Part 2 - Saturday

It was already broad daylight by the time I woke up. I wondered where I was for a few seconds before the sound of someone else in the room with me made me remember.

“You’re awake then?” asked Ingrid.

“I think so. What time is it?”

“Just before ten.”

I sat up with a start.

“I have to go to the Police Station to make my statement.”

I got up from the couch.

“Relax. You have plenty of time. Besides, the Police Station isn’t going to disappear now is it?”

I sat down again.

“You’ve had a rough last 12 hours. Before we head to the Police Station, you should take a shower and get dressed while I prepare us something to eat. Then you will need to use some of my makeup to make yourself presentable before you talk to them.”

“Makeup? We?”

“Yes Makeup. In case your sleepy brain is still half asleep, the only clothes you have are the ones you arrived in last night. If I recall correctly, there was a skirt and heels involved.”

I felt my face go distinctly red.

“Ok. I get that part, but ‘We’?”

Ingrid smiled.

“I think you are going to need all the support you can get in the next few weeks. At the moment, you are homeless and well.... everything else. You are my guest so it is the least I can do to help you out in your time of need. So yes, ‘We’ is right.”

“But... I said that I would look for somewhere else to live today. I can’t impose on you any longer.”

Ingrid muttered some words in that were obviously not altogether kind to me as I recognised the word ‘Dummkof’ in the otherwise unintelligible stream of German that came from her lips.

Then she switched to English.

“At least let me help you get to the Police Station and I’d expect that you want to see what’s left of your home in the daylight then, there is the little matter of clothes. You are going to need something more than what you were wearing last night.”

I knew when I was beaten.

“Ok. Ok. I give in.”

“Good. Now go and have a shower while I get things ready here. There is some deodorant on the shelf above the sink that you can use.”

Twenty minutes later I appeared in her living room feeling a lot better but distinctly smellier but in a nice way. I was surprised to see Ingrid waiting for me holding my wig.

“This is a lovely wig. I’ve combed it out for you.”

“Thanks. But what is all this?” I asked looking at the wealth of makeup that was almost covering the table.

“Sit down and relax.”

I saw that Ingrid had done her makeup. As the Office, she seemed to wear far less ‘slap’ than most of the other women. Today she was looking really stunning.

I guessed that she wanted me to let her do my makeup.

I sat down and she wrapped a sheet over my body.

Then so my surprise, she straddled me and sat on my legs facing me.

“Good, now let Aunty Ingrid transform Sarah into a pretty woman.”

I relaxed and let her do her thing. I did baulk at her attempts to thin my eyebrows with the tweezers.

“I’m going to need to go to work as Peter next week you know,” I mumbled.

She just smiled at me. Her smile was one that said, ‘who are you kidding’.

“I have to go to work you know. I have the Warner claim to complete.”

She sighed.

“Vince can handle it just as well as you. Mr Brooks will give you as much time as you need to get you self sorted. Look what he did when Steve broke his legs skiing.”

“There is a world of difference between a medical problem and mine.”

“Keep still while I do your eye-liner.”

I knew that I was beaten so I submitted to her demands.

In the end, I had to say that I was pleased with the look that she’d given me. There was no doubt that Ingrid was a very skilled makeup artist.

“Stop preening yourself in the mirror. We have things to do, people to see.”

“I was just admiring your handy-work. Is there anything wrong with that?”

Ingrid glared at me.

“Don’t you know a compliment when you see it?”

She just picked up her handbag and grabbed some keys from a dish on the kitchen worktop and headed for the front door. I sighed to myself and after putting on my coat and picking up my handbag I followed her out of the front door.

Ingrid drove us in her little Yellow Fiat ‘Cinquecento’ to the Police Station in Hammersmith. I marvelled at how she fitted herself into the small car and drove it especially wearing heels like she was today. That was something I could never manage but I never had to face that problem very much as I didn’t own a car.

“There’s nowhere to park around here on a Saturday morning. Let me drop you off and go and do some shopping. Give me a call when you are done.”

“I’ve no idea how long I’ll be.”

“Just let me know ok.”

“Thanks.”

I got out of the car and watched as she took off towards Shepherds Bush.

I crossed the road and went into the Police Station.

“Can I help you Ms?” asked a PC at the reception.

“Yes. I’ve come to make a statement about the fire last night in Pumping Station Road. I spoke with Inspector Bryant last night. He asked me to come in today and make a statement.”

“Very well Miss. You name is?” asked the PC as he picked up the phone.

“Peter Robinson.”

The PC looked at me strangely.

I smiled through gritted teeth and said,

“Look Constable, I was out when my home burnt down. These are the only clothes I have left ok?”

He spoke to someone on the phone saying that the homeowner was here to make a statement.

“Please take a seat. Someone will be down to see you soon.”

I sat and waited for nearly fifteen minutes. Then a door from inside the station opened and a plain clothes officer stepped out.

“Peter Robinson?”

“That’s me,” I replied standing up.

He didn’t bat an eyelid at my appearance.

“I’m Detective Sergeant Parks. Would you please follow me? I’ve been reading the report on the incident left for my by Uniform.”

He let me through the door into the station proper.

“Inspector Bryant mentioned that how you were dressed last night, so don’t worry about my idiot colleague on the front desk,” he said as we walked along a corridor, my heels echoing on the wooden floor.

“Thanks.”

We went into an interview room where we sat down on the same side of a table.

“I’d like you to go through the events last night in your own words. I’ll take some notes and then we will put it all together into a statement. How does that sound?”

“Fair enough,” I replied.

“Where do you want me to start?”

“Why not start with when you left home. I’ll ask questions as we go.”

Nearly ninety minutes later I left the station feeling like I’d been through it all again. Part of me felt abused and part felt relieved that it was done and dusted.

I’d hardly set foot on the pavement when my phone bleeped. Someone had texted me.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the message.

“Did you enjoy telling tales to the Police? You know what happens to snitches!”

I recognised the phone number. It belonged to Lindy.

I thought to myself, ‘hadn’t she done enough damage already?’ Then I thought, ‘so much for changing her phone number’.

Finally, I realised that she must have followed me last night and even worse she must be somewhere close.
I almost turned round and went back into the police station to let DS Park know this latest turn when Ingrid’s Fiat came into view.

I pushed the text to the back of my mind and climbed in.

“How did it go?” she asked as I buckled up my seatbelt.

“As well as can be expected. I feel like I’ve been through it all again.”

Ingrid took off at a rapid pace towards Hammersmith Broadway and instead of turning east or north to the shops, she kept going around the one-way system.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought you should see the damage in the daylight.”

I was dreading this but I couldn’t put it off forever as the little Fiat turned off onto the A4 westwards.

“Very well,” I replied somewhat wearily.

The scene where my former home had stood was one of near total destruction. A Fire Service Officer was carefully picking his way through the rubble.

As I stood there looking at remains, I felt a tear start to well up. Before it could turn into a real sob, a voice shouted,

“Peter. I am so glad you are safe.”

I knew the voice.

I tried to put a smile on my face but was not entirely successful as I turned to see my former next door neighbour, Mrs Patel wearing her usual flowing sari come running up the path from her home and gave me a big hug.

Mrs Patel had known about my ‘cross-dressing’ for a long time. She’d been a close friend of my Aunt Rose. It was her who’d discovered my Aunt’s dead body at the bottom of the stairs when she’d called round for her usual afternoon cup of tea.

‘Yes I’m fine. I can see that you are as well,” I said when she let me go.

“How much damage was there to your place?”

“Sadik is going round with the Insurance Man right now. It looks like there is just some smoke damage.”

Then she grinned.

“I’ve been on at him to decorate the place for years. This will remove any more excuses he might dream up,” she said trying to put some gloss on the matter.

The Patel’s had been in the UK since the early 1970’s when their families had been expelled from Uganda.

They were really nice people. My Aunt had been very lucky to have them as neighbours.

“We spent last night at Sadik’s brothers house in Hounslow. We will be back here in a day or two. That is about as long as I can stand his family. They are always telling us that we are not a complete family because we only had two children compared to their eight.”

Then she looked at Ingrid.

“Who is your friend?”

“Sorry. Mrs Patel, this is Ingrid. I work at the same place her. She let me stay at her place last night.”
Mrs Patel stuck out her hand and they shook hands.

“My, you are a tall woman,” she said smiling broadly.

Mrs Patel was just about 5ft on a good day.

Just then the Fire Officer approached.

“Are either of you the owner?” he asked looking at Ingrid and myself.

“That’s me I’m afraid.”

“I’ve done my initial report and I can send it straight to the insurance company. Do you know who they are?”

I’d completely forgotten about the insurance on the building and contents. I’d had it valued less than 6 months earlier.

“All the documents were in the house. I think it was the Co-op.”

He smiled back at me.

“They are one of the better ones. If you’d come with me, I can give you all the contact numbers. In cases like this, they will normally get an assessor out next day. As tomorrow is Sunday, it will probably be Tuesday before they can get here.”

I followed him to his vehicle. He lifted up the tailgate and heaved a box of papers out.

He quickly found what he was looking for and handed me a flyer from the CIS. As he’d promised there were all the contact numbers and other useful information that I’d need to make the claim.

“Thank you,” I said as I took the document.

