On the other hand, this gave him the opportunity to explore the rest of the house from top to bottom. He didn’t care how extensive the security system was, walking through the layout himself would give him an advantage if anyone disarmed it and tried to sneak past his guard.
Aside from the fact that he felt properly armed now with his weapon belt around his waist, the self-imposed tour of the house had also given him the time to figure out what to do about their ridiculous sleeping arrangement. He opened the bedroom door and stepped inside.
Tanny and Shannon had cleared off the coffee table in front of the fireplace so they could play a game of 3D chess. They sat cross-legged on oversized cushions in their matching pajamas. But the pajamas were the only things that matched. Ebony and ivory, Tanny with her dark skin and petite build, Shannon with her pale skin and tall, broad-shouldered build; they were a study in contrasts.
Fergus stopped in mid-stride and took a second look at the flames roaring behind them. “Is that a real fire?”
Shannon uncoiled her long legs and rose to her feet. She peered at the fire for a few moments, selected a small log from the woodbin, nudged it into the fire with a pair of tongs, and waited until it took before she turned around. “Yes, it’s real. I don’t like fakes.”
Tanny stood up. Shannon moved sideways and replaced the tongs in their stand. Then she crossed her arms and murmured, “Come a little closer, honey. I can handle you.”
Fergus stopped and stared. Shannon’s body language didn’t mesh with her provocative attitude and words. If she really wanted Tanny, she’d hold her arms out instead of crossed protectively over herself. She was trying to fake them out so they wouldn’t approach her too closely. Why? What was she hiding from them?
Later. One thing at a time. Fergus jerked his thumb at the small desk in the corner. “Do you maintain a decent uplink in your bedroom for your comp system?”
The puzzlement that flickered across Shannon’s face was the first normal expression he’d seen from her thus far. “Of course I do. Why do you ask?”
Fergus crossed the room and seated himself at the desk. The chair was a marvel of ergonomic efficiency with black leather padded seat and smooth ball bearings in its wheeled feet. As for the desk, it looked like an antique rolltop, with real cherry wood instead of a molded plastic reproduction. The keyboard, sofscreen, voice, and uplink panels were top-of-the-line models. He placed his detective’s shield in the uplink slot. The system clicked and whirred for a few seconds, then accepted his police security access with a soft chirp. “The best way for us to protect you is to guard you in shifts. I’m going to stay awake and work online during my shift. When I’m ready to sleep, I’ll wake Tanny and she can take the next shift.”
Shannon strode to the desk and leaned on the edge. Angry tension held her body tight and hard. “You overrode my house computer. Why?”
He swiveled the chair around and faced her. “You’re under protective custody per domestic violence parameters. In order to achieve that, NYPD security protocols will replace yours for the duration of our stay.”
She backed away and crossed her arms. “I see.”
Tanny came over and leaned against the side of his chair. He felt the soft flesh of her breast pressing into his arm beneath the thin fabric of her pajamas.
“How well did you know the victim?” Tanny asked, her voice deceptively soft, yet hard as steel.
Shannon swung her head around. There was a definite wrecking-ball effect to that sudden movement. She stood totally still and stared at them for one long moment. Finally, she blinked, then turned, walked to the bed, and seated herself on the edge. A soft sigh gusted from her parted lips. Two bright spots of red stood out against the light skin stretched across her high cheekbones. “You probably already know how many times I called Merry just to talk.”
Shannon sat with her back perfectly straight and folded her hands in her lap. All the hard-edged sexuality she’d been projecting at them for the last couple of hours had vanished into a hesitant vulnerability.
Tanny tightened her fingers around Fergus’s arm. It was his turn now. Good cop, bad cop. Hell, it didn’t make any difference which side he took. Tanny would switch from one to the other without thinking. Instead of following a preset scenario, he would just go with the flow. And now that Shannon was finally relaxing and letting him see her true personality, what he wanted to do was take her in his arms and comfort her obvious distress over her friend’s brutal murder.
