Dragnet: The Big Swap
Narrator Voice-Over: "Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent...and the producers. You're a Detective sergeant. You're assigned to special cases. Whatever crimes that don't fit into the usual departments go to you. You never know what you are going to get. Most of the cases are cranks, but sometimes the most unbelievable things happen. The first victim doesn't know he is a victim of a crime. He is about to find out. Your job is to protect the public." Friday Voice-Over: "This is the city, Los Angeles, California. It's a fine place to enjoy life. There are places reserved just for kids when they are young and feel young. Places they go when they are young and feel old. Places they go when they are old and want to feel young. Every combination imaginable. Sometimes when they are looking for a place to go, they see me. I carry a badge. It was 5:26 a.m. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. There were the thousands of runs to the bathroom which had become part of my life, both during the day and during the night. Approximately a week had passed since the world went upside down. It's called it 'The Big Swap'. The instant one day when people swapped bodies with each other. Two people who were usually standing very close to each other swapped bodies. Gender, age, nor religious persuasion didn't make a difference. For most pairs of people, bodies were swapped. There weren't any three-way swaps or random swaps. If Person A went into Person B's body, then Person B would always end up in Person A's body. A high percentage of people were spared the swap, but that didn't mean they weren't affected. At that moment, my partner Ben Romero and I were questioning a woman. I ended up in the body of the woman and my partner obtained the body of the woman's son. I don't know who got the better of the deal, Ben became a seven-year-old boy. I was still an adult, although I was now a woman. I was also over seven months pregnant. After The Big Swap, I moved in with Ben and Anne, Ben's wife. Ben's wife was still a woman, just instead of being a woman in her thirties, she was now a woman in her fifties. She made out best of all. It was natural to move in with Ben and his wife. I had never been married, and certainly, I had never been pregnant. Being left alone in my condition wasn't a good idea. I went into the bathroom, pulled up my gown, pulled down my panties, and sat on the toilet. I felt I needed to pee badly, but usually only a little would come out. The doctors told me because the baby was pressing on my bladder, that my bladder was weakened during my 'first childbirth'. Biologically, I am Ben's mother." Anne: "Breakfast?" Friday: "Just toast and coffee please, Anne." Anne: "Don't be silly. You're eating for two. But take your time, I'll keep your breakfast warm." Friday: "Thank you, Anne." Anne: "Almost done?" Friday: "I hope so." Friday Voice-Over: "I had to wipe myself before getting up. Getting up from the toilet was much harder than sitting down. I used my right hand to propel myself to a standing position. My left hand supported my back as I rose. I pulled up my panties and let my gown fall into place. Then I washed my hands and exited the bathroom. This procedure had become second nature to me. I walked to the table in the dinette and sat down again. I was glad to be off my feet, even though I had only walked ten or fifteen steps. Anne placed a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, oatmeal, toast, grapefruit, and coffee in front of me. Despite just saying that I only wanted the toast and coffee, I ate the entire meal. After finishing breakfast, I walked to my room to take a shower and then got dressed for the day. Ben's alarm sounded as I was entering the shower. My apparel included: panties, a supportive bra, support pantyhose, a full slip, a white blouse, a blue skirt, a jacket, a tie, and flats. If I wasn't pregnant, I would be required to wear shoes with a small heal to work. Due to my condition, I wasn't required to keep my jacket buttoned at all times. Prior to getting dressed, I had to spend at least 25 minutes fixing my hair. Next was putting on the apparel. Besides there being additional garments, working around my enormous belly was harder, especially trying to get the hose over my toes. Finally, I had to apply makeup and coordinate my outfit with jewelry. Just because I had been swapped and was pregnant didn't mean that I didn't have to look as presentable as any other female officer. Thus, it took much longer to get dressed. Good thing I was up early every day to pee." Romero: "You look nice." Friday: "Thank you, Ben." Romero: "You are really getting the hang of applying makeup." Friday: "I don't have any choice. I have to be professional at all times. You look good too." Romero: "A suits a suit, even if it is sized for someone who isn't over four feet tall and fifty pounds yet." Friday: "You're a growing boy."