“Will...Will it need to be knocked down?”

He smiled.

“That is for their surveyor to decide but in my opinion, the answer is yes. The fire has damaged the core brickwork quite badly. I can confirm that the fire was started deliberately. Someone poured a good deal of petrol through the letterbox before setting it alight. It is a good job you weren’t inside at the time.”

That was mixed news. I was convinced that I knew who’d set the fire. For the life of me, I could not understand why.

“Is there anything salvageable?”

“Not really. What there anything in particular you would want?”

I thought for a few seconds.

“Yes, yes there is. It is a tin box of photographs. They belonged to my aunt.”

“Where were they?”

“In the cupboard under the stairs,” I replied suddenly realising that was very close to where the fire had started.

“Let me go and look for you.”

Five minutes later, he emerged holding a charred tin.

“Is this what you were after?”

“I think so.”

Ingrid and Mrs Patel gathered round as he opened the box.

To everyone’s surprise, the contents were mostly unscathed. A few of the pictures were charred around the edges but otherwise there was no major damage.

“The tin lid must have been a really good seal. You don’t often find ones like that these days remarked the officer.”

“It was an old Huntley and Palmers Biscuit Tin that commemorated the 1912 Olympics. It had belonged to my Aunt’s grandmother.”

I picked up one picture.

“That is Rose. With her sister Iris and their mother. It was taken in 1948 at White City. Rose competed for Great Britain at those games. It was a shame that she didn’t live to see them come back to London again.”

I think the Fire Office could sense my awkwardness.

“I’m just about done here. If you need any more help or information please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at Hammersmith Station.”

He handed me his card.

“Thank you. And please thank the crews who came last night.”

He smiled back at me.

“I will.”

I returned to Ingrid and Mrs Patel who were in deep conversation. As I approached, it stopped although I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

I turned to Mrs Patel,

“Can you take any post in for me until I can get the post office to redirect it? It is going to take a few days to find somewhere else to live while I get this mess sorted out.”

“Oh, I understood that you were staying with Ingrid,” remarked my neighbour.

“Ingrid has been so kind as to offer me a bed until I find somewhere else to live.”

Ingrid butted in at this point.

“Come on Sarah, we have some shopping to do even if it is just some food for us to eat tonight.”

“Yes. We must go. Mrs Patel, I’ll be back in a few days to sort things out with the insurance company. I’d expect that they will want to work with yours to get your damage covered by my policy.”

We said our goodbyes as we started to walk to Ingrid’s car when Mrs Patel called back,

“Keep her Peter. She’s much nicer than the other one.”

I couldn’t get into the car fast enough.

“I’m sorry for my neighbour. She has a tendency to speak her mind at times.”

Ingrid laughed as she turned the car round.

“I like her. She is a wise person.”

I felt trapped.

We’d only gone a few hundred yards when I said,

“Ingrid, please stop the car.”

“Eh?”

She saw the look on my face and did as I’d asked.

“Ingrid, after the past 24 hours, the last thing I want is to get into another relationship this quickly.

It’s not right and we have to work together after all.”

Ingrid smiled back at me.

“It’s all right Peter I’m not trying to replace her. I think the word that describes it is ‘rebound’. You need to take your time but now that I know you, any woman who accepts that you might want to become Sarah either once in a while or all the time would be mad to say no to you.”

I was stunned. I couldn’t decide if this was a rejection or a come on. In the end, I came to the conclusion that Ingrid was trying to be diplomatic. Little did I know then what was to happen a little later that day.

There was a stony silence between us that was only broken by the sound of Ingrid crashing the gears as she took off down the road. I could tell that she was angry and it was probably me that she was angry with. I thought it better to say nothing for the time being.

She drove us to Shepherds Bush and the Westfield Shopping Centre where she parked the car in the underground garage. The place was packed with hundreds if not thousands of shoppers because, after all tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. Many of them were buying silly presents for their loved ones.

We walked along the concourse for a bit then Ingrid said with half a smile on her face,

“It is decision time Peter. Left for Sarah and Right for Peter, “ asked Ingrid as we stood outside the entrance to one of the many clothing stores on the main level of the centre.

I dithered quite a bit. My mind was blank. I’d never imagined having to make a decision like this. I’d thought that I might slowly transition into Sarah as some point but recent events were going to force my hand.

“You’ve been planning this all the time?”

She smiled back.

“Not really. When I saw you run into the Police station, I knew that you should at least be given the chance to live your destiny.”

“As this is your grand idea, what do you think I should do?” I asked.

“It is your decision to make. Only you know what you feel in your heart.”

She paused before adding.

“For what it is worth, you are a much nicer person as Sarah then Peter. This is not to say that Peter is horrible but now that I’ve seen both sides of you, I know which one I prefer.”

I didn’t answer her directly but walked into the store and turned left. I stopped and looked back.
Ingrid was standing there with a big smile on her face. She walked towards me and the smile turned into a grin. As we met, she took my arm in hers and we hit the stores.

In the next three hours my credit cards took to use the words of a famous Norwegian Football commentator, ‘took a hell of a beating’. All thoughts of Lindy and the fire were well and truly pushed to the bottom of the pile as we bought lots of clothes and ‘stuff’ for my new life.

In the end, neither of us could carry any more bags so we headed back to the car full of high spirits.

Our happiness was only short lived as we found the car with four flat tyres. We soon realised that nails had been driven into all of the tyres. Someone was intent on causing us a whole lot of inconvenience.
We called security who like any other lot of ‘jobs-worth’s’, said that it was more than their ‘jobs were worth’ to show us the CCTV footage of the parking close to where we were parked.

“No matter, I’m calling the Police right now. This is a clear case of criminal damage and they should be involved.”

I called the Officer who’d taken my statement earlier in the day.

“Do you have new information about the case?” he asked.

“No... Well sort of. I am at Westfield with my friend. She’s had all four tyres on her car slashed. The

Jobs-worth’s in security won’t let us see the security tapes.”

“Do you think it is the same person?”

“Yes.”

Just then my phone bleeped. Someone had sent me a text.

“Hold on a moment.”

I looked at the text.

“Naughty Tranny’s telling tales to teacher. Remember what I said about snitches?”

I returned to the call.

“I have some evidence you should see.”

“Ok. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Please tell the security people not to erase any footage.”

I hung up.

The supervisor had heard most of the call himself.

“You heard what the Police Officer said.”

“Yes,” he replied grumpily.

The DS arrived less than 15 minutes later.

We eventually arrived back at Ingrid’s place a little before 8pm. I was exhausted and starving. I retreated to my bedroom to think while Ingrid tried to rustle up something to eat. The enjoyment of the day and shopping for a whole new wardrobe was long gone.

The CCTV evidence was inconclusive. It showed someone clearly vandalising the car but the identity of that person was unclear. They did everything possible to hide their face with a hooded top. All we could state for certain that it was a woman. We all had our suspicions though.

Luckily, one of the security guys knew of a tyre company who would come out and replace the tyres on the Fiat there and then. My credit card took another hammering because I couldn’t land Ingrid with the bill for something that was clearly aimed at me. I could not put Ingrid at risk because of that crazy woman.

I had been sitting on the bed for quite some time gazing at my navel when, my thoughts were interrupted by a light knocking on the bedroom door.

Ingrid stuck her head round the door and announced,

“Dinner such as it is, is served.”

Ingrid had worked wonders and produced something that tasted wonderful.

When we’d finished, I stood up and started to clear the dishes.

“Sit down,” said Ingrid in a voice that said in no uncertain terms that I should do just that.

I sat.

“I’m so sorry for the tyres and al that. I’ll move out tomorrow.”

She ignored my protestations and reached under the table and bought out a large bag.

“This is for you.”

“Wha...what is it?”

“Why don’t you look inside and see?”

I peered inside and gasped.

The bag contained all the makeup a girl could ever need.

“Whe... when did you buy this little lot?”

“I went shopping when you were making your statement to the Police. I couldn’t very well sit and twiddle my thumbs now could I?”

“What would you have done if I had turned right in the store?”

She grinned,

“I would have had more than a little egg on my face and enough makeup to last me six months if not 6 years.”

We both giggled.

“I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“All the thanks I’ll need is for you to stay here with me until you get a proper place to stay?”

I tried to stop myself from looking sad but I failed.

“Why the sad look?”

“I'n sorry Ingrid, I’ve brought nothing but trouble into your life this past 24 hours. I have to leave as soon as possible. As nice as your offer is, I can't really accept.”

“In fact, I’ll leave tomorrow and check into a hotel,” I added before she could interrupt.

I left the dishes on the table and headed for my room where I burst into tears thinking 'if only things were different'.

I was so engrossed in myself and my problems that I failed to hear my phone bleep with the arrival of yet another text message.

[To be continued]

The atmosphere between the two of us the next morning was pretty awful. I really didn't want to involve Ingrid in the problems I was having with Lindy. It wasn't fair on her.

I just drank a cup of tea and gathered all my things together. Emotionally, I was in a mess. One part of me wanted to stay but another part of me said ‘go and get the hell out of her life’. Lindy was messing life up for both of us. I couldn’t let her take both of us down into her gutter.
“Thank you for helping me out. It will be better if I go and let you get on with your life. I’ve brought you enough problems already. If I stay here any longer, there is no telling what Lindy will do to your home or even worse to you. I have a feeling that she isn’t finished yet. I think she wants something from me but for the life of me, I don’t know what it is. I have nothing of value any more.”

