Amazingly, Adrienne does manage to get a good night's sleep and starts the day by finding a Halloween costume to wear to work.

"This old thing will have to do," she thinks, looking in the mirror. "I don't have any time to find anything better. At least it's comfortable. I wonder what Veronica will think of it, if she happens to show up today!"

She finds out soon after arriving at the publishing house. Amazingly, Veronica is almost on time for once. She comes storming into the office and immediately sticks her finger in Adrienne's face.

"Just what did you say to that old Hardin yesterday? I nearly got fired just now and I know you're behind it!" she yells.

Adrienne, finally reaching her breaking point, roughly shoves Veronica's hand away. "Don't ever do that again," she says coldly. "I told Mr. Hardin nothing more than the truth, that I didn't know where you were yesterday. Whatever happened between you and him is your own fault!"

Veronica steps back, looking shocked, then attacks again, turning red and nearly dancing in fury. "You insolent fraud of a woman! You're going to regret your behavior for the rest of your miserable life! I'll see to that!" She grins wickedly, crazy little lights dancing in her eyes. "Now get out! Go find an empty workstation to finish that stupid project! I don't want to see your face again until tonight! You'd better show up or I'll send some 'gentlemen' to find you! I'll tell them to leave you in that moth-eaten coffin lining dress you're wearing! How very appropriate! They can bury you in it, dead or alive, I don't care!"

"Never fear, I'll be there," Adrienne states, gathering up her papers and heading for the door. "Just not like you think," she murmurs, having suddenly and firmly decided to go through with Penelope's plan. She returns one parting comment over her shoulder, "By the way, I'm more of a lady than you could ever hope to be, regardless of the fact I was born male!" She cruises out past a couple of totally shocked fellow employees, in search of an empty desk to finish her work.

Adrienne never bumps into Veronica again for the rest of the day, which was probably good for the both of them. She isn't sure she can control her temper any more and would end up physically attacking Veronica. She wonders how much danger she's in already without doing something like that. She continues her work, occasionally getting a few strange looks from passing workers, but no one says anything to her.

"I guess my comments have made their way around the whole building by now! I think I'm working on my first and last project here, no matter what happens tonight!" she sadly thinks, a tear rolling down her cheek. "What a mess I've gotten myself into! Oh well, no use worrying about things beyond my control; I'll still do my best while I can!"

By six o'clock, she has everything done and printed out. She debates signing her name to the package, but in the end she writes it in the appropriate place.

"There, it's done! At least they'll have something to remember me by!" she says to herself as she leaves her work in a basket of other projects destined for the meeting tomorrow.

She gathers up her purse and heads for the exit. There's a Halloween party in progress in the conference room and she'd like to stop by, but she feels that she can't face anybody now. Anyway, she has another appointment she fully intends to keep.

"I made a promise to Sarah but I still have no idea how I'm going to fulfill it!"

Adrienne soon arrives home and immediately goes to her bedroom to pull out the things given to her by Penelope. "I'm way too nervous to eat anything now!" she thinks. "I'd better get ready right now before I lose my nerve and hide under the bed until Veronica's goons come to dispose of me!"

Before stripping down and wiggling into the first piece, a pair of briefs, she starts up a tape of Penelope speaking in her pseudo accent that was thoughtfully included with the pack of garments. "Gut eefning, Vat a lufly party!" she manages to spit out after some practice. "Oh dear, I'd better tell Veronica I have bronchitis or something. I'll never get this right!"

After a couple of tries and spraying talcum powder around the room, Adrienne gets the hang of sliding on the rubber clothing. First a corselette with garters for the latex stockings, filling up the cups with some extra padding behind her modest breastforms to hopefully match Penelope's proportions. After donning and hooking up the stockings and pulling on a pair of long gloves, she takes a look in the mirror before continuing.

"Wow!" she exclaims. "Is it legal to look this sexy? Hmm, I wonder what I'd look like with real breasts... Oh, stop it girl, stick to the job at hand! Penelope was right, I could get to love this stuff!" she says with a giggle.

She has an easier time getting the blouse and skirt on, then zips up the ankle boots. She slips the mask over her head and finally stretches on the wig, regarding the amazing result in the mirror for a minute. "Wow, Rubber Girl strikes again! Oooh, I'm getting warm already. Good thing it's a cool night! Now next question, how am I going to get to Veronica's dressed like this?"

She finally decides to wear a long cape that matches the dress she had on earlier. With the hood up, it covers most of the outfit underneath. She takes one final look around her little apartment, hoping she'll get to see it again. Then she slips out into the evening.

Adrienne decides that she'd better find herself a cab since she's already behind schedule. After several tries, she manages to get one to stop for her. Thankfully, it wasn't one of Veronica's taxis.

The driver looks her up and down, then finally decides he's not going to get mugged by the apparition before him.

"Going trick or treating, lady?" he asks with a grin.

"Ha ha, funny guy!" she says as she settles in the back. "Just going to a fancy house party." She tells him a location about a block from Veronica's and then tries to get her nerves under control. She tries not to think of the myriad things that could go wrong tonight. She's still worried about getting that crazy accent right but realizes that it's too late to do anything about it now.

Sooner than she likes, they arrive at the destination she gave the driver. She pays him off with a little tip since he turned out to be an alright guy, then slowly makes her way towards the lights shining through the trees surrounding Veronica's mansion.

She stops once to stash the old cloak in some bushes then crouches down for a couple of minutes, fighting a sudden urge to vomit. She wants to start running and just never stop but she soon settles down.

Adrienne rounds the corner into the driveway and is confronted by the sight of the old mansion, glowing eerily in the strange red afterglow of the sunset.

"Good Lord," she mutters. "Welcome to Dracula's lair! All it needs is a cloud of bats circling around the tower! Well, there's one bat inside that I hope to pull some tricks on tonight! I just hope she hasn't got any in store for me!"

Adrienne slowly walks up the driveway and approaches the large porch at the front. A few cars are letting off passengers and some of the guests are milling around and chatting; none pay any special attention to her for which she is grateful.

She proceeds up the steps toward the front door, oddly relaxed at this point, like a prisoner who has accepted his fate and is being marched to the firing squad.

She pauses for a few moments, making sure she still has the invitation and remembers the combination of the old safe upstairs. If Vicki is right and there is a diary there, and if there are some incriminating tidbits in it.... Damn, there are just too many if's and maybe's to suit me!"

As she's standing there thinking, she notices a couple of ladies snuggled up to each other at the far end of the porch, apparently enjoying the sunset together.

"Hmm, they look like a couple of Veronica's lesbian friends, no doubt having a good time at the party. At least they have each other for company. I'm all alone for this interesting evening. Well, no sense groaning about that now! God hates a coward... off I go!"

She opens the door and enters, not hesitating at all, to be greeted by the sound of soft music and conversation.