Friday Voice-Over: "It was 7:36 a.m. when we left the house. I drove to the office. Ben wasn't tall enough to drive. We entered headquarters. Even though it looked like I should be holding Ben's hand as we entered the building, no one made jokes about it. Too many of the police force had been swapped in their own way. It wasn't a joking matter. I lumbered through the halls to room 412, missing persons. Ben and I had been working Missing Persons before The Big Swap, but now our job had changed. Everyone was missing, we had to find where everyone fits into society. We were given the task, with many others, of identifying the children. There were four categories of children: children who had never been swapped at all, children who were in adult bodies, adults in children's bodies, and children who had swapped with other children. Every one of these individuals had to be registered. That was our job. But before starting my day, I had to head to the restroom again. I entered the lady's room and saw many people inside. You had to be biologically female to enter the lady's room in police headquarters. Similarly to most people, I didn't know how everyone was swapped. Unless I had a recent interaction, such as those in my department, it was almost impossible to tell who was who. But everyone knew me. I was the Detective Sargeant who left the station a bachelor and returned a pregnant woman." Officer Miller: "You're Joe Friday?" Friday: "Yes, I am." Officer Miller: "I'm Officer Miller, Officer Dorothy Miller." Friday: "That isn't your body." Officer Miller: "It is now, but I was lucky, I swapped with another Officer. How are you getting along?" Friday: "OK, but I have to use the bathroom. I sort of need to hurry." Officer Miller: "I understand." Officer Miller continued to talk even though I entered a stall and closed the door. Officer Miller: "When are you due?" Friday: "The doctor said three to seven weeks." Officer Miller: "Thought about what you are going to do with the baby?" Friday: "I think it's only fair to give her to its mother." Officer Miller: "Have they made a policy about this type of thing?" Friday: "Not yet, but I think that is the right thing to do. It is really her baby. She lost her body. She shouldn't lose her baby too." Officer Miller: "Does she want to be at the birth?" Friday: "I don't know. We haven't discussed it. I've frankly been too busy." Officer Miller: "I guess we all are. Crime doesn't stop." Friday: "It certainly doesn't." --- Romero: "I talked to the chief. He says we are standalone children today." Friday: "Sounds good." Friday Voice-Over: "Ben had waited outside the lady's room for me. The only way passersby and other police officers knew that he wasn't a real child was his lanyard. All plain clothes police officers, including myself, wore a lanyard containing their identification card. Standalone children were children who hadn't been swapped with anyone else. They had to be documented. Depending upon their age and mental acuity, getting the information needed could be pretty easy or very hard. We discover their parents and bring families back together if possible. It's a sad fact that some families couldn't be reunited." The first child entered; he was a boy approximately the age of the body Ben had. He was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt with a dinosaur on it, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. Ben handled the boys mostly and I handled the girls and younger boys. Romero: "Hello, what's your name?" John: "John." Romero: "Last name?" John: "Heffernan" Romero: "John Heffernan." John: "Yeah." Romero: "How old are you, John? John: "Nine." Romero: "When is your birthday?" John: "January 17, 2014." Romero: "Where do you go to school?" John: "61 Street Elementary." Romero: "What grade?" John: "Fourth." Romero: "Where do you live?" John: "215 West Gage Ave." Romero: "Who do you live with? John: "My mom and dad and little sister." Romero: "What are their names? John: "Mom is Cynthia, Dad is John, and my little sister is Janet." Romero: "I thought your name was John." John: "It is. I'm John Heffernan Jr." Romero: "I see. " Friday Voice-Over: "The questions continued. They were very straightforward. We confirmed the information with public