Ingrid looked sad but didn’t complain very much.

She helped me pack my things in virtual silence. I knew she didn’t want me to go. I didn’t really want to go but I had to leave for both our sakes.

I was almost ready to leave when I heard my phone bleep. With some foreboding, I looked at it and saw that there were two messages from a blocked number.

“Having your first quarrel then? It is so cute.”

My mouth dropped open when I saw the time of the message. It had been sent not long after I had told Ingrid that I’d be leaving.

I read the second message.

“Get on with it. When you have left the bitch I will tell you exactly what I want from you.”
I showed the message to Ingrid. I put a finger over my lips to signify that I didn’t want her to say anything.

I went into her kitchen and found a piece of paper and wrote.

“Don’t say anything about this. She is spying on us. I don’t know how but she seems to know everything we say and do.”

Ingrid nodded her agreement.

I went back into the bedroom and gathered up my things.

“Can you call me a mini-cab?”

“Yes. Where will you go?”

“I’ll try the Novotel in Hammersmith. I’ll let you know which room I’m in.”

“Do you have to go? You are welcome to stay as long as you want.”

“Thank you but after the episode with your car I don’t want you to suffer any more because of me.”

Ten minutes later I was in a cab heading for Hammersmith. Ingrid had passed me a note just as I left.

It read,
“Go out and buy a new phone. Leave the old one in your hotel room. I think that Lindy might be using the GPS system in the phone to track you. Call me with the new number.”

I’d given her a brief kiss on the cheek as I’d left and expressed my thanks for all her help. If Lindy were bugging my phone then she’d hear my goodbyes.

As the cab pulled off the A4 into Hammersmith, my phone bleeped again.

With a heavy heart, I pulled it out of my handbag and read the message.

“Good riddance to the kraut bitch. You will be hearing from me soon.”

I’d never thought of Ingrid as being German. She was only half German as her father is British. It didn’t matter to me but it seemed to get under Lindy’s skin.”

My pondering was cut short by the taxi pulling up outside the hotel. As I got out I suddenly thought that I should have checked to see if they had rooms available. It was too late now as I paid the driver and walked into the hotel trying to look confident.

My luck was in and less than ten minutes later, I was in my room and able to breathe a sigh of relief.
I didn’t stay there long but I just dropped everything into the bed and after removing my phone from my handbag, I went shopping for a new phone.

By the time I returned there were three text messages from Lindy demanding to know what room I was in. Reluctantly, I replied ‘room 810’.

Almost immediately, a reply came back

‘Where have you been? I’ve missed you.’

I replied, ‘getting something to eat.’

Without waiting for her to reply, I buried the phone under the bedclothes and after switching on the TV I went into the bathroom and called Ingrid.

“Hi. I got a new phone. I think she is snooping on my old one. It has to be the phone.”

“Yeah. I’m in the bathroom.”

I didn’t say anything for several seconds.

“Look Ingrid, I’m so sorry for going off like that. My whole life it up in the air and… I can’t afford to get involved with anyone at the moment.”

“Thank you.”

I paused again.

“Can you do me a favour?”

“No. It is nothing like that. Can you go and tell the Police about how Lindy is still going after me. She says that she will tell me very soon what she wants from me. If she it tracking me by GPS then I can’t be seen to know about it or go to the Police Station. You saw the texts she’s sent. That should be enough to get them interested in catching her.”

“Yes. Please let me know what they say. Don’t call just text me.”

“Thanks bye.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I hung up. I was missing Ingrid but I knew that I had to try to handle Lindy on my own. There was no telling what Lindy would do if she saw that Ingrid was helping me.

I returned to the bedroom and retrieved the phone. Thankfully there had been no more texts from Lindy.
Suddenly, I found myself at a loose end. Here I was stuck in a concrete box of a hotel room on my own on Valentines Day. How sad what that? Thankfully, the room I’d been given had a decent bath and not just a shower so I decided to have a long soak and try to make some sense of my life. As I took off my wig, I knew one thing for sure and that was that I was up shit creek without a paddle.

Before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep in the warm water.

It was getting quite tepid by the time I got out and dried myself. Once I was dry, I wrapped a towel around myself and sent into the main part of the room in search of some clothes.

I’d hardly taken two steps before I realised that someone had pushed an envelope under the door. With a sense of foreboding, I picked it up.

There was no writing on the outside so I began to open it. I got it halfway open before I stopped.
I said to myself,

“It can wait a bit longer.”

I chose some clothes and then sat down and did my makeup. When I was satisfied with my appearance, I put my wig on once again with more than a tinge of regret that my hair wasn’t yet long enough to get it done properly in a more feminine style. ‘That will come’ I said to myself.

Even then, I didn’t open the envelope but I called room service and ordered some tea and biscuits. I knew I was putting it off for as long as possible but it wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Once the tea had been delivered, I sat down with a cup and then opened the envelope.

My misgivings proved to be true. It was from Lindy.

“This should tell you what I want and why.”

There was a photograph and a single sheet of paper inside.

I knew the photograph. It was the one with Aunt Rose and her elder sister Iris with their parents. It had been taken on a family holiday to Blackpool. I remembered Aunt Rose telling me about that holiday. Iris had wimped out going on the roller coaster because she was having a holiday romance with some local boy. It turned out that the ‘boy’ was in fact a man aged ‘23’ and managed a local strip club. Iris was 15 years old at the time. This was a foretaste of life with Iris in the coming years.

I turned my attention to the sheet of paper. It was a family tree, my family tree.

My grandfather Jack had been married twice. Iris and Rose were the children from his first marriage. That lasted until he divorced his wife Dianna because of her infidelity. She ran off with a truck driver and was never heard of again. With his second wife Amanda, they had one child, my father David.
In 1980, he married my mother, Kirsty. I’d been born almost 8 years later. By this time, Iris had disappeared from our lives. My mother never really got over my birth and sank into many bouts of depression and eventually took her own life. As a result, I’d been brought up by Rose as my father was away for long periods as he was in the Merchant Navy. This meant that I hardly knew him thus the news of his death after a bar brawl in Hong Kong didn’t trouble me much.

The last we’d heard of from Iris was that she was an aspiring actress in Hollywood. We kept looking out for her in all the films but we never saw her name in the credits let alone in ‘lights’. After a
few years she stopped calling or writing to us.

The family tree filled the missing details in vivid detail.

Iris had married an Australian Actor and had gone to live in Oz. Lindy was their daughter. When I realised this, I shuddered. I’d had sex with my cousin. I wasn’t sure if it was illegal or not. I didn’t want to know.

Then I began to realise exactly what it was that Lindy wanted. She wanted my home. If she couldn’t have it then no one would. It had been bought in the mid 1960’s by my grandfather and both Iris and Rose had been born in it. My grandfather had died leaving everything to his children. At that time, they were Rose and Iris. I began to remember that Rose had told me that the lawyers had tried to find Iris in Hollywood but had failed. It was no wonder they failed, Iris was in Australia with her family. Eventually probate had been granted and Rose got the house and everything. As Rose never married and as her only surviving relative so when she died, I got everything.

Lindy wanted the house. It was in a very desirable part of West London. When I’d inherited it, I knew that I had to sell almost all of Rose’s assets to pay the inheritance tax. I knew that it was worth well over £500,000 because I’d insured it for that amount less than 6 months before. No wonder Lindy
wanted it.

I returned to look at the family tree. I could see that her parents had both died within a year of each other about a year before Rose had died.

I knew that there was a lot more to find out. I was also sure that Lindy would let me know the missing details when she wanted me to know them.

As if on cue, my phone bleeped. Lindy had sent me a text.

“Well cousin. How does it feel to know that you fucked your cousin? Unless you want to do jail time, you won’t tell a soul about it.”

I answered a few minutes later.

“What do you want Lindy?”

She replied.

“The house and everything else that Rose left you in her will. It is rightfully mine. No bastard tranny is going to cheat me out of it like your beloved Aunt rose did to my Mother.”

I wasn’t a bastard and I knew that I’d inherited the house legally but I guessed that I’d probably committed a crime by having sex with Lindy. She would use that to blackmail me into signing over the house to her. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. My decision to live as a woman didn’t help either.

The tears welled up in my eyes.

I failed to hear my phone bleep and see the text message from Lindy that said

‘Big trannies don’t cry.’

I sat feeling very down until it was quite dark. In the end, I got up and switched on a light.

I looked at both my phones and saw the text from Lindy. Reading that message convinced me that she’d done something to my phone. How else could she know where I was and what I was doing all the time?

Then I checked my other phone. There was a message from Ingrid.

‘Come to room 820. There is someone you should meet.’

I looked at the time it had been sent. It was less than an hour old.

With renewed determination, I wrote down all the texts from Lindy and after turning up the TV Volume, I quietly left the room and headed along the corridor to room 820.

I knocked quietly and the door opened a few seconds later.

Ingrid was standing there. She saw my messed up makeup and stepped forward and wrapped me in her arms.
I held her tight. She smelt so nice. I didn’t want to let her go but I remembered that there was someone there for me to meet.