Shannon looked away. Firelight flickered across her face and softened the strong lines of her body. “I wanted to be close to her, but she already had a lover. I don’t know who her lover was. I don’t even know if her lover was a man, a woman, or another shemale like me.” She lifted her chin and glared at them. “I didn’t kill Merry. Why would I contact the police if I killed her?”
Fergus cleared his throat. “You had the motivation and the means, but …”
Hope blazed in her eyes. “But what?”
Tanny spoke next. “You were at a board meeting when Merry was murdered.”
Fergus explained the rest. “We’ve documented your whereabouts during the time of death for the other four murders. We know you’re not the killer.”
The shock on Shannon’s face also helped confirm her innocence. “Four other murders?” She croaked out the words in a strangled voice.
Fergus rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “The only common link between all the murders is that all victims were hermaphrodites. Merry is the only one you had any contact with.”
Shannon frowned. “What does that mean?”
Fergus shrugged. Giving her a little information should keep her off-balance and hopefully more willing to cooperate with their investigation. “We don’t know. One theory says the other murders were practice murders, all leading up to you.”
Comprehension splashed Shannon’s pale skin with a vivid blush. “Because I’m the one who has all the money. I’m the one who’s in the news every day with my campaign for equal rights for all herms.”
Tanny nodded. “So, now that you know we have a serial murderer to find, we’d appreciate it if you stopped all your sexual teasing and let us do our job.”
Shannon’s mouth dropped open. Then she shut her mouth and grinned. It was the first natural smile she’d given and it looked even better on her than her faked leers. “When did you figure out I was bluffing?”
Tanny chuckled. “That was easy. It happened when I let you look down my shirt and you didn’t follow through by making a move on me.”
Shannon shook her head. “Damn, you’re good. Now what?”
Fergus smiled. “Now you tell us everything you know about Merry. Tell us who her friends were, and give a list of your friends and acquaintances so we can question everyone. Then we also need to know every detail you can give us about your daily routine and Merry’s.”
* * * * *
Tannamae removed her belt, stun gun, and shield. She placed them on the dresser beside the bed, reset the alarm implant on her wrist to awaken her in four hours, then lifted the sheet and crawled onto her side of the bed. One thing for sure, the intensive grilling they’d given Shannon had apparently exhausted her. She was already sound asleep on her side of the bed with the pillow bunched under her head and the sheet pulled over her back and shoulder to her chin.
The routine of getting into bed was both disconcertingly familiar and off kilter. Tannamae had to keep reminding herself that it wasn’t Fergus on the other side of the bed. That she couldn’t just roll over, snuggle against his long, lean warmth, comb her fingers through the springy curls on his stomach, and find the solid flesh of his cock waiting for her.
He was sitting at the desk, studying data on the sofscreen while the flickering flames from the fireplace behind him painted the wall and ceiling with surrealistic shadow shapes. They had a serial killer to stop. Tonight’s session with Shannon had given them a long list of possibilities -- possibilities they needed to weed
out one by one while they sorted out the truth.
Flames splashed shadows on the wall and painted Fergus’s hair with dark red highlights, giving him the look of angel and devil all mixed together. Fire and brimstone, clouds and shadows. Smoky old bars. Bright holographic neon lights flashing above bored faces looking for a night of pleasure in a stranger’s arms. Ice-cold beer and a shot of brandy. Santa Claus bringing presents down the chimney. Was making love the devil’s candy or the whispered echo of an angel’s touch? What happened when a fallen angel learned how to fly again? What did you do when you felt hungry for all the things you couldn’t change?
* * * * *
The persistent buzz against her wrist woke her. Tannamae untangled her arms and legs from the twisted sheets and rolled out of bed. Fergus was slumped over the desk, his head propped on his arms, the data on the sofscreen scrolling past unseen.
She placed her hands on his shoulders. He uncoiled himself from the chair, took her into his arms, and gave her a long, satisfying kiss. It was like coming home all over again in the strong ease of his embrace.
Finally, they pulled apart. Tannamae touched his lips with her fingers and whispered, “Go to sleep, honey. I’ll take the next shift.”
