Hoping to keep Veronica's fits of rage to a minimum, Adrienne rushes upstairs to continue her chores. She breathes a sigh of relief when she emerges from the gloom and stale air of the dungeon. The kitchen is the worst with stacks of dirty dishes but Adrienne soon has all of them washed and put away. The lack of sleep last night is beginning to have it's effects and she yawns widely.

"Don't you dare nod off now, you lazy creature!" Veronica snaps behind her. Startled, Adrienne swings around to see Veronica poking at the microwave with a cup of water in her hand and looking very puzzled. "Uh, you're doing nothing. Get over here and make me a cup of instant coffee!"

"Yes, Mistress," says Adrienne, wondering how anyone these days couldn't figure out a microwave. She puts it out of her mind and soon gives Veronica her coffee. "Forget the dusting and get upstairs and find that worthless Sarah," mutters Veronica. "She's cleaning upstairs but tell her you're both going to the grocery store. I'm hungry and there's nothing to eat here. There's another outfit for you to wear up there."

"Right away, Madame!" says Adrienne, happily thinking that some fresh clothing would be lovely. Also, she didn't want to appear in public dressed like she was. She rushes upstairs, searching around for Sarah. Hearing some low noises coming from the guest room, she heads in that direction.

Entering the room, Adrienne finds Sarah crying uncontrollably. "How could that woman be so cruel?" she sobs. "I follow every order she gives to the letter and she still demands more! Now she's taken my last bit of freedom by forbidding me to ever leave this house, except under her orders. I'm afraid I'll never see my family again! I might as well be dead!"

"OK, amateur TS psychiatrist, what do you do now?" wonders Adrienne. "Well, I could stop talking to myself and try to get control of the situation!" She hugs Sarah and speaks gently to her, "Please try to get hold of yourself, dear. I know you're in a bad situation and it looks hopeless. But I'm in it with you and I'm determined to get both of us out of this dilemma. I still have a certain amount of freedom since I still have to show up for my job. But I don't think that will last long. Veronica will get me fired or make me quit and I'll be stuck here too. So I'll need your help right now. You must know a lot more about this woman and her dealings than I do. Together we're going to find something that we can use against her. So I need you to hang in there just a little longer. Can you do that for me? Please say yes!"

"I - I'll try," Sarah says, still sniffling a bit. "You're a lot like my sister, so strong and self-assured. I believe you can do something, if anyone can."

Adrienne ponders this. "Well, it sounds like I've got a partner! Now all I have to do is back up all that fancy talk with some action. Easier said than done!"

She says to Sarah, "Well, we'd better get to the store before that crazy harpy comes looking for us! She said there's some other clothes for me to wear. It will be nice to finally get out of this uniform!"

Um, I don't know about that," Sarah says uncertainly. "I think you should see your new outfit first." She takes the lid off a nearby box and steps aside to let Adrienne see.

"Ohmigod," Adrienne finally blurts out, "This has got to be a joke. I can't possibly go out in public wearing this!" She lifts a red velvet dress out of the box, along with some accessories. "I know Halloween is coming but this is too much!"

Sarah looks a bit embarrassed. "I'm afraid you must. Mistress is quite adamant about what her 'girls' wear. It was actually meant for me but... well, you're the new one so you get to try out different looks. Lucky you!" She starts to giggle. "If it helps any, I'll have to go out like this; I have nothing else to wear now." She starts to look sad again.

"Lord, please strike me dead before I go out the door!" Adrienne mutters and begins to undress. Soon she's done up in the outfit, cape, bonnet and all. Sarah takes a long look, tries to control herself then bursts out laughing. "Well, I'm glad to hear that coming from you," Adrienne says dryly, "Even if it's at my expense!"

"Get your worthless butts down here!" Veronica bellows up the stairs. "I want to see that outfit before the end of the decade!"

"OK, let's go," whispers Adrienne. "But remember to act normally until we're outside and alone. I want to find out what you know about our charming hostess." They rush out and down the stairs to the front entrance.

"Well, finally!" mutters Veronica. "Oh, lovely, so pretty and girlish! I enjoy seeing my sissy maids dressed up like that." She turns and regards Sarah. "Hmm, not bad. But I'll have to get you something dressier and shorter for my upcoming Halloween party. Much shorter. Hehe!" Then she has another violent mood swing. "Now get out of here and get my groceries! And straighten that bonnet, you look ridiculous like that!" Adrienne manages to keep a straight face. "If I looked any more ridiculous, I could be a clown in the circus!" Sarah grabs her coat and they both speed out the front door.

As they reach the street, Adrienne sneaks a look back at the mansion and spots Veronica glaring after them. "Just keep moving, Sarah," she mutters. "I'm surprised she isn't tracking us by satellite!" Sarah looks nervous and whispers, "Please don't say that. She's told me that I'm being watched all the time!"

"Somehow I doubt that!" chuckles Adrienne, thinking about the microwave incident. "I'm really beginning to wonder about all this talk of hidden cameras and surveillance. Unless someone is helping her, I don't think our dear Mistress is capable of anything like that. I can't be sure but we could be the victims of a big deception!"