I let her go and she closed the door behind her.

“Sarah, this is Detective Inspector Lewis. He’s in charge of the investigation into the fire at your house.”

I stepped forward and shook his hand.

“Please to meet you inspector.”

“Ingrid has been filling me in on what has been happening.”

“Things have changed in the past hour or so. I guess my messed up face would have told you that. The good news is that I know why she is doing what she is.”

I spend the next half hour explaining to them both what had happened since I’d received the package before creeping back to my room to wait for developments.

The remainder of the evening turned out to be very frustrating. There were no more texts or packages from Lindy. In the end I gave up waiting so I re-did my makeup and went to one of the hotel restaurants for dinner. I had no appetite but I felt that I had to go through the motions of appearing to appear to be acting normally. In the absence of anything else to do, I returned to my room after dinner and watched some TV.

Just after 11pm, I went to bed wondering what the next day would bring. I really wanted it to end nicely but I was sure that Lindy had some surprises in store for me.

[To be continued]

Monday dawned grey and cold. I looked out of my Hotel window at the myriad of people scurrying off to work and felt more than a few pangs of regret that I wasn’t amongst them. My daydreaming was abruptly ended by my phone bleeping.

‘Get some sleep? No matter if you didn’t. Rent a car and drive west along the M4. Leave your hotel by 10am. I will be watching you. Don’t speak to anyone especially the police.’

I glanced at the clock on the phone. It read 07:56. I sighed to myself and went into the bathroom and texted the details of Lindy’s message to Ingrid, She would pass them onto the Police.

Then I got myself dressed and ready for the day ahead.

I couldn’t decide how/where I could rent a car. In the end, the decision was made for me. My other phone received a text message.

‘Call 02094452089. Rent a car from them. They are expecting a call.’

I let out a visible sigh of relief.

I picked up my ‘bugged’ phone and punched in the number.

After two rings it was answered, “Capitol Car Hire. How can I help you?”

“I’d like to rent a car for today. I’m at the Novotel in Hammersmith. Can you deliver one there?”

“Let me check.” The human voice was switched to ‘hold music’. Inevitably, the music was the Four Seasons.

Some 20 seconds later and to my eternal relief, it ended.

“Hello?”

“Yes. I’m still here.”

“Yes we can deliver a car. The daily rate for a standard four-door saloon is fifty-two pounds a day. That includes an allowance 100 miles. After that it is 35p per mile. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes… That is fine.”

“Good, one of our drivers will be there in about an hour. To whom shall I make the paperwork out to?”

“Sar… Peter Robinson,” I replied suddenly remembering that my driving license is in Peter’s name.

“How long will you ne needing the car for?”

“It should be just for today.”

“Very well. The Delivery Driver is going to someone called Vishal Khan. He will identify himself. Please check his credentials. He will be able to process your credit card and driving licence.”

“Thank you.”

I hung up feeling relived. I stood there looking at the phone for nearly five minutes waiting for Lindy to approve what I’d done. Then I realised that not only did she have a lot of power over me, but that power was all in my imagination. I was better than her. I repeated to myself, ‘I will not let her win’.

I headed down to the foyer of the hotel and waited for the driver to deliver my car. I was early and he was late so in the end, it was just before 09:45 when I got into the car and breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that the delivery driver hadn’t batted an eyelid when what appeared to be a woman in a skirt and heels presented him with a driving license that had a male name.

My first problem was that I’d never driven in heels before. After nearly crashing into a No 73 bus in the Hammersmith One-Way system I kicked them off and drove in my stocking clad feet.

I got onto the A4 and felt a pang of regret as I passed Fullers Brewery and the turning that would have taken me to my former home but I managed to keep going. As I travelled along the elevated section of the M4, my new phone screen lit up.

‘Pull into Heston Services. You will be met outside the ladies. Give the officer the keys.’
I felt a great deal of relief that someone was on my side.

It wasn’t before I pulled off the M4 into Heston Services and parked the car.

If Lindy was watching me, I wondered how long before she’d start complaining. I’d almost reached the building then my phone bleeped.

‘Why have you stopped? I told you to drive along the M4?’

I texted her back, ‘Nerves. I need to go to the toilet’.

As I walked up to the sergeant I’d seen in Saturday, I thought to myself, ‘if she does not like that then she can lump it.

“Hello Sarah.”

“Hello Sergeant,” I replied giving him the keys to the car.

“I’ll be in the back of the car. I will keep the others informed with our progress.”

I nodded back to him and headed into the Ladies.

Five minutes later, I was back in the car and driving west. I now knew why the car I’d rented had darkened windows in the back. I would be hard for anyone to see my passenger.

I carried on west past Heathrow, Slough and Maidenhead. I started to wonder when I’d get further instructions when just after I’d passed the A329M junction the phone bleeped.

‘Take the next Exit and follow the signs for the Park and Ride at Reading Football Stadium. Park in the far corner of the car park and wait.’

I smiled to myself. Action at last.

I showed the phone to my passenger and concentrated on driving.

Just under fifteen minutes later I pulled into the car park outside the football stadium. A sleety wind making it feel a lot colder than it really was. I could not see Lindy anywhere so I put on my heels again and got out of the car and immediately regretted it. The cold wind whipped around my legs and up my skirt. While I liked the freedom a skirt gave me this was certainly one of the drawbacks.

Then I saw Lindy. She was driving a black Ford Escort. She drove it close to where I was standing and stopped.

I resisted giving her a smile. I just wanted this over and done with.

“Hello Sarah,” remarked Lindy as she got out of her car.

“Why? Why did you do this?”

She grinned.

“My mother was cheated out of her birthright. You really have no idea how hard it was on a sheep station in the middle of a drought that went on for years. In the end that and the grog killed both my parents. I made a promise to my mother to get the house that was rightly hers back where it belonged.”

“But Aunt Rose was awarded it by the court when we couldn’t find your mother.”

“They obviously did try very hard.”

“Your mother stopped calling or writing letters so no one had any idea where she was living.”

“That’s not the point. It should have been hers and now mine. I am here today to rectify that travesty.”

“You have been planning this all along haven’t you?”

“Give the tranny a prize. Yes I have. But Rose would have none of it so she had to go.”

My mouth fell open in disbelief.

“Are you saying that you killed Aunt Rose?”

“Well, let’s just say that I helped her on her way down the stairs.”

“You murdered her!”

“If you say so, I don’t, I call it getting even.”

Then to stop any further conversation, she reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a set of handcuffs.

She threw them to me.

“Put them on your ankles. That will stop you from doing anything silly.”

With a good deal of reluctance, I put the cuffs around my ankles and clicked them home.

Lindy smiled at me.

“Now come over here and you can sign this document. This will transfer ownership of the house to me.”

I hobbled over to her car and looked at the document. I started to read it.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading the document. I never sign anything I haven’t read first.”

Lindy went red in the face and dug into her bag again.

She pulled out something that looked dangerous.

“Sign this or I’ll give you a taste of this,” she said waving the weapon in her hand.

“This is a Taser. It will give you a nice little electric shock. Enough to keep you quiet and from interfering with my escape.”

I felt any remaining colour drain out of my face. I took the pen she was offering and signed the document.

“Now walk back to your car and throw me the keys.”

Lindy followed me back to the car and literally grabbed the keys from my hand. Then she threw them as far as she could into the other parked cars.

“I would like to say that it has been nice knowing you but it hasn’t. You are really crap in bed. So bad that I had to feign every orgasm you thought I had. Oh, and good luck keeping out of jail for having sex with your cousin.”

“But what are you going to do with the remains of the house?”

“Oh that. I’ve already sold it on to a developer. The money will be in my bank account in the Caymans before the day is out. I’ll be long gone before you can do anything about it.”

With that, she got back into her can and took off with wheels spinning on the loose gravel of the parking lot.

I just stood there stunned by how well Lindy had executed her plan.

“He she gone?” came a voice from behind me.

I turned around to see the Sergeant climbing out of the car.

“She gone,” I confirmed.

He smiled at me.

“She won’t get far. There are cars waiting for her at the A33 junction.”

Then the smile turned into a grin.

“I got her confession on tape. She’ll probably be charged with murder before the end of the day.”
I nearly burst out crying with the relief that it was all over.

“Here, wipe your eyes while I get you out of these cuffs,” he said calmly as he handed me a handkerchief.

[To be continued]

The sergeant had just released my ankles when his radio bleeped.

“Yes?”

“We’ve got her,” came over the radio, loud and clear.

“Thanks, out.”

He looked up at me and saw my smiling face.

“Now perhaps we can get to the bottom of this whole mystery?” I remarked.

“You seem remarkably calm given that everything that has happened in the past few days.”

I chuckled.

“Yes. I suppose I am given that all my possessions and home went up in smoke less than 72hours ago. But being realistic and all that, worrying about it isn’t going to bring any of it back now will it?”

He smiled back.

“I don’t mean to pry but have you been living as a woman for very long?”

“That’s all-right. Just a few days. Oh, I’ve been cross-dressing for years but... well events of the past few days have well, helped me make up my mind once and for all. Does that answer your question?”

He went a bit red in the face at the full on answer. I felt that there was no sense in beating about the bush as he already knew that I was really a man underneath the clothes that I was wearing.

