Thomas Rider parked his car in the driveway and approached the front door. He straightened his collar before ringing the doorbell. After a moment, a tall, older gentleman opened the door. He was dressed in a formal suit. Given the size of the home, he gave off butler vibes.

“May I help you?” the butler said.

“Good afternoon,” Thomas said, pulling a thin leather folder from his pocket. He opened it to show it to the butler. “I'm Inspector Thomas Rider of the Mage Guild: Transformation Division. According to our records there is a statue transformation on these premises. I'm here to give it its annual inspection.”

“Oh, yes, I had today marked on my calendar to expect someone from Guild. If you'll walk this way,” he said stepping aside to let Rider in. He closed the door behind him and walked down the central corridor of the house, turning right at the end of the hall. This room was a study or library, perhaps. In the window stood a nude, female, marble statue. “There is the statue, sir.”

“Anything to report? Any nicks, scratches, accidental falls?”

“No, sir. The statue has been accident free. Mrs. McMurtrey dusted it this morning.”

“Mrs. McMurtrey?”

“The maid, sir. Would you like to speak to her?”

“That won't be necessary. Now if you'll excuse me. I'll perform my inspection.”

“Certainly, sir. I'll inform the Master that you are here.”

“As you wish.”

The butler left. Rider set down his Inspector's valise on a table near the statue and opened it. He pulled out a small cloth and tossed it at the statue while casting a spell. The cloth landed on the statue and turned into a robe, belted at the waist.

He pulled a folder from the bag and opened it to review the terms of the contract.

“Are you the inspector?” A man said behind Rider.

“Yes, Inspector Thomas Rider. Are you a signee of the contract?”

“I am. William Wainswright, III.” They shook hands.

“Says here you have a forty year contract with the Guild. This statue is the second statue you've had and is only on loan for five years.”

“That is correct. Apparently, this is the lady's first time as a house statue and she did not know if she would want to be doing this decades from now.”

“Sensible girl. Do you want her to retain her current pose after the inspection or is she free to change it?”

“Oh, sure, let her change her pose.”

“Thanks, sir. I must ask you to leave so I may speak with her without you applying any undo influence on her.”

“Of course. Nice to meet you, Inspector.”

The man left.

Rider cast another spell and the marble statue gained color. The hair became dark, the skin gained a tanned tone. Her eyes blinked a few times and her mouth opened soundlessly.

“Give it a minute, dear, for you voice to return. Have you been treated well this past year?”

“I-- Oh, yes. That was an entire year?”

“Yes. What is your full name?”

“Jennifer Ann Winston,” she said pulling the robe tighter around her.

“Are you cold?”

“A little.”

“Sorry, this won't take long. Date of birth?”

“August 7, 1999.”

“Mother's maiden name?”

“Pertucci.”

He held a pen out in front of him. “Focus on the pen tip and follow it with your eyes.” He moved the pen to the left, to the right, up, and down. “Good, no gross cognitive loss. According to Guild bylaws, as this is your first inspection on this assignment, you have the option to opt out of the remaining four years of your contract. You would only receive one-fifth of the agreed upon payment, of course. But there is no stigma to finding out you don't want to be a statue for five years.”

“No, I'm good. I'll finish the contract. I want to go to nursing school and this should pay for a lot of it.”

“As you wish. I can also offer you my phone if you wish to contact someone.”

“No,” she said sadly. “I don't want to contact anyone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then the inspection is over. I spoke to Mr. Wainswright and he said you could choose a new pose if you wished.”

“Oh, I'd actually like to face that way. Have something different to look at until next inspection.”

“Certainly. Just tell me when you are ready.”

She turned to the side and placed her hands on her hips, thrust her chest a bit forward, and smiled.

He dismissed the inspection spell and the color faded from her, returning her to a stark white marble statue. He reached out and grabbed the tag from the inside of the robe's seam and pulled. The tag separated from robe causing it to disappear. He put the tag back in his bag.

He stepped back into the hall where the butler was waiting for him. “I'm done.”

“Of course, sir. This way.”

Rider was driving to his next inspection within a few moments. The apartment he arrived at was not nearly as nice as the home he had just left. He knocked on the door and waited.

A man opened the door. With a sour look, he said, “What do you want?”

“I'm Inspector Thomas Rider of the Mage Guild: Transformation Division. Are you Harry Jenkins?”

“Yeah, so?”

“You possess one of our sex dolls according to our records.”

“Yeah, I got her for three years. It ain't been more than a year yet.”

“It is one year today. I'm hear to inspect the doll.”

“All right. Just don't take too long.” He opened the door and pointed at another door. “Bedroom's in there.”

“Before I go in, has there been any wear, tear, or damage to the doll.”

“No.”

“Thanks,” Thomas said. He entered the bedroom. Lying facedown on the bed with one arm hanging off was the naked sex doll. He turned it over and some fluid leaked from its mouth. He snapped his fingers and the doll became clean, almost shiny. He cast a spell and the mouth on the doll, currently a hollow opening turned into a proper mouth, the head of the doll became human and the eyes blinked.

“Who are you? Why can't I move?”

“I'm an inspector from the Guild. You're still a doll, Ma'am. State your full name.”

“The Guild? Thank god you're here. That prick is cheating on me.”

“Hold on. State you name, please.”

“Mary Elizabeth Jenkins.”

“Jenkins? You're relation to Mr. Jenkins?”

“I'm his wife. And he's been cheating on me.”

“I'm not a marriage counselor, Ma'am. I'm only here to make sure no one has tampered with your doll spell or damaged your doll form.”

“Well, I want out of here. He shouldn't be having sex with other women when he has me.”

“Let me look at your contract.” He pulled the file out of this valise and read through it. “Mr. Jenkins, can you come in here?”

“What now?” Harry said as he entered.

“Cheater. How dare you bring Suzi Weiss into our bedroom and fuck her in front of me?”

“Shut up, Doll. I told you not to have yourself dolled. Too lazy to even participate in sex with me.”

“You said you would love it if I was a doll.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, please stop,” Rider said. “Mrs. Jenkins, do you wish to break the contract making you Mr. Jenkins' sex doll?”

“I do.”

“Are you taking her away?”

“Are you going to finish paying off the loan you took out for her transformation?”

“Fuck no.”

“Then I am taking the doll away.”

“Taking me where?”

“To inventory.”

“Inventory!?”

“Ma'am, you are breaking the loan contract for your transformation. As the collateral for the load, you are now the property of the Mage Guild for the next two years. As such, I will bring you back to the office and you will be sent to inventory.”

“What?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

“You said you would pay the loan off from money you got from your mother.”

“Mother never gave me the money. And frankly, it was your idea to become a doll. I don't know why you're bitching about staying a doll.”

“I was going to be your doll.”

“I didn't want a doll.”

Thomas snapped his fingers and the woman's head turned back into a doll head. “Are you sure you will no longer be making payments on the load? Once she goes to inventory, you won't see her again for at least two years.”