"Wow, I never thought of that!" Sarah says, looking startled. "I've been so preoccupied with my situation and pleasing the bitch, I've thought of little else!"

"Well, I hope you've noticed something odd about her," Adrienne says as they continue down the street. "No, make that something really weird, we've already got odd! Let's get this shopping done quickly. Then you can tell me your story on the way back. That sounds like a good place to start. We've got to make a plan but first we need some solid information!"

They continue on, Adrienne trying to ignore the stares from people they pass along the way.

To pass the time and get her mind off her nervousness, Adrienne tells Sarah about how she was trapped and ended up on Veronica's doorstep. She skims over the events of the party and her subsequent night down in the dungeon, but Sarah smiles wryly. Adrienne gets the feeling that her story might be very similar to Sarah's.

As soon as they turn a corner and come in view of the grocery store, Adrienne stops dead in her tracks. "Oh God, I just can't go in there! It's huge! I thought Veronica meant a small corner store!"

For the first time today, Sarah really takes charge of the situation and takes Adrienne by the hand and pulls her along. "Don't be silly, dear. We already passed thirty people on the street and got nothing more than a few strange stares. So what's a few dozen more? Besides, it's almost Halloween. So If anyone gets nosey, just tell them you're showing off costumes for Dinky's Duds downtown and you'll be fine! I've done this dozens of times by myself!"

I - i - if you say so," mumbles Adrienne, and follows Sarah through the doors.

The interior of the store is huge and full of people, but most are rushing about and don't give the girls more than a half curious glance. One little boy starts pestering them but Sarah tells him to get lost in a deep growl. His eyes turn to saucers and he runs off, not to return.

Using Sarah's knowledge of the store layout, they soon are moving efficiently along the aisles, filling a basket with the few items that Veronica has on her list.

The gum chewing cutey at the cash register stands open mouthed, staring at them as they approach with their basket of goods. After a moment of this, Adrienne gets brave and says, "You're going to have a mouthful of flies if you stand there like that much longer!"

The girl realizes what she's doing and her mouth snaps shut. "I, uh, sorry!" she mutters and quickly rings up their purchases. Within a couple of minutes, they are out on the street again, making their way back to Veronica's.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought!" Adrienne grins. "Thank you for the little kick in the bloomers to get me moving!" Sarah smiles back. "See? Most people are too involved with their own business to be bothered with yours. Now, I suppose you'll want to hear how I managed to be trapped by Veronica." Adrienne nods, "Yes, this will probably be our only chance to have a good talk by ourselves. Oh, and I'd like to know who this Martha is."

Sarah sighs. "Alright, that's not the start of my tale but maybe you'll understand why I fear Veronica so much."

"Martha had already been here a while before I arrived last spring. She hated Veronica with a passion and she began talking back to her. They had a couple of wild shouting matches near the end."

"Finally one evening, Martha said she was leaving the next day and to hell with the consequences. When I got up the next morning, she had completely vanished! She never would have gone without saying goodbye and her few personal things were left behind. I fear something terrible happened to her!"

"You can't really know that!" Adrienne shakily states. "Maybe she just was in too much of a hurry to leave!"

Sarah continues, "Later that morning, I was cleaning out her room on Veronica's orders and I found some spots of blood leading out the door. Later on, I saw Veronica in the back yard with a couple of rough looking guys. She gave them what looked like a wad of cash and the bag with Martha's things. Then they left by the back gate." She half sobs, "I don't know if Martha is alive or dead but I do know that evil woman is behind it!"

"Wow," Adrienne murmurs, "This is worse than I thought!" But she pushes on, "OK, maybe you should go back and tell me how you managed to end up in the 'Little House of Horrors' too."

Sarah chuckles, "It's not really so much different than your story! Veronica must like that method of entrapment!"

"I worked at the publishing place too, down in the shipping department. During the week, I was cheerful Sam, truck dispatcher. But on the weekend, I became Sarah the party girl and hung out in all the gay clubs downtown."

"I thought no one could possibly know about my secret life but somehow Veronica got wind of it and confronted me at work one day. I don't know how she found out but I was totally stunned!"

"The rest is almost identical to your tale. Tapes of me at clubs and with other men! She was going to expose me at work and tell my family too! It was more than I could bear. She had me then!"

"I think she trapped Martha much the same way but she was hot-tempered and so rebellious," says Sarah. "That's what got her in such big trouble!" Sarah stops and looks thoughtful. "That reminds me of something. She used to sneak out at night sometimes and make her way downtown to hang around the clubs. She told me about some TG social club and she said there was a connection to Veronica there. But she never got a chance to tell me what it was! I still have the card she gave me with the address. It's stashed under a loose board in my closet. My secret little hidey hole. Hehe!"

Adrienne looks excited. "Hey, that's interesting. It might prove to be nothing but I'm sure going to check it out when I get a chance. It's a place to start anyway!" She does a little jig, lifting her skirt and scaring a couple of old ladies. Then she looks more somber. "I just hope it's still operating or we're back to square one!"