Chapter Five
Baby Jamie nestled in the curve of Shannon’s arm, like one of the dolls she used to have. A doll with cobalt blue eyes and a fragile head covered with thick brown curls. Except no doll, no matter how cleverly made, could create the warm, solid weight and baby-powder smell of a newborn infant wiggling against her grip. Jamie’s pale blue blanket with pink bunny rabbits embroidered along the edges added a bright touch to the hospital nursery with its row upon row of incubators and babies.
Fergus smiled, reached past Shannon’s arm, and let Jamie latch onto his finger with one tiny hand. “He’s a strong little bugger.” A confused frown creased Fergus’s brow. “Uh. Jamie is a he, isn’t he?”
Shannon turned to the medical data chart glowing on the sofscreen embedded in Jamie’s incubator. “Jamie has adrenogenital syndrome.”
“Adrenogenital syndrome?” He snorted. “Break it down into layman’s terms, please.”
“She has the XX chromosomes and internal organs of a female, but the external genitals of a male. Her labia is fused and she has a small penis but no testicles.”
Fergus’s eyes widened with surprise. “Whoa!” He swiped his hands through his hair. “How common is this?”
Shannon carefully returned the infant to the incubator. Fergus was a homicide detective. Not a stereotypical entertainment holovid star stomping around with a weapon belt and shield. He obviously had a keen intellect hidden beneath his macho exterior, an intellect geared to analyzing facts and evidence and putting the pieces together to solve crimes. “It occurs in one out of every five thousand births. Because of routine DNA testing, we’re able to diagnose them during the pregnancy instead of at puberty when the child’s secondary sex characteristics appear.”
Tanny moved closer. “I’d be very confused if I were Jamie’s parents. Are they going to raise Jamie as a boy or a girl?”
Shannon bit back her automatic sigh of annoyance at this question. Instead of looking at children as unique individuals with their own minds and souls, many parents made the mistake of seeing their children as extensions of themselves. They’d try to mold their children to fit their dreams, instead of letting their children find their own dreams. “That decision is best left to Jamie when Jamie reaches the age of consent. Many choose to identify themselves by their genotype rather than their external genitalia.”
Fergus nodded. “What happens if the parents want to raise Jamie on their own?”
“Per the equal rights amendment for intersexed people, they must agree to monitoring by the Herm Foundation to ensure proper education and support for Jamie’s upbringing.”
Shannon sighed and stroked the sleeping infant’s feather-soft cheek. “Merry, the herm whose murder you’re investigating, had adrenogenital syndrome just like Jamie.”
Fergus lifted his head. Angry sparks flared in the depths his dark eyes. “Some investigation we’re doing right now.”
Shannon jerked her chin at the exit sign. “You can walk away and investigate any time you want. I’m not exactly thrilled to have you around, either.”
He winced and gave her an apologetic smile. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m sorry.”
Shannon sucked in a deep breath, exhaled, and managed a brief nod at his apology. She turned and went to the next incubator marked for her attention, and reached inside to pick up a baby with straight blond hair. She peered at the chart glowing on that incubator’s monitor. “This is Theo. He has the exact opposite condition from Jamie, called Swyer’s syndrome. This syndrome occurs in one in every twenty thousand births. Theo has the male sex chromosomes, but his external organs are female. He has a vagina, uterus, and enlarged clitoris. He has neither ovaries nor testes. Theo can get pregnant via in-vitro fertilization, if he chooses.”
A dark blush spread across Fergus’s olive-skinned face, almost matching the color of his mahogany-brown hair. At the same time, avid curiosity gleamed in his eyes. He gestured at Shannon with an awkward wave of his hand. “What about you?”
Despite his curiosity, he still found the topic of her ambiguous sexual state embarrassing. Shannon couldn’t resist the temptation to flash him a sultry grin. “My condition is very rare. The frequency is one in every eighty-three thousand births. I have Ova-testis or true hermaphroditism. My genotype is XX. I have both ovarian and testicular tissue, a half-uterus, breasts, a vagina, and a functional penis. I could get pregnant and possibly carry a child to term. My sperm count is low, but there is a slight possibility that I could father children, if I chose.”
