"Hmm, well, it had it's highs and lows," Sarah says, looking a little unsettled. "I finally came out to my family, so it was tense for a while. But I think most of them will be able to deal with it, given some time. It was a thing that had to be done though."

"Yes, it is," Adrienne replies, looking a bit sad. "I went through that before I came here, but it didn't go very well at all. I was shunned by everyone until just a few days ago. I finally received a letter from my sister, saying that she would like to visit and talk things over again. So maybe there's hope yet!"

"Enough of that stuff," she continues. "So what are you going to do with yourself, now that you're back in town? Are you having any luck finding a job?"

"Oh yes!" Sarah says excitedly. "I got a job as a model, of all things! Well, a combination sales clerk and model anyway! A local designer has opened her own shop downtown. She's attempting to market her own designs and does custom work too. She's trying to attract some business from the TG/TS community, since there's so many of us in this city! That's where I come in. I'll be looking after the front end, plus I get to model all the new designs. She's also going to arrange a photo shoot for me and I'll be in her little spring catalog! Isn't that amazing?"

"Wow, that's wonderful!" Adrienne says, smiling. "I hope it all works out well for you! Hey, do you want to grab that other little box and bring it down the hall to my new digs? We can talk on the way."

"You're still working here?" Sarah asks, looking puzzled. "I thought you were finished and picking up your things!"

Adrienne chuckles, "So did I, but it seems I was a bit hasty! Mr. Hardin called while I was at home, recovering from our little 'adventure'. Vicki had called him and told him a toned down version of what happened at the mansion, that I had been hurt in the confusion after the shooting."

"Anyway, he told me that everyone on the board was quite impressed with my design work on the book project," she continues. "He wanted me to transfer over to the design department right away. There's been quite a shakeup in the staff in the aftermath of Veronica's disappearance. They had to promote someone new to take over as head editor and he wanted to keep his current secretary. I would have been left without a position and probably let go, so he thought the design job would be the perfect solution for my dilemma."

"I thought I'd better explain my situation to him, before things went any further. So I came in this morning, prepared to be tossed out the door, but he told me that he already knew about my 'situation'! Gossip spreads at the speed of idiocy around here! He said they've had to update their employment policies in recent years to keep up with the times; anyone is welcome to work here, as long as they do a good job. Harassment is not be tolerated either. It sounds a bit idyllic to me though; there will still be bigots around, no matter what."

"He was a bit concerned when I told him about the assumed name business, but Vicki has been a great help there, along with a few other details. I could tell him that I was going through the legal process of having my name changed, so that put him at ease. But I'll have to use my birth name until that's all settled, which should make for some fun at the bank on payday! Heehee!"

"That's amazing!" Sarah asserts. "I'm sure you're now in a position that you're definitely more suited to, anyway." They reach Adrienne's new cubicle and put down the boxes. "Well, I must run. I have to find a place to stay and I'm not having much luck finding anything. Do you know of any cheap hotels?"

"I sure do!", Adrienne says, grinning. "Why don't you stay with me for now? I could sure use some company and we could save a lot of money, sharing the rent and food bills. You can have the spare room, but we'll have to clean out all my junk first. I'm a real packrat!"

"Oh, that would be great! Sarah squeals. "We can be 'roomies'! Much better than a fleabag hotel... or a shipping container that we were going to share, for that matter!"

"Don't be too sure about that," Adrienne quips, "But at least my 'container' has a view!"

Later on that night, the two girls are settled on Adrienne's couch, squinting at her fuzzy little TV.

"I wonder how the other girls who were at the mansion that night are doing?" Sarah wonders.

"Oh, I've been in touch with Vicki quite a bit lately," Adrienne says, smiling. "You know that I spent a few days at her clinic and I think I'll be spending a lot more time with her from now on. But I'll get back to that in a minute."

"Apparently, Penelope has moved on, with her Hans in tow! She found a lot of information in Veronica's little diary and is off on her quest again, following up on some very interesting leads, God only knows where!"