records. matched the child up with what we knew about the child's parents from other records. We checked if the child could go home or would have to be taken into custody due to their parent's physical state and known whereabouts. Since it was during school hours, the child would be escorted back to school. Middle and primary schools would be held open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to help with the logistics. While Ben questioned John Heffernan Jr. I questioned a younger girl. She appeared to be only five or six. A policewoman escorted the little girl in. The little girl had medium-length brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a red round-neck skirted top with the face of an animated grey and white fox on the bodice. She wore navy blue leggings under the top, and white laceless sneakers. Clutched tightly to her chest, she carried a doll with curly hair. The doll's body was soft except for her head, arms, and legs which were made of plastic. The little girl looked very nervous. I got up to greet the girl. I bent down low to try and be at the girl's eye level. It wasn't easy. My body didn't want to stand let alone bend over. My center of gravity had changed tremendously now that I am a pregnant woman." Friday: "Hello, I'm Sargeant Friday. What's your name, Honey?" The girl didn't answer. Friday: "Honey, can you tell me your name?" Girl: "My mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers." Friday: "I'm not a stranger. I'm a policeman. See, we are in a police station." Girl: "I don't know." Friday: "What a pretty dollie. What's her name then?" Girl: "She's Diane." Friday: "That's a pretty name. I'll bet your name is just as pretty. What is it?" Ginny: "My name is Ginny." Friday: "Hello Ginny. Why don't you take a seat?" Friday: "Here, let me help you up." Friday: "What's your last name, Ginny?" Ginny: "Stanley." Friday: "Is Ginny short for anything?" Ginny: "It's short for Virginia. Everyone calls me Ginny though." Friday: "Who do you live with?" Ginny: "Mommy and Daddy." Friday: "Do you know their names?' Ginny: "Mommy and Daddy." Friday: "No brothers or sisters?" Ginny: "No." Friday: "OK, do know your address?" Ginny: "Six Five Eight Elkins Road." Friday: "How old are you?" Ginny: "Six?" Friday: "Are You sure?" Ginny: "Yes." Friday: "Very good. Do you go to school?" Ginny: "Yes." Friday: "Which one?" Ginny: "Kenter Canyon Elementary School." Friday: "What grade are you in?" Ginny: "Kindergarden." Friday: "Do you like it?" Ginny: "Yeah!" Friday: "What are you learning?" Ginny: "Lots of stuff." Friday: "Like what?" Ginny: "Umm, numbers?" Friday: "Numbers are good. " Virginia "I got to make sissy." Friday: "OK, let's go." Friday Voice-Over: "My bladder was acting up too. I took Ginny's hand and guided her to the lady's room. I continued asking Ginny questions as we walked. She was becoming more comfortable with me. Most of the important questions were answered. I didn't know what Ginny's parent's names were, but we knew Ginny's last name and her address. I could get the information I needed from the files. In the restroom, I let her pick a stall. I assumed she didn't need my help any further. I closed the door and held it closed from the outside. I knew she was done when she stood up. I didn't know whether to remind her to wipe or not. I decided against it. I did remind her to flush. Ginny exited and I asked a police officer in the restroom to help Ginny wash her hands. I took the opportunity to relieve my bladder yet again. After washing my hands, I fixed my makeup and completed the interview. Once, I received all the information I could get from Ginny, she was taken back to school. I filed the report and moved on to the next child. Several hours later, and many more trips to the lady's room. the chief called me to his office." Chief: "Did you get the details on Virginia Stanley?" Friday: "Ginny Stanley? Yes." Chief: "We have a problem." Friday: "Cute little girl. What could the problem be?" Chief: "A man was interviewed half an hour ago, he says he is six-year-old Virginia Stanley also." Friday: "Maybe they have the same name?" Chief: "No, the address and school match. One of them is faking!" Friday Voice-Over: "To determine who the real Virginia Stanley is, Ben and I drove to the Stanley household. Ginny's parents should know her best. They were the first on our list to talk to." Romero: "This is a new one for me. An adult and a child saying they are both the same little girl. Sometimes children like to pretend they are adults, but that is easy to discover. This is odd." Friday: "I guess it makes