Jessie quietly shut the door behind her and cautiously took the first breath of cold, dry air, savoring the clean scent of fresh snow. She'd woken up early and decided to dress and leave for work before the noise and stink of automobiles made the walk less pleasant. She knew that her partner Kim, a sound sleeper, would much prefer to be left in bed until the alarm went off.
Booted feet making soft crunching sounds in the snow, Jessie walked along the quiet street on which they lived to the larger, but still mostly quiet, street that led to campus. The temperature was well below freezing and dawn an hour away, so the morning breeze hadn't begun. There wasn't enough traffic yet on Grand River for the wind tunnel effect to make walking along the broad street a torture. Yes, it was a good time to be up and about.
Perhaps it wasn't sensible, but Jessie had always felt safe walking alone in the pre-dawn hours, safer almost always in solitude than with anyone else around. Until Kim had convinced her that she really, truly did love Jessie and want her as she was, for who she was. That was miraculous and wonderful and also scary as hell, because Jessie knew she had to believe and trust Kim or risk loosing her generously given love.
Jessie left the sidewalk along Grand River to enter campus. She thought briefly about which route to take this morning. It was too early to walk along the north side of the river. The path there was too secluded, with too few exits and not near any of the residence halls. Once she would have risked it, but not now. The path south of the river should be okay; more open and closer to the oldest hall on that side of campus. That was her usual route when she was out this early and not in a hurry.
So up Bogue, across the bridge and down to the sidewalk by the School of Business. No one else was in sight, but there were lights on in some of the residence hall windows, and she could smell kitchen odors settling in the cold air. The sky behind her was just beginning to lighten. Coming up on Farm Lane she glanced across the river to see what had been painted on the Rock that night. The cold wouldn't have kept people away.
Yes, there was movement over there. They must still be at it, or perhaps standing guard so some other group didn't sneak in before dawn and change their slogans. What was it? She could almost make out the words on the river side of the Rock, in dripping red letters on white. Then the lines became clear and she realized what the letters spelled: "Die, Queers!"
Jessie's heart began thudding. Oh, shit. Thank the stars she had decided not to walk on that side of the river this morning! As soon as she reached her office she'd call Campus Safety and report this. That kind of hate message was not allowed on campus.
From the corner of her eye she saw movement ahead. Two forms on their knees by the crosswalk. Damn. They must be chalking the sidewalks, too. Should she backtrack and cut over by the residence hall to another street? As she was trying to decide, one of the figures glanced up and saw her standing there.
For a moment they all remained frozen, then one figure touched the other on the shoulder and they both ran off across the bridge to the Rock. Jessie thought she could hear laughter as the pair who had been chalking joined up with the other people at the Rock.
Judging it better to continue quickly ahead than take a long detour, Jessie strode up to the crosswalk. She glanced about for traffic, saw none, then glanced down at the message scrawled on the sidewalk. It looked like a poem.
Lady Githane? Curious that her screen name in The City should be chalked on a sidewalk. Get what? It didn't make sense. Then it hit her: T-I-M-E; T-O; D-I-E; J-E-S-S-I-E! As soon as the cold stab of fear receded enough so she could move, Jessie began running in the direction of her office. She was certain now that she heard laughter from across the river.
Kim woke as Jessie was dressing, but remained still and silent in bed, hoping to get back to sleep. Actually she wished Jess would get back into bed and make love, but knew there was no chance of that. Jess needed to be alone with her thoughts for a while after waking up. Once she left the bedroom Kim rolled over into the warm spot where Jessie had been, thinking about her fascinating body.
When Kim heard Jess leave the house and close the door, she gave up trying to go back to sleep. Not wanting to dress yet, she pulled on a robe, fixed some coffee and sat down at her computer. After deleting the trash in her mailbox without finding anything useful, Kim logged into The City of Dreams, the virtual community in which she and Jessie participated.
The City had debuted three years ago during Coming Out Days as an open invitation to people on campus to adopt an anonymous identity and be whoever they wanted to be for a time. The response had been immense, evidently frightening several administrators who, fearing bad publicity about encouraging online sex, ordered it shut down. The City reappeared a week later, hosted off-campus but still limited to logins via campus systems, and had been in boisterous operation ever since.
The City was governed by its users in asynchronous democratic session, though clearly there was a sys admin who kept a close eye on the goings on and who could, and occasionally did, act swiftly to nip problems in the bud. No one knew for certain who the sys admin was, if indeed there was but a single person behind the screen name Goddess. Kim watched the familiar login screen:
Not much since last night, thought Kim, but enough to bolster me before I have to face the day as another mostly invisible dyke on campus. She began reading and typing, taking an occasional slug of cooling coffee, interacting in the persona of Mastersmith Norvel, an important and forceful man in the life of The City, and in the eyes of the Lady Githane.
Kim visited the areas with new activity, mostly reading items and responses without adding anything. When she reached her own craft hall she first read the letter, which was about advancing a promising apprentice to the rank of journeyman, then looked at a new item in the trade area.
What did that mean? wondered Kim. She checked the roster and, as she expected, there was no user registered as Dark Avenger. So someone used an anonymous identity to leave a stupid message. Master Norvel would think little of that!
After finishing that response, Kim noticed she was running short on time and logged out. Just time left to eat something, get dressed and head off to work. She'd send Jess email once she reached her office and ask if she'd had a nice, frosty walk.
"I don't know, Jess," said Kim, speaking over the murmur of conversation in the Union Cafe. She set her coffee cup on a table in the corner and pulled out her chair. "I agree that what happened at the Rock yesterday was damned scary. But scary enough that we need to hire a private detective?"
"Detective Dan comes highly recommended by a friend, and she's family," said Jessie, "not just someone I picked out of the phonebook." Jessie set her cup on the table and dropped her pack next to the wall.
"Well, okay, Jess, but is this really that serious? You know shit happens to queers all the time; especially butches and genderqueers, because we're out whether we want to be or not." Kim pulled her chair a little closer to where Jessie was going to sit, then leaned back against the wall.
Jessie sat down next to Kim, angling her chair so she could see everyone who came into that part of the cafeteria. She reached over to stroke Kim's hand lightly. "I know stuff happens, Kim, but I'm getting scared. Campus Safety didn't think the bit at the Rock yesterday was out of the ordinary, except in that it wasn't near pride week or coming out days; hunting out of season, so to speak. But I know this was aimed at me personally, and I don't like it one bit!"
"Because of the reference to Lady Githane?" Kim blew on her coffee and took a careful sip. "I admit that's weird, but..."
Jessie leaned forward, hands around her cup for warmth. "It's more than weird. How many people know that I am Lady Githane? No way someone could just make that up. They have to be in The City and they have to be paying way too much attention to me. And that was a death threat, Kim."
"Yeh, but people say those things when they get riled up. It doesn't mean they'd really do anything themselves."
"The slogan on the Rock, sure. Hardly a month goes by that something like that isn't painted or chalked or in a letter in the paper. But the thing on the sidewalk, right where I had to walk. That's different. I was shaking all day."
Kim grimaced. "And you asked for a ride this morning instead of communing with the frigid air. I know you're upset, hon."
"Believe it! It's not right I should be afraid to walk across campus because I might see another death threat. I need to walk! I don't like being cooped up."