“Absolutely. Do you need me to sign something?”

“No. I'll just collect the doll and be on my way.” Rider picked up his phone and called a number. “I need a repossession id number.” He wrote the number on a label as it was told to him. He affixed the label to the doll's stomach. Then he cast a spell and the doll disappeared from the bed. “I'm done here.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” Mr. Jenkins said.

As Rider stepped out of the bedroom, he saw a woman sitting on the sofa. “Good day, Ms Weiss.”

“Bye,” the confused woman said.

* * *

Thomas returned to the office after two more inspections. He needed to finish the paperwork for the repossession. He left around two in the afternoon as he was done for the day. When he got home, he went up to his bedroom. He wife was lying on the bed. She was a sex doll at the moment. He disrobed and had sex with the doll. As he climaxed, the doll turned human and climaxed as well.

Afterward, she said, “How was your day, dear?”

“Not bad. Had a domestic dispute turn into a repossession.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, a woman had herself dolled, used herself as collateral, and it turns out her husband didn't want her to be a doll.”

“You like when I'm a doll.”

“I like the method used to turn you back each day, Sonia.”

“I knew you would.”

He got up and started to get dressed. “I have some paperwork to finish up. Shouldn't take more than an hour?”

“Okay. I think Grace is home. Check on her before you go to your office.”

“Okay.” Thomas left the bedroom and went down the hall. He knocked on Grace's door.”

“One minute,” Grace said. There were sounds of someone getting off a bed and then sitting down. “Come in.”

He opened the door and Grace was sitting on her bed. One of her friends, Becky he believed was her name, was sitting at the desk. “How was school?” he said.

“School was fine.”

Thomas snapped his fingers and where Becky had been sitting, a boy appeared. “Who's this?”

“How could you tell?”

“Becky doesn't wear yellow high-tops like this young man does. Your transformation spell was sloppy.”

“I'm just going to leave,” the boy said.

“Hold on, son. What's your name?”

“Bryce Kellian.”

“Of course it is. Has Grace told you the rules of the house?”

“No, sir.”

“If she's caught with a boy in her room, either she spends the next three days as a boy or the boy spends the next three days as a girl. Since it's her punishment, I'll let you decide. Are you about to meet my son Greg? Or do you become Grace's BFF Becky?”

“You don't have to--” Grace started to say.

“Greg? Isn't Greg your cousin?”

“You've met Greg?” Thomas said.

“This isn't the first time Dad has seen you on the property.”

“Oh, is Bryce the one that got away?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Oh, that time you teleported me away.”

“Yes.”

“I ended up twenty feet up the tree in front of my house.”

“Sorry.”

“So, I'm changing the conditions,” Thomas said. “Five days for one of you. Who's it going to be, Bryce?”

“I'll become Becky.”

“Bryce?” Grace said.

“My mother always wanted a daughter. And I could tell you were very uncomfortable being Greg.”

“You don't have to do this for me.”

“Of course, I'd do anything for you.”

“Aw.”

“All right. I'm turning around. One kiss. Then it's Becky time.” Thomas turned around. After a few seconds he said, “That should be enough.”

“I'm ready,” said Bryce.

Thomas turned around. He cast the spell. Bryce morphed into a girl. “I've made you the same basic size and shape as Grace so you can share her clothes. You need to loan her some clothes to wear other than the ones she was wearing during the transformation.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Can you call my mother and warn her I'm a girl,” Becky said.

“No need. Anyone who knows you, who was not in this room just now, believes you have always been Becky.”

“I'm on the cheerleader squad. Wait, why did I say that?”

“Did you mean the football team? Some things have changed. It'll all go back to normal next Tuesday.”

“Are you done teasing my boyfriend?” Grace said.

“As long as I don't see a boyfriend in your room, no teasing happens.” He closed the door as he went to his office.

* * *

After dinner, Thomas and Sonia were clearing the table. Sonia said, “Something's off with Becky? Was she a boy this morning?”

“She was. Found him in Grace's room.”

“And she had him turn into a girl.”

“No, I had him decide. He chose to become a girl.”

“Do you think they're serious or did he just want to be a girl?”

“I hope the former. I'm not supposed to do gender swaps for free.”

Author's Note: Link to Part One

---

“Thomas Ryder! How long has it been?”

Thomas shook hands with the lawyer and said, “Eighteen years, I think, Dan. You look good.”

“I still run. Not as fast as we were in high school: Rathmore and Ryder, top two high school middle distance runners three years in a row. But I can still do a five k run, take a shower, and go to work.”

“That’s more exercise than I get, certainly. But, you didn’t call me out of the blue to talk about running.”

“No, of course not. An old client of my firm died last week and the file indicated that part of the estate contains transformed individuals. I requested you personally when I called the Guild office. You’re the best wizard I’ve ever met.”

“I don’t know about that. What’s special about an estate with transformed individuals? Anyone in my office could handle that.”

“This estate was for someone who lived into their nineties. I suspect some of the magic involved is pre-Covenant.”

“Oh. I see. What does the will say?”

“Technically I can’t tell you that. But, I haven’t actually read the will. According to some rumors I heard, some of the objects packed in boxes in the attic are mentioned in the will as beneficiaries of part of the estate.”

Dan was skirting the laws of magic and the laws of estate planning rather deftly, Thomas thought. “Say no more before I have to arrest you. Can I get access to the estate?”

“Yes. I was hoping you’d have time today.”

“I’ll drive.”

* * *

“Mr. Rathmore? Why is there a spell lock on my grandmother’s home?” Said the middle-aged woman who immediately ran up to meet Dan before he even got out of Thomas’ car.

“Because there are magic spells within the house and they must be dealt with to ensure your grandmother’s wishes are followed in accordance with her will.”

“Are you the spell inspector?” the woman in her early fifties said to Thomas. “I’m Vickie Umbread. I was Nana’s oldest grandchild. My mother, Nana’s daughter, is waiting over there in the car.”

“Pleasant to meet you, Ms Umbread. But I’m afraid you and your mother will have to wait outside.”

Thomas looked at the spell encircling the house and reached for his phone. He entered the address into a form and received the code word that would allow him to bypass the spell without disrupting it. He approached the front door and said, “Follow me in, Dan.” Thomas closed the door behind them and cast another spell. “Attic is this way.”

The spell led them to a narrow set of stairs behind a narrow door on the second floor. Stairs behind the door led up to the attic. It was dusty but not musty. There were boxes stacked in neat piles on the floor. Thomas stepped up to one of the piles and removed the top box so he could open the next box. Light flashed as he opened the lid.

Dan started walking toward the stairs.

Thomas sensed a memory spell had just gone off. He had managed to resist it. “Dan, Dan!”

“Thomas Ryder! How long as it been? Why are we in an attic?”

Thomas cast another spell out of annoyance and Dan shook his head. “What happened?”

