by Jillian

Chapter Seventy-one

Bob looked out the back door toward the old shed where he saw his father sitting on the family's rather old riding lawn mower. He went out the door and as he started walking toward the shed he asked, “You okay, Pop?”

Looking up, his father replied, “Guess that depends on what you call okay.”

“Listen,” Bob started, “I know it's weird. Trust me, I know. The thing is, now that I've kinda gotten to know her...”

Pop interrupted, “Her? That's my son in there!”

“I know where you're coming from, really I do,” he responded. “The thing is, we've had some time to get to know one another and I kinda understand a lot of things about her that I didn't before.”

“Again with the her!”

Trying to calm his father, Bob said, “Yeah, well, I have to think that she and her makes a lot more sense than he and him does anymore.”

“But,” he countered, “You're born one or the other. There's no switching sides.”

“Sorry Pop, but I think this time you may be wrong.”

Looking at his son with a part perturbed, part confused expression, he stated, “Listen Bobby, in all these years I've yet to meet anybody who could convince me that these gender bender types are anything other than koo-koo for Cocoa Puffs.”

“I don't know Pop,” Bob countered. “Until recently I woulda agreed with you 100 percent, but now I've spent some time tryin' to understand all this and I gotta say...”

Interrupting his son he asked, “What? You goin' soft on me here, boy?”

“No, course not,” Bob replied. “I'm just kinda startin' to understand a little about why some folks might believe the way they do.”

“You better not let the FOP guys hear ya talkin' like that. They'd have your shield for sure.”

“You may be right about that, Pop. However, that doesn't mean I'm not starting to accept the idea that I might have a little sister instead of a brother.”

Looking at his son while shaking his head, Pop responded, “Well, I will not accept any such ideas.”

“Pop!” Bob chastised his father. “You know as well as I do that Tommy always had something different about him. We've even known what it was that was different.”

“Doesn't matter,” Pop argued.

“But it does. You were willing to accept Tommy even though he was 'different', so what's so different about Tanya?”

“What's got into you?”

Bob took a deep breath and let out a low sigh before responding, “Listen, whether we like it or not that's still the same person and the sooner you and I accept that, the better things will be.”

“Son,” Pop countered, “This is just too odd. People aren't supposed to change teams like that!”

“That's just it, Pop,” Bob responded. “I don't think there's any 'changing teams' going on here at all. She's always been a girl. We just didn't know it until now.”

“This is too weird.”

“Believe me, I know exactly where you're comin' from. I've just started to realize how gutsy is is for her to do this.”

With an obviously confused look on his face Pop asked, “What're you talkin' about?”

“Think about it,” Bob began, “Despite knowing exactly what our reaction was going to be, she came here today like this. She spent hours trying to explain things to me even though we both knew I was never going to really understand. That took a lot of guts. You gotta at least acknowledge that.”

Pop shrugged before finally saying, “I don't know. Maybe.”

“Pop, I don't approve any more than you do, but I have to think it's our place to support her whether we think it's right or not.”

Looking skeptically at his son, Pop asked, “What else is goin' on here?”

Bob returned his father's stare for a moment before replying, “It has to do with this case I've been working on. You know about about the tranny killings, right?”

“I read about them in the paper, yeah.”

“Well, we're having some difficulty getting many leads and Tanya's volunteered to serve as bait for us.”

A sudden look of concern crossed Pop's face as he digested what Bob had just told him. After a few moments, he said, “I'm surprised. I never thought he had it in him.”

“Yeah well,” Bob started, “Fact is we both underestimated her for a long time.”

“What's with this 'her' stuff?” Pop asked.

Bob said, “That's one of the things I came out here to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“Listen, we don't have to agree with what she's doing, but it's only right to at least respect her choice by using her girl name or female pronouns.”

Pop looked intently at his son before saying, “That's goin' to be easier said than done.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bob answered. “But she deserves that much, I think.”

Chapter Seventy-two

Candy knocked on Linda's door for the third time, mumbling to herself, “Where the Hell are you? Surely you didn't forget about shopping.”

When there was still no response from inside, Candy dug around in her purse for her keys. Once she'd located the key ring, she picked through them until she found the spare key Linda had given her a few months before so she could get in to water the plants while Linda had been out of town.