Tanny tilted her head to the side. A deep frown etched her brow. “Now I understand why you always refer to yourself as she instead of he. Even though you have a fully functional penis, you have the genotype of a woman.”
Fergus cleared his throat and asked, “Are what you, Jamie, and Theo have the only kinds of hermaphrodites?”
A great weariness filled Shannon’s heart. The baby in her arms suddenly felt like he weighed fifty pounds. She carefully returned Theo to the incubator. “No. Turner’s syndrome has the XO genotype where there isn’t any Y chromosome at all. Klinefelter’s syndrome is the XXY genotype. Then there are various mosaic genotypes where a few chromosomes are XX and the rest are XXY all mingled together in the same person.”
Shannon turned around and waved her hand at the rest of the incubators. “On the other end of the scale, there’s a rare hormonal disorder called Kallmann’s syndrome. This syndrome causes a hormonal deficiency. The person fails to go through normal puberty and remains sexually underdeveloped and infertile.”
She arched her eyebrows at Tanny and Fergus. “I call it the Peter Pan syndrome because they never grow old. Who knows? Maybe Kallmann’s syndrome is behind the old legends about the fairy folk not growing old like the rest of humanity.”
Tanny snapped her fingers. “I saw a vid about a little boy who had the exact opposite problem. He was only seven years old and looked like an old man.”
Shannon nodded. “That’s progeria, an extremely rare genetic disease that accelerates the aging process. Progeria affects one in four million children. Most of them don't live beyond their early teenage years, though one or two have lived to their early twenties.”
Fergus grimaced. His gaze turned somber. “That’s horrible.”
Shannon sighed. Christmas was just around the corner. They should be feeling happy and ready to celebrate, not sad and depressed. “Last, but not least, of the more uncommon genetic variations are the XXX and the XYY genotypes.”
“XXX and XYY genotypes?” Fergus arched his eyebrows.
Shannon turned and led them to the exit. Rattling off all these statistics made her feel like she was auditioning for a position as an educational holovid teacher. “The XXX variation or super female oc
curs in one in every five thousand births. The physical manifestations of triple-X are larger than average breasts with wider spaced nipples, a narrow, wasp waist, wider hips than average, and a height of usually more than six feet. By most standards, triple-X females are quite attractive, proving that a genetic/chromosomal abnormality need not be considered a deformity. However, learning disabilities or developmental delays are not uncommon.”
“What about the XYY variation?” Tanny asked.
Shannon strolled past a pair of droid orderlies wheeling medi-carts through the corridor. She led Fergus and Tanny past the nurses’ station, where six nurses sat at a wall of monitor screens and data ports, and to the social services office. Her first parent liaison appointment was scheduled this morning. “This condition affects males who have an extra Y chromosome. Their physical characteristics are often indistinguishable from a normal male, though it is not uncommon for them to appear even more masculine. They have low, wide waists; narrow hips; broad, flat chest; wide shoulders; high hairlines; prevalent facial and body hair; and extra-large testicles.”
“Aren’t they also more violent and prone to criminal behaviors because of the extra Y chromosome?” Fergus asked.
Shannon stopped at the door for the social services office. “There’s no scientific evidence to justify that belief.”
She placed her hand on the ID panel. It glowed under her touch, verified her DNA as the authorized representative for today, and the door slid open. A huge mahogany desk dominated the room. A single vase of red roses adorned the corner of the desk and a sofscreen glowed in the center. Three black, cushioned swivel chairs were lined up behind the desk. Four more chairs and a black, cushioned sofa took up the space on the clients’ side. A side door in the right-hand wall provided a separate entrance for the clients. White floor-length curtains adorned the window viewscreen in the left-hand wall.
She stepped inside and gestured at Tanny and Fergus to take the two extra seats behind the desk. The door slid shut and locked itself behind them.
Rated: X-mas Page 17