"I know, hon. I admit I can't think of anything else to do, except tough it out. Which, I know, is not your style."
"Not only that, but consider the thing at the Rock, the broken bottles on our doorstep, and what happened to your car last week."
"My car?" said Kim. "Some jerk I better not ever get my hands on backed into my pride and joy in the ramp. You'd think some people learned to drive in bumper cars, for all the care they take! As for the busted bottles, the past three weekends have been home football games. There's broken glass all over town."
"But it hasn't happened to us before." Jessie stabbed the air with her finger as she talked. "Three weekends in a row it looks like someone walked up to our front porch in the middle of the night and smashed a quart bottle of beer on the step."
"Maybe they're pissed we fixed our backyard fence and they can't cut through the lot any more," said Kim.
"And some of our junk email and weird messages in The City seem a lot more ominous to me now that I know that someone has made a connection between me and Lady Githane. That, the bottles, your car, yesterday morning; it's adding up to something I don't like at all."
Kim tapped her coffee cup thoughtfully, then ran her finger around the rim. "I don't know. That's the problem. Enough is happening to be scary, but there's nothing to prove most of these things aren't coincidence."
"Exactly. Which is why I think we need help and why I want us to talk to Detective Dan. And there she is," said Jessie, looking across the room at a tall, very pretty woman in conservative business dress who was coming their way.
"Her? Jess, she's a knockout! Why didn't you tell me Detective Dan is a babe?" Kim stopped making designs in the spilled sugar and straightened an imaginary tie.
Jessie waved. The woman smiled, hands full with coffee and a bagel, and continued in the direction of their table. "Sorry, Kim," said Jessie. "Dan's the partner of a techie type I know. Dan is short for Danielle and Detective Dan has a ring to it. And maybe Danielle seems too feminine a name for a private investigator."
"Yeh, but not too feminine for her!"
"Behave yourself, Kim!"
Danielle approached their table and took the chair opposite Kim and Jessie, setting her coffee and bagel on the table and her shoulder bag on the floor. From the latter she took a note pad and a small recorder, setting them on the table before her. Then she smiled and said, "Hi, Jessie. This must be Kim?"
"Um, yes, sorry. Kim's my partner, and Kim, this is Danielle Diloreo, ace detective," said Jessie with a smile. "I hope you can help us figure out what's going on, Dan."
"Hi, Danielle," said Kim. "You aren't quite what I was expecting in a Detective Dan."
"Call me Dan, please. Disappointed?"
"Oh, no, not at all." Kim blushed. "I mean, I don't know what I mean."
"That's okay," smiled Danielle. "Confusing people is a good thing in my line of work. During the day I spend much of my time in the mundane world of assumed heterosexuality. It's easier if I can pass and not immediately set off warning bells, fun as it might be to wear one of my Emma Peel leather outfits and carry a whip." She winked at Kim.
Kim stared, then passed a hand over her eyes. "Damned distracting for your clients, too!"
Jessie gave Kim a mock punch to the shoulder and said to Danielle, "Don't mind her, she's a typical butch with no social skills."
"Hey," said Kim, "speak for yourself, misfit!"
Danielle had been listening with a barely suppressed laugh. She assumed a serious expression and said, "The incident on your way to work yesterday sounds alarming, Jessie. And you told me there have been others. Like what?"
"We're out, you know? And we're a couple and don't hide it. So there's always some harassment, jokes, remarks, the usual. In spite of campus policies, many people still feel it's okay to dis queer people. But lately Kim and I seem to have been in for more than our usual share, and there's been a twist to some of the stuff that make me feel they are aimed at us, or at least me, personally."
Jessie detailed the incidents of broken bottles, what had happened to Kim's car, and mentioned suspicious email. Danielle made notes and looked thoughtful.
"It does seem like a lot, but then that's why coincidence is spooky at times. Has anything happened, other than yesterday morning, that you're absolutely certain was aimed at one of you?"
"There's the email, but I guess it could be spam," said Kim.
"Did you save it?" asked Danielle.
"Yes," said Jessie, "with the headers. I'll give you a copy."
"Good." Danielle made a note.
"And I didn't tell you this, Kim...."
"Didn't tell me what?" Kim looked at Jessie with an expression closer to alarm than curiosity.
"Notes were left on my desk at work, twice in the past week."
"What? What kind of notes, Jessie? Why didn't you tell me?" said Kim.
"I didn't want to upset you."
"Dang it, Jess! I'm you're partner. How can I get you to believe that nothing is more important to me than you! We're in this together, whatever it is. What did the notes say?"
"I have them here." Jessie reached into her pack and took two sheets of paper from an envelope, laying one on the table between Kim and Danielle.
"This was first, last Tuesday," said Jessie.
Kim read out loud, "And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast; they shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 20:16." Kim looked disgusted. "Okay, so they can take inappropriate quotes out of context."
Jessie sighed, "It gets worse. This was last Thursday." The second sheet had a single line: "Yours is the number of the beast. You are an abomination. Too bad your mother didn't practice free choice."
"Damn, Jessie," said Kim, softly. "You tell me about stuff like this from now on, hear? Did you report this?"
"Not yet. I don't see the point. There's absolutely no clue where these came from."
Danielle picked up both sheets of paper for a closer look. They could have been printed on any of thousands of laser printers on or around campus. "When, exactly, did you find these, Jessie?"
"Both times they were on my desk when I returned from lunch. I'm certain they were not there when I left. I wrote the times down." Jessie pulled her planner from her pack and found the page. "The Tuesday I was at lunch between 11:45 and 12:10 and the Thursday it was 12:15 to 1:30."
"Your lunch time is not regular?" asked Danielle.
"Nope. Whenever it works. Tuesday was short because I brought food back to my desk. Thursday I ate in the food court with two of my office mates. Both times I asked around and no one recalls seeing anyone at my desk."
"What is your office like?"
"Big room with cubicles and desks. It's home for the system support staff. The student help desk is in that room, too, so one door is almost always unlocked during the day. It'd be easy for someone to wander in and out again."
Danielle looked up from taking notes. "You're a very organized person, Jessie."
"I guess that's why I'm a systems analyst," she grinned. "I've had the sexual harassment training, too. They stress keeping notes."
"Quite right," said Danielle. She thought a minute, then asked, "Kim, those are the same days your car was dented, aren't they?"
Kim pulled her attention back from where it had wandered. One hand was clenched in a fist. Her other hand was firmly wrapped around one of Jessie's hands. "What? Wait, Dan, first you need to understand that these notes are more awful than they seem to be." She looked at Jessie for permission. Jessie nodded.
"Jess is a little different than most people," began Kim, "Physically different." She paused, obviously groping for words.
"In a non-obvious way, clearly. I'm guessing you mean trans or intersexed?" asked Danielle.
"Um, yes. The exact details aren't important. But if the person who wrote the notes had that in mind, I see the notes as having a rather vicious meaning."
"Yes," agreed Danielle, "and clearly aimed at you as a couple. If these notes are indeed referring to Jessie's difference."
"I assume they are," said Jessie. "I'm sensitive to that, so it could a coincidence, but...."
"Oh, Jess," said Kim. "Why that quote, and that comment, otherwise? Those are aimed at me, too, as the woman who lies down with you every chance she gets. You're right, Jess. This is all just too much to be coincidence."