“Forget spell. You know why we’re here?”

“Mrs. Difilipo’s will?”

“Good. Yes. Hopefully, there aren’t any other traps. There are four living dolls in this box.”

“Living dolls in a dusty old attic? How long have they been here?”

“The spell appears to be very strong and unfaded. Rather unusual for a pre-Covenant spell. I’d guess at least 50 years.”

“And they’re still alive?”

“Unfortunately for them, yes. Although I suppose their fortunes have just changed.” He removed the dolls from the box. Beneath them was a small manila envelope. “Hang on.”

He set his phone down and cast a spell. He hit record on the phone’s video camera function. “Thomas Ryder, Transformation Inspector, First Class. Badge number 23A.” He announced the date, the location, who else was in the room. “File number 883274. Envelope was found in a box with four pre-Covenant transformed living beings. Breaking the seal.”

He held the papers in front of the camera one by one. “These appear to be hand written contracts or invoices, paying four individuals to serve as part of the spell that transformed them. Although the payments seem to be two pennies each.”

“Rather low,” Dan said, looking at them in turn. “Let’s see. 64 years. That’s 11 cents in today’s dollars. I doubt they invested that money, though. The will implied they were properly paid. I suppose Mrs. Difilipo didn’t really know the terms of the spell.”

“Given the booby trap on the box. I don’t want to restore these dolls here. I’m going to take them back to the office.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

Thomas cast a spell, creating a special containment box and put the dolls within it. As he closed the lid, he immediately grabbed Dan’s arm and threw both of them to the ground. The cardboard box the dolls had been in exploded.

“What the fuck?” Dan said. Then grabbed his leg. “I’m bleeding.”

“Someone really didn’t want those dolls to leave this attic,” Thomas said.

* * *

Paramedics were waiting outside by the time Thomas carried Dan out of the house into their arms. Vickie and an older woman rushed toward Thomas, talking over one another and asking what happened. The older woman was not the woman who had been waiting in Vickie’s car. She was Vickie’s aunt.

“Someone put a magic trap on some boxes in Mrs. Difilipo’s attic. Either of you know who?”

“No one I know,” the Aunt said.

“It was Grandpa, most likely,” Vickie said.

“You hush. Daddy would never harm a fly.”

“I’m the granddaughter. Shouldn’t I be the one who never knew Grandpa was a lunatic, Aunt B?”

The other older woman hobbled from the car to calm her sister down. “Barbara, you know Dad was a terrible person. If not for Mom, he probably would have been a serial transformer.”

“You don’t talk about him in public like that.”

“He’s been dead for twenty years, Barbara. Let it go.”

“And you are?” Thomas said to the level headed septuagenarian.

“Eustace Goodwin. My mother was Edna Difilipo. Vickie, here, is my daughter. And Barbara is my naive sister.”

“Well, the damage from the explosion didn’t break anything except Mr. Rathmore’s skin and pride. The energy of the explosion only targeted people, not things. If your father made that spell, he was a rare wizard indeed. There was also an expertly crafted memory spell up there.”

“That would be for the dolls.”

“You mean my dolls,” Barbara said.

“I’m hoping the inspector here is going to be restoring the dolls,” Eustace said.

“That’s my intent.”

“You can’t do that. Daddy didn’t want anyone playing with those dolls after we outgrew them.”

“No one is going to play with them, Ma’am. They are going to be restored to life. Do you know who they are?”

“I don’t believe you when you say they’re alive.”

“Always in denial, Barbara?” Eustace said. “I have a guess. But I’d rather be wrong than guess correctly.”

* * *

Thomas was setting the dinner table for four, telling Sonia about the estate fiasco he was involved with at work.

“She filed a request for an injunction against dispelling the transformations. The judge granted it because she felt if the people were unfairly transformed for over sixty years. A couple more weeks weren’t going to cause them additional harm or duress.”

“And you don’t know why these four people spent half a century in a box in an attic?”

“Not a clue. Why am I setting a fourth setting?”

“Becky is eating dinner with us.”

“Becky?”

“Also known as Bryce, Grace’s boyfriend.”

“Didn’t the spell I cast on him end a couple weeks ago?”

“Grace?” Sonia called up the stairs.

“What?”

“Bring the paperwork. Your father just noticed who Becky is.”

He thought he heard a laugh and then two teenage women bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Grace thrust a magic form at him as the two of them took their seats at the table.

“You’ve been casting a sex change spell on Bryce so often you got a FT7/A approved?”

“Wouldn’t want you having to arrest me, Dad.”

“Is that the form I signed?” Becky said.

“An FT7/A is a form that informs the Guild that a frequent transformation, the seven means a gender transformation, is being cast on a known, willing subject often.” He sat down and Sonia put food on the table. “Since you signed the form I assume you’re okay with this?”

“You said I wasn’t allowed to spend time with Grace as a guy in your house.”

“You could restrict seeing one another to other places.”

“I prefer spending time with Grace to spending time as a guy. Frankly, I think I like hanging out with the cheerleaders a lot more than the football team. I’m second position on the squad. I was a bench warmer with the guys.”

Thomas adopted his official voice as he handed the form back to Grace. “Well, this appears to be in order. Becky, you are aware that according to the form, there is a mental adjustment to your feelings about fashion, hair, and makeup.”

“I requested that. Can’t hang out with cheerleaders and be completely in the dark about makeup, hair, and fashion. When I’m Bryce, those thoughts disappear.”

“I suppose I can’t complain about Becky spending time in your room.”

“You could just let him be himself in my room.”

Thomas laughed. “Given what Becky just said, perhaps she is more her true self now than before this arrangement was made.”

* * *

Given the many precautions taken, the removal of the decades old transformation spell was anti-climactic. One second there was an old doll on the floor. The next there was a young man standing in its place. He was dressed in a shirt and trousers straight out of an old black and white television show.

“Oh, praise be, I’m alive. Where’s Edna?” Were his first words, accented with a hint of Irish brogue. “And Ma and Pa. Are they okay?”

“Slow down, son. What’s your name?” Thomas said.

“Oscar O’Day. I need to tell Edna I love her if there’s still time.”

“I’m afraid there isn’t. Do you know how much time has passed?”

“I fear to guess. You’re clothing looks unusual and I’m guessing the shirt skirt that woman is wearing isn’t as scandalous as I would assume. I can’t begin to guess what you might call that glowing thing you’re holding.”

“It’s a cell phone. It communicates without wires.”

“Short wave?”

“We’ll give you a history of the time you’ve missed in the coming days, um, Mr. O’Day. We need to know who did this to you.”

“That devil of a wizard, William Difilipo. Accused me of stealing his girl. She was my girl. She said she was with child and I was the father.”

“What?” Thomas hadn’t expected that kind of bombshell. “Eustace is your daughter?”

