Playing her way 2 - Chapter 12

© D.L.

Detective Chief Inspector Osborne sipped his coffee as he reviewed the notes of the attending officer. He had been called in off standby due to a sexual assault of a fourteen-year-old girl. A fourteen-year-old male was currently waiting in an interview room with his father.

Constable Wentworth had detained the teenager. However, he had made it clear in his discussions and notes that the reason was for protection, not because he thought the person was guilty. The father of the victim, another possible suspect, was behaving aggressively towards the boy, so had escorted the youth to the station as a means to defuse the situation. The outcome of the interview would determine if an arrest would be necessary.

The DCI entered the interview room. He nodded to the Constable who was stood to the side monitoring the prisoner. The father was in the room, sat on a chair to one side. A lawyer was sat beside the prisoner. The detective didn't recognise the lawyer. He wasn't one of the normal people on roster assigned by the courts and wasn't one of the local representatives from the private practices.

DCI Osborne kept a poker face, hiding his surprise at the appearance of the prisoner. He had seen some strange characters in his career, but not many of them would consider using the interview room for meditation.

Emily opened her eyes hearing the policeman entering the room. She carefully unfolded her legs and repositioned herself on the chair.

"First of all, I would like to confirm your identity," the officer began. "There appears to be some confusion in the reports I have read."

Emily nodded, expecting this question, "I am a male to female transexual under the care of a trained professional in the field of gender dysphoria. Due to the possible negative reactions of certain individuals who I suspected might be present, I was attending the party using my original male identity of Jason Alex Bridges. I have applied for and received a change of name to Emily Jennifer Bridges, which is now my official name. Although I was attending as Jason, when I called the emergency services, I was so focused on Zoe that I used my new identity."

Zoe Sheilds was currently in a private room at the local hospital under protection by female officers. The initial medical reports were not promising. Initial results suggested a cocktail of date rape drugs and alcohol. The exact chemicals used would not be known until further test results were received. A rape kit had already been collected, including possible DNA evidence. The was no semen recovered, but flesh and blood were retrieved from under her fingernails. She hadn't yet regained consciousness, despite the attack happening several hours previously.

Emily had volunteered a DNA sample on arrival at the station, which would be compared to any evidence collected from the victim.

"I can provide a copy of the deed poll of my client, as well as copies of the signed letter her doctors have provided regarding her real life test." The lawyer, Adam Edwards, stated. "I trust that the gender orientation of my client won't effect this investigation."

The DCI ignored the suggestion of possible bias, and continued to ask, "How do you know the victim?"

"We were in the same school up until last summer. I shared several lessons with her including being on the same workbench during science lessons. She is a close friend of my cousin, Susan. Although she can be both abrasive and obnoxious at times, I regard her as a friend."

"Can you explain how you came to be at the party?"

Emily nodded and started to explain the circumstances.

The invitation had unexpectedly arrived on the 27th. Nobody saw who put if through the letterbox, but the lack of stamp and postmarks on the envelope meant it was hand delivered.

Jason's name had been put on the outside. Inside was a pre-printed party invitation with hand-written details. Both Jason and Anna were named and asked to attend a party to be held on Friday the 30th. Zoe had signed the invitation with a cursive signature.

On the back was a message stating that all his friends are invited and that everybody would love to catch up with him while he was in town.

"Is this party genuine?" Emily asked Susan over the phone.

"I spoke to Zoe this morning," Susan replied. "Yes, it's genuine, this isn't a prank this time. The party will be happening, assuming people turn up. I don't know how many people will actually attend, given that she has pissed off just about everybody in the last few months."

"I know she can be obnoxious, but I thought she was getting better at controlling herself," Emily replied.

"She has been alienating people left, right, and centre since summer. Virtually nobody at school will have anything to do with her. She has been suspended twice for swearing and ranting at teachers. I've tried to get to the bottom of her problems, but she won't open up to me. When I try to talk to her about the rumours circulating, she accused me of badmouthing her and stormed off."

"Dare I ask what rumours?"

"The rumour is that she has been giving blowjobs to the boys in year eleven."