"She gave the diary back to me, after copying all the entries she was interested in," Adrienne continues. "Vicki and I made arrangements with a lawyer; it's stored in a safety deposit box and it goes to her if anything... suspicious happens to me. Vicki also got those printouts and the notepad sheet to the authorities. I doubt if they can be used as evidence, since we didn't exactly obtain them legally, but it might be enough to start an investigation into Veronica's activities!"

"And... oh, what was her name? Damn that Ralph! That bash on the head he administered still bothers me! I keep forgetting her name and other details of those last couple of days. Everything keeps trying to slip away, like a dream!" She looks thoughtful for a minute. "Gertrude? Glorfindel? No, that's an elf... Gloria! The motorcycle ride! Yes, she's left town too. Probably looking for some more excitement elsewhere, since she's worn this city out!"

"Have you seen the latest in the paper? 'No Further Leads On Whereabouts Of Missing Socialite'. Apparently, there's still no trace of Veronica at all. It's like she dropped off the face of the earth! Dear Ralphy was found floating in the harbour on the weekend with a bullet hole in his forehead," Adrienne quietly says with a shudder. "No loss there, as far as I'm concerned, but he really must have pissed somebody off! Also, Veronica's so-called cab drivers have vanished and the taxi stand was gutted by fire. The police figure it was arson."

"That whole party night is still mostly a mystery. None of the guests can shed much light on what happened after we got away. Apparently there was some yelling and screaming from the back of the house, then a big guy ran through the ballroom with a gun in his hand. More yelling, then a couple of gunshots. By that time, everyone was fighting to get out of the place." Adrienne looks thoughtful again. "I'm still wondering about that creepy Cordoba woman that was with Veronica that night. I'm sure she is involved in this, but she vanished too, along with the big fellow, who I think was playing the doorman earlier on."

"I wonder if we'll ever know what really happened to Veronica," Sarah replies, "But I have a feeling she'll wash up somewhere too, just like Ralph. I saw that woman and the big fellow also. A real cold looking pair! I don't think I'd want to cross them in any way!"

"Oh, I was going to tell you more about my stay at Vicki's clinic," Adrienne relates, a happy little smile forming on her face. "I had some nice long chats with a counsellor and a couple of doctors while I was there. I visited them again this afternoon and I've been given a clean bill of health. So I've just taken my first hormones! It will be a long journey to fully becoming the woman I was destined to be, but I now have friends to help me along the way!"

"That's so wonderful, dear!" exclaims Sarah. "Some day soon I hope to follow in your footsteps. I'm sure it's what I want, I just have to think it over some more. I should make an appointment to visit that counsellor too!"

Suddenly, Adrienne recalls something else. "Oh, I have something for you! This came in the mail yesterday, but it has your name on it. Kind of strange!"

Sarah takes the large envelope and examines it. "Bangkok, Thailand?" she wonders. "I don't think I've forgotten anything there!" She tears open the envelope and dumps out a letter and a large photo.

As she slowly reads through the letter, a look of wonder forms on her face, then tears start running down her cheeks. "Oh my God! This is from Penelope! She's found Martha! She's alive and well, living in Bangkok, of all places! Some of this is actually from her. What a story she has to tell here!"

Sarah starts to relate Martha's tale to Adrienne, "Apparently Martha was grabbed by someone that last night who sounds suspiciously like your pal Ralph. Then she was injected with something and didn't wake up until she was on a ship, locked up in what turned out to be a shipping container with a couple of young women. I guess they had a terrible time, seasick half of the long voyage and living on rice when they could keep it down."

"Eventually, They were dragged out, half dead, and taken ashore. To make a long nasty story short, she ended up in a private brothel, locked in a little room when she wasn't being used and abused by the clientele. The gangsters who ran the place got her hooked on opium, so she was a real mess for a while."

"Luckily, she was spotted by a wealthy business man one day and he became infatuated with her! He paid some exorbitant sum, ransom or purchase price I suppose, and got her out of there and then into a hospital to get her straightened out. That's when she found out she had been in Thailand the whole time."