“Yes, my beautiful baby. She and her half-sister played with me for years before she outgrew dolls. William laughed and laughed when he was able to box us up and hide us away. How did he die? How did Edna die? Car accident? Where’s Eustace and her sister?”

“So, her sister, Barbara is William’s child?”

“As far as I know.”

“Edna lived to be ninety-two years old. She only died a week or so ago. You’ve been a doll for sixty-four years and trapped in a box in her attic for over fifty of those years, based on the timeline we’ve worked out.”

“How could she leave us in her attic all this time?” He looked genuinely upset.

“She couldn’t rescue you. Her husband apparently put memory spells on the box you were in that caused people to forget about you.”

“That bastard. How does anyone hold a grudge so long?”

“I couldn’t say. Who are the other three dolls?”

“My parents and my younger brother, Sean. Can I see them?”

“We’ll be restoring them after we finish up here.”

“Curse you, William Difilipo. He was the devil himself, as I said.”

* * *

“That’s awful,” Sonia said as they sat in the living room steaming a show.

“The estate will probably be in probate forever. The O’Days were wronged by the spouse of the deceased. But William died twenty years ago. And the statute of limitations on transformations doesn’t even apply since these spells were cast before there were laws regulating magic. William is 22 years old physically, but his birth was over 90 years ago. He and his family are over 60 years behind the times technologically and magically.”

“I assume any relatives they may have had who might remember them are long dead. Do they own anything other the clothes they wore?”

“No. There was a silver lining.”

“What?”

“Eustace found out that evil man was never her father. She and William have hit it off. But even that silver lining will tarnish. She’ll probably die long before he does.”

“Doesn’t the other sister have to live with knowing he was her father?”

“Barbara? She’s already in denial about William and thinks he’s trying to steal her inheritance. She’s the other reason it will be in probate forever.”

The front door opened and Becky came in before Grace. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Ryder,” Becky said.

“Hey, Mom and Dad,” Grace said.

“Does Becky live here now?” Sonia said.

Grace shrugged.

They were about to head upstairs when Thomas said. “One second, Grace.” And he cast a spell. Grace transformed into a man.

“Why’d you turn her into a man?” Sonia said.

“I didn’t. I just reversed whatever spell might have been cast on her in the last hour. She was wearing her Greg spell within the last hour while she was out with Becky.”

“Grace?”

“What? I’m not allowed to cast spells on myself when I’m out of the house?”

“I told her it was a bad idea.”

“Don’t take their side, Becky.”

“I’m not. I just don’t want you getting in trouble so much that I’m banned from seeing you at all. I love you.”

“I… You…?”

“Yes, I love you, Grace Ryder. Do you think I put up with being a woman half the time because I just like you?”

“We should leave,” Sonia said to Thomas.

“No, no, stay,” Greg said. He dismissed the spell on Bryce, who seemed surprised to be himself suddenly. The dress he wore managed not to tear thanks to a spell cast surreptitiously by Thomas. “I love you, too, Bryce.” The two men embraced one another and kissed deeply.

After a moment, Thomas cleared his throat and the two lovers separated. They looked at Thomas expectantly.

“In the afternoons before dinner, Bryce is allowed in your bedroom.”

Grace snapped her fingers and both men were women again. Grace gave Thomas a hug. “Thanks, Daddy.”

Becky reached out a hand to Thomas, who shook it. “Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Ryder.”

They went up to Grace’s room, holding hands.

“At least one of them noticed I was here,” Sonia said.

“I hope you appreciate having a good relationship with your teenage daughter,” Thomas said. “That isn’t usually the case for mothers.”

“I do appreciate you being the bad cop,” she said giving him a kiss. “I hope you aren’t starting to go soft.”

“Maybe a little. Tomorrow, I think I’ll go running. Try to get myself back up to doing five kilometers without killing myself.”

Note: It's been a while between episodes. Here are some quick links to One and Two. Enjoy.

---

Thomas stood on the porch to the apartment looking at his notes for a moment before ringing the doorbell.

A man in his early thirties answered the door, “Yes?”

“Hello, I’m Inspector Thomas Ryder of the Mage Guild: Transformation Division. Are you Bernard Folkwell of 27 Henhouse Road, Hanging Tree, Rho?”

“No. My name’s Harry Earnest.”

“Do you know Mr. Folkwell or perhaps you’re aware of where he may be? I have a disconnected telephone number and this address as a last known address.”

“Sorry. Never heard of the guy.” Harry turned around and called out. “Joley? You know a… what was his name?”

As Thomas repeated the name, Harry’s wife reached the door. “Who’s this?”

“I’m from the Mage Guild. I’m looking for a man named Bernard Folkwell.”

“I don’t know who that is. But the name sounds familiar,” she said. “Oh, we received some mail addressed to a Bernard something a few times. We sent it back to the post office but they had no forwarding address for him.”

“Do you still have any of this mail?”

“I might. Please come in.”

Thomas was led to a chair in the living room where he sat with Harry until Jolene returned with a pair of envelopes. She handed them to Thomas.

“Can I keep these? I don’t want to open them here in case I might get some kind of reading from them.”

“Sure, they’re yours. Is magic fun?” she said. “I’ve never met a magician.”

“Wizard. Magicians are stage performers. And while some of them may also be spellcasters, all wizards are spellcasters.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“How long ago did you move in?” Thomas said.

“Four months?”

“Yes, four.”

“Notice anything weird when you moved in? Did you need to dispose of anything?”

“No, the apartment was completely empty when we arrived. You could even smell that it had been painted recently,” Harry said.

“There’s that wall thing.”

“Don’t start with that.”

“I’m not starting anything. He asked,” she said.

“It isn’t important. It’s probably a fire break or plumbing runs for the three apartments above us.”

“May I ask what you’re bickering about?” Thomas said.

“I’ll show you,” Jolene said. She got up and Thomas followed her to the kitchen. “Stop here in the doorway and look at that wall and the wall in the kitchen.”

“One of them is closer than the other.”

“Exactly. That’s what I told Harry.”

“He sees it, too?”

“He’s a wizard, Harry,” she said.

“Do you mind if I cast a spell?”

“I’d love to watch you cast a spell.”

“It’s not that exciting,” Thomas said and mumbled some words of power. A green mote of light appeared on his finger and he pointed it at the wall in the living room, the wall that looked closer than the kitchen wall.

Almost immediately, a line of green light formed between his fingertip and the wall. As he swept his arm across the length of the wall, the second line would continue moving with his finger and the original line remained anchored between his finger and the wall. When he was finished, five thin green lines connected his finger to five distinct spots on the wall.

“I was afraid of that.”

“What is it?”

“Can you call your landlord? I’ll need to have that wall opened up.”

“What?” Harry said. “Why? What’s special about the wall?”

“Nothing. But behind it are five transformed individuals who probably weren’t transformed according to Guild regulations.”

Thomas entered his home around the same time he always came home from work.

“Is that you?” Sonia called out from the kitchen.