“I guess we should go and meet up with the rest of the team?”

He got into the driving seat of the rental car. I glared at him for a second or two then I walked around the car and got into the passenger seat.

We drove back towards the main A33 highway. The array of vehicles with flashing lights told us that Lindy hadn’t got very far. We arrived to see her being placed into the back of a Police Van.

Two Thames Valley Officers came over to the hire car.

“We need you to come to the Station make a statement about what just happened,” said the first one to me directly.

“Don’t you have enough evidence already, with the recording and everything?”

“We probably do but it does us no harm to have more than enough.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

I was escorted into the centre of Reading and the main Police Station. I could hear whispers between the officers along with furtive glances towards me. I could easily guess what they were talking about.

In the end, there wasn’t much to making the statement. I was becoming an expert now so it was a lot less stressful than before. It also helped that the officer already knew the major facts of the case.

Even so, it was mid afternoon before I done everything and was allowed to leave. Thankfully someone had driven my rental car to the station so I was able to drive away.

Sadly, my problems didn’t end there because I got onto the ring road in Reading and found it hard to get off again. I think I must have done almost two complete circuits before I found the right turning. As I sad in the queues at the seemingly endless sets of traffic lights along the A33 I tried to make sense of the days events.

Only the sound of the car behind me tooting its horn disturbed my thoughts.

Some 55 minutes later I arrived back at my Hotel. I tried to call Ingrid but I didn’t get a reply. I called the rental company who indicated that they would get someone to collect the car as soon as possible.

Alone in my room, looking out of the now rush hour traffic heading out of London along the A4 I suddenly felt lonely, very lonely indeed.

It all became too much for me. I sat down on my bed and began to cry.

I don’t know how long I sat there sobbing but by the time there was a knock on the door, it was quite dark.

I didn’t move to answer it. Whoever it was, could go to hell for all I was concerned.

The knocking became more insistent.

“Go away!” I cried out.

“Please Sarah. Open the door. I need to know that you are all-right.

“I am so go away!”

There was no more knocking on the door. I wondered who it could be especially as I couldn’t reach Ingrid on the phone.

Sometime later there was a knock at the door.

“Go away!” I shouted.

“Sarah. This is Inspector Bryant. We spoke on Friday evening outside your house.”

Somewhat reluctantly, I got up and opened the door.

He wasn’t alone. Ingrid was there with him.

“Ms Robinson, Ingrid here was worried about your mental state. I have to say, I was too. You have been through a lot. Besides, she saved me a call. I have some news about Lindy.”

I let out a big sigh.

“You had better come in.”

I closed the door behind them and tried to put on a brave face. I wasn’t hopeful that it would work.

The problem with the Hotel room was that was just one chair.
“Please Inspector, take the chair. Ingrid and I will sit on the bed.”

We all sat down then there was a pregnant silence.
Ingrid broke it by saying,

“Inspector, you said you had some news?”

“Yes. Lindy has been charged with a number of offenses. At the moment, they are what we call ‘holding’ charges. In due course, some more serious charges will be laid including the possibility of Murder. We also found a loaded gun in her possession as well as the Taser.”

“When will she appear in court?” I asked trying to put on a brave face.

“Wednesday. She is being held without bail. We will oppose any request for bail because she is an obvious flight risk.”

“Do I need to be there?” I asked, “I’m not sure I can face her at the moment?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. It will be several months before the trial begins.”

Then the reality hit me, I would have to expose myself to the world including the press. My heart sank.

“What is wrong?” asked Ingrid seeing the

“Lindy will make sure that everyone knows who I am. The press will have a field day with me and… Well, you know.”

The Inspector said,
“I am sure the CPS will offer her a deal.”

“What 5 years in return for a guilty plea?” I said indignantly.

He smiled back at me.

“5 years for Arson, 5 for Blackmail, 5 for threatening you with a Taser plus being in possession of a loaded firearm and another 5 for false imprisonment all served consecutively, if I have anything to say about it.”

“What about Aunt Rose? You have her confession on tape?”

He shook his head.

“Her legal team will say that was just bravado. If we can make it stick then she is going down for a whole life term.”

“That is good yes?”

“For you, yes it is. For her? Well that depends upon her.”

“Thank you for letting me know about her. She deserves everything she gets.”

I thought for half a second before adding,

“From the results of due process that is.”

The Inspector looked a bit impatient.

“I think I’d better be going… Goodnight Ladies.”

Ingrid showed him out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Then she looked at me and smiled.

“You did very well today.”

Her comment surprised me.

“No, it was more like failed Tranny nearly got his head blown off.”

She smiled again and before I could react, she wrapped her arms around me and started giggling.

I tried hard but in the end, I joined her.

Ingrid sat there for some time without saying anything.

I started to get worried.

Eventually she said,

“Despite the fact that you are most certainly not a failed ‘Tranny’ as you so crudely put it, I will help you in anyway that I can,” she said softly in her slightly Germanic accent.

“I sense a but coming?”

She smiled. This was one of the British things she had gotten used to.

“Yes. There is a but.”

I sat intently.

“This whole thing with Lindy has totally messed you up. I think that at this time in your life you need some stability above everything else. Starting to live full time as a woman on top of what has happened to your home might be just too much to handle all at once?”

I couldn’t disagree with her on that point. Then right on cue, I started to cry, again. I couldn’t understand why I was doing this so much.

Ingrid came over and hugged me. It felt good. She smelt good.

We stayed the night in the Hotel. Ingrid made me feel safe. I was in a place where that was all that was needed for me to sleep. It had been a long day.

- - - - - - -

Tuesday morning.

I woke up to find the sun streaming through the window. Ingrid was lying in exactly the same position as she was when I closed my eyes the night before.

Without thinking, I kissed her lightly on the lips.

She made a pleasing sound so I did it again.

This time, she opened her eyes and smiled at me.

“That was the nicest way anyone has eve woken me up. Thank you.”

Before I could respond, she kissed me lightly.

Before we could get into any serious snogging, Ingrid said,

“Sorry to put a dampener on things but I need to pee.”

I giggled as I unwound my arms from around her body so that she could get out of the bed. I turned over and almost fell out myself. I cursed myself for not getting a room with a single big bed rather than a twin bedded room.

We checked out of the hotel and returned to Ingrid’s home. To our surprise, there was a Police car parked outside. As we approached the front door, an officer emerged from the car.

“Hello. You must be Sarah and Ingrid. I’m Chief Inspector David Bull from New Scotland Yard. I wonder if I may have a word with you?”

He showed us his warrant card to prove his identity.

“Please come on in,” said Ingrid.

We all went inside.

“I’ll put the kettle on,” said Ingrid as she closed the door behind us.

“Please sit down Inspector,” I said as I took my coat off and sat down at the small table where we’d eaten our meals.

He sat opposite me. I guessed he looked a bit uncomfortable with me.

“Don’t worry Inspector, I don’t bite,” I said trying to defuse the situation.

“No. It is not that. I have some news about your case.”

“Is it about Lindy?”

“Yes.

He swallowed hard before continuing.

“When someone from a Commonwealth Country is charged with a serious offence we pass all the general detail of the crime etc to their country’s High Commission. Late last night the High Commissioner himself contacted the Home Secretary. She in turn got the top brass in the Met and Thames Valley out of bed for a meeting at Australia House. I got pulled in just before dawn to handle the whole case at our end”.

My mind was trying to comprehend what he’d said. The words ‘our end’ leapt out at me loud and clear.

“What do you mean ‘our end’?”

“Well, I don’t know all the details myself. Suffice to say, Lindy is not the real Lindy. She is wanted in Australia for several very serious crimes. The New South Wales Police are sending over all the details and a high-ranking officer will be flying here in the next few days. There is every chance that Lindy, or whoever her real name is, won’t stand trial here but will be extradited to Australia in the very near future.”

At this point, Ingrid returned with the tea. She sat the tray down on the small table in front of us and poured three cups.

As we added milk and in the case of the Inspector, several heaped teaspoons of sugar to the liquid I have a chance to start to get to grips with what he’d just said.

“Are you trying to tell me that I went through all that for nothing?”

Ingrid put her hand on my arm.

“No Sarah, what the Inspector is trying to say is that the crimes she is wanted for back home are of a far more serious nature than the ones here.”

“What can be more serious than attempted Murder, Arson and trying to extort my home from me?”

Then it hit me.

“Oh! She actually went and killed someone?”

The Inspector smiled back at us.

“There is an International Arrest Warrant for her on the charge of Murder. We sent her fingerprints to the High Commission and they realised that they were a match someone of interest to the New South Wales police. They know her as Kylie Mackay but this might be another alias or assumed identity. Hence the moves by the brass to make sure that she does not get away this time.”

“This time?”

“I don’t know all the details but Ms Mackay managed to get out of Australia hours before the warrant for her arrest was issued. She was tracked Johannesburg. Three days later someone with her description but using Lindy’s name took a flight Amsterdam. There Interpol lost track of her.”

He took a sip of tea.

“Thankfully we have her under lock and key. It was felt that you should know of these developments as soon as possible, hence my visit. Things will become a lot clearer by the weekend and we start extradition proceedings.”