"What a wonderful guy! He arranged and paid for her SRS, then set her up in a little business there. So now my Martha is a citizen of Thailand, a business woman who owns a classy little lounge in downtown Bangkok! She has no desire to return to this country now; can't say I blame her. The picture is of her and some of her employees!"

"That's incredible!" Adrienne blurts out while studying the photo. "That makes me think of how close we were to taking a little pleasure cruise to the Orient too! I think there was Somebody looking after us, putting some good people in our path at just the right time! I'm so glad it's all over, I've had enough excitement for one lifetime!"

"What are you waiting for, Chinese New Year?" hisses the flamboyantly dressed person who has just boarded. "Come on, idiots, get this tub moving! What's the matter? No speakee the Engleesh?"

"Oh yes, nice lady!" one of the darkly dressed crewmen responds, trying to placate this rude passenger. If it was up to him, she would soon be fish bait. "I speak very good English, yes? This very old tug boat, motor is in need of much repair. But we build up speed soon. Not to worry, we be out at sea very quickly!"

Aside to his fellow crewman, he mutters in Manderin, "This daughter of a river toad has the manners of a goat! If we weren't being paid handsomely for this side trip, I would tie a rope around those incredible boots and use her to troll for sharks! Or perhaps we should ransom her to those who seek her head. I also have heard that the police and the tax collectors of this strange country wish to speak earnestly with her!"

"Cut out that jibber jabber and get to work!" she yelps, "I want to be in international waters before dawn! Your boss is supposed to have a freighter waiting." She stomps off onto the fore deck of the tug and leaves them alone for a while.

Veronica stands at the bow, watching the brightly lit city slowly slip away. Inwardly, she is seething. "All my plans for respect and a lavish lifestyle in this city have turned to dust! On top of that, I now have a price on my head! That evil Cordoba bitch wants to serve me up to her beloved jungle fur balls, just because I happened to put some details of our dealings in my diary. Now it's gone, and the copies of the taxi books too, because of that poor foolish Ralph, and a moment of carelessness on my part!"

"I'm lucky to be alive!" Veronica mutters, still shaken by her narrow escape. "That's more than I can say for Ralph! When the lovely Ms. Cordoba found out about the loss, she sure didn't waste any time laying the blame on my doorstep. Gods, she went ballistic and screamed for that monster of a bodyguard and ordered him to shoot me, witnesses or not! If Ralph hadn't tackled him at that moment, I would have been floating around in the harbour too! Thank goodness I can still run fast when I have to; I was out the door by the time I heard those shots. Ralph may have been dumb, but he was loyal! Not like those other two bums; I know now that they looted the cab stand and then set it on fire!"

"I still wonder who jumped the bodyguard?" Veronica asks herself. "Whoever it was, that person saved my life, since he nearly caught me in spite of Ralph's sacrifice! It must have been a woman, I caught a glimpse of a long dress. But what moves! She had that guy down and disarmed before he knew what hit him! Then she was gone, just like she was never there. What a stroke of luck!"

"Now I have to seek the protection of Mr. Li. It's going to cost me plenty, but he'll protect me from Cordoba," she whispers to herself, grinning. "They dislike each other intensely and he'll do it, just to spite her! Heehee!"

Then she thinks of Adrienne, and her temper boils up again. "That fat ass transvestite dipshit drag queen bimbo!" she screeches. She's behind all of this, it's all her fault! I know it! I curse the day I met her!" Veronica raises her fists and shakes them at the sky. She lets loose such a terrible shriek that the crewmen cover their ears, then dash into the wheelhouse.

"Yieee! I believe that evil woman is posessed by demons!" one of the men says in a trembling voice, as he peers out at the deck. "No cousin," the other blurts out. "I believe that she actually is a demon! May Buddha protect us!"

Meanwhile, Veronica starts dancing up and down, giggling and muttering to herself, "That bad bad girl Adrienne! She's evil, I know it! Evil! But she'll get what she deserves, oh yes she will! I'll see to that! Heeheehee!" Before going inside to collapse in one of the small cabins, she bellows once more into the night,