“It always is,” he called back.

“There’s something for you to look at on the coffee table.”

Thomas took off his jacket and hung it. He removed his shoes and put them away. In the living room, there was an official Guild form, he could see it was a Guild form from as far away as the doorway. It was the only thing on the coffee table.

As he approached it, he could tell by the layout of the fields it was a PT4/G form – a permanent gender transformation form. Before he could get close enough to read it, he heard Sonia enter the room. He said, “Is it for Grace or Bryce?”

“There are two forms on table.”

He picked them up. The top one listed Gregory Ryder as the recipient of the transformation. The other form was for Rebecca Kellian. He could find no mistakes in the forms’ data. The Guild section was not yet filled out. “I suppose they’re serious.”

“Gregory wants you to bring the forms to work to file them tomorrow so the three month waiting period will be up by June.”

“And I suppose I’ll be casting the spells?”

“They would appreciate that as well. They want to have a big party and have you do the spells about an hour into the party. Like a combination going away party and birthday party.”

“How big of a party?”

“It would also serve as a graduation party with all their friends. Your brother and his family, my siblings and their family, the Kellians, Becky’s aunts, uncles, and cousins, some grandparents, and I think Becky has an older brother with two kids who would also be invited.”

“Who’s paying for all this?”

“Well, they figure we’d be saving money on the spells and that money could pay for the party. Are you okay?”

“Joe is going to rib me for years.”

“Yes, he will. And you deserve it. From what I understand, Rebecca has a decent cheerleading scholarship from Georgia Tech and she loves competitive cheer. She says Bryce was never going to get a football scholarship. And she was always planning to get a biology degree.”

“Is she doing it just for the scholarship?”

“No, the scholarship sealed the deal. She and Greg have spent the last month transformed as much as is possible within the limits imposed by the forms they filled out a couple months ago.”

There was a short silence. “You blame me.”

“Blame? Probably the wrong word. I’m very happy for Gregory and Rebecca. But, yes, you instigated their exploration.”

“Where are they?”

“At her house, they’re telling her parents about their plans.”

“Is Greg planning to go to Georgia Tech as well?”

“No, Greg’s career plans are unchanged. He’s going to study fashion design. He’s just far more interested in programs in Georgia than he was a few months ago.”

“What’s for dinner? I need to digest both dinner and this party idea.”

“It’s ingenious,” Joe said.

“It’s vile.”

“Oh, c’mon, Thomas. This is the kind of spell we dream about encountering and figuring out how to deal with.”

“Easy for you to say as you don’t have to deal with it.”

“There is that. How’s your son?”

“Don’t start that.”

“Do I need to remind you about the lesson at the academy which warns about using transformation as punishment?”

“No,” Thomas said flatly.

“I think I do.”

“Get out of my lab.”

Joe laughed. “Fine, fine. Good luck with the mannequins.”

The room was quiet once Joe left. Only Thomas and five mannequins, recently excavated from behind a wall in an apartment. It had taken over a month to get the paper work and court order executed. Thomas had hoped it would just be a matter of restoring them to life and interviewing them about who had done this to them.

One problem: the normal restorative spells didn’t work. After another week, Thomas had discovered the spells affecting the mannequins were all intertwined. They could not be dispelled individually. One top of that was the issue of the second mannequin from the right. He had identified her as Monica Ratkowski, a former student at Brown University. She had been reported missing four years ago. The spell affecting her was powered by her own desire to be a mannequin. And it seemed she loved being a mannequin. How the rogue wizard had managed to tie the other four spells into this spell was remarkable: ingenious, according to Joe.

Even the typical temporary spell he usually used to communicate with long term transformees could not penetrate this spell. A consultation with the Psychic Division merely confirmed that she was absolutely happy in her current state and no enchantment existed that was feeding false sensory data to her. She loved being a mannequin and never wanted to be alive again.

The others had no idea she was the reason they could not be restored. All of them wanted the transformation to end. He had been able to communicate with the first three. He was going to talk to the fifth one now.

After casting the communication spell, the head of the fifth mannequin turns back into a human head.

“What? Who are you?” it said.

“Be calm. I’m Thomas Ryder of the Mage Guild: Transformation Division.”

“Are you going to turn me back to normal? Please. I’m going insane.”

“Calm down. Unfortunately, there’s an impediment to restoring you beyond this limited communication spell. What can you tell me about the person who turned you into a mannequin?”

“Roger? He seemed like a nice guy. We dated for a couple months before he went nuts. He started saying we were made for each other and would never be apart. At first it sounded romantic. But, then he twisted it and started saying I’d never speak to another man – guess he got that one wrong – I’d never have to work another day in my life. And then he showed me the others.”

“How many others?”

“Twelve. After I was transformed, he showed me twelve other mannequins that I assume were also formerly living. He arranged five of us in a pentagram and cast this long ritual of a spell. There were lights and I felt something drawn out of my body.”

“Are you a wizard?”

“Level 2. I can do a spell that cleans and performs minor repairs to fabrics, paper, and leathers. I worked as a consultant for several dry cleaners and furriers. This communication spell is going to end soon. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, what’s your name?”

“Joyce Vreehooven, Guild account 345AT2.”

“I’ll be sure to look you up. What else can you tell me about Roger?”

“Um… He’s not quite six feet tall. Average build. Light brown hair, brown eyes. Clean shaven.”

“Last name.”

“Williamson. His mother called once. He said she lived out of state but never was more specific about it. I only knew him for a few months. We weren’t at the meet the family stage.”

“Where did you meet Mr. Williamson?”

“Vermont. I was on skiing holiday when we met and had a conversation. He said he lived close to where I lived and suggested we get in contact when we left Vermont. About two weeks later he sent me a text inviting me out to dinner. He was charming at first.”

“The spell is ending. It’ll be a few days before I can cast it again on you. Thank you. If you can think of anything else, remember it until I contact you again.”

“Why can’t you restor--?” Her head turn back to a hollow plastic shell.

That had not be as informative as it had seemed. All four women he had spoken to had known Bernard Folkwell by a different name. Thomas was going to update the file to rename him John Doe. All the details of the lives he presented to the women were contradictory. Joyce had just said he had a mother. Based on the first three women’s comment, he was estranged from his dead mother that one of them had been introduced to. That was just one of a dozen data points that were completely at odds with one another.

There was one common thread. He would meet the victims while they were on vacation. And he would happen to live near them. It would be hard to track down but he was going to cross-reference move-in data with these vacations. He would have to find out from the women the exact dates they met him and the exact dates he made contact with them after they were home from their vacations.

Gregory entered the house and sat down in the living room. Thomas looked over at his son and said, “Black eye?”

“You’ll laugh. I had to defend Becky’s honor.”

“By fighting?”

“It had started out friendly enough. Some of the guys were ribbing Becky that I’d taken her balls. She’s made this joke herself so I figured it wasn’t a big deal until I noticed she wasn’t smiling. They persisted in their taunting and it made my blood boil.”