"Is this something most people know about you?" asked Danielle, calmly continuing to take notes.
"I don't wear a sign, at least most days," she said, almost grinning, "but it's not hard to find out, no. I've been on some panels and written some things."
"Okay, so it seems not unlikely that the person who left these two notes did intend them that way. Sorry to seem so single-minded, Kim, but were those the same days on which your car was dented?"
"Yes. I park in the morning and my baby usually stays there all day, so I have no clue about the time. Do you think that's significant?"
"At this point," said Danielle, softly scratching the tip of her nose with her pen, "it's just data. It could mean this person had a chunk of free time on those two days, but it's a mistake to leap to any conclusion at this point."
"I just thought of something else," said Kim, looking at Jessie. "Now that I know about those two notes, I think it may be important, too."
"Something you didn't tell me?" asked Jessie, with a hint of vindication for not having told Kim about the notes.
"It didn't seem very important, and it slipped my mind, with what happened to you at the Rock, Jess. Yesterday, after you left and I suppose while that stuff was happening at the Rock, I was logged in, and came across another of those prank items. At the time I dismissed it as nonsense, but now that I think about it...."
"What, Kim?" Jessie stopped stuffing things back into her pack and looked at her partner. Kim told about the response from Dark Avenger commissioning Master Norvel for a sword.
"Slow down a moment," said Danielle. "What's the context for this?"
"Sorry, Dan. Do you know what The City of Dreams is?"
"The City?" Danielle raised an eyebrow. "Yes I know about The City. What you're talking about now happened in The City, Kim?
"Yes," said Kim, and she finished telling her story.
"Geld a lady," said Jessie, a grim expression on her face. "Well, shit, fuck, and damn. That's rather personal and transparent, isn't it?" She drummed her fingers on the table, her frown deepening.
"Now I see that was as horrible as the notes left in your office, Jess. I just wasn't thinking nasty enough." Kim put her hand out to still Jessie's drumming fingers. "We should tell Goddess."
"Yes," said Danielle, tapping her note pad with her pen. "Seeing the overall picture can bring individual events into focus. Think back. Have there been other such incidents?"
Jessie and Kim looked at each other. Jessie spoke, "There have been some other things that might be considered suspicious. We need to go back over them now and see if they tie in."
"This means someone knows who we are in The City," said Kim.
"Someone chalked the name Lady Githane below a message I can only assume was intended specifically for me. No way that's a coincidence. So, yes, someone knows who we are. And they're paying an awful lot of attention to me."
"Jessie, Kim," said Danielle, "if you could print any suspicious messages or items with the dates and times associated with them, it would be useful." They both nodded. "Good. One last, and I'm afraid rather personal question."
"Go ahead," said Kim, "clearly this has turned out to be a rather personal thing."
"You two have been together for how long?"
"Two years," said Jessie, smiling.
"Are there disgruntled lovers in your pasts, or on the sidelines? In particular, Kim, is there anyone who might be upset that you are partnered with Jessie?
"You mean because I'm a beast? A freak who shouldn't pretend to be a lady?" asked Jessie, very calmly.
"Jess!"
"Please," said Danielle, gently. "I'm looking for a motive. Unless we're dealing with a lunatic, someone has very strong feelings that are being expressed in these actions. Do you have any idea who it could be?"
Relaxing a bit, Kim replied, "I don't think so. I had two serious previous relationships. One was in grad school, 500 miles from here. She's on the west coast now, doing fine. I did have a relationship going here, but it was over before I began to be involved with Jess."
Turning to Jessie, Kim said, "I mean Mary." Jessie nodded.
"Over for you. Was it over for her?" asked Danielle.
"I know she's with someone now."
"That doesn't necessarily mean her feelings for you are a dead issue. Do you have any contact with her?"
"We run into each other every once in a while, on campus. We speak. She doesn't seem upset."
"Have you run into her when Jessie was with you?"
Kim doodled with her fingertip in the puddle from the sweat on her water glass and thought a moment. "Yes, a month or so ago. Mary happened to be with her current partner, Janet. Things were decidedly cool that time. They did say hello, but Janet really stared at us, making it clear we weren't welcome anywhere near her. Mary seemed embarrassed and we moved our separate ways."
"About a month ago?"
"Yes, around midterm. I guess that's suspicious timing, since the incidents began about then. It was kind of upsetting, but it's hardly the first time someone didn't like us."
"Go on."
"Oh, Jess and I aren't universally liked. It's politically correct to be inclusive of genderqueers, but on a personal level, some people really can't handle being outside the binary box. This is a big campus, but there aren't that many people who are out. So it's pretty obvious when certain people leave a group because Jess joins it."
"That's happened?" asked Danielle.
"Yes, and we try not to let it scare us away." said Kim. "Would it be right that a handful of people could keep me and Jess from participating in anything?"
Danielle said, carefully. "It shouldn't be right. Unfortunately it's not illegal to be rude, selfish, short-sighted, or even, to some extent, hateful."
"It's worse when we do it to ourselves," said Jessie.
"It is often worse," said Danielle, "self-hatred is one of the trickiest and most powerful emotions. To my unfortunately experienced ear, there's an edge to this situation that sounds dangerous. I don't think this is just political sniping; it's too closely focused and too nasty."
Kim bit her lower lip, considered, and said, "You're right. And we need help, because I don't know what to do, except run away, and I'm not doing that!"
"Good. Jessie, what about your past?"
"I don't have a past," she said, turning to look at Kim. "I never dared get close to anyone before Kim. She pretty much dragged me out of the mental hole I was living in and helped me learn to trust her."
"I a lot more than like you, dear heart," growled Kim.
"I know, Kim. I don't doubt you. It's just that being loved by you is so much more than I ever hoped for." Jessie turned back to Danielle. "So there's no one in my past who wants to do anything but forget that I exist."
"Okay," said Danielle, closing her notebook. "I think you have valid reasons to be worried, and I think I can help uncover information about who is behind this harassment."
"You're not concerned about taking on a couple of unpopular clients?" asked Jessie.
"Nope," Danielle grinned. "I'm usually on someone's bad side, after all. I've made enemies, but I'm still alive after almost ten years of doing this for a living.
"Now I need to go over my notes and probably ask you some more questions, but you're no doubt running short on time."
Kim looked at her watch. "We do need to get back. When and where should we meet again?"
"Can you and Jessie come to my office this evening? With the copies of email and conference messages? Say, seven o'clock?"
"Fine," said Jessie. "We'll be there."
Jessie and Kim walked together from the Union toward the Library, where Kim worked. From there Jessie would walk to the Engineering Building and her job.
"Detective Dan must spend time in The City, too."
"Oh?" Kim's mind was still whirling, trying to deal with everything that was happening. "What makes you say that?"
"She used all the right terms, items and messages, called it a conference, and didn't ask any questions about it." Jessie stopped. "And she never asked a thing about Lady Githane!"
"Come on, Jess. Let's talk and walk. I need to get back," said Kim. "Does it matter that Dan's in The City?"
"I don't know. It might, since it looks like whoever is behind this is also in The City."
"Hmm, yes. But what can Dan do in The City? That's another world. You don't think Dan is Goddess, do you?"
