Chapter 4

Sally opened up the thin file which outlined the basic facets of the case. It was close to what they were dealing with now. The dead man was well-off, and there was a substantial life policy. He had been found hanging from a balustrade in his big house. There was a typed suicide note, with the signature also typed. The rope was over-the-counter plastic woven, in a jazzy colour pattern. The body had a large amount of alcohol in the system that matched the bottle on his desk, next to the note.

He was a quiet, yet very proficient financial investigator and his only problem is that he got too close to people who rationalized themselves to be serving humanity but were absolutely ruthless. They did research in Medicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics. One of their goals was to make Cyborgs.

Diva Dismayed: Chapter 18 – Troubled water
The following day I spent perplexedly trying to understand what was going wrong in my relationship with my best friend. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I picked up a bottle of hair colour instead of shampoo when about to wash the hair of one of my customers. Fortunately I realised what I was about to do before the woman did, prompted by the disapproving look on the face of Claire. Otherwise the resulting pink rinse would have been interesting at the very least!

Tony had a wild night at Lads’ Night and by the end he didn’t want it to finish. So much so that Tony, when invited, slept at Jess’s place as Toni. Now it’s a new day, and the only clothes Tony has is a fancy date night dress and killer heels. How the hell is Tony going to get home? Maybe, just for now, it has to be Toni going home...

That’s up to Tony, though. But does this newfound fun really have to end? Can Toni continue, at least in the privacy of Tony’s home; at least once he gets there? Whatever happens Tony seems to have found two new friends in Jess and Sally, the problem is they don’t know Tony. Sure, Jess and Sally know he technically exists, but Toni is their friend. And what happens when they want to see her again? These are questions for another day, though, right?

We finally get to hear Fred and Frieda's story, and why Fred already knew about George even though they had just met.

CHAPTER 19
We finished our last drinks after Jimmy’s final tune, played solo as the Woodruffs sat down for their own pints, and started back up the hill to the bunkhouse and our beds. I hung back a little as the ginger non-misery led the way. I watched as her hand slipped into that of her husband, and almost by the second my focus shifted.

There was nothing false there, nothing feigned. They looked each other in the eye, they grinned as one, and when their hands joined it was as natural as it would have been for any normal couple.

Chapter 31

Once I had Ali bathed and dressed, I sat her in front of the TV watching cartoons. I went and showered, then dressed warmly because it was chilly this morning outside. I put my diary for next year, a notebook, and several pens on the kitchen table. I then joined Ali until her piano teacher turned up. She took her into her playroom for some morning exercises.

Tony is reserved, calm and unflappable. Every Friday night he goes to Lads’ Night, his main social outlet, drinks beers and plays games. He doesn’t even particularly like games, or the challenges or bets that go along with them, despite being very good at them. But something will happen to Tony this Friday night. Something that will change him and reveal a part of him he didn’t even know existed.

In a perfect storm of coincidences, friends, and new friends, with depths he didn’t even begin to understand, Tony could be starting a journey to a very new life. The question is what will it take for Tony to realise the Toni in him isn’t just a strange indulgence for a single night? And what will the people around him do to push him towards accepting this?

The first part of a new and ongoing serial.

She stopped pacing, put her phone down and looked at me. “He’ll be here. But . . . I’m ready, if he doesn’t make it.”

"Welcome to the other side", she said smiling at me . She has just finished doing my makeup. "I am done and now you can turn towards the mirror and have a look at the new you . I am proud of the woman you turned out to be".