sense. Some people want to hide. This body-swapping thing made that a lot easier. Whoever is the real man, we have to find him. If he wants to be a little girl, there must be a reason. That reason can't be good." Romero: "You're right." Friday Voice-Over: "At 11:37 we drove to 657 Elkins Road. We arrived at the address 12 minutes later. It was a single-family house in a nice residential area. I rang the doorbell. We were met at the door by a gentleman in his early thirties. He was dressed in a T-shirt and slacks with loafers. Friday: "Hello, we are from the police. This is Officer Romero, my name is Friday. Are you Mr. Stanley?" Mrs. Stanley: "No, I'm Mrs. Elinore Stanley.?" Friday: "Can we come in?" Mrs. Stanley: "Yes, what is this about?" Friday: "It's about your daughter, Virginia." Mrs. Stanley: "Is there a problem?" Friday: "It's just a routine investigation. We need to match your answers with hers before we return her home." Mrs. Stanley: "I see." Romero: "Mrs. Stanley, you and your husband swapped bodies?" Mrs. Stanley: "No, my husband didn't swap at all. I swapped with someone else. He was a stranger to me. I never met him before. This guy must have been walking by my house at the time of The Big Swap. I never saw him before. I don't even know his name." Friday Voice-Over: "Something didn't sound right with her description of what happened. We weren't here to pry into Mrs. Stanley's life. I changed the conversation." Friday: "Can you tell us about your daughter? We have to make sure of everything before we return children to their parents." Mrs. Stanley: "She's six years old and in kindergarten..." Friday: "We are looking for a more personal description. What type of person is she? Who is her best friend? What does she like?" Mrs. Stanley: "She's a sweet little girl. Always happy and smiling. She likes strawberries and butterflies." Friday: "She likes to eat strawberries?" Mrs. Stanley: "She likes that too. But if you looked in her room you would find all sorts of strawberry-themed objects. There are lots of butterfly things too. But, I think she likes strawberries more,." Friday: "What about her friends?" Mrs. Stanley: "There's Cathy, Jill, and Darlene. Those are her best friends. But she is friendly with lots of girls." Friday: "Do you have any pets?" Mrs. Stanley: "No." Friday: "Anything else you want to tell us about her?" Mrs. Stanley: "Before this, she was a happy little girl. I don't know what she is going to do when she finally gets home to find she has two daddies." Friday: "Everyone is having a tough time. Especially the children." Mrs. Stanley: "Can I ask you something?" Friday: "Sure." Mrs. Stanley: "Has she changed?" Friday: "We can't say. Not until we are sure about the entire family." Mrs. Stanley: "I understand." Friday: "Can I use your restroom?" Mrs. Stanley: "Surely, it's down the hall to your left." Friday: "Thank you." Mrs. Stanley: "When are you due?" Friday: "Five weeks." Friday Voice-Over: "There wasn't any reason to tell Mrs. Stanley that I wasn't in my own body either. It was better for her to think that this was my natural body. Obviously, Ben was in the body of a little boy. But as for me, if she asked, I would tell her, but only if she asked. Our next stop was Kenter Canyon Elementary School. We discovered Ginny's classroom and watched the class through the window. The teacher was in the front of the room. She was a middle-aged woman. there wasn't any way to know if she was in her original body or not. The class consisted of approximately a dozen students. The students were of various ages, mostly older than kindergarteners. Kindergarteners probably swapped with older siblings, parents, and babysitters. Those were the people they were mostly around at the time of The Big Swap. Only the children with children's bodies wore cutsie apparel. The other kids wore whatever would fit their body. mostly T-shirts and jeans. The teacher was trying to extend her lesson with singing. The entire society was in flux. It was best to keep the children together and well-protected until the families could be sorted out. Romero didn't need to state the obvious to remark that all those people were small children at heart. In our jobs, we had met scores already. We interviewed little children who swapped with babies as well as those who swapped with senior citizens. We had gotten over the shock. It had happened to both of us. Ben is in the body of a nine-year-old." Friday: "See anything strange?" Romero: "Strange?" Friday: "You know what I mean. Is Ginny acting any differently than the rest of the kids?" Romero: "I don't think