"No, no way. It takes serious time to do that. But Dan's the kind of person who might know who runs The City. Maybe she can convince them to help."
"You mean find the identity of someone like Dark Avenger, who made the comment about gelding the lady?"
"Yes, or maybe," said Jessie. "I don't know exactly what restrictions are enforced on who can enter The City. There are ways to spoof almost anything. Hmm, I don't know. But whoever is doing this is certainly not obeying the rule!"
"That it harm none, do what you will?"
"Right. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling harmed!"
Danielle's office was a suite of rooms in a nondescript office complex. Jessie and Kim arrived promptly at 7:00. The door was locked, so they pushed the intercom button. As they did so, the door opened and Danielle was standing there.
"Hi. There's a camera above the door. Come on in." She was now dressed in jeans, sweatshirt and stocking feet. She shut the door behind them and led them through the darkened front room, through a door and into a short hallway which led past several more doors, all closed. The office at the end of the hallway contained a desk, computer, filing cabinets, a grouping of comfortable chairs and a sofa around a coffee table.
"Can I get you some coffee, tea, soda pop, water?" asked Danielle, clearing papers off the table and sofa.
"Tea would be great," said Jessie, sitting on the sofa.
"Diet anything for me," said Kim, taking a seat beside Jessie.
"I'll be right back." Danielle went into the hallway, closing the door softly behind her.
Kim looked around the office. "This isn't a hole in the wall concern, Jess! This is decent furniture, and decent art on the walls. What are we paying her?"
"Not much. A hundred bucks for the initial work-up. After that it's hourly plus expenses, but we have to negotiate just what. I think we get a 'family' discount."
"It'd be nice if being queer was good for something for a change."
Jess was eying the computer by the desk. "That's no bare bones system, either. Not that you can tell what's in the box, but that flat panel display costs more than some complete systems. And it's networked."
The door opened, admitting Danielle, who closed the door again and set drinks on the table, along with a bowl of pretzels. Then she grabbed a folder from the desk, jiggling the trackball and waking up the monitor. She shut it off and sat down.
"Unix," said Jessie.
Danielle raised her eyebrows slightly, waiting.
"I wasn't trying to pry, but computers is what I do, and I can recognize an X Window display at ten feet," said Jessie.
"That's true," smiled Danielle. "The last thing I need in my line of work is to be hacked or infected with some virus. As you can imagine, snooping is rather computer intensive these days."
"Yeh, but it takes effort to keep even a Unix system set up correctly."
"I have a small but competent staff," said Danielle.
As if on cue there was a soft knock at the door, preceding a tall, thin woman in jeans and leather jacket bringing in a set of file folders. "Hey, Boss, here's what you asked for. Sorry to intrude."
"Alex!" said Jessie. "I thought you and Dan were just partners."
Alex and Danielle exchanged a glance. "In more ways that one. Alex is also my small but very competent technical staff," said Danielle.
"When I'm not working me day job, that is," said Alex, with a fake Irish accent. "I help my lovely lady keep her technology under control in the mundane world. Weary I am when finally I can crawl into bed at night. Not too weary." She added an exaggerated wink.
"Thank you, Alex," said Danielle, rolling her eyes slightly.
"Do your clients have the items you said they would?"
"Oh, yes. Jessie, you said you'd bring a disk?"
"I burned a CD," said Jessie, reaching into her pack. "Here it is. Suspicious email and screen dumps of relevant sections from The City."
Alex took the jewel case from Jessie. "Later, my lords and ladies." She bowed with a flourish and left the room, humming a tune.
Once the door was closed, Danielle cleared her throat. "Alex and I have been together for quite some time. The difference in personalities startles some people, but it works for us."
"Karen By Night. Jill Sobule!" said Jessie.
"What?" said Kim.
"It's a song about a boss who's conservative and correct during the day, but rides a bike and behaves quite differently at night. That's what Alex was humming."
"That figures," sighed Danielle. "Lex has a problem taking life quite as seriously as I do."
"Lords and ladies?" said Jessie, almost to herself.
"We need to get to work," said Danielle. "Here. I've made a timeline, on which we'll include the dates and times of the email and incidents in The City that you've given Alex. We need to think about the usual things: motive, opportunity, and whether this is the work of a single person or a group."
"Weren't there a bunch of people at the Rock, Jessie?" asked Kim.
"Four or five, at least."
"Yes," said Danielle, "but the message aimed at you could have been done by a single member of that group, without the others realizing what it meant. It's important that the message was written by a member of the group, because that may be a clue to their identity, but it's not evidence that the entire group is involved in harassing you."
"I see," said Kim. "There does seem to be some conservative Christian tie-in, though. With the incident at the rock and the notes left on Jessie's desk?"
"I don't know," said Jessie. "A connection, yes, but that second note doesn't seem too Biblical. And if this person is in The City, I can't quite see it. I mean, The City is a pretty pagan and queer place."
"So we have confusion," said Kim, sounding dejected.
"No, we have complexity," said Danielle, "which we're not seeing clearly or about which we are missing essential details.
"You reported the incident at the Rock to Campus Safety, Jessie. I talked with my contact there and have a list of the slogans painted on the Rock and chalked on the sidewalk in the area. Only two of those slogans were anti-queer, the two you saw. It's quite conceivable that one member of the group was responsible for both. The religious group involved does not have a record of queer bashing, in fact my contact said one member of the group was very upset about the slogan painted on the river side of the Rock."
"Have you been able to find out who was at the Rock?" asked Jessie.
"No. Unfortunately Campus Safety didn't understand that chalked slogan as a death threat and simply warned the group as a whole about the hate slogan on the Rock. But I'm working on getting a list of names through other sources. I'm certain I can at least get names for people active with that group, if not those definitely participating at that time at the Rock."
"So we don't really have anything," said Kim, dejected.
"We have quite a lot. Look," said Danielle, spreading out her chart and tables. "We have definite times and locations. The person was well enough known to the group that did the Rock that no one tried to blame a stranger in their midst for doing the hate slogan. That CD of email and doings in The City will contribute more time points and details. So we have quite a bit."
Danielle went through everything, explaining and checking with Jessie and Kim that she had things down correctly.
"Any suspects?" asked Jessie, when Danielle had finished.
"Janet?" suggested Kim.
"Careful," said Danielle. "Though Janet, or any other person who seems to hold a grudge against you, may have a motive, we as yet have no actual evidence tying her to any of these incidents. Once we do, then we may have a suspect."
"If she belongs to that Christian group...," began Kim.
"Then I'd put her on our list of suspects. And I'm working on finding that out." Danielle paused, then said, "I have determined what car she drives, and I will try to get a look at the bumpers. Which reminds me. Did you drive your car here tonight, Kim?"
"Yes. You want to see the dings?"
"I want to take pictures," said Danielle.
"I'll show you when we leave."
"Great. Let me caution you two not to confront Janet, or anyone else, or tell anyone what I'm doing. We don't want to scare the person off before I can nail some hard evidence."
"But if that would stop this?" said Kim.
"I doubt that would put an end to it, just make the person more cautious. So let me work on these loose ends, and integrate the information on your CD, and let's meet again for lunch Monday to keep this going. Can you do that?"
"Should be able to," said Jessie. "Same place?"
"Fine with me," said Kim. "Noon?"