She let herself in the apartment and called, “Linda?” Unsure why there was still no response, she wandered into the kitchen where she found one half empty glass sitting out on the counter. Picking it up, she could easily see that it had been Linda's thanks to the shade of lipstick stain on the rim.

Setting it back down she quietly asked, “Why would this still be out on the counter? She never leaves dirty dishes out like that.” After a moment, she headed down the hallway hoping to figure out what was going on.

As she passed Linda's bedroom, she got her first sight of the body sprawled out on the bed. The incredible amount of blood all over the bed had dripped onto the floor where it appeared to have been pooling for quite some time.

Startled by the scene she was witnessing, Candy let out a sudden scream as she uneasily backed away from the bedroom door until she was once again standing in the living room. Clearly shaken by what she'd just seen, it took a few minutes for her to regain her composure and have the presence of mind to call the police.

Following several deep breaths, she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone, which she immediately opened and dialed 911.

After barely a single ring the call was answered, “911, what is your emergency?”

Candy stammered for a second before blurting out, “My friend is dead. In her apartment. I just found her. What do I do?”

“What is your location?”

She eventually managed to tell the operator where she was so the appropriate services could be dispatched. Once her call to 911 was complete, she found her way to the sofa where she allowed herself to break down and began to cry uncontrollably.

Chapter Seventy-three

Tanya sat at the kitchen table with her mother, drinking iced tea and chatting. “What if he never comes around, Mom?”

“He will, sweetheart,” Mom countered. “Just give him time.”

“I'll try,” Tanya responded. “But what if he...”

Mom cut off her new daughter, saying, “You can't think like that. I know that sometimes you think of him as some horrible ogre, but he's really not like that at all.”

“You could have fooled me,” Tanya mumbled.

“Now,” Mom chastised. “Don't be that way.”

“Then how do you want me to be, Mom?” she asked agitatedly. “I mean, did he or didn't he run out the back door the moment I came in?”

Slowly, Mom responded, “I guess you could say that, but...”

“But nothing,” Tanya interrupted. “It's not like I expected anything different. Maybe I should just go.”

“No!” Mom Countered. “It's my birthday and I want you here.”

The conversation was halted by the sound of the back door opening and closing once again. Both ladies looked toward the sound, holding their breath while they waited. After a few seconds, Pop followed by Bob re-entered the kitchen.

“Boys,” Mom greeted them.

Pop fidgeted for a moment before saying, “Listen, I know I kinda overreacted.”

Mom piped up, “I'll say.”

“Mom!” Tanya chided. Directed toward Pop she said, “It's okay. I do understand.”

“I know you do,” Pop responded. “I'm sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

Bob interjected, “Pop and I had a long talk.”

Tanya interrupted, “I do understand that you don't necessarily approve of what I'm doing.”

Pop responded, “And I appreciate that. You're right, I don't approve, but that's not what's important here.”

Mom picked up the thought saying, “What is important is that we support you in this despite whether or not we approve.”

Smiling, Tanya answered, “That's all I could ask.”

“I've done my best to convey that to Pop,” Bob commented. “He just needed a little time to absorb things. Not unlike someone else we know.”

Tanya responded, “You know how much I appreciate the fact that you're willing to respect my choice. It's more than a simple 'thank you' could possibly cover.”

Mom smiled and said, “Now, how about we have a little dinner?”

Chapter Seventy-four

“No, we were supposed to go shopping this afternoon. I hadn't heard anything from her which was kind of odd, so I decided to come over and check on her,” Candy stated, visibly shaken as she sat answering the police officer's questions.

The officer made some notes on a small pad of paper before looking back at the witness and offering, “I'm sorry to have taken so much of your time. We have your contact information, so if the detectives need anything else they'll be in touch.”

Candy looked blankly at him for a moment before the officer said, “I can't think of anything else we might need from you at the moment, but as I said, the detectives may have more questions later on. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.” He extended his hand as they stood up, adding, “If we need anything else, we'll be in touch.”

After escorting the witness to the door, the officer turned to one of his colleagues and said, “Looks like we'll be interrupting Detective Taylor's day off.”

“Well, you can make the call, 'cause I sure as Hell ain't doin' it.”

Chapter Seventy-five

Bob's cell phone rang as he took a last bite from his dinner plate. He pulled it out of his pocket, flipping it open, and said, “Taylor.”

From the other end he heard, “Detective, it looks like we have another victim in your case.”