so. But who can tell anymore." Friday: "You're my expert. You have children." Romero: "I only had boys. Luckily, they swapped with each other." Friday: "I guess if a swap had to take place, that is the best one." Romero: "Yeah, but now the eleven-year-old is eight, and the eight-year-old is eleven." Friday: "Let's just watch a little while longer before talking to Ginny...or whoever is in Ginny's body." Romero: "I don't understand it. Why would a grown man want to live like a little girl?" Friday: "I don't know. He shouldn't." Romero: "Where is the other Ginny?" Friday: "The 'Ginny' with the adult body was sent to a different school. We couldn't send her here. We have to keep them separated." Romero: "You see that?" Friday: "See what?" Romero: "Ginny picked her nose. Would an adult do that?" Friday: "I hope not. But in this case, I don't know." Romero: "Time to talk to her?" Friday: "Yeah. But let me go to the restroom first." --- Friday: "Hello, Mrs. Morris, We are police officers. This is Officer Romero, my name is Friday." Mrs. Morris: "How can I help you?" Friday: "We want to talk to one of your students, Virginia Stanley." Mrs. Morris: "Ginny, can you come up here and go with these people? They're police officers." Ginny: "Yes, Mrs. Morris." Friday Voice-Over: "Ginny dutifully got up and followed us out. I took her hand and led her to an empty room to talk to her. I didn't know if she was the person we were looking for or if it was the 'other guy'. She didn't say anything as we walked." Friday: "Hello, Ginny. We have some more questions for you. You remember me, I'm Sargeant Friday. This little boy here is my partner, Officer Romero." Ginny nodded her head. Friday: "We just have a few more questions. We want to get to know you better." Ginny: "Okay." Romero: "Can I see your schoolwork?" Ginny: "Okay." Friday: "Do you have lots of friends?' Ginny: "Some. The girls are nice but I don't like boys." Friday: "What's wrong with boys." Ginny: "They are yucky." Friday: "Officer Romero is a boy." Ginny: "Then he is yucky." Friday: "You don't like any boys?" Ginny: "No." Friday: "What about your daddy?" Ginny: "I like daddy. He isn't a boy." Friday: "Who are your friends?' Ginny: "Let's see, um, Darlene and Cathy. They are my best friends." Friday: "Anyone else?" Ginny: "Tonya, Kathy, Luci, Abby. Um, lots of the girls in my class." Friday: "What about Patty?" Ginny: Patty? I don't know Patty." Friday: "How about Jill?" Ginny: "I don't like Jill. She's mean?" Friday: "Your mommy said you were very good friends with Jill." Ginny: "Mommy said that? You saw her?" Friday: "Yeah." Ginny: "I'm going home today. Everyone is." Friday: "I'm not sure. You might have to wait a few more days." Ginny: "But everyone in my class is going home. That's what Mrs. Morris said." Friday: "It will be soon, but I don't think today." Ginny: "I wanna go home," Ginny started to sob. Friday: "You will. But not now. It'll be OK." Friday Voice-Over: "I hugged the little girl to calm her down." Friday: "What do you like? If you can't go home, I can get it for you." Ginny: "Strawberries, bunnies, butterflies, stickers, dolls, lots of things." Friday: "You can have as many strawberries as you like, and I'll find you lots of bunny and strawberry stickers." Ginny: "Can I have them now?" Friday: "I'll get them and give them to you. But you have to be good, no more crying." Friday Voice-Over: "Ginny's tears short-circuited the interview. We were very sure that this was the real Virginia Stanley. The girl seemed a bit nervous before the breakdown but answered our questions. It was time to talk to the man who said he was Ginny Stanley." Romero: "What do you think?" Friday: "She seems like a little girl." Romero: "Her answers match her mother's. There were a few discrepancies, but not a lot." Friday: "That is to be expected. We'll talk to the man and make sure. But this little girl is probably the real Ginny." Romero: "For what it's worth, her penmanship looks like the rest of the stuff in the book. There were some words and numbers, but it was mostly drawings." Friday Voice-Over: "Ben and I found a dollar store to find stickers with bunnies and strawberries. It was easier to find the bunnies. We also bought a carton of real strawberries. We didn't want to disappoint Ginny. We returned to the stuff and gave it to the assistant principal to be relayed to Ginny. Next, we drove to the other school where the other 'Virginia Stanley' was sent. We retrieved 'him' from the class of kindergarteners. This class was like the other one. It was a mixed group of students of various ages, although