Bill W

Most murder mysteries leave you guessing who the murderer is, but this story lets you experience the crimes through the killer's eyes and even gives you a glimpse into their thought process. The mystery here is if the killer will be caught, and if they are caught if they'll be convicted and what their sentence might be. If you appreciate a different sort of murder mystery, I think you'll find this one right up your alley. Well done Secret Author.

There's always criminals that think they're so smart that they can get away with anything. There's a good chance that some do, and the number of innocent people in prisons can attest to that (especially those that have already been proven innocent or wrongly convicted), but this time the perpetrator didn't get away with the crime. It's not often that you find a transgender twin who's assuming a dual personality is the guilty party, but he proved he wasn't very smart when he failed to heed his lawyers advice to accept the plea deal. If he had, he might have been able to also get the court to agree to sentence him to a male facility (where he probably would have been frequently raped), but he may have also had the possibly of being paroled when he was old and gray. Since we were seeing the crimes through the killer's eyes, the mystery wasn't who the killer was, but if he'd be caught and the outcome of the trial. Well done, Secret Author, and although the warning at the beginning was probably appreciated by many, the story could have been much more gruesome and bloody, but I'm glad you didn't go that route.

Public defenders aren't the cream of the crop when it comes to attorneys, but he did have an impossible case with an even more impossible client.

Hmmm, someone keep their dictionary close by when writing responses. lol

A really fun Secret Santa Christmas party story with a lot of sexual innuendo. If you want to read a story that will make you smile and keep you interested, this is the one to read. Well done Secret Author.

You weren't the only one.

A really fun Christmas story with enough sexual innuendo to make your stomach flutter as you identify with or are attracted to one character or another after their discrete disclosures. But now I need a follow up to this story to see what happens between Jason and Stephen and Jason and Owen. Get the hint, Secret Author? Well done!

Yes, I remember the performers spinning plates on poles on the Ed Sullivan Show, and I'm sure it would have been funnier if they'd used books.

When I first saw this word, I immediately thought of bibliophile. And while it has the same root, the bibliophile would be the person who would buy books, because he has a great love of books and reading. And then there's biblioteca ISpanish for library), bibliotheca (Greek word for library), bibliotheque (French for library, and Bibliothek (German for library), and I'm sure there are many more which are all using the Latin root word for relating to books.

Yes, just as I comment to Danilo, Devin had a lot of choices in this situation, but what he did was probably the best. Changing into something smaller and letting the gator swallow him would have meant getting past those teeth, and then he would have transitioned into something with gills, both smaller and what he chose to transition into when he got larger. Otherwise he might have drowned. He could have still had his swimsuit, if he could have found it underwater, but then there would have been the messed of the exploding gator, and who knows, some of the blood and guts might have risen to the surface, where Mac's Mom was standing guard. I think Devin made the best choice possible, because even if they'just tried to get back on the boat, the gator might have attacked before they made it safely onboard.

Yes, there were a lot of different things that could have happened in that situation, but Devin obviously thought this was the best and safest option to protect everyone involved. Besides, transitioning into somet hing larger, like a larger gator, would have shredded his swimsuit and then how was he going to get back on the boat without a lot of embarrassment, seeing their were two couples on board - Mac's parents and the boat owner and his wife. I'm sure he considered all options quickly before he settled on doing what he did. I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter.

I'm glad you and drp agree with me. I was beginning to think I was more abnormal that I realized.

But I don't see the pole - the one you used for dancing.

Although a sperm whale's mouth and throat is large enough to swallow a person, research says most times they'll spit the human out, although it's an extremely rare occurrence and an unpleasant day for both parties involved.

My mistake.

Yes, the largest item a whale can swallow is 12 to 16 inches (30-40 cm), so along with the description of the whale in the Bible, it's the reason some people are suggesting that Jonah was swallowed by a USO (Unidentified Submersible Object - the underwater equivalent of a UFO).

According to the OED, the first known usage of the word absquatulate was in the 1830s in the Georgia Messenger, Fort Hawkins, Georgia. They were probably trying to confuse the Yankees. lol

Hmmm, there are several suggestions that wouldn't work. First of all, I'm not sure the lake is deep enough for the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot would probably drown in the lake. Alligators are mostly freshwater creatures and can only tolerate saltwater for a limited amount of time, maybe hours up to a day or two. And finally, even though the blue whale is the largest mammal, it can only swallow something up to the size of an orange, so it wouldn't be able to swallow the gator, even if it was in the ocean at the time.

Yes, Devin is lacking in confidence and it might have something to do with the four years he was homeschooled by his parents while he was in training, followed by his rough transition into the public high school. And then, if you remember, he had kind of a rough start in college as well, so maybe things will change after he graduates and gets a job in his chosen field, especially since his family agreed to allow him to increase his height so he's now average height in the US.

I agree, absquatulate is a perfect word for the activity you described.

The word is actually a blending of three English words: abscond (to go away suddenly), squattle (to squat down). and perambulate (to walk or travel around).

Thanks, drp, and it seems we agree. Those that don't do something similar end up having their mother hovering over them and calling the shots until she dies.

You know how younger people are - they feel their indestructible and they're out to have as much fun as possible. And I disagree that it was rude and immature. There comes a point when a guy has to let his parents know that he's no longer a child and is capable of making his own decisions, and that's what Mac was doing. I don't know about you, but I remember having similar confrontations with my mom, since she was more than a little over protective.

Yes, that was an interesting contact between Devin and the gator, but the gator fought the shifter and the shifter won. The gator had to go somewhere else to look for its next meal. Yes, it seems that way, their campaign to go look for treasure again without offending Mac's parents.

Thanks, Chris. I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter.