Whatever You Desire Ch. 01

The apartment block was situated in a less affluent part of Camden City but not quite in the slums. The building was showing its age but was in reasonable shape. The walls in the hallway had been freshly painted not that long ago and the carpet was new. Police crime tape had been strung across the hallway blocking access to Stephanie Carter's apartment. It was one of the nicer apartments being a corner suite with floor to ceiling windows facing a park.

The apartment had been decorated with style: Italian marble floors, expensive rugs, nice artwork on the walls, expensive furniture and modern objects d'art placed artfully around the living area. It was open plan with a kitchen island and a separate large bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and walk-in robe. The incongruence of the affluence of the abode in this rundown apartment block was not lost on Julie.

"Welcome back Tommy," Gail Johnson had taken off her Tyvek suit but was still wearing latex gloves.

She was wearing skinny jeans and a longsleeved t-shirt. Without the hood her short black bob famed a pretty face. Most of the CSIs had moved on to another crime scene.

Julie almost collided with Gail as she came through the door because Julie was concentrating on putting on her protective gloves.

"Shit!" Gail said as she looked up into Julie's face.

Julie tried to remain stoic but Tommy caught the look of recognition that passed between the two women.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were working this case. I didn't even know that you were in Camden," Gail said almost apologetically.

Julie shook her head and nodded at Tommy as if to say 'don't say a word'.

"We've taken away the trace evidence for processing and photographed and catalogued everything of interest but I've left it in place so you can see it in situ. I'll bag it and take it away when you're finished. We didn't find a murder weapon," Gail was all business but the brief interchange between her and Julie was not lost Tommy.

Julie approached the bed. The black satin sheets had absorbed most of the blood. It was difficult to see but there was plenty of it once you looked closely.

"I'd expect to see arterial spray on the wall," Julie nodded at the pristine white wall behind the bedhead where a huge print of a nude woman posed tastefully on a chaise lounge hung imposingly.

"What did I say? Keep your trap shut!" Tommy glared at Julie.

Julie lowered her head but Gail answered her anyway.

"You're correct. There should be arterial spray. It looks like the wound severed the trachea below the larynx which prevented her from screaming or yelling. It also would have severed the carotid artery preventing oxygenated blood from reaching the brain. Death would have come quickly, hence no sign of a struggle, but there should be arterial spray," Gail pointed to the blood-stained sheets and the almost pristine wall.

"We've used luminol on the walls and surrounds and there are some droplets, most likely from the initial incision but my guess is that the murderer placed something over her throat to catch the spray until her heart stopped pumping and then he let her bleed out into the bedding," Gail nodded at the bedsheets.

"Doc Freeman will need to confirm my hypothesis at tomorrow's autopsy," Gail deliberately looked at Tommy rather than Julie.

Tommy nodded at Gail and waved his hand dismissively at Julie indicating for her to start documenting what she saw.

The apartment was opulent and scrupulously clean with nothing out of place. The appliances were expensive, top of the line: a Bang & Olufsen sound system, paired with a Beovision flat screen. It was almost like a show home, like no one actually lived there. The trash can in the kitchen was empty, there was an ashtray on the occasional table but it was spotless although Julie could smell a faint residue of cigarette smoke.

The pantry and refrigerator were sparsely stocked but what was in them was expensive, the makings of canapés and finger foods but nothing substantial. There were several bottles of premium champagne and vintage wines. There was a fully stocked bar with crystal glassware. One lipstick smeared wine goblet sat on the kitchen island with a little evidence tag beside it. Beside that was a Versace handbag that would have cost Julie a month's wages. There was an evidence tag hanging from the shoulder strap.

Julie went into the bedroom and stepped into the walk-in robe. The shoes, clothing and accessories were all designer although the jewellery was costume, worn more for the aesthetic than to project wealth. The wardrobe was divided into two sections. The first held the designer stuff and the rest was expensive sexy lingerie and fetish wear. There was even a French maid's costume and some latex and leatherwear. The same with the footwear. The Louboutin's and Jimmy Choo's separated from the thigh-high fetish boots and pumps with heels so high that they couldn't possibly be walked in for more than a few steps.

"Fuck-me shoes," Julie whispered to herself.

There was an extensive array of lingerie in the drawers, also divided into fetish wear and every day wear. The vanity table held a collection of exclusive cosmetics and perfumes. The mirror was professionally lit.

Julie made her way over to the bedside table where Tommy was emptying the contents of the drawers onto a sterile linen evidence sheet. There were tubes of lubricant, boxes of condoms, a little bottle of poppers and several sex toys. Tommy grimaced at the collection and headed to the ensuite bathroom and Julie followed.

The bathroom was as well appointed as the rest of the apartment. There was an ornate overhead rainfall showerhead and also a handheld shower attachment. On a shelf was a stainless steel wand with small perforations near the end of it. Tommy held it up and looked at it quizzically.

"It's a douche," Julie said pragmatically and she hid a smile when Tommy jerked and dropped it back on the shelf.

"Fucking pervert," Tommy hissed.

"Cis women use them too," Julie added and Tommy looked at her like she was an alien.

He opened the cabinet above the sinks and saw the myriad of grooming and pharmaceutical products that one would expect to find in any woman's bathroom.

"What's this?" Tommy opened a bottle and shook out a few of the blue ovoid shaped tablets into his gloved hand.

"Tenofovir -- emtricitabine," Tommy held the bottle up to the light and read the label.

"PrEP," Julie said matter-of-factly.

Tommy looked at her quizzically.

"It's a pre-exposure prophylaxis used to prevent HIV infection," Julie explained.

"You fucking freaks," Tommy looked at Julie with utter disgust.

"PrEP has reduced HIV infection by nearly seventy five percent in economically developed societies," Julie added.

"Too bad. We would be well rid of the druggos and homos in my opinion," Tommy put the bottle back next to the little evidence label.

"Here is the icing on the cake," Gail called from the ensuite bathroom door.

They followed Gail into the bedroom and she moved one of the prints on the wall. It was hinged and behind it were three shelves set into the wall. Little baggies containing white powder and small Ziploc bags containing pills were arranged on the shelves.

"We did a field test on one of the baggies. Besides the Viagra there is cocaine and the Ziplocs contain ecstasy, speed and fuck knows what else until we test it properly at the lab," Gail pointed to the array of drugs.

Tommy picked up one of the baggies in his gloved fingers and held it up to light looking at the sparkly flakes indicating that the cocaine was of excellent purity.

"Sex, drugs and money... the holy trinity," Tommy said almost triumphantly.

"Here's the thing. Stephanie Carter is selling her tranny ass and dealing drugs. She either ripped off a john or her pimp and she got her ass killed for it," Tommy rubbed his chin.

"Did you find any money?" Julie asked and Tommy glared at her but acknowledged that it was a legitimate question.

"Her purse is on the kitchen island. A driver's licence in the name of Stephanie Carter which looks like a really good forgery; a pack of Treasurer Luxury Black cigarettes and a gold lighter, two hundred dollars in cash and a set of keys," Gail read the contents off an evidence sheet.

Tommy upended the purse and stirred the content with a pen he took from his inside pocket.

"I bet she had a stash of cash somewhere in the place the murderer took it with him," Tommy hypothesised.

"Then why not take the drugs?" Julie asked.

Tommy said nothing. He took Gail by the elbow and led her into the bedroom so they could have a conversation without Julie listening.

Julie picked up the purse and looked inside. It was empty. There was a small zippered pocket and she opened it. Inside she found what looked like a business card. It was royal purple with raised gold printing on expensive cardstock.

A stylised emblem of a three-petal lily, sometimes called the 'flower-de-luce', was placed in the dominant position on the left side of the card. Beside it in stylised font was written: Fleur de Lis - Whatever You Desire.

There was nothing else embossed on the front of the card. On the back was a handwritten series of numbers that was most likely a telephone number. Julie laid the card flat on the countertop and took a picture of the front and back.

"Did you see this?" Julie held up the card to Tommy and Gail as they came out of the bedroom.

Tommy snatched it from her hand and studied it. He turned it over and frowned.

"Bag and catalogue this," Tommy said to Gail, ignoring Julie.

They spent another hour in the apartment but didn't find anything else of significance.

Tommy and Julie took the elevator to the ground floor. The surly doorman was still on duty in the lobby.

"Is that your office?" Tommy pointed to what was little more than a broom closet situated behind the concierge desk.

The doorman nodded and Tommy herded him inside and closed the door. Julie checked her messages while she waited in the lobby.

The doorman came out of the office ten minutes later followed by Tommy. The doorman held a handkerchief to his nose to stop the flow of blood from one nostril. He had a split lip which was starting to swell and a purple bruise under one eye.

Tommy was swinging a large envelope. He walked past Julie and headed outside to the city car and Julie had to trot to catch up with him.

"You didn't have to do that you know," she whispered when they pulled away from the curb.

"Next time he sees a badge he'll show some respect," Tommy stared straight ahead into the evening traffic.

"What if he files a complaint?" Julie asked.

"He's an illegal. He aint going to file jack shit. Besides, I wouldn't go defending the prick if I was you. Before I started questioning him he told me that he'd like to bend you over his desk, lift up your little skirt and fuck the arrogance out of you," Tommy had a wicked grin on his face.

Julie blushed and looked at Tommy trying to guess if what he was saying was true.

"I told him he was welcome to do so but that you had dick in your panties and the poor chump almost lost his lunch. I expect you affect a lot of men that way," Tommy chuckled.

Julie said nothing for a while.

"I know what you're thinking," Julie broke the silence.

"Amuse me. Tell me what I'm thinking," Tommy stared at the traffic not at Julie.

"Stephanie Carter is a hooker who deals dope. She ripped off her pimp, her dealer or a john and she got herself killed for it," Julie surmised.

"Quickly and quietly, just like the captain said. All we need do is find the pimp, the dealer or the john who killed her and we're done. I go back to working with Jack Shepard and you back to freakazoid city or wherever the fuck your kind comes from," Tommy gave her evil grin.

Julie could punch a thousand holes in Tommy's hypothesis but she knew it would be futile so she kept shtum. Just before they got back to the Police Plaza Tommy dropped the envelope he had taken from the doorman in Julie's lap.

"Surveillance video. More homework for you tonight," he grunted.

"I already have the missing person's evidence to go through," Julie tried not to sound whiney.

"Welcome to Camden homicide sweet cheeks," Tommy chuckled.

Back at Police Plaza Tommy left Julie to gather up the evidence boxes while he went to brief the captain. Tommy told Captain McElroy that he was confident that the case would be solved soon.

*****

Camden PD had rented Julie a room in the Grand Hotel for the duration of her stay in their fair city. The word Grand was a misnomer and Julie had used her own funds to upgrade herself to a suite.

Julie had no time for a love life or relationships. The few times that she had entered into a relationship it had always ended badly. Men were either too possessive or saw her as a quick dalliance. Few were interested in bringing her home to meet mother or even be seen publicly with her. Julie didn't flaunt her transgender identity but she refused to hide it. Men were just too complicated and women were worse.

The escort service she used in New York had a few 'companions' available for hire in Camden. She scrolled through the slim pickings and eventually found someone suitable and available and sent him her details. His fee would be deducted from her account; all she need do was tip him before he left.

She put the case files in the wardrobe, locked her service weapon and her valuables in the room safe and stripped. She douched and showered and couldn't help smiling when she used the stainless steel wand on herself. It was a similar model to the one they had found in Stephanie Carter's bedroom which Tommy Lomax had found so repulsive.

Julie put on the fleecy gown provided by the hotel and studied her face critically in the mirror. When she was a young boy struggling with gender dysphoria she had hated her face but when she actually began her transition she declined facial cosmetic surgery except for a tracheal shave.

She wasn't ugly by any means but her nose was a little crooked and her mouth was too wide. She thought her face was interesting and it was the face she had been born with and she grew into it. Her piercing green eyes were her best feature along with her full lips. Besides, cosmetics were a wonderful thing.

Julie looked at the faint scars on her wrists and bitterly recalled her wrestling match with her dysphoria which she had won with help from understanding parents and years of psychoanalysis. Her parents had allowed Julie to undertake gender affirming surgery when she was sixteen but not on her genitals. Even the doctors had agreed with them. There were some cases where transgender women had undertaken bottom surgery and then come to regret it later. Julie had presented femme from the age of fifteen and changed her gender identity legally at sixteen.