they were all acting like young children. We observed this group of children as we had the other group. We paid particular attention to the adult claiming to be Virginia Stanley. He wasn't fitting in with the children as well as the other Ginny had been. But that could be that he hadn't met any of these children before today. The teacher in the front of the class was a man in his twenties. We told him who we were, and who we wanted to talk to. This 'Ginny' was physically older and taller than both Ben and myself." Friday: "Hello, Ginny. We have some more questions for you. I'm Sargeant Friday. This little boy here is my partner, Officer Romero." Ginny: "Hello." Friday: "We want to get to know you better." Ginny: "Okay, whatcha want to know?" Romero: "Can I see your schoolwork?" Ginny: "This is only today's stuff. I don't have my other work." Romero: "That's ok." Friday: "Do you have lots of friends?" Ginny: "Yeah, I have lots of friends." Friday: "Even boys?" Ginny: "Yeah, boys can be mean sometimes. But some can be nice." Friday: "I heard boys were yucky." Ginny: "I dunno, maybe some." Friday: "Who are your best friends?" Ginny: "Well I think my best friends are Jill, Darlene, and Cathy. Oh, and Luci too." Friday: "Luci?" Ginny: "Yeah, she's nice. We have fun together." Friday: "Anyone else?" Ginny: "Kathy, Abby, Tonya, Jack, Billy, umm, let me think." Friday: "That's enough. What do you like?" Ginny: "I like to play." Friday: "Hey do you have a favorite doll?" Ginny: "Yeah, but I don't know where she is." Ginny's smile faded. Friday: "What's her name?" Ginny: "Diane." Friday: "Where did she go?" Ginny: "I was holding her and then I became a man. Diane was gone." Friday: "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you have a favorite thing?" Ginny: "Two things." Friday: "What are they?" Ginny: "Butterflies and strawberries. Those are my favorites." Friday: "Well that's all, you have any questions for us?" Ginny: "Yeah." Friday: "What?" Ginny: "Can I go home and see Mommy and Daddy today?" Friday: "Not yet. But soon." Ginny: "How soon?" Friday: "I don't know. This has been hard on everyone. It takes a little while." Ginny looked like she was about to cry, but no tears formed. Friday Voice-Over: "We asked Ginny more questions. This other Ginny's answers were very similar to the first. Whoever was the imposter knew Virginia Stanley very well." Romero: "What do you think?" Friday: "I was sure before we got here. Now, it's not as clear." Romero: "I know, she doesn't seem as nervous as the other one." Friday: "I don't know if that's good or bad." Romero: "I thought it would be easy to tell. It isn't. The man, whoever he is, must have been watching Ginny for a while." Friday: "That's what I think. When the first Ginny started to cry, I was sure she was real." Romero: "Me too." Friday: "But it could be an act. Maybe it was the man who was pretending. We couldn't ask more questions after she or he started to cry." Romero: "Yeah. We should get a picture of the man and show it to Mrs. Stanley to see if she knows him." Friday: "A good idea. We should ask Ginny too." Romero: "You think so?" Friday: "I'm not sure of anything, especially who is the real Virginia Stanley. Check that, I'm sure of one thing." Romero: "What's that?" Friday: "I have to go to the restroom." Romero nodded. --- Chief: "Did you square away that Stanley matter?" Friday: "We talked to both Ginnys. We aren't sure which is the real little girl." Chief: "What's wrong?' Friday: "The other one knows the little girl too well. He must have been watching her for some time." Chief: "You mean stalking her?" Friday: "Probably." Chief: "You are professional interrogators. You are supposed to break the suspects." Friday: "But there is a problem." Chief: "What?" Friday: "One of them is really a little girl. We can't go too hard." Chief: "Go as hard as you need to. I have two ideas you should try." Friday: "Yes, Chief." Chief: "I am the father of three girls. What you should do is leave them alone with a bowl of candy and see if they go to it. At six, she'll grab it and start munching. An adult can control himself." Romero: "My boys are like that, but this is a different situation. What's the second idea?" Chief: "Show each of them a picture of the man. Well for the man, a mirror will due. Ask them about that person. See their reaction." Friday: "We'll give it a shot. But I don't think Ben or I should ask them. Let's watch and have their teachers ask them. That way they should be more relaxed." Chief: "I like the idea. The girls will be at school until six or six thirty. After school, we