“Testosterone is a powerful drug.”

“More likely it was the adrenaline. I let it get the better of me. I grabbed Brad by the shoulder and spun him around saying something like he better stop talking shit to my girlfriend.”

“Let me guess,” Thomas said. “He just used that to poke more jabs at Rebecca.”

“Yeah. I punched him in the nose. He got a couple lucky hits on my chest. But soon he was on his ass and a kick to the ribs had him crying uncle.”

“The other guys verbally pounced on him about being beat up by a former woman. I told them to shut the fuck up and then it got bad.”

“What happened?”

“One of them said, ‘Lighten up, Dude. Are you still getting your period?’ to me. I took out two of them before I got the punch in the eye. A bunch of people at the party jumped in to separate us at that point. All of us were tossed out.”

“How did Rebecca react?”

“She’s mad at me. I don’t blame her. That’s exactly how I would have reacted if I had been her. I feel so stupid. She wouldn’t even let me take her home. She caught a ride from Susie Ostlen.”

“Your best friend, Susie Ostlen?”

“Former best friend. Her boyfriend doesn’t like her talking to me. And while she’s told her boyfriend to mind his business, she doesn’t spend as much time with me as she use to by a long shot.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Thomas said. “You should get an ice pack and put that on your eye, wrapped in a towel, of course. Welcome to manhood. Maturity will help you keep your fists to yourself.”

Thomas called in an illusionist the next time he interviewed the four women he could talk to. They created a composite imagine of John Doe that the four of them agreed looked just like him. He seemed to be in his early forties, handsome but not overly good looking. He could probably make himself less noticeable with little effort and disappear into any crowd. An image search turned up no accurate hits. The man was a ghost, moved around frequently, and somehow had enough money to go to vacation spots to befriend his marks.

But the real question Thomas wanted answered was why. According to Miss Vreehooven, there were eight other victims he had no clues to the whereabouts of.

All the divisions were trying to help out as this case was getting unwanted attention. Mr. Earnest had posted to social media about the Guild coming in and wrecking his apartment. Curses and Gæses wanted to pay a visit to Mr. Earnest. That wasn’t allowed to happen.

The Divination Division suspected the wizard had protections in place to hinder divination. Thomas’ guidance counselor had told him to go into divination. He had rejected the idea because he felt divination was too unreliable.

He was surprised when Joanne from Divinations had a lead. She had linked the illusory image, to the mail, to the spells affecting the women, to the movements of a wizard who was currently at Daytona Beach. It was that time of year when college students flooded the beaches of Florida. Thomas pulled together a team and they rushed to the Dimensional Division’s office where a specialist teleported them directly to a location near where the wizard was expected to be.

Thomas’ team consisted of fellow Transformation specialist Joe Tanner, Wards and Guards specialist Adani Farusi, and Assault specialist Vera Ippistimo. As they arrived, Vera held an amulet out in front of her and said, “Target is less that fifty yards that way.”

“Good, they haven’t moved since they were detected.”

They moved forward with the precision of a special forces squad. Their target was thought to be in the backyard of a large ranch style home in a well-to-do neighborhood. Loud music could be heard coming from the backyard.

They approached the house. Thomas, whose normal duties didn’t involve raids, remained in the front yard in case their quarry tried to flee out the front door.

A moment after the team rounded the corner of the house, Thomas heard Adani shout, “Don’t touch it.” A massive release of magical energy followed, then silence. Thomas crept over to the corner of the house and looked around the corner.

Joe was touching the latch of a wooden fence enclosing the backyard. Adani was reaching toward him trying to stop him. Vera was standing over five yards away but that hadn’t helped her. All three of them had been transformed into mannequins.

Thomas felt another release of magic and immediately hit the ground and rolled away. The edge of the house where he had just stood was no longer there. A three feet wide semi-circular hole ripped through the corner like a hot ice cream scoop had removed it.

The door to the house slammed shut. Thomas hadn’t seen whoever had just poked their head out the door and attempted to disintegrate him. He pulled a charm out of his pocket and crushed it. The emergency beacon would alert any Guild workers that some major magic was happening here.

He went to the front door and felt another release of energy, this time it was definitely not transformation magic. He went inside and watched as a teleportation portal winked close. He pulled out his phone and called his boss. “Tell no one to teleport within a mile of the target location. The target just used a portal and I don’t want anything interfering with whatever traces can be read from where he went.”

“Who’s beacon went off?”

“Mine. The other three tripped a trap.” As he spoke, he walked to the back of the house and stepped outside. “Oh my.”

“They what? What do you mean, ‘oh my’?”

In the backyard, at least three dozen mannequins of diverse race and gender were standing, sitting, and laying about as though someone had taken a picture of a backyard party and then rendered it in mannequins.

---

Thanks for reading. Comments are always welcome.

Practice was over. Gregory picked up a towel to wipe some sweat from his face.

Thomas was about to towel off when a text arrived. “Son, I’ve got an emergency. Can you get a ride home?”

“No problem. Be careful out there.”

“I always am.”

When Thomas arrived at the scene, Joe approached with a grin on his face. “I can’t wait to hear why you are showing up to a crime scene looking like your wife.”

“I’ll tell you later. What’s the fuss?”

“Your man with the Gordian Knotted spells probably struck again. We’ve got three mannequin transformations that can’t be undone with standard spells. HQ sent out Amber and you know seers hate being sent out.”

“That bad?”

“The seer confirmed it’s your guy and that the spells can’t be reversed except by three separate rituals performed under separate full moons.

“It’ll take three months to restore them?”

“Given the other requirements, more like six. Each ritual also has a specific location requirement. One in Antarctica, one deep in the Amazon, and one at sea within the Arctic circle.”

“Seriously?”

“That last one is currently ice locked. Won’t be possible to get a ship to the location till May.” They entered the living room. “There’s not much to see here. But I figured you’d want to see the scene before we removed the mannequins and while stuff is mostly untouched.”

“Thanks. I’ll look around.”

“When you’re done, we’re gonna go get coffee, Mrs. Ryder.”

She just shook her head and entered the house. The three mannequins were identical and faceless. Presumably the guild would only be able to identify the victims through divination magic as well. She spent some time casting every sensory spell she knew. Just before giving up, she cast an ultraviolet sensing spell. Written on the wall of the living room was a message. She called Joe back into the room.

“If you stop looking for me, I won’t transform anyone else until you successfully release the first five mannequins I had to abandon. Otherwise, the next spell knot will require someone alive to die to release the others. Your move.”

“That’s going to involve a lot meetings with the higher up,” Joe said.

“Twenty-seven,” the seer, Amber, said as she entered.

“Coffee?”