"Those kinds of rumours always spread, usually originating from other girls. Does she have a boyfriend? There might be some jealously involved?" Emily reasoned.

"No, at least nobody steady. I would normally agree with you on that, but something about Zoe's behaviour gives me the feeling there is some truth to the rumour. I can't work her out. She seems starved for attention, yet incapable of letting people get close. I can totally see her doing something like that to try and get attention. The teachers are also worried. She has had several sessions with the school councillor, and I was interviewed by the headmaster himself over my thoughts on the rumour."

Susan sighed, then continued, "I think this party is a last ditch attempt at becoming popular. She is practically begging people to come along. She asked me last week if you would be in town for Christmas."

"I assume you told her about Anna, as she is included on the invite," Emily interjected.

"Yes, standard cover of you being her boyfriend. Given her current behaviour, I suspect she might have tried to come onto you if she thought you were single. Given some of the messages I received this morning, it looks like she is trying to persuade other to come along because you are invited. Tim and David asked me if you would be there, as they couldn't get any response from you on social media."

Tim Gooding and David Smith were two of Jason's friends from his previous school. When the rumours spread over his sexuality, they were the two boys who defended him the most, despite the risk of being branded similarly. They were also Minecraft fans, although unaware of Jason transitioning to Emily and that Emily is Generation2K.

"I haven't been looking at my old accounts much recently, I should check them more often," Emily replied. "I will give Tim a ring and see if he is going to attend. It might be nice to have a get-together. I have neglected my former friends, and it is time to rectify that."

"I haven't told them about your transition," Susan stated, "Are you going to reveal you new self."

"I'm not turning up in a dress," Emily replied, "But I may take them to one side if the opportunity arises."

DCI Osborne regarded the teenager sat opposite. Despite stating that a masculine persona was in use, his initial reaction was that the individual's presentation was anything but male. The skin tight pink flared denim jeans was not something he could picture a boy wearing. The electric blue cord blazer over the top of a thick white cotton shirt glared at him across the brightly lit room.

"When did you arrive at the party?" he asked.

"It must have been around seven when we arrived," Emily replied. "Dad dropped us off."

"It was five to by the clock in my car, but that is several minutes slow," Arnold stated from across the room. He was mainly there as an observer but spoke when the detective looked in his direction for clarification.

"Jason!" Zoe had run over to Emily as she entered the marquee in the back garden of the house. Zoe flung her arms round her newly arrived guest wrapping her in a hug. Emily almost staggered backwards in surprise at the unusually friendly greeting.

Releasing Emily from her grasp, Zoe turned to Anna, "You must be Anna, welcome, I'm Zoe. Grab yourself a drink, I was just heading indoors to grab some pizza out of the oven, I'll be back in a minute."

"Is she always that boisterous," Anna asked after Zoe had dashed off in the direction of the house.

"I wasn't sure what to expect," Emily stated leading them both in the direction of her friends.

Tim, David and Susan were stood in a corner of the tent, at the far end away from the obnoxiously loud music. Emily smiled at the look of shock on her friend's faces as she approached. She wasn't sure who was the most surprised, her friends, or her cousin.

"Interesting fashion choice," David stated, "If it wasn't known that you were bringing your girlfriend, I would say that you were definitely stepping out of the closet."

"Considering most people assume I'm gay anyway, I thought there was no harm in playing to stereotype."

"I think that those trousers shout girly rather than gay," Tim added, "Is there anything you wish to tell us?"

Emily smiled and was about to say something when she caught Susan shaking her head, the reason becoming apparent a couple of seconds later.

"Well, the nerds have finally found some girls," Emily recognised the distinct tone of Gary, one of her former bullies, behind her.

"If you ladies get tired of these bores," a second voice, that of Gary's older brother, John, stated, "Then perhaps you would like some real men to keep you company."

Seeing her friend hesitate, and the widening of her eyes, Anna decided to take the initiative. Wrapping her arm around David, she replied using her poshest accent, "Well, if you come across any real men then send them in our direction, until then we will enjoy the company of these charming individuals. In other words, piss off jerk."