"Yes and yes. I'll grab a camera and come out with you."
"Mundane world? Lords and ladies? Karen by Night?"
"Did I say and do that, good sir boss?" said Alex, feigning surprise.
"You're fooling no one, my dear," said Danielle, arranging her notes from the talk with Kim and Jessie.
"Perhaps I spend too much time in The City," mused Alex, "or not enough."
"I know what you mean, dear, but though dreams are essential to life, we live rooted in this world, not that one."
"Yet we each live in our own mind, but dimly perceiving what happens even so close as our own senses." Alex touched a finger tip gently to Danielle's arm, then moved it up toward her shoulder.
"There's nothing dim about what happens when you touch me," said Danielle, placing her hand on Alex's to stop it from going further. "I'd love to spend more time seeing how close our senses could get to each other."
"But there is work to be done," sighed Alex. She bent over to type a few things on the keyboard, then shut off the monitor.
"I'm afraid so." Danielle closed her briefcase. "I can do it at home, but I need to do more work on this tonight. I might as well be comfortable."
"Comfort is fine by me, boss!" said Alex, straightening up and rubbing her hands together.
"Not that comfortable, you sybaritic sexpot. Not until we get some work done. Let's go."
At the last minute on Monday Jessie became caught up in a computer server crisis and couldn't break free, so Kim was sitting in the Union Cafe by herself, nursing a cup of coffee and waiting for Danielle. She was about ready to give up on her, too, when she saw the smartly dressed figure of the investigator enter the Cafeteria. Kim waved and Danielle headed for her table.
Danielle dropped her briefcase to the floor, pulled out a chair, and sat down with an exasperated sigh. "Sorry I'm late, Kim. There was a phone call just as I was trying to leave, then a train, and I couldn't find a parking space closer than Albert. Where's Jessie?"
Kim explained that Jessie couldn't get free. "But things have been pretty quiet on our end since we met in your office. Have you made any progress?"
"Some," said Danielle. "I'd like to grab something to eat first, though. Do we have time?"
"Sure, we're okay. I'm pretty flexible. Go on, I'll finish reading the paper and keep an eye on your briefcase. Just bring me another cup of coffee if you will." Kim said and pulled a copy of the campus paper from her bag.
"Thanks! Be right back," said Danielle.
When she returned to the table, Kim was staring at the paper as if it had thumbed its nose at her. Danielle set the tray down. "Kim, what's wrong?"
Kim folded the paper several times, pointed at part of the page and slapped it on the table in front of Danielle. "Look at this personal ad!"
It took Danielle a moment to figure out which one of the ads Kim meant, then it leaped out at her.
"You think this is intended for you two?"
"Shit, yes!" Kim grabbed the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at nearest trash can. She scanned the room, looking like she wanted to find some one to beat up in retaliation.
"Kim! Let's talk about this." Danielle had scooped up the wadded paper after it rebounded from the wall by the trash can, and was smoothing out the page with the ad.
Kim took a sip of coffee, paused for a moment, took another sip, and said, "Yes, it's intended for us. Jessie and Kim. Sickness and passing, that's saying Jess is a freak pretending to be something she isn't. And that crap about me being strong and rebuilding my life? Yes, this is about us and this is another goddamn threat."
Kim hunched over the table and said with a quiet ferocity, "I'll tell who who's sick. Whoever is doing this is sick. This is stupid immature playground taunting. We've all been called queer and lezzie and dyke and freak and made to suffer for it. Then some queer folks turn around and do the same thing to others. It is so stupid!
"Damn, damn, damn. I hope Jess hasn't seen this."
"I know this is rough, Kim." Danielle was rereading the ad. "But this could work in our favor. This ad takes this to a more public level. You and Jessie do have friends, real friends, who are also going to be upset about this. That increases the likelihood that someone will come forward with information. So I encourage you to bring this to people's attention and ask for help."
"I suppose so," said Kim, her anger beginning to turn sour. "I am thoroughly sick and tired of this. Jess does not deserve to be treated this way."
"Nor do you. I'm working hard to put a stop to this as soon as possible, but we need as much information as we can get."
"I'll talk to some friends, post a message on the listserve, stuff like that. You're right. Someone has to know this person."
"Good. Keep me informed." Danielle handed Kim a folder. "I know we're short on time, so let me quickly show you where I am. I brought a copy of this for you to take, so you can fill Jessie in later. I'll stop by the Campus News office later on the off chance they can tell me who placed this ad."
Danielle explained what she had done since last week. It didn't seem like much. Kim must have let disappointment show in her expression because Danielle said, "I know it doesn't seem like much progress, Kim, but I'm trying to tie things together and follow up leads so we are ready to make use of the next clue."
"We still have no suspect," sighed Kim.
"No, but though it's hard to prove a negative, I'm becoming more convinced it's not Janet."
"Which leaves us with what?"
"It leaves us waiting for the next incident, I'm afraid."
On that less than satisfactory note they said goodbye and went their separate ways.
The phone woke Danielle the next morning. Alex, as usual, didn't twinge. She slipped out of bed, grabbed the phone and took it into the bathroom, closing the door before she answered, trying not to yawn as she mumbled, "Hello?"
"Is this Danielle? This is Kim O'Connor. There's been an accident. Maybe it was an accident. Jessie is in the hospital."
Suddenly Danielle was wide awake. "Hold just a second, Kim. Let me sit down where I can write."
She went back out into the bedroom, gently shook Alex awake, slipped a dressing gown off the door and went to her desk in the second bedroom. The clock showed a little past 8:00 in the morning. "Okay, Kim. Tell me what happened."
"Jess was walking to work. She goes in early, usually leaves our apartment before 7:00. She must have been hit by a car as she crossed Bogue. Some people heard a car brake and screech, then accelerate away. They ran over and found Jess by the side of the road. No one actually saw it happen, though. Jess doesn't remember anything."
"Where are you." She heard Alex come up behind her, knew she was reading the notes she was taking. She thumbed up the volume so Alex could hear.
"I'm at Sparrow Hospital. Jess had some cuts and bruises and a giant bump on the head. They want to keep her overnight in case there's concussion, because she seems to have lost consciousness. She doesn't remember a thing. I'm scared so bad I can hardly stand up."
"Tell her to stay there, Dan. I'm on my way," said Alex, giving her a kiss on the neck and heading out the door.
"Kim, Alex is leaving right now to come there to be with you. I'll start checking some things out from here. Did you say anything to the police about what's been going on?"
"No. I was too upset. I didn't know what to say. I just had to make sure Jess was okay."
"I understand. What are your plans?"
"I called work and told them I wouldn't be in today or tomorrow. Jess needs rest, so I won't stay here all day, if she seems to be doing okay. I'm going back home to get a few things for her for tonight. I'll be here as much as I can be, and in the morning to see if they'll release her."
"How's the hospital staff treating you? And Jessie?"
"I was worried about that. But it's going okay. I talked to the doctor. I said I was Jessie's partner and I needed to be with her. They said that was okay. I think I tried to explain about Jess being different, but about then I started crying and couldn't stop, so they gave me some kind of sedative. I'm kind of floating now. Dan, I don't know what would have happened if..."
"Take it easy, Kim. Alex will be there in a few minutes and will stay with you until you feel okay and drive you if you don't feel up to it yourself. I need to talk to some of my contacts, trade some information, and make certain the police know how serious this is.
