phone.

I have a plane less than 20 minutes from here. A warrant will take hours at this time of night and we will be long gone before you ever get it. I stated casually.

Baker looked at Mike as if he should call my bluff.

“He does have a plan sir and I know he can fly it,” Mike spoke softly.

Baker stood and leaned over the table at me. You could all but see the smoke rolling out of his ears he was so mad.

“I don’t get played by private dicks like you. You either play or my team or you go home,” he all but shouted.

He was so close to my face now I could smell his breath. It was bad, too… real bad, but now I was mad and that wasn’t an easy thing to make happen.

“Look you fucking glory hound. How about I go public with the fact that you, David and Ivan Franklin all served together in the military? How do you think it will look when I tell the whole word that Ivan took two rounds in the groin to save you and David from certain death? How about I also spill the beans that he’s now Isadora Franklin, and you have all the cops playing ball while she gets away with anything she wants to do?” Then I pushed him back across the table, just as Mike stepped up to get between us.

David, my boss and D.A. Baker looked at each other in total shock. Mike saw it as well and it registered as soon as he did. David hadn’t spoken a word so far and Barker was visibly shaken. The silence in the room was almost palpable, but I could wait them out and I knew Melody would as well.

“Get out of here, Singer, and take her with you,” he spat. “You mention one word of this and I’ll…”

“What!” I butted in. “Ruin your own reputation? I don’t think so. Have a good day,” I said, as Melody and I headed out the door.

I took Melody back to her place and Mike was there before we even got in the door.

“Mind if I come in?” He asked.

“Sure,” Melody smiled and motioned him in.

Melody listened intently as Mike and I hashed out the details of what was going on. He would testify for me in court per Baker’s orders. When Mike knew the whole story, he well understood that Melody was a pawn in the game. Just before Mike got up to leave, Melody finally chimed in.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why what?” Mike sat back down.

“Why did you two guys stick your neck out for me?” she asked.

“Well,” Mike stated, “let’s just say Singer and I have a thing for sticking up for the little people and you were a real small fry in this kettle of fish,” he smiled.

“Well, Baker looked like a whale in a bathtub after Singer said what he did,” she smiled real big.

“Well, not many have the balls to cross Baker that way. I couldn’t do it and I already knew what Singer said was probably true,” he added.

“Why not?” Melody asked. “If it’s true, I mean.”

“Knowing the truth and proving it are two different things. I suspect Singer got their military records and put two and two together, so he could prove it…I couldn’t,” Mike smiled.

“Well, you two are stand up guys in my book through and through,” Melody replied.

She even hugged Mike just before he left us that night. It was the first time I had ever seen him blush. It was cute to see the big man have to lean down to accept the hug. Mike is well over six feet tall and Melody is shorter than I am.

I slept with Melody that night and yes, in her bed. For the moment all was right in the world and the love we made that night was more than full of passion. The fact that I had met her as a female didn’t come up that night and wouldn’t for some time to come.

The morning paper told the story. D.A. Baker finally had his big fish to fry and he got a lot of ink for doing a good job. Mike, who testified for me, was up for promotion again and the buzz was he would be Chief Mike Chambers when the acting chief stepped down. I bought two papers that day and cut the article out for Melody’s scrap book.

I had high hopes for our relationship despite its rocky start. And no man worth his salt would turn Melody away. She had chestnut hair that fell full to her mid back. Beautiful long legs that only a dancer could have, a natural 34 double D bust line that would bring tears to your eyes. Her eyes were like blue diamonds and hard not to notice despite the rest of her. Her smile, well that was her biggest asset. She could melt the coldest heart with just a smile. Even mine…..

To be continued…