David responded to Anna laying her head on his shoulder by putting his arm around her.

Tim quickly evaluated the situation and decided to take a risk. He had grown several inches in the past few months. He had also been working out in an effort to boost his fitness. The combination of the two had increased his confidence, and he was no longer intimidated by Gary's posturing.

Tim stepped towards Emily and pulled her into a tight embrace. Unsure what to do Emily leant in close to Tim's body. She had always been a couple of inches shorter than her friend, but his growth spurt resulted in her being able to rest her head on his shoulder as he peered across the top of her head at the other boys.

"Whatever, catch you losers later," Gary stated, shrugging off the obvious insult. There was plenty of other targets, and it wasn't worth the hassle.

"You can let go now," Emily squeaked.

"I don't know," Tim replied, "I quite like having a beautiful girl draped in my arms."

Emily bit her lip, not sure how to respond.

"This is where you are supposed to deny being a girl," Susan stated, "Although, I'm not sure these guys will believe you if you try. I wasn't expecting the pretty in pink look. I didn't think you liked giving off mixed signals."

"No more denials," Emily stated. "I've been living as a girl for the past three months. If you have a problem with me, then this will be the last time we meet."

"Whatever makes you happy," David stated, letting go of Anna, who removed her arm from around his neck."

Tim responded by hugging Emily even tighter, almost lifting her off the ground.

"I guess you aren't worried about appearances," Anna noted, "If you recognised Emily as Jason, then others will as well. Zoe certainly recognised Jason and has told people that he will be present."

"I'm beyond worrying about the shitstorm that could erupt," Tim replied. "I knew before I hugged her that it was only a matter of time before Gary twigged who she used to be. I was almost tempted to go in for a kiss, and that was before I realised I would be kissing a girl."

"How many people here do you actually recognise," David asked. "This place is filling up, but I only recognise about a fifth of the faces."

Emily looked around the tent. The next closest people were several feet away, but already she could count around fifty people, and that was without considering the number of people who had been indoors as they moved through the house. A lot of the guests appeared older than themselves.

"Given the bouncers checking everybody in at the door, I assume they must all be invited," Tim stated.

"We just got waved through," Anna stated, "Considering I'm a stranger here, they are not checking very hard."

"They are only checking the boys. They must have assumed you both to be girls," Susan added. "Something isn't quite right here. I suggest we keep our eyes open."

"It might be an idea to not drink too much," David stated. "When I passed the drinks table, everything was in two-litre bottles, and they all looked like they had been opened, even the full ones."

"You suspect they may have been spiked," Emily replied.

"Oh shit," Susan swore, "Zoe's comment to me when I arrived suddenly has new meaning. She told me to stay clear of the supermarket cola, as it tasted nasty."

"I was planning on not drinking much anyway," Tim said. "This house only has two toilets and given the number of people here, the queues are going to be ridiculous, even assuming most of the guys will probably disappear round the back of the tent to piss."

"While I have the equipment to achieve that, I would rather not have to resort to that behaviour," Emily stated. "Let's go investigate the buffet, that should be relatively safe, at least if we stick to foodstuff that isn't likely to give us food poisoning if badly prepared."

DCI Osborne was not surprised by the teen's suspicions. The police were already on the scene, parked down the street monitoring the noise levels after complaints by neighbours, and were about to go and knock on the door when the emergency call had come in. The police on the scene had been ordered to keep back and await the ambulance, in case their presence spooked the culprits. Instead, they were to escort the paramedics to the victim when they arrived. Backup was immediately dispatched to raid the party and detain anybody from leaving.

There were currently twenty other people in the cells in the custody suite in various degrees of sobriety, half of them under age.

"I recognised the guy dishing out the drinks as a known drug dealer," Emily added, "I don't know his real name, but he often goes by the nickname of Snake-eye. He used to hang out with a relative of mine, Raiden Bridges. I know he got arrested along with Raiden and was charged with possession with intent to supply. Raiden was pissed that he almost got charged as well, but luckily for him, he didn't have any weed on him when he was arrested."