"The odds are this has scared the person who did this as much as it has scared you. It's one thing to make threats, quite another to actually cross the line into doing something criminal. Just take it easy and call me if you need me."
Danielle closed the connection and scribbled a few more notes. Then she picked up the phone to make the first of a number of phone calls. She cashed in some favors and had a chat with the news folks and a friend in Campus Safety. To her friend she let on that there might be more to this than it seemed, and hinted at the possibility of a sexual harassment angle.
Danielle found, as Kim had said, that there were no witnesses to the event. A couple of people in the convenience store on the corner had heard a car brake, then speed off, but no one saw the car. The only solid piece of evidence was that the skid marks clearly indicated the car braked after Jessie was hit, not in trying to avoid hitting her.
But that didn't necessarily mean anything. If the driver didn't see Jessie, the normal reaction would be to hit the brakes as soon as she was hit. Hit and runs weren't common, but they did happen. Nothing conclusive. But it fit the pattern of escalating threats.
So it seemed likely that this had been an attempt at scaring Jessie that went wrong, that the intent had not been to hit Jessie, and that somewhere there was a person who was very shaken up about what had happened. The alternative was that somewhere there was a person who had just tried and failed to kill Jessie.
Jessie was released from the hospital the next morning, sore and with strict instructions to take it easy for a while. Kim took her home, settled her on the living room sofa, sat down with her, and began crying uncontrollably.
Jessie put her arms around her. "I'm okay, Kim."
"Oh, Jessie, Jessie, Jess. I came so close to losing you."
For a long time they simply held each other, feeling very alone in a very large and not at all friendly world.
"Jess?"
"Yes?"
"Do you want to sleep? I really should check my email," said Kim.
"I suppose I should check mine, too."
"Get some sleep first, I'll send an email to Sherri and tell her you're home and doing okay. When you wake up I'll fix a snack and then you can login for a bit. But the doctor said to watch out for eye strain and stuff for a while. We can play a game or listen to some of those radio play tapes, okay?"
"Sounds almost like fun." Jessie stretched out, pulled the blanket up, and said, "Kim? You won't leave me alone?"
Kim kissed her softly. "Only if I have to pee, darling, and you better believe I'll be quick about it!"
"I am tired."
"Let me tuck you in, babe. There. Sleep, my love. I'll check on you constantly."
Kim stayed with Jessie until she was asleep, then she went to her computer and logged in to her campus account. She plowed through half a day's worth of email, tossing out the crap. Near the end of her mail was a message that caused her to raise her eyebrows.
Now that is interesting, thought Kim. A message from Goddess outside The City! There had been that personals ad, and an article today in the campus paper about Jessie's accident, so this didn't prove inside knowledge, but she saved it to show Jess later, when she was in better condition for thinking.
Kim finished her email and logged into The City for the first time since before the accident. There had been quite a bit of activity. She scanned items and responses, curious to see if anyone remarked on the absence of Lady Githane and Master Norvel during the past day or so. She was reading an interesting thread in the wine seller's stall in the market, a notorious source of gossip, when one response caught her attention:
Holy effing shit. A joke about Jessie being hit by a car? Anonymous, of course. Wait just one minute. The timestamp on the response was 8:37 am Tuesday, less than an hour after the accident, before most people would have know about it. Was this response entered by the person who had hit Jessie? If so, they certainly didn't seem to be shaken or remorseful.
Kim went over to the sofa, knelt down, and put her arms around Jessie again, trying to think. Jessie stirred, opening her eyes. "Hi, Kim. Just dozing off and on. I'm not so much tired as weirded out. Maybe you need some sleep?"
"We'll sleep tonight, Jess. Can I get you anything?"
"Let me just zone in and out for a little longer, then I'll get up and move around a bit, have something to eat. Maybe we can play a game."
"Okay, love. I've been checking email. I need to go in the bedroom and make a couple of phone calls, then I'll come right back and check on you."
Kim stood up and went to the bedroom, closing the door softly behind her. She picked up the phone and called Danielle's office. Alex answered.
"Hi, Kim. Dan's out chasing down leads with that pretty nose of hers. What's up?"
Kim told Alex about what she'd just seen in The City.
"Very nasty. I noticed that so-called joke, meself," said Alex.
"This might prove it was a cold-blooded attempt on Jessie's life!"
"It does seem to suggest that. But we don't know who posted the response. You know that anonymous truly is so in The City."
"There must be some way to see who was logged in at that time."
"Lots of folks log in at that time of day. Some from accounts with real world identities attached, some through anonymous channels. Would you really want to give police access to login records, with the potential of tracing the real identities of people who participate in The City? I think that would destroy The City, in short order. Would you risk that, when it probably would tell us nothing we don't already know?"
"But we have to do something!"
"Yes, absolutely! But it must be something effective. I have some ideas for bringing technology to bear on this problem. Can you and Jess come to the office this evening? Or should we come to your place? How's Jess doing?"
"Really woozy and sort of out of it. I think it would be best if you came here, if that's okay."
"We shall arrive on your doorstep around 6:00, if Dan doesn't become entangled in something. May we bring food? A Chinese smorgasbord?"
"Yes, that would be great," laughed Kim. "Thanks, Alex."
"No prob! We'll be seeing you soon."
Dan and Alex arrived shortly after 6:00, with an assortment of Chinese take-out. Kim had made coffee and water for tea, and piled plates and bowls and utensils on the counter. Jessie was still on the sofa, the coffee table pulled close to hold books and her laptop.
"How's the head, Jess?" asked Danielle.
"Sore, and a little weird, but not too bad."
"You stay there, hon," said Kim. "We'll arrange ourselves around you so you don't have to move. I'll bring you some food in a second."
"Sounds like just what the doctor ordered," said Jessie.
"It is what the doctor ordered. As little movement as possible! Stay put."
"Yes, nurse. Watch the cables!" said Jessie, referring to the cord and network cable trailing from the laptop to the opposite wall. "Pull up a chair and sit on the floor."
"While I tell you a story I know nothing about, eh?" said Alex. "I had a weird head once, but I became so used to it that I have come to think of the world as strange and I as sane."
"Is she always like this?" whispered Kim.
"Only in her more lucid moments," replied Danielle.
Alex did sit on the floor, placing food and drink on the coffee table. She took a laptop from the softcase she'd brought. "I have a hub, Jess; may I plug in so I can access our office systems?"
"DHCP?" asked Jessie.
"Yup, and SSH to keep this private," replied Alex.
"Be my guest. I'm just going to eat and listen."
"If you techies have that settled," said Danielle, arranging herself in a chair behind Alex, "and you are settled, Kim?"
Kim was leaning against the sofa, in reach of Jessie. She nodded.
"Good," said Danielle, "then here's where we stand."
"Mostly sitting and lying, or is it laying?", said Alex, through a mouthful of food, while typing.
"Alex! Cork it." Danielle accompanied the comment with a gentle kick.
"Sorry. Cork inserted, Boss," said Alex, with a quick glance over her shoulder, realizing that Dan was sitting behind her. "I'll behave, honest! Don't hurt me again."