“She’s mad you know,” remarked Ingrid.

The Inspector shook his head.

“She might be slightly crazy but to have organised the events of the past few days takes a clear and lucid mind. Her interview after her arrest was also very lucid as she tried to put the blame for everything onto you. Apparently, it was your idea to burn down your house and rip off the Insurance Companies. None of that held water with my colleagues in Reading I might add.”

He finished his tea and stood up.

“I know you have been through hell these past few days but I think you have someone here who cares about you. I’ve seen far too many cases where the victim has undergone a truly shocking experience where the victim pushes away all those around them who really care about them. My words of advice on this is ‘Don’t let that happen to you’”

He walked towards the door to the flat and after opening it, said,

“I’ll be in touch as soon as there are any more developments.”

Then he was gone.

I was dumbstruck. No other words could come close to what I was feeling. Totally numb could not ever begin to explain how I felt. Once again, my life had been turned on its head as I sat looking on unable to do anything to stop it.

Ingrid returned from showing the Policeman out. She sat by my side and held my hand.

“Don’t worry. Whoever she is she will get what she deserves.”

“I know but I can’t help but feel a bit cheated. Part of me I wanted to face her in court. I wanted to condemn her to eternal hell and to thank her for making my choice about living my life as the person I really am a lot easier. But another part of wanted her to disappear into the deepest black-hole imaginable and never see the light of day again.”

Ingrid smiled back.

“I wondered about that. When I tested you on Saturday, you didn’t hesitate to turn left.”
I nodded my head.

“I only realised that a bit later. I did think about running a mile but as soon as I tried on that first pair of shoes, I knew that I didn’t want to go back.”

Ingrid smiled at me again and squeezed my hand. I knew that I was in a good place despite everything that had happened in the past few days.

[To be continued in the sixth and final part]
{there a few more twists and turns to be exposed}

Out of the Ashes, Part 6 – Wednesday and beyond

{Well, here we go, the final chapter in which I hope to wrap up all he loose ends and plot danglers I have given you over the previous five parts in one part. It is a bit longer than the others but I could not see an easy way of writing the conclusion in anything but one longer section}

I think Ingrid was a bit displeased that I didn’t share her bed last night. After all, we’d done that very thing in the Hotel the night before. In my eyes, there was no choice. I wanted to be mentally ready for meeting the Insurance Loss Adjuster in the morning.

That said, I tried to make amends for my absence by gently kissing her on the cheek as we sat down to breakfast the following morning.

“I need to be sharp for my meeting with the Insurance Man this morning,” I said trying not to put my foot into it too much.

“I know,” came the slightly strained reply.

“You were right you know.”

“Right about what?”

“Me having too much on my plate at the moment. Hopefully once the meeting today is over and done with, I can think about other things for a while.”

“What other things?” asked Ingrid.

“Well, me and you for one thing.”

Ingrid didn’t say anything but just nodded, her head.

I took a deep breath and said,

“So far we have been dancing around in some sort of phoney engagement…”

Then I realised what I’d said.

“Sorry, engagement is probably the wrong word.”

“I understand.”

Then Ingrid looked at me in a way that I’d never seen before.

“Can you remember last Friday night, when neither of us could sleep?”

I nodded my reply.

“When you came in and sat down I wanted to rush over and hug you. Especially after you curled up your legs underneath you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I was afraid….”

Then she continued,

“You know very little about me. I need to tell you some things before we get too far and… well, breaking up is so hard to do if there are secrets involved.”

I couldn’t disagree with that.

“I know pretty well everything about you. After these past few days, there can’t be many skeletons left in your closet now can there? There are a few things that I need to tell you before we go any further.”

I looked at Ingrid earnestly and said,

“Do you fancy me, failed tranny and all that?”

“You are most certainly not a failure and yes I do. Since early Saturday, things have become a lot clearer in my life.”

“What? Even after all what Lindy did you your car?”

“Yes, even after that,” she replied smiling.

Then she looked at me in that strange way again.

“Gotterdamerung! This is so hard. I think I love you.”

I could not believe what she’d just said.

I tried to say something but my mind and mouth would not cooperate.

“Don’t say anything until I have told you about the skeletons that are filing my closet.”

I was still reeling from what she’d said. All I could do was to nod my head.

“I… I have to get ready to meet the Insurance Man. Can you drop me off at my old home? Once that is over we should try to talk.”

Ingrid smiled.

“Yes. That is best.”

An hour later, Ingrid dropped me off outside the ruins of my former home. There were two men already there along with Mrs Patel. She’d already supplied them with a mug of tea as the North Easterly wind was bringing a chill to the morning.

“Hello Mr Patel, Gentlemen. I’m Sarah Robinson, formerly known as Peter.”

As I said it, I realised that I must start to do something about my identity and my change of name.

“I’m David Thompson, the Loss Adjuster assigned to your claim. This is Jeremy Pearce, my Quantity Surveyor come Civil Engineer. We’ve already had a look at the structure and the Fire Officers report is accurate enough. It is best if the old structure is taken down and supports put in to brace the adjoining properties until rebuilding can begin.”

That pleased me a lot.

“You are going to authorize a rebuild then?”

Jon smiled at me.

“That is what your policy allows for,” he said in a totally non-committal sort of way.

“Is there going to be any problem over the fact that the damage was caused by Arson?”

He smiled again.

“I don’t think so. Charges of Arson have bee brought against the person who did it so that is pretty clear cut.”

I shook my head.

“Perhaps you don’t know that she may be extradited to Australia to face other more serious charges.”

He thought for a few seconds.

“I will need to check with head office about that.”

“I can’t see how her location will have anything to do with my claim? I do work in the Insurance Industry myself so I have so understanding of claims processing. I work for ‘May & Downs Re-Insurers’ in the City.”

Suddenly their attitude changed.

“It won’t but for a claim this size, we have to rule out any chance of fraudulent claims.”

“If I were trying to defraud your company, I’d have made some provision for myself post the fire. As it was, I was left with just the clothes I was wearing at the time as I am sure it says in the Police Report. Everything I own was in the house as you well know, I spent a considerable amount of money renovating the property as your estimator reported when he visited the property last September in order to assess the right amount of value for both the property and contents.”

I hoped that my use of the correct language would win him over. It didn’t.

“Nevertheless, I will have to make a report on the damage and the likely costs of rebuilding. This will also include a section on the possibility of fraud being committed.”

My anger was visibly rising but I was determined to keep externally calm.

“When will a decision be made? I need to know because I can’t keep imposing on my friend’s couch for the indefinite future. As you are aware there is provision in the policy for Accommodation costs to be met in the event of the house becoming uninhabitable. I am also applying for an ex-gratia payment from the contents section to enable me to buy some clothes.”

“Once again, I will need to check things over with my superiors before any provision can be made,” came his total non-committal reply.

Then he looked at his watch.

“If that is all, I will submit my report and you will be informed in due course.”

He said his goodbye to his colleague and made a hasty retreat.

When he’d disappeared out of site, Jeremy, the Quantity Surveyor said,

“Don’t mind him. He thinks he is God’s gift to the Insurance Industry. From the copies of the Police and Fire reports I’ve seen and looking at the damage, my guess is that your claim will be approved in full very soon.”

“Thanks for that but I really don’t want to count my chickens before they have hatched so to speak.”

He nodded. Then he dug into his Briefcase and pulled out several sheets of paper.

“Here, fill these in and send them to the address on the front. That will get you the ex-gratia payment sooner than relying on that big head,” he said handing me the bundle.

“Thanks. I’ll do that straight away.”

Then I changed the subject a bit.

“Is there any chance that the rebuild could… well make a few changes to the property?”

“What do you mean? It will have to be done according to Building Regs. We couldn’t allow any changes that would jeopardize that.”

“No, that isn’t it. I mean to make just one large room downstairs and upstairs, one huge bedroom and a larger bathroom. Naturally, It could be returned to its original state with a few stud walls.”

Jeremy smiled at me.

“If the costs are not more than would have been replacing the old property exactly, I don’t see why not?”

I grinned.

“Would that include some steels so that I could add a loft extension at a later date?”

“My, you have thought this through haven’t you?”

I shook my head and said,

“No not really but No 56, just along the street is internally, just like that. Plus if you look at the other houses in the road, a good few already have loft extensions. It makes sense to me to have the steels for the extension put in place while the opportunity is ripe.”

He grinned again.

“Are you sure you didn’t set this fire yourself?”

I laughed back.

“I wish. If I had, I’d have made sure I was wearing a proper Winter Coat instead of this thing, it is perishing cold today.”

He didn’t reply but just smiled.

After saying goodbye, I said a quick hello to Mrs Patel before making my way back to Ingrid’s.

By the time I returned to Ingrid’s home, it was getting dark. Her flat was quiet. She left me a note saying that she’d gone to the supermarket. After clearing up the mess I’d left behind earlier I was at a bit of a loose end so I went into my bedroom and did my nails. I chose a dark blue polish from the selection of makeup that Ingrid had given me. As I waited for it to dry I sat remembering the events of the past few days. I could not recall a more topsy-turvy week in all my life. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I failed to hear Ingrid returning.

I got to a point in my thoughts when I felt that someone was watching me. I turned around and there was Ingrid with a smile on her face.