"I think we need to get out of here," David stated as he came back around to meet the girls, having gone to relieve himself behind the tent. "I just overheard a couple of guys talking about how well the roofies were starting to work, that the girls were getting easy."

"Shit," Susan stated, "You best go help Tim, he's gone over to talk to Cheryl and Donna. They seem to be unusually giggly and silly, even for those two. If they are intoxicated, then we need to get them out of here."

David nodded and disappeared in the direction of his friend.

"Where is Zoe?" Emily asked, "I haven't seen her for over half an hour, she was walking around playing host and doing a lot of flirting."

"Fuck, we need to find her," Susan swore, "If anybody is at risk she is. She may already be quite willing, and she may leave it too late to try and say no."

"Anna, check the ground floor then head out front and call Dad," Emily instructed. "Susan, check the tent. I'll head upstairs."

Emily figured that if Zoe was in trouble the only logical location would be in one of the bedrooms upstairs unless she had been persuaded to leave her own party. That would be unlikely, and if it was the case then they had no hope of finding her. If Zoe was being attacked, then interrupting the act could be dangerous.

Emily decided that there was no way Susan would be able to handle the situation. While Anna was the more skilled fighter with her martial arts training, Emily theorised that most people at the party knew she was male, and therefore might find her more intimidating than Anna due to men generally being physically stronger than women.

Anna would most likely have to resort to violence. Emily, as Jason, may not have too.

"Is splitting up wise?" Susan asked.

"We should be safe as long as we are in a crowd," Anna replied, "I'm capable of self-defence. Here, take this if you are worried. I have an alarm on my phone."

Anna handed Susan a small canister.

"Pepper spray," Emily stated, "I have one as well. Let's meet out front in five."

"You suspected Zoe may have been a willing participant?" DCI Osborne asked.

"The girl I had known previously wouldn't have even considered it, but from what I had been told by Susan, and my observations over the previous two hours, Zoe was certainly more flirty than I had previously experienced," Emily answered, "However, given what I saw, there is no way she consented, not that she is old enough to give consent anyway."

Emily pushed her way through the crowds towards the stairs. One of the bouncers was blocking the stairs. He was openly swigging from a bottle of beer.

"VIPs only," he slurred blocking Emily's progress. "Unless you're willing to give head."

He didn't see the fist that connected with the side of his face, forcing it sideways into the stud work wall.

"Fuck that hurts," Gary stated from Emily's side, as he shook his hand after knocking out the larger guy. "This shit is fucked up. Rumour has it that they have girls upstairs giving blow jobs. Trouble is I just saw some thirteen-year-olds being escorted up there."

"Zoe is missing, I was looking for her," Emily stated.

"Shit, head on up and see what is going on, given that half the people here are mistaking you for a girl, you might have better luck than me," Gary replied, "I'll hold 'em off. Shout if you get into trouble. I know we haven't always got on, but this time I've got you back."

Emily dashed up the stairs as two burly blokes headed to intercept them, having seen their colleague being floored. Gary raised his fists and stood his ground.

Emily could hear the sound of vomiting and muffled voices coming from the bathroom. It sounded like there may be several teen girls locked in the room. The sickly smell of weed filled the air.

The door to the master bedroom was open. A young man was stood next to the bed with his trousers around his ankles, he was busy thrusting himself into a girl spread eagle on the side of the bed. She was moaning in pleasure and shouting to be fucked harder. Several other boys were stood watching while masturbating. A second girl was giving a hand job to another male while downing a bottle of vodka in her other hand.

None of them noticed Emily walk past the door. She didn't know who they were, or if they were old enough to be doing what they were doing, but she did know that Zoe wasn't one of them.

The third door burst open, a pair of boys running out, pulling their pants up as they went. One of them with serious scratches on his face. The second boy knocked Emily over and dashed down the stairs without any concern about sending her flying.

Emily picked herself up and looked round, but the assailants had already disappeared from view. Looking around, she noted the door they had jumped out of had a name on it, Zoe.

Fearing the worst, Emily scrambled through the door to be greeted by a sight that made her blood run cold.