Bob's face fell as he listened to his telephone before responding, “Can you text me the address? I'll be there ASAP.” After flipping his phone closed, he turned his attention to his mother and said, “I'm sorry Mom. It looks like I'm going to have to go back to work.”

Tanya interjected, “Everything all right?”

He responded to his sister as he rose from the dinner table, “Looks like we have another victim.”

Tanya's face fell as she listened to her brother. She also rose from the table and followed him to the front door, where she said, “Be careful, okay?”

“I will,” he responded. He opened the door, continuing, “I'll talk to you later. We need to catch this guy before...”

“I know,” she interrupted. “Talk to ya later.”

She watched as her brother headed out the door and down the driveway to his car. She didn't close the front door until she'd seen him climb into his car, after which she herself turned around and returned to the dining table.

Surprisingly, when she'd gotten back to the dining room she found her father sitting at the table alone looking intently at her. “Where's Mom?” she asked nervously.

“She had something to take care of,” he replied. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure, Pop,” she answered. As she returned to her seat at the table she asked, “What's up?”

He stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat and saying, “Listen, you know there's no way you were going to come here today and not have a serious sit down with me, so it's either now or later.”

Tanya took a sip from her iced tea sitting in front of her before responding, “I know. I just don't feel like listening to you try to talk me into changing my mind.”

“I know that,” Pop began, “and believe it or not, I can respect that.”

She stared at him, unable to respond for a moment. When she finally found her voice again, all she could manage to ask was, “Huh?”

“It's like when you told us you wanted to try to make a living as a musician,” Pop started. “I believed you were making a mistake, but I had to respect your right to make that choice.”

“And you did,” she responded. “I've always appreciated that and I hope I've been able to communicate that.”

“You have,” he replied. “Now as for...this,” he indicated Tanya's appearance, “I think you're making a huge mistake.”

She looked at him on the verge of tears running down her cheeks. After trying for a moment to verbalize a response, she simply swallowed and let the tears flow.

Pop took in her nonverbal response for a moment before continuing, “Over the years, I saw a lot of 'girls' like you and not a one of 'em had any kind of success in life. Not at work, not in relationships...” He paused for a second before concluding, “They all had really hard lives and I just hate to see you go down that same road.”

After wiping the tears off her cheeks, Tanya said, “Pop, I tried for a long time to be the person you wanted me to be. I really did.” The tears, which had never really stopped since they'd begun the conversation, increased until she was barely able to squeak out the last part, “I just couldn't do it anymore.”

Pop looked at his new 'daughter' for several seconds, debating how best to respond to what he'd just heard. Eventually he decided to offer something of an olive branch and soothed, “I know that, sweetheart. I didn't say I wouldn't respect your choice. I will, but I'm still going to tell you what I think, and I think you're making a mistake. Okay?”

As she slowly brought her crying back under control she smiled and responded, “Okay.”

She eventually got up from her chair, circled around the table and gave Pop a hug saying, “I love you.”

“Love you too,” he answered as he too began to cry.

Chapter Seventy-six

Charlie continued to mentally beat himself up over his lack of restraint the previous night, mumbling to himself, “How could I let things get out of hand like that? I had a plan.” He looked at the knife and glass which he'd brought home with him, wondering if he should dispose of them.

Eventually he decided that the best course of action was to destroy the evidence, so he took both items and rinsed them off before putting them in the dishwasher. After closing the machine and starting it he stated, “Now there's no way they could possibly connect them with last night, even if someone found them.” That tended to, he began to relax a bit and made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.

As the hot water pelted his body Charlie began to think about what might happen if he were to ever get caught. Oddly though, it wasn't thoughts of how he might be treated in police custody that preoccupied him. Rather, he wondered if there would be anyone else to come along to carry on his 'important work'.

“Surely,” he rationalized, “I can't be the only one who believes that what I'm doing is important. God's work even.”

He continued to allow his thoughts to swirl through his twisted logic until it occurred to him that the water was getting cold. Following a quick rinse to ensure he had removed all traces of soap he turned off the shower and climbed out, grabbing a towel and beginning to dry off in the process. Despite getting repeatedly lost in his thoughts, Charlie eventually managed to get himself ready for his day.

Chapter Seventy-seven

As Bob entered the apartment one of the uniformed officers greeted him, “Hey detective. Sorry to interrupt your day off.”