At the time she desperately wanted vaginoplasty but by the time she was an adult and legally capable of undertaking the surgery the urge had dissipated. She was happy with who she was and satisfied with her body. Julie was never going to have children and she enjoyed sex using the equipment she had so why put that at risk for the sake of aesthetics or to provide a hole so that men could pretend that she was a 'real' woman.

She put on heavy makeup and stepped into ultra-sheer nylon stockings; the holdup kind because she couldn't be bothered fiddling around with garters. She slipped on a pair of black lacy boy-leg panties and changed into a semi-transparent black negligee and put on black high heels. She put a tube of lubricant and an unwrapped condom on the nightstand. The condom was optional; the lube was not. She placed one of the hotel's handtowels strategically next to the condom.

There was a discreet knock on the door and Julie lowered the house lights and went to the door and checked the peephole and saw the handsome young man she had booked through her service.

"You look amazing," the man smiled at her appreciatively when he entered her room.

"I know. Come with me," she took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

The overhead lights were out but the lamps on the nightstand were illuminated. She had positioned the mirrored wardrobe door so that the bed was reflected in it. She liked to watch herself fuck.

"I'm Ryan by the way," the young stud gave her his most brilliant smile.

"It doesn't matter. Get undressed and join me on the bed please," Julie lay down on the bed and watched the man take off his clothes.

Neither of them would be using their real names so Julie saw no point in introductions.

When Ryan was naked Julie appreciated what he had to offer. He had longish sun-bleached hair, a tanned muscled body and a good sized penis which was already semi-erect. She guessed he was in his early twenties but had no intention of asking him his age.

"Did you take a pill? I want my money's worth," Julie said dispassionately.

"I won't need one honey," the young man grinned.

"We'll see about that. Get on the bed," Julie ordered.

Ryan climbed onto the bed and Julie pounced on him.

She threw Ryan down on his back and went to work on his penis with her mouth. She traced the veins with her tongue working on the shaft, deliberately avoiding the sensitive glans. When his cock was quivering and leaking dewy droplets of precum she lapped them up and swallowed his cock whole.

She tickled his fraenulum with the tip of her tongue while her lips suckled the shaft and smiled around the mouthful of manflesh when Ryan moaned. Julie was being selfish. While she appreciated that Ryan was enjoying her ministrations, her goal was get him fully turgid so that she could use his manhood to provide her with the release that she ached for.

When Ryan was fully erect, his bloated member filling her mouth and pulsing in anticipation of relief, she spat it out and leapt on his body, straddling him so that his cock pressed into her buttocks. She reached for the lubricant on the nightstand and squirted a globule of the slippery emollient on her fingertips and greased Ryan's turgid pole.

Julie eased aside the gusset of her panties and slowly impaled herself on his rampant phallus. Her sphincter stretched around the glans and when he was fully inside the tight ring she lowered herself onto him so that his shaft filled her tight void. She gasped as his glans pressed on the sensitive tissue surrounding her prostate, the thick base of his cock expressed little wavelets of pleasure from her sphincter.

When she had him comfortably inside her Julie rode him. She lowered her face to his and kissed him deeply while her buttocks rose and fell, slowly easing his cock almost all the way out of her anus and then pushing herself down so that it slid all the way back inside her.

Her tongue found his and Ryan reciprocated the kiss, his mouth open, his tongue jiggling and flittering against hers. Then she rose up on him, her hands pressing into his shoulders and began to vigorously fuck him. She wanted release and she wanted it quickly.

Ryan understood her need and reached up and squeezed her magnificent globes, caressing the warm pale flesh, his fingertips finding her nipples and thrumming them until they became engorged. Ringlets of pleasure radiated from Julie's breasts joining up with the waves of delight radiating from her rectum. She rode him harder and faster, slamming her buttocks down into his groin.

Julie's cock was straining at her panties and Ryan attempted to free it from the confines of the satiny prison but Julie slapped his hand away. She would not need his assistance to meet her needs.

Ryan began to rise up off the bed, thrusting his manhood inside her as far as it would go, grinding his crotch into hers. His breathing became erratic and his eyes screwed closed as he felt his climax about to overwhelm him.