“Sorry, I was miles away. Let me help you with the groceries.”

“You were and don’t bother, I looks like you need to do that thumb again?”
I looked at my nails and sure enough, I’d smudged my left-hand thumb.
I ignored it and stood up and helper her put things away. All she did was sigh and then get on with unpacking the bags of food.

Eventually she said,

“Are you going to tell me how you got on with the insurance man or do I have to wring it out of you?”

“Oh! Sorry! Not much to tell,” I lied.

“They will have to agree to fund the rebuild. When they do, they will send me a list of builder they use and I am to get plans drawn up for the build. Stuff like that.”

Then I laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
I smiled back at her,

“I’m laughing at us. We are acting like a married couple.”

Then I went silent as I realised what I’d said.

Ingrid’s expression changed as well.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” I uttered quickly.

Then she gave me the ‘you are forgiven’ smile.

“No.”

Then she paused.

“I think you are right.”

“What do you mean right?” I asked.

She put down the load of bread that was in her hand and took hold of mine.
“As I said before, I feel right with you and don’t want to lose you.”

“What? When I was making a fool of myself?”

She just smiled.

“I listened didn’t I? I don’t throw you out did I? Did I complain when you left the toilet seat up?”

I had to chuckle at that one.

“Sorry.”

She smiled back at me.

“When you turned up on my door looking like you did, I had real reservations about letting you in. Then you opened up to me in a way that no other man has ever done, at least for quite some time. You were open and honest with me.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“If you hadn’t been truthful with me, I would have known it. That was one of the good things to come out of my PHD. I am very good at knowing when men are lying to me.”

“But… What did I say to you to make you think that… well, feel right with me.”

She looked me in the eye.

“I know this is too early after your breakup with Lindy but I really don’t want to lose you.”

To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.

“I don’t know what to say…”

Ingrid smiled.

“Did you say that you had bought rings for you and Lindy?”

“Yes, why?”

“Show them to me.”

I found the ring box in my Handbag and gave it to her.

She opened the box and smiled.

“Very nice. Really you if you don’t mind me saying.”

That cheered me up no end.

Then she took one out and slipped it onto her right hand ring finger. Then she took hold of my right hand and did the same.

“There, until we get to know each other better, and want to move to the next step then… well I think that will show us how we feel about each other.”

My heart was pounding like mad.

“Ye… Yes. I really don’t know what to say?”

“Don’t say anything. Help me get the dinner started and we can talk about me. You know very little about me.”

Then she grinned.

“When you do, then I won’t argue if you want this ring back.”

That unnerved me no-end.

“What do you mean?”

“Later. I’ll tell you all later. It is going to be hard for me to do it so I want to do it properly.”

We were still holding hands so I squeezed hers and smiled.

We’d just finished preparing Dinner and it was in the oven to cook when her phone rang. This was a different ring tone to her normal one.

“Shit,” muttered Ingrid as she went to pick it up.

“Ja!”

“Hallo Mutter. Ich hatte vergessen, dass du kommen würdest.”

“Wann wirst du hier sein?”

“Das ist gut. Ich werde dich bald sehen.”

Without waiting for a reply, she hung up with an truly awful look on her face.

“That was my Mother. She and my Father are going to be here in about half an hour. I’d forgotten that they were coming over. They are going for my Uncle Andrew’s Fiftieth Birthday pary.”

“Oh?”

Then I added.

“I’d better get all my stuff together and leave you to it.”

Ingrid gave me ‘that look’ again.

“No you won’t. You are staying in my bed. They can sleep in your room.”

Then she took the ring from her right hand and put it on her left. Then she looked at me.

I did the same and said,

“Just for the time they are here?”

“Ja, yes,” she grinned.

The next thirty minutes were chaos in the flat. I moved all my clothes into Ingrid’s room while she stripped the bed and made everything tidy.

Then we set about getting changed and properly presented for the inevitable inspection.

Finally, Ingrid said,

“That will have to do. I need a drink before they arrive.”

Then the front door bell rang. They’d arrived. No time for that drink.

As Ingrid went toward the front door, she slipped into some very high heels that she’d placed right there for this event. I wondered why she’d do this. It wasn’t long before I found out.

“Mother, Father, this is my partner Sarah,” she said proudly but somewhat nervously as she showed her parents into the room.

Her father was a good 6ft 6in tall. He stood upright, not like that stoop that a lot of very tall men seem to adopt. Her mother was more my height.

“Sarah, I’d like you to meet George and Astrid, my parents.”

George was glaring at his Daughter. Astrid was looking at me with a sheepish grin on her face.

“Ingrid, I want to have a word with you NOW,” commanded her Father.

“Lets go into your bedroom then,” replied Ingrid confidently. It was obvious that she’d been expecting this confrontation.

Astrid smiled as me when she saw the look of concern on my face.

“Don’t worry Sarah, if I know my daughter even a little bit, she will give as good as she gets from George. Why else would she wear those heels but to look him straight in the eye and tell him to mind his own business?”

Then to my surprise she gently held my arm.

“Now Sarah, you are not what you seem are you?”

I looked worried.

“Don’t worry, I grew up in West Berlin. There were many people like you there. It was very Bohemian unlike most of the rest of West Germany.”

I tried to smile. It was difficult. I’d never been read that easily before.

“What gave me away?”

Astrid sighed.

“Your Adams Apple. Otherwise, not too bad.”

Despite her words I didn’t feel very happy.

“George won’t notice though. He thinks Ingrid is a Lesbian. I’ll tell him when we get home so your secret is safe with me.”

“But…. Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I could see as soon as Ingrid opened the door to us that she’d changed. Then I saw you and knew that you were the reason why. She is happier than I have seen her since she was a child. Why wouldn’t I be thankful?”

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

We both turned our heads towards the door to the spare bedroom. Ingrid was almost shouting in German at her father.

Astrid laughed.

“She’s just told him that he ignored his family when he married someone 10 years younger than him and a ‘German’ at that.”

I was worried that this might sour things totally.

“He’s secretly proud of his Daughter. Seeing you and her together is just a bit of a shock. He’ll get over it in a few days. His bark is worse than his bite. That comes from being a Sergeant Major in the Guards.”

I sort of knew that he’d been a soldier and had met Astrid in Germany but now a few things started to fall into place. In many ways, Ingrid was like her father. Instead of barking an order, she would give me a look that said, ‘do it or else’.

George calmed down a bit over Dinner. Thankfully with a little bit of quick thinking on my part there was just enough to feed four instead of two.

I sat quiet most of the evening watching Ingrid chatter with her parents. It was amusing to listen to sentences that were mostly English sprinkled with bits of German. All three of them were totally comfortable in both languages. I really envied them in their ability to talk to together. This was something I’d never been able to do with mine, after all, they’d gone off sailing around the world when I was twelve leaving me to be looked after by Rose. Then they’d gone and gotten themselves killed in a Typhoon in the South China Sea. I couldn’t go with them because even sitting in rowing boat on the Serpentine was more than enough to make me as sick as a dog.

George left us and headed to bed around 10pm saying, “I’ve a big day tomorrow so I need to get fully rested.”

I looked at Astrid and Ingrid who both smiled back at me.

When he’d gone to bed, Ingrid said,

“He’s meeting up with a load of Army Friends for a shooting competition at Bisley followed by a regimental dinner at Pirbright. He won’t be back until Friday morning so we can spend the day together.”

This pleased me no end. George had a rough exterior but I am sure that inside there was a good man but I felt that it would take some time for him to come around to who and what I was.

Thursday Morning

George was up with the larks so to speak. He’d gone by the time I crawled out of bed just before eight. I was never really a morning person so I was rather relieved that he’d gone by the time I surfaced.

The three of us sat around the kitchen table drinking tea when Astrid asked,

“As we are going shopping today, what sort of styles do you have in mind for the clothes you will wear to work next week?”

The question hit me in two ways, firstly I’d forgotten about going back to work and I’d never even given work clothes a thought.

Then she turned to Ingrid,

“I suppose you are still wearing those baggy tops and plain trousers?”

There was a stony silence in the room.

Ingrid’s silence made me think about the Ingrid I knew from work. I realised that she had tried to hide her obvious beauty. It was almost as if she was ashamed of it.

“Yes. But what is wrong with them?”

Astrid smiled.

“From what I’ve seen of Sarah, she’s more stylish than you are. You have a beautiful body my darling yet you hide it away.”

I had to bit my lip otherwise I would have laughed. Ingrid gave her mother an awful look.

Astrid just took it in her stride. I was really warming to her, which was ok by me because I knew that I wanted to be with Ingrid for the rest of my life.

“My daughter has been known to dress well. Very well in-fact but since she finished her studies, it is almost as if she has retreated into a shell on anonymity in her dressing. Now girls, are we going to correct this or are we not?”

This time I couldn’t contain my giggles any longer.

Then I said to Ingrid,

“Ingrid, you have a very beautiful body. One that I’ll never have but I’ll be proud to be at your side if you want me too but there is one proviso, and that is ‘you have got it so flaunt it girl’.”

It took a few seconds for what I had said to register then a huge smile broke out on her face.

“Does this mean?” asked Astrid.

“Yes mother, I guess that we are officially an item.”