Danielle rolled her eyes and counted silently before resuming. "We still do not know for certain whether your accident, Jessie, was more serious than it was supposed to be, or whether this person actually tried to hit you. From the message on The City conference, it at least seems like she wasn't upset or shaken if it was an accident. That's not a good sign.
"I think there is a real possibility that this person is a bit over the edge. That's both dangerous, and maybe useful, because she may be less cautious." Danielle paused to take a few bites of food.
"There was an article about the accident in today's campus newspaper, with a plea for anyone with information to come forward. And of course the police are working on this now. But we know more than the police know, because part of this is happening in The City of Dreams and maybe in the campus queer community.
"Let's look at the picture we have." Danielle ticked the points off on her fingers. "This person probably works on campus, because so many of the incidents have taken place on campus and The City is mainly a campus thing. They have ties to a conservative religious group, but are acting on their own. They have some reason to be attacking the two of you, though it appears that Jessie is the primary target. The attacks began as harassment but appear to have escalated to intentional physical harm.
"We'll call the motive hate, but we need to find a finer focus. Why you two? Why Jessie in particular?"
"The obvious suspect is your ex, Mary, or her new lover," said Jessie.
"But I'm certain it isn't Mary," said Kim. "I just cannot imagine her doing such things, and she's still quite civil with me when we run into each other."
"I agree," said Danielle, looking at her notes. "She was out of town during the week when the notes were left on Jessie's desk and your car was damaged."
"Janet?" said Jessie, speaking of Mary's current partner.
"I haven't been able to rule her out," said Danielle. "She does not work on campus now, but she was a graduate student a couple of years ago, and is on campus often because of her involvement with Mary. So far as I can determine she's been in town, and of course she has a campus computer account because she was a student."
"And I suppose the motive is some kind of jealousy, because Mary and I were lovers?" asked Kim.
"Yes. It's not clear why Jessie would be more of a target, though, unless as a way to hurt you."
Kim thought for a moment, "Then she's crazy. I'm no threat to her. Jessie and I rarely cross their paths socially. And I know Mary would dump Janet in an instant if she's the one doing this. So she'd have to be totally crazy."
"Which is not impossible," said Danielle. "But I agree we may be on the wrong track here."
"Boss?"
"Yes, Alex?"
"The harassing email had carefully forged headers. That's not hard, but few people know how. I'd consider that another reason to doubt it's Janet. There's nothing to indicate she has the background for doing that."
Danielle was silent a moment. "Jessie, are you sure you can't think of anyone who would have a reason to target you this way?"
"I really can't," said Jessie. "Not that no one hates me. I know there are a lot of people who hate all gender freaks, even butches who don't follow a pretty narrow line. Just look at all the brutal murders of transgender people. But this is personal. I'm afraid most people like me, or at least behave as if they do."
"Then we must separate the wheat from the chaff," said Alex.
"Let's suppose for a moment," said Danielle. "If this is someone who works with you, Jessie, the notes would be easy. The computer access would be easy. They'd know you walk to work, and when. They'd know where you live, and they'd know about Kim. Perhaps the denting of Kim's automobile was a coincidence, or an opportunity of the moment."
"That seems to make more sense than thinking that it's Janet doing this," said Kim. "No idea who it could be, Jess?"
"It can't be anyone I work with on a daily basis. They're the most tolerant bunch of people I've ever seen. No way one of them could fake all that. I spend too much time with them. But there are a number of students, grads and undergrads, who work with us or in our area who I know a lot less about. Let me try to think for a minute."
"Don't strain the brain, Jess. We'll wait," said Alex, still typing.
"What are you working on so furiously?" asked Kim.
"Oh, just keeping an eye on things," said Alex. "Heather Barnes, Jess?"
"What?"
"What does the name Heather Barnes do for you, Jess," repeated Alex.
"One of the students. Don't have much to do with her. But, hmmm, now that you mention it, maybe." Jessie blinked and rubbed her eyes.
"Are you okay, hon?" said Kim.
"I'm feeling really tired, but I'm okay. Kim, remember that article I wrote for Q-News during coming out days?"
"Sure. About how sex and gender weren't really as simple and binary as a lot of people assume?"
"That's the one. When that was published, or maybe it was the coverage in Campus News of the Complex Identities panel I was on, a couple of people were kind of weird with me for a while."
"Go on," said Danielle.
"You all know that the public restroom is the last bastion of heterosexual normalcy. A couple of women started avoiding the one I usually use. A couple more gave me strange looks. One of the latter is Heather. I encounter her in there maybe once a week and she basically stares at me, but she never says anything. How did you come up with her name, Alex?"
"Oh, I pulled a bunch of names from public lists on campus and tossed them in our blender to see what would come out."
"Your blender?"
"The Beowulf cluster in the office. Handy for database search and correlation. Made it myself using baling wire, chewing gum and a lot of cheap motherboards."
"Ahem," said Danielle. "What about it, Jessie? Do you think it could be Heather?"
"Well, yes, if everything else fits. I don't actually know much about her."
"Alex? What else do you have?" asked Danielle.
"Nothing counterindicative. Nothing definite yet, either."
Danielle drummed her fingers on the coffee table. "I'll check her out off the 'net tomorrow. But I think we'd better take some direct action."
"Traps, Boss?"
"Traps."
Jessie worked half days Thursday and Friday. Both days she was driven to the Engineering building by Kim. While Kim's car was parked in the ramp, a motion sensitive camera recorded the scene out the rear window. The two days passed without incident.
A camera had also been installed in Jessie's office, in a quickly constructed rainbow-adorned cube with Kim's photo on the front. An enticing target, they thought, for some petty vandalism. But nothing had happened there, either.
Saturday morning Kim and Jessie were woken up by a loud bang and found a mess on their front porch. They called Dan and remained inside. When Dan and Alex arrived, Danielle quickly pronounced it had been a pop bottle bomb.
"Easy to make," she said. "This was the dry ice variety, fortunately for you, since it's easier to clean up. Just put some dry ice and warm liquid in a two liter pop bottle, screw the top on and run. The bottles are strong enough that pressure builds up until there is quite a large explosion."
"Too bad we weren't awake," said Kim. "I could have grabbed it and tossed it in the freezer!"
"Real bad idea, Kim. Your freezer isn't cold enough to keep the dry ice from melting. It simply would have delayed the explosion, and then wrecked your freezer. There are other ways to make these bombs, also, that are more dangerous. If you see one, the thing to do is get away from it."
Alex had gone to a laptop attached to a set of cameras placed in the front windows. She quickly scrolled back through the captured frames.
"Ah, here it is, your mystery guest not smiling for the candid camera," said Alex, displaying the frames on the computer screen. They crowded around, staring at the blurred images.
Two frames had captured someone walking toward the house and one frame showed the same person running away. They wore a baggy coat and scarf that covered most of the face. There was no automobile in the field of the camera.
"Proves it wasn't a space alien in a flying saucer," said Jessie.
"Not so," returned Alex, "the saucer could have landed around the block. But it gives another data point. With a couple of measurements in the front yard and knowing the focal length of this lens I can make a decent estimate of the height of this person. I'll just do that real quick like." She finished copying the image files to a Zip disk, set the laptop down, and headed to the front yard. The others went to the porch.