“I don't think it was your fault. If I find out it was...” he allowed the statement to trail off before grinning at the young officer. Everyone who overheard their exchange chuckled for a moment before Bob asked, “So where's the victim?”

Pointing in the direction of the bedroom, the officer said, “Through there in the bedroom.”

“Thanks,” he said as he headed in the direction the other man had indicated. When he entered the room, he quickly noticed that the scene was different from previous victims.

Looking up from the bed, the medical examiner noticed him entering and said, “Hey Bob. This one's different.”

“Different how? Not one of the 'girls'?”

“No she's a t-girl,” he answered. “What's different is the way the murder took place.”

“How so? I know this isn't the first one he's done with a knife.”

The medical examiner replied, “It's like he was rushed or something. Usually there's a lot of buildup before the climax, but not this time.”

“So do you think someone interrupted him and he rushed the act, or what?”

“I'm not sure, other than to say that the evidence indicates nowhere near as much of his usual buildup.”

Thinking for a moment, Bob asked, “Any chance this isn't the same guy?”

“It's hard to say really, but I'm inclined to think it's the same guy as before because of how little evidence was left behind. Just something caused him to finish her off before he'd intended.”

Looking first at the body lying on the bed, then at the doctor Bob responded, “Okay. Just make sure to get lots of pictures for the file.”

As he left the room, he mulled over what the doctor had said. 'If he was somehow rushed then chances are he's feeling frustrated. I'd be willing to bet he's going to go out looking for another victim tonight.'

Pulling out his phone, he called the precinct. When his call was answered he said, “This is Detective Taylor. I need to speak with the watch commander.”

“One moment sir,” he heard before the line went silent for a moment.

There was a click followed by the voice of the captain, “Johnson here. What can I do for you Detective?”

Getting right to the point Bob said, “I'd like authorization to set up a stakeout at that tranny bar tonight.”

The Captain responded, “Kinda late notice. Any reason?”

Following the briefest of pauses Bob replied, “Call it a hunch. I've got a feeling our guy's going to be hunting tonight.”

“What's the plan?” asked the Captain.

Bob cleared his throat before answering, “I'd like to place two teams outside ready to apprehend the perp, should he show himself.”

After a moment during which he was obviously deciding if he was going to authorize Bob's request, he said, “You got it. Is there anything else you need?”

“Not really, no. Other than maybe a wire with recording. I have someone who will go inside and try to ID our guy in the bar.”

“I know you don't have any officers playing dress up,” the Captain commented.

Bob hesitated before responding, “No, I have one of the regulars who's willing to help us out.”

“Does he know what he's getting into?”

“She does.”

“Okay,” the captain said. “You've got whatever you need. Good hunting.”

The line went silent then disconnected, so Bob dialed another number.

This time as soon as the call was answered he stated, “Tanya, I'm going to need you to go in tonight.”

Chapter Seventy-eight

As Tanya hung up the phone, her mother asked, “What was that about, sweetheart?”

Startled by the unexpected question, Tanya said, “Mom! Don't sneak up on people like that.”

Laughing, her mom said, “I don't sneak! So?”

Giving her Mom a mock glare, Tanya asked, “So what?”

Following an exasperated sigh, her mom replied, “So what was the call about?”

Feeling flustered, Tanya lied, “Nothing. It was just a friend wanting to chat. I told her I'd call her back later.”

Staring knowingly at Tanya, Mom commented, “I don't think so.”

Trying to change the subject Tanya said, “I'm sorry if I ruined your birthday.”

Mom smiled as she responded, “No sweetheart, you haven't done anything of the sort. In fact, having you here has been the best present I could've asked for.”

Staring at her on the verge of tears, Tanya said, “Well, I don't really believe you, but thanks.”

Changing the subject Mom asked, “So how'd your talk with your father go?”

“Well,” she said trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible. After a moment she couldn't hold it in any longer and smiled as she said, “Better than I expected, to tell the truth.”

Mom returned her smile as she asked, “Then I take it you two are at least on speaking terms?”

“Yes...at least,” she said as she began to giggle. Before long they were both convulsed in a fit of laughter.

“He does love you, you know,” Mom offered as the giggling subsided.

“I know,” Tanya replied. “I just hope he can be as non-judgmental in practice as he seems in theory.”

“I don't think you have anything to worry about.”