“About time too. You two have been sparring like some married couple ever since we arrived. I am so glad that you have finally got that sorted. Now we have some serious spending to do.”

I guessed that Ingrid didn’t have ‘lots’ of spare cash, what with here Mortgage to pay every month. I tried to hide my concerns.

“Don’t worry Sarah, today is on me. Consider it your engagement present although I never expected to have to buy it for two women.”

“Astrid, I can’t let you do that. Pretty well everything I buy will be covered by the insurance company.”

Astrid looked at me and said,

“Nien, I have made up my mind. Today is on me.”

We hit the shops in the west end with a vengance. Well it was after a few stern word from Astrid got Ingrid’s enthusiasm up. It wasn’t until we hit one of the medium priced chain stores that I got going. They had a knee length pencil skirt that looked perfect.

I tried on a size 14 and … it was ok. Nowhere near tight enough for my liking. Before the fire this would not have been a problem because I’d simpley have altered it myself. Rose has taught me dressmaking as soon as I started dressing seriously. That was no longer an option so I was considering ‘making do’ with the one I had on.

“Try on a size 10,” said Ingrid.

“A 10? You have to be joking,” I replied.

“No. Try it. The fabric is very forgiving.”

Well, I tried it on and well, it was perfect. Really tight at the knees. Following that there was no stopping us although I did wonder at what Ingrid was doing when she bought a matching bra and knickers set in bright red.

Then a few shops later, Astrid and I almost collapsed on the floor of the shop laughing.

“You aren’t going to wear that to work?” I asked between laughs.

Ingrid smiled, holding up a red and black silk basque.

“Well, you are going to make an impact on your first day so I might as well do the same. This will look good yes?”

Both Astrid and I had to agree that given her previous appearance at the office, this would certainly get a reaction. The black fishnet stockings worn on top of opaque red ones was a masterstroke.

“What about shoes?” asked Astrid grinning broadly.

That was the trigger for more shops and debate before we both ended up with three new pairs of shoes. By then it was lunchtime so we adjourned to a pub just off Marylebone Lane.

We’d just started to eat our food when my phone rang.

“Hello Inspector. What can I do for you?” It was the Inspector from Shepherds Bush Police Station.

I listened intently to what he had to say. As he did so, my mouth dropped open in amazement as what I’d heard.

At the end of his news, I said,

“I don’t think I’ll attend.”

I smiled at my companions.

“I really want to move on with my life now but thank you for letting me know about the hearing. Will you be sure to let me know the outcome?”

“Great. Thanks again.”

I hung up to see to inquiring faces looking at me earnestly.

“There is an extradition hearing this afternoon. Apparently Lindy has decided not to fight it. The Inspector was asking if I was going to attend it. As you heard, I declined. I’d rather be here with you two. She can go to hell for all I’m concerned.
”
Then I smiled,

“Besides, there are a few more things to buy aren’t there?”

Ingrid smiled back at me.
.

The three of us arrived back at Ingrid’s home tired out but happy with the day’s endeavours.

Astrid and George left the following morning leaving Ingrid and myself at something of a loose end. She soon rectified that by taking me to get a manicure while she had her hair done.

I watched her getting her hair dyed with a certain amount of envy. My hair was nowhere near long enough to get a feminine styling. One day, I said to myself I would get my hair done properly and dispense with having to wear a wig.

After lunch and with a good deal of nerves, I called the HR department at work to inform them that I would be returning to work the following Monday and that I would like to be called Sarah from now on.

I agreed to visit the HR department on Monday to complete the forms to change my records.

We spent the weekend together really getting to know each other. I found out that Ingrid hated Cucumber while I loved them. The reverse was the case for ‘Black Pudding’.

The following Monday morning.

“Come on sleepyhead. Time to make yourself beautiful for work. This is your big day.”

I stuffed a pillow over my head in the hope that Ingrid would go away.

She didn’t.

Instead, she started to tickle my feet. In the end, her ‘persuasion’ worked and I got out of bed and got myself ready for my ‘big day’.

The big problem for us was that one small bathroom and two ‘women’ don’t really work well together when it comes down to getting ready for work. This would take some time to sort itself out.

“When we get our own place we must have a bigger bathroom!” complained Ingrid as I accidentally jogged her arm as she was trying to put on some mascara.

A little later than planned but still with four working eyes between us we arrived at our offices close to Cannon Street Station.

The usual office hubbub felt welcoming until someone saw us walking through the door arm in arm. Within a few seconds, everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked at us. More than a few mouths dropped wide open.

Ingrid’s desk was at the other end of the office to mine. Without a word, I kissed Ingrid lightly on the cheek and she sat down at her desk. I walked to my desk but I didn’t sit down. Everyone in the office was looking at me.

“A good morning to you all. My name is Sarah. It used to be Peter. Some of you may remember him? My dear colleagues, the new and improved Ingrid and I are pleased to meet you all.”

Then I took off my coat and hung it up just as Peter had done for several years and sat down at my desk remembering to smooth my skirt under my legs as I sat.
I glanced over at Ingrid. She was having a hard time stopping herself from laughing her head off. I’d teased her about what I was going to say ever since she decided that I should return to work on Monday. To be honest, at the time I didn’t have a clue. I still hadn’t one right up to the time we walked into the office.
There was an uneasy silence until the joker of the office, Patrick Murray said,

“So which toilet will he use now?”

Several of the women just glared at him.

Meg Young, our office supervisor spoke next,

“Patrick, as you well know the company has a policy on Transgendered Employees. They are to use the facilities of their chosen sex without question. I for one welcome Sarah back into our happy family even more so after the loss of her house in such awful circumstances. At this time, she needs our support. I can see that Ingrid has already pitched in to help. If there is anything else we can do I am sure that Sarah will let us know. So can everyone get back to work?”

I breathed a sigh of relief at Meg’s statement. I felt a lot better after that. My joy was short-lived as Meg went back into her office, made a few phone calls and she came over to my desk.

“Peter please come into my office right now,” she said in a very firm voice.

I looked at her somewhat startled but her face said that she wasn’t very happy.

“Certainly Meg,” I replied standing up.

Then she called down the office to Ingrid, “Ingrid! Please join us.”

We joined Meg in her office. She closed the door firmly.

“Now you two, what game are you playing? First Peter comes in and wants to be called Sarah. Then Ingrid comes in looking like a lady of the night!”

I tried. I really tried but I couldn’t stop a little snigger from escaping.

“Meg,” said an indignant Ingrid,

“I am not dressed like a prostitute.”

“What’s with the heels, that frankly obscene top and those fishnet stockings then if they are not what a high class hooker would wear?”

I had to admit that she had a point but Ingrid really turned me on with that outfit and I was the one she was wearing it for.

“I have decided that I have worn clothes that hid my true person for far too long. Besides, I now have someone to dress up for.”

She smiled at me and took my hand.

Meg looked as if she was about to explode.
“I’ll have none of that lesbian goings on in my office.”

I smiled and replied,

“Ok Meg, if you accept that I am now living as a woman then fine otherwise, you have to make up your mind one way or the other? Are you accepting me as a woman or not?”

She glared at me with daggers in her eyes.

“Get out of my office. I’m going to see what HR have to say about all this.”

We hightailed it out of her office and went back to work. All of our colleagues were bursting to talk to us but were afraid to do so while Meg had her beady eye on everyone.

Meg stood in her office glaring at us. I waved at her.

She reacted by storming out of her office and headed for the lift. She was going to report me to HR for being a something unmentionable. As soon as she’d stepped into the lift several of my female colleagues got up from their desks and came to mine.

“Sarah? That is a nice name,” said one of the older women

“My daughter in law is called Sarah.”

“You were always a dark horse Peter, sorry Sarah. Now we know why don’t we girls,” commented Julie Barnes. She sat at the next desk to me. She smiled and added,

“What have you done to Ingrid? She is beautiful.”

“Yeah. I know. Meg called her a prostitute.”

They all laughed.

All to soon, our chattering was broken up by the return of Meg.

She looked livid. Instead of confronting us, she stormed into her office, grabbed her coat, handbag and stormed out again. We all looked on in amazement.

Just after lunch, I excused myself and headed for the ladies. Ingrid joined me.

“What happened to Meg?” she asked.

“I don’t know but HR want to see me at four. I an can only think that she was told that HR already knew about me and that I was perfectly within my rights to dress like this under their policy of sexual equality.”

I smiled at her.

“Everyone liked your outfit.”

She grinned back

“Yes I know. I think I’m going to have to spend a lot more money in order to keep up my appearance.”

“Well, I think you look stunning so it will be money well spent if you ask me.”

We then kissed long and hard. I felt right at home.

Epilogue – The following Friday Evening, after Dinner

“I’ve been busy translating this all week,” she said putting a hefty tome onto the table.

“This is my PHD Thesis,” she added as she extracted another document from her bag.

Ingrid looked a little anxious as she handed the document to me.

“It is a study on why men use the services of a Dominatrix. In order for me to write it, I had to become one. I think that was why I went off men… well until Sarah came into my life that is.”

My reaction was to…

Start laughing my head off. It all made perfect sense.

Then I kissed her long and hard.

“That’s all in the past isn’t it?” I said gently when we came up for air.

Ingrid just smiled at me.

The End.