Moments later at an all-night diner, “Let me get this straight,” said Amber. She put down the coffee cup she just drank from. “You turned your daughter’s boyfriend into a woman because they were spending time in your daughter’s bedroom. Yet, there was no evidence of any hanky-panky going on. And now they’re switching genders for the rest of their lives?”

“Yes.”

“Your son wants his marriage dance, traditionally with his mother, to be with you because if he were still a woman, she would have danced with her father?”

“Yes.”

“And they aren’t getting married for another year?”

“Right.”

“You’re up to speed,” Joe said. “The question is why are you a woman now?”

“Dancing lessons,” Amber said.

“Yes, Gregory insists we have to rule the dance floor,” Thomas said.

“So, petty revenge plays a part in this,” Amber said.

“Obviously.”

“How does Sonia feel about this?”

“She thoroughly enjoys when we body swap. She’s probably got some kind of seduction planned for when I get home.”

Amber laughed.

“You and her have sex when swapped?” Joe said.

Sonia’s face gave Amber an imploring look.

“Sorry, I am cursed to tell the truth.”

“Really?”

“What’s going on?” Joe said.

“You’re partner here is leaving out the part of the story where she enjoys having ‘Thomas’ do her far more than might be considered average and she’s excited to dance with Gregory.”

“You little slut.”

“I will go to HR and file a complaint, Joe.”

“Worth it. Who would have guessed all it takes to get prim and proper Thomas to loosen up is giving her a vagina?”

“I should never have answered the text.”

“Wouldn’t have helped,” Amber said “I didn’t know why I would be laughing in this restaurant tonight. But the vision I experienced yesterday matches what I’m seeing now perfectly. And you will look stunning in the metallic lamé, periwinkle dress.”

* * *

Thomas and Sonia lay in bed, their hearts racing, their bodies glistening with sweat. “Did you confess that we’ve been doing this every Saturday night for a couple decades now?”

“God, no.”

“You may as well. Joe’s going to razz you for months anyway. No use chancing him finding out about our weekly swap and getting razzed for an additional number of months at a later date.”

“I’ll take it under advisement.”

Sonia ran a finger around one of what was normally her body’s nipples. “You could experience this every night. We could swap in solidarity with our son. Until the wedding.”

“Begone foul tempter.”

“Drat. I far prefer being a foul temptress. Switch us back.”

Their bodies shimmered. It was now Thomas touching his wife’s nipple. “You were still erect?”

“Yes. And you know how ready my body is. What are you waiting for?”

He reached across her body so they could kiss. She shifted her legs to make it easier for him to get on top of her.

* * *

Thomas was in the kitchen making a batch of scrambled eggs when Becky entered the kitchen. “Good morning, Mr. Ryder.”

“That’s a bit awkward,” he said. “Could you grab some plates?”

She set several plates down on the table and put one in front of her seat and another where Thomas usually sat. “Awkward?”

“Call me Thomas or Dad. You’ll be part of the family soon.”

“Okay, Thomas.”

He dished out some eggs to each plate and sat down. “I didn’t think you two were serious for a long time.”

“We’re very serious.”

“I know. Do you want to know how I know?”

“I am curious.”

“Look at what you are wearing. Grace never dressed like that. Grace would wear something more Bohemian chic and frankly far more revealing. I’ve never seen you in such styles except when you were borrowing Grace’s clothes. You prefer more conservative clothes, layered more uniformly than the freer Boho style.”

“How does that make me serious?”

“You are your own woman. And you act that way. I suspect, and I have no desire to find out. I suspect if you and Greg broke up, you would remain Rebecca.”

“And Greg?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

She nodded. “Did Greg get the desire to be a fashion designer from you?”

“No, no. I only dabble in understanding fashion. When Greg was younger, we would watch that fashion design runway competition show together. I had to learn a bit about style to keep up with her… his questions about the show.”

Greg entered the room and gave his father a hug before grabbing a plate and taking some eggs. “It’s okay if you say her when you’re referring to things Grace did with her Daddy.”

Thomas was touched. “I should get it right all the time.”

“Right is relative,” Greg said.

“Your mother is going to be mad she missed this conversation.”

Greg and Thomas nodded.

* * *

“It’s not like we have any leads as it is,” said Thomas, in his own body.

“We’re going to just leave those five women stuck?” Joe said.

“For now. It gives us time to undo the twenty-seven people found at the pool party and the three women found last week.”

“And once we free these people, how do we ask them about what happened to them without triggering our perp’s threat?”

“Not sure. We don’t have to cross that bridge today. Besides, there’s only been thirteen meetings about this. We still have fourteen to go if Amber was right.”

“I forgot about that.”

“Is that a coincidence?”

“What?”

“Twenty-seven. The alias Bernard Folkwell lived at 27 Henhouse Road. There were twenty-seven mannequins in the pool party.”

“That’s two. Two is usually a coincidence,” Joe said. “You aren’t thinking Amber’s predicted number of meetings is significant are you?”

“Should we ignore it?”

“Maybe if we find another twenty-seven. And you have to investigate it without being found out. During meeting eight of the first thirteen meetings we were told it was highly likely the threat delivered was highly possible.”

Thomas was looking through emails. “Check this out. Count all the unique people in those first eight meetings.”

“Twenty-seven. Fuck. So, in the meeting where the threat was determined to be very high, the twenty-seventh guild member was looped into this mess.”

“Looped into the meetings about the mess specifically. We had a bunch of people on the ground dealing with the entire issue up to that point.”

“Still seems a bit specious.”

“Yes, it does. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll follow this lead myself.”

“I have no idea what we’ve been talking about.”

“Good man.”

* * *

Thirteen people attended the fourteenth meeting. Before it began, Thomas interrupted.

“Before this meeting starts, I have a few things to announce.”

“We’ll miss you, Thomas,” Amber said.

He smiled. “Thanks. But, a bit too early. I was about to say I am resigning from the Guild.”

“I knew.”

“My resignation starts immediately after I make two requests:

“One. Further review of the Mannequin Maker’s ultraviolet request reveals that it can be used as part of a wizard’s pack. The Guild would have to make a public statement to the effect that they acknowledge the Mannequin Maker’s conditions. Once that happens, the Guild would be incapable of continued investigation into the identity or whereabouts of the Maker and the Maker would be barred from creating more mannequins until the original five mannequins were fully restored.

“I recommend the Guild put out a public statement after my resignation is approved.

“Two. I would request that the original five mannequins be placed in the care of a third party organization such as the company my son formed last night. His organization plans to display the mannequins in plain sight so the terms of the pact made between the Maker and the Guild can be confirmed at any time.

“Coincidentally, annual cost for the storage would be equal to my final annual salary. If these conditions are met, I will leave immediately and I would also recommend that this meeting not take place.”

“Thomas came to me with this idea last night,” Arthur said. Arthur was the Transformations Division head. “I have approved all of this. Thomas, your desk is being cleaned out right now. Meredith is consulting with Legal about issuing the statement. Let me be the second to say, we will miss you around here.”