Tanya paused for a moment before responding, “I hope you're right.”

Chapter Seventy-nine

As Bob climbed the steps and entered the precinct he was approached by Sergeant Parker who said, “Taylor, I have the detail arranged and everyone's waiting in the call room.”

“Good,” Bob responded, “I'll be there in a minute. Did you include Tanya's picture in the packet?”

Looking less than thrilled, the Sergeant replied, “Yeah I did. Is this the only way?”

“It's our best chance to catch this guy. The fact that you have a problem with the kind of people he's been killing shouldn't change anything and the same can be said of Tanya, because she volunteered to help us get him. Besides, she's...yes I said she...my sister so don't let your personal feelings get in the way of doing your job.”

Looking down the sarge said, “Yes boss.” With that he turned and walked away.

As Bob watched him leave he said to himself, “I hope he doesn't let his feelings mess up the whole operation.” As he continued toward his desk, he continued to mull over his friend and his distaste for his sister and everyone like her.

Opening the file which held copies of all the documents that had been handed out to the task force waiting for him downstairs, he made some notes about what he wanted to include in his instructions. When he was done, he picked up his notes along with the file and headed for the stairs so he could address the troops.

At the bottom of the steps he peered into the room and made mental notes about the team members he was familiar with, as well as those he didn't know so he could be sure to look up their service records before the operation. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room and headed directly for the podium at the front of the room.

“Tonight we catch this guy,” Bob said as he stood up in front of the room full of officers who'd been assigned to the evening's detail. “We're sending in someone who won't stand out as out of place to act as bait and our top priority after catching our suspect is to keep her safe. I know the Sarge has already gone over individual assignments, so I won't waste any more of your time on that right now. Any questions?”

A younger looking officer raised his hand as asked, “How will we know which one is the decoy sir?”

“Her picture is included in the packet you've all been given concerning tonight's operation,” Bob responded. He paused and after clearing his throat he continued, “This isn't some cop we're putting in harm's way here. It's my sister who's volunteered to help us catch this guy, so I'd appreciate it if we could do everything possible to ensure her safety. Anything else?”

The room was silent for a moment while Bob waited to see if there were any more questions. Once he was certain there were none he concluded the meeting by saying, “That's all. You've got a few hours before we need to get everyone in position for tonight, so go have a good meal, get some sleep...whatever you need to do to make sure you're on top of your game tonight. Dismissed.”

As those in attendance started filing out of the room Sergeant Parker came up to the front of the room and commented, “Interesting how you left out the part about your 'sister' being your brother.”

Glaring at the sergeant Bob responded, “Not relevant, Sarge. Now leave it alone.”

Defensively the sergeant said, “Okay, okay.”

Softening his stare Bob asked, “Are you going to be able to do your job without letting your personal feelings get in the way?”

“Of course,” Sarge replied a little indignantly. “I'm a professional.”

“Okay,” Bob responded as he watched his friend turn and leave the room.

Chapter Eighty

“Where've you been?” Cynthia whined as she watched her friend walk into her hospital room.

As she strode toward the bed Tanya replied, “My Mom's birthday, remember?”

“So you actually went? Like that?” Cynthia asked.

When she reached her friend's bedside, Tanya pulled a chair over by the bed and took a seat, responding, “Well yeah. I talked to my Dad and everything.”

“And you lived to tell about it.”

Tanya smiled as she said, “Believe it or don't.”

Cynthia gave her friend a penetrating stare as she asked, “I assume since you aren't balling your eyes out that he was a lot more sympathetic than you thought he'd be?”

Grinning Tanya replied, “Oh, he made it clear he thinks I'm making a huge mistake, but at the same time he promised to respect my right to choose how I live my life. I actually think in his own way that's a ringing endorsement.”

They both dissolved in a fit of giggles before eventually Cynthia got herself back under control, at which point she asked, “So what's next?”

“Well,” she said somewhat guiltily, “I'm meeting up with Bobby later.”

“If I didn't know better I'd think he was starting to accept you.”

“That'll be the day.”

“So how'd he talk you into helping him with his case?”

Feigning shock Tanya responded, “I don't know what you mean.”

“I know you, remember?” Cynthia started. “You have this look in your eye that tells me you're trying to hide something from me.”

In response to her friend's comment, Tanya blushed bright red as she tried not to smile.

To Be Continued...