"They were wearing gloves," Danielle said to Kim, as she placed the pieces of the bottle in a bag after photographing them in place, "so there will be no fingerprints. But we'll save these properly just in case." She sealed and labeled the bag.
Alex walked up, still entering data into her PDA. "I make it about five feet two inches, Boss. And I found a footprint, where she missed the sidewalk running away. Smooth sole, size sixish. All of which and the camera images add up to a rather small person."
"Not Janet," said Kim, thinking of the impossibility of Janet appearing so small.
"But quite possibly Heather," added Jessie, somewhat shocked at the possibility that someone she knew could be doing this.
"Indeed," agreed Danielle, "which adds weight to what we were thinking Wednesday evening."
"This was an interesting way to start the day," said Alex. "Let's hope our trap in your office catches something a little more useful, though."
"Now that you're here," asked Jessie, "how about breakfast? Or have you two been up since the dawn's early light?"
"We got to sleep somewhat late last night," yawned Alex. "Quite some time, actually, later than we went to bed." She smiled in memory. "I am so hungry I would even help cook!"
"Quick, Jess! Take her up on it! This is an historic moment!" said Dan.
"I will be your kitchen drudge, my lady. Lead the way."
While Jessie and Alex cooked, Danielle and Kim cleared and set the table for breakfast. Kim turned the laptop still on the coffee table so they could see the display from the camera in Jessie's office. Alex began to bring plates in from the kitchen. Soon they were all seated.
Kim had no sooner asked Danielle how she'd gotten into the private investigator business when Alex reached out and put a hand on her arm. "Look! Something's moving in Jessie's office."
As one they all quietly put down their utensils and got up from the table, moving to kneel or sit by the laptop.
"They can't hear us, you know," said Alex.
"True," said Danielle, "but the suspense rates a little respect."
Just then the person stepped toward Jessie's desk and they could see the face peering at the camera lens, one hand reaching toward its cable.
"Gotcha!" said Alex.
"Heather!" said Jessie. She grabbed the cell phone from the coffee table and dialed her office number. Heather startled as the phone on Jessie's desk rang. Looking disgusted with herself, she answered, "Yes?"
"Hello, Heather."
"Jessie."
"I want to talk with you, Heather. Will you stay there while we come to the building?"
"We?"
"Me and Kim, and the private investigator who's helping us."
"Shit."
"Will you stay?"
"If I don't?"
"Then we call the police right now."
"Okay, I'll stay."
"Then sit. If you move out of range of the camera, the police will be called. We'll be there in less than ten minutes." Jess hung up the phone, and turned to Alex. "Will you stay?"
"Indeed. I will sit guard. And eat the breakfast over which I drudged. But you should take the biscuits to eat on the run."
"Not a bad idea," said Jess, grabbing the plate of biscuits and heading for the door. "Let's go put an end to this thing."
Kim and Danielle followed Jessie into the building and up to the rooms where she had her office. They went in past the help desk, not staffed this early on the weekend, and back into the systems section. Heather was still seated at Jessie's desk, staring at the floor.
Danielle used her cell phone to call Alex. "Hi, Lex. You can head back to our place now if you want. I'll ask Kim to drop me off after we finish here. Okay. Love you, too."
Jessie had pulled in some other chairs. They sat, in a half circle around Heather.
"Why, Heather? Why are you doing this to me, and to Kim?" asked Jessie.
Heather looked up and stared at Jesse, a cold, squinting expression, as if she were staring at a something loathsome. "I can't stand you. You're a freak. You rub people's noses in your queerness."
"I'm different. I'm not ashamed of that," said Jesse.
"You should be. All you freaks and queers should be ashamed. It's not right."
"Why are you in the City of Dreams, Heather?" asked Kim.
"What?" She turned to look a Kim.
"You've been harassing us there, too."
"No one can tell who is in the City.
"The Goddess knows, Heather. You know the Goddess watches over the City," said Danielle.
Heather ignored her and turned back to Jessie. "I left notes on your desk, Jessie. I sent you some emails. And I was in your office this morning. That's no crime. You have no proof I've done anything else."
"There was also a camera covering the porch of their house this morning," said Danielle. "Making a bomb is a felony, as is detonating a bomb."
"It wasn't a bomb! It was just dry ice and water in a plastic bottle," exclaimed Heather, shocked.
"How easy it is to make is irrelevant, Heather. Making and using a bomb are both felonies. Purposely hitting a human being with a car is assault. Leaving the scene of the accident is a misdemeanor. Harassment is a crime, too. You're in a lot of trouble. Do you realize that?"
"Were you trying to kill me with your car?" asked Jessie.
"Maybe I just wanted to hurt you real bad." Heather smiled in a very unpretty way.
"Why?" continued Jessie.
"So you wouldn't be here any more."
"Here? In this department? Why?"
"So I wouldn't have to look at you!" She continued to stare at Jessie.
"You are looking at me. There's something I'm not getting about this, Heather."
"I'm not going to be like you. I don't have to be queer!"
"Of course not. But... are you saying you are like me in some way?"
"No!" screamed Heather.
"Whatever. I gather that you're not going to stop trying to hurt me and Kim unless we stop you."
"You can't stop me! You can't prove anything!"
"Wrong," said Danielle. "The camera and microphone are still on." She stood up. "This is getting us nowhere. I'm calling in the police." She walked a little to one side to use her cell phone, keeping her eye on Heather, who continued to stare at Jessie.
"Wow," said Kim, after the police had taken Danielle away. "That is one mixed up woman."
"Yes," sighed Danielle. "I wonder what was done to her that she has such hate. Hate, I'm afraid, that is actually as much for herself as for anyone else."
"I would have been willing to forget everything except her hitting me with her car," said Jessie. "I guess I was hoping that was really an accident. This is kind of depressing."
Kim put her arms around her. "Let's go, Jess. I'll drop Dan at her office and you and I can just hide the rest of the weekend."
"No," said Jessie. "The whole point is we don't have to hide now. I think we should celebrate the end of this instead."
"A sensible suggestion," said Danielle. "Let's all go out to dinner tonight, since breakfast was so rudely interrupted."
Alex, Danielle, Jessie and Kim chose Beggar's Banquet to celebrate the successful conclusion to the case.
"A toast," proposed Alex, "to a small victory in the long battle for the freedom of people to be who they believe they are. And let us include a prayer for the disturbed person who caused this ruckus that brought the four of us together."
"Agreed!" said Jessie. They all clinked glasses and drank.
"I am so glad this is over!" said Kim.
"That the harassment is over, you mean," corrected Alex.
"Yes, I mean, I will miss you and Danielle," said Kim.
"Beginnings don't have to be followed by endings, you know," said Alex.
"We like you two, too," said Danielle.
"Twenty-two is too many, but we've been looking for another couple with whom we could let our hares down," said Alex.
"Poor dejected bunnies!" said Kim.
"And who can tolerate Alex's sense of humor," sighed Dan.
"I have a feeling there is a good deal more to you and Alex and what you do than first meets the eye," said Jessie.
"We are but simple queers out to save the world," said Alex.
"But we could use some help," added Danielle.
"Count us in," said Jessie and Kim together.
Alex held up a dinner roll, saying, "I have no toast, so we're on a roll instead: four for one, and one for four—which by the way is a palindrome, a lucky omen—toward a bright and shining future!"
(October 2002)