“Thanks.”

“And unless there are objections, this meeting is adjourned.”

Everyone in the meeting offered Thomas their well wishes or thanks for his service. Joe was the last. “You didn’t warn me about this.”

“Arthur’s office and this room are guarded against eavesdropping. I didn’t want to chance the Maker finding out about this before the statement is issued.”

“You’re going to continue working on the case.”

“Not at all,” Thomas said with a smile on his face. “You will find out that anyone who ask me will tell you I’m retiring early.”

“Of course.”

* * *

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Handing in my badge was harder than I thought it would be.”

“I’m guessing since you switched us, you want to have sex.”

“Actually, no. I just want you to hold me.”

“Okay. Let me take you into my strong masculine arms.”

“Don’t make it weird.”

Sonia held his wife in his arms until they both fell asleep.

When they woke in the morning, Sonia received her first morning wood oral sensation. Thomas was lazily sucking on the cock she was most familiar with from a very different angle. When she heard him stir, she increased her effort.

“I can’t believe you’re doing that,” Sonia said.

“I’ve never asked you to do something I wasn’t willing to do,” Thomas said haltingly.

“I’d like to continue this a bit more missionary style.”

“I’m happy to do that as well.” As they changed positions, she added, “I don’t have anywhere to be today.”

“Yes, I will need my body back for work, preferably without a fresh load of cum in its mouth.”

“Are you implying I would cancel our swap spell at an unseemly time?”

“No, but even if you swallow, I’d still taste it after the swap.”

“I’m fairly certain I could have brushed your teeth before we swapped back.”

“Do you want me to cum in your mouth?”

“I’m happy with anything you want to do.”

“Maybe you should have retired sooner.”

When they were done, Thomas got out of bed first. “I’ll take your shower for you. Wouldn’t want to return you to a soiled body.”

Sonia rolled his eyes. “How considerate.” He got up and made due with using the toilet and washing his face at the sink before going to the kitchen. Gregory and Rebecca were there.

“Hi, Mom,” Gregory said.

“How did you know?”

“You don’t walk like Dad. We made eggs and bacon if you’d like to eat.”

“No, I’ll wait. If I eat now, I’ll feel funny when I eat in my own body. I’ll just have some juice. I don’t think Thomas will want coffee this morning.”

“It’s going to be odd to see him around here all day,” Becca said.

“I’m sure he’ll spend most of his time doing research in his office.”

“I know he quit his job so he could continue doing his job. But he should take a day off.”

“Don’t tell me, Greg. Tell him.”

Sonia’s voice called out from the stairs. “Ready to swap?”

“Yes,” Thomas’ body responded.

He picked up the glass. “Juice? Good call. Hello, kids.”

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, Thomas.”

Sonia entered the kitchen. She was fully dressed and ready to go to work. She gave Thomas a kiss and sat down. Greg put plates of food in front of them both. “What are you plans for your first day off in forever, Dad?”

“I’m going to do nothing today. I haven’t done nothing in a long time. Tomorrow we will receive the mannequins and I have some plans for that. But today, other than some Internet surfing, I have no plans.”

“We should take you to lunch,” Becca said.

“We should.”

“I’d love to go.”

* * *

The three of them went to lunch a bit early to accommodate Becky’s work schedule. They sat at a booth in an Italian restaurant the family used to visit far more often than had in recent years.

“Why did you pick this place?” Thomas said.

“Two reasons. We haven’t been here in a while,” Gregory said. “And it is close to one of the stores I’m targeting.”

“For the mannequins? Great.”

“Not because of the transformation over there?”

“Huh?” Gregory and Becky weren’t sure what Thomas was referring to. Looking where he was looking, there was a bas relief style mural on the wall. The figure of a woman was the prominent part of the mural that stuck out from the wall.

“The peasant woman?” Becky said.

“She’s alive. I think she can tell we’re all looking at her.”

Becky gave the figure a little wave.

“Oh, of course,” a man who just approached their table said. “Signor Ryder would know about Francesca's mural.”

“Luigi, it’s been too long. That’s your daughter, Francesca?”

“Sì. She is merged into the mural by a friend. Once a year, during the winter holidays, we get to see her smiling face and then after New Year’s, she part of the scenery again.”

“She was only twelve the last time I saw her?”

“That’s because you only order take out.”

“My apologies Luigi. I will tell Sonia and she’ll ensure we show up here more often.”

“Grazie, Thomas.”

After lunch, Becky and Gregory kissed good bye and she went to work.

Gregory led Thomas on foot to a nearby clothing store. As they reached the store front, Gregory said, “Here it is. What do you think?”

“Seriously, this is the place?” He looked at the store front and was not surprised that the building number was 2727. No reason to tell Gregory that. He said, “I think you picked this store because they already do transformations.”

“I knew you’d notice.” Gregory said. A very realistic mannequin stood behind the display window of the store. He pointed to it. “That’s Alicia. I’ve known her for a while.”

“Is she the one who asked me about a permanent transformation when she was like fourteen or fifteen?”

“That’s her.”

“Gregory! Is this your father?”

Gregory embraced the man exiting the shop. “Michael, meet my father, Thomas.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you Inspector. Please come in.”

“I’m not an inspector any longer,” Thomas said. “Strange as that is to say.”

“Life is all about change. Certainly a fellow transmuter knows that.”

“You’re licensed?”

“Once a cop, always a cop. Yes, I’m licensed. Would you like to restore Alicia? She would be thrilled.”

“You want me to turn her back to human?”

“Yes, she had an excellent idea.”

In a blink, Alicia was human. Conspiratorially, she said, “We should talk in the office. Good to see you, Gregory. And it’s been a while since I last saw you, Mr. Ryder.”

“You’re an adult now. You can call me Thomas.” Michael closed the door to the office. After they sat down, Thomas said, “What’s so secret?”

“Michael, light the candle.”

“Okay.” Michael took an old candle out of the bottom drawer of his desk. He placed it on the desk and lit it.

“You have a screening candle? What’s so important?”

Michael said, “When Gregory came to me about storing five living mannequins, my team, headed by Alicia, became very curious. From what we understand, the five mannequins cannot be restored by simple means.”

“Yes. All of them have to be restored at once and one of the subjects has no desire to stop being a mannequin.”

“Just like me,” Alicia said.

“You still want to be transformed permanently?”

“Well, maybe for a few decades, or so. The idea we had was, what if you substituted different people into the existing spell in order to remove the women who want to return to the living?”

“That would be simple enough based on what I know of the enchantment. That’s brilliant. Do you have four volunteers?”

Michael and Alicia frowned, “Just three. But maybe word of mouth could solve that.”

“Or maybe a rotating group of women could take turns that weren’t years at a time.”

“I wonder if Francesca would be interested,” Gregory said.

They told Michael and Alicia who Francesca was.

“This is an excellent turn of events. Let’s create some contracts and make it legal.”

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