won't return them home, but keep them segregated until we know who is who." Friday: "What do you think chocolates or jellybeans? " Romero: "I was thinking, let's not get candy. Let's get strawberries instead." Friday: "Great idea." Friday: Voice-Over: "We left the station at 3:57. I drove to the grocery store and bought two pints of strawberries and some plastic bowls to place them in. I dropped Ben off at the closest school at 4:11. This was the one with Ginny the man. I continued onto the other school where little Miss Ginny was. It was 4:19 when I arrived. I placed the bowl of strawberries where it could be seen but not where Ginny would sit. I arranged for the teacher to show Ginny the picture and then ask her about it before leaving the room. I would stay hidden from sight. The school was mostly empty. Most of the children had gone home. Only those who couldn't go home for one reason or another were still here. Little Ginny was led into the room and showed the picture of the man claiming to be Ginny. The teacher asked if Ginny had ever seen him before. Ginny simply say 'No'. 'Are you sure,' the teacher asked again. The answer was 'Yes'. I couldn't detect any deception in her voice or manner. She seemed to not know this man at all. Then the teacher exited the room and told Ginny to stay. She said she would be back in five minutes. Ginny looked around before noticing the strawberries. She didn't leave her seat although she stared at them and didn't take her eyes off them. It took over a minute before she tentatively got out of her chair, and slowly walked over. Then she looked around and took a strawberry. She picked up the bowl and brought them to her table and started to eat them. When the teacher came back and said, "Ginny!" Ginny told her, "Sargeant Friday said he was going to get me some strawberries. he promised." I did promise. I ruined my own experiment. The assistant principal hadn't given Ginny the strawberries I bought her. He was going to give them to her when she left for the day. I drove to the other school to pick up Ben." Friday: "How did it go?" Romero: "When I asked Ginny, Ginny said she recognized her new body. She said she had seen the man a few times." Friday: "She did?" Romero: "That's what she said. She didn't talk to him, but she had seen him before." Friday: "What about the strawberries?" Romero: "The moment the teacher was out, she ran right for them. She stuffed them in her mouth. It was like a squirrel with acorns. What about your Ginny?" Friday: "Quite the opposite. She said she didn't recognize the man. It took her about a minute before she made her way to the strawberries. She looked around as she inched over." Romero: "So which is the real Ginny?" Friday: "According to the chief, yours is the real Ginny." Romero: "It might be, but I can't say for sure. It's just a guess and if we're wrong, we will be allowing a man to be with children. It's too important not to be sure. Just because a girl hesitates doesn't mean she isn't the real girl. She just might be well-behaved. We want our kids to be like that, don't we?" Friday: "That's what I was thinking too. I was hoping the picture would do it. I was hoping that the man would see himself and confess. But that didn't happen." Romero: "It was worth a shot, what now?" Friday: "You think we should interview them again?" Romero: "I don't know. For the third time? It might go as badly as the last time." Friday: "But the longer we interview him, the better the chance our guy will slip up." Romero: "But what about the girl? It'll be very hard on her. We need to interview them without them noticing." Friday: "That's a great idea." Romero: "What is?" Friday: "We can send in a policewoman undercover, or better yet two of them. She'll say she is just another girl and then she can watch and play with Ginny. She can discover which is which." Romero: "Yeah, she can watch her for hours. Look for any little signs. How long can a man impersonate a little girl?" Friday: "I don't know. So far this one has fooled both of us." Romero: "We've never been little girls and they knew who we were. He won't know he is being watched." Friday: "Let's tell the captain." Friday: "Chief we have an idea." Chief: "What?" Friday: "We want to send in someone undercover to watch the girls." Chief: "I like the idea." Friday: "We think it should be a policewoman who is in the body of a girl. That'll help with the illusion." Chief: "Let me talk to personnel and see who's available." Friday: "We think we should use two officers. They could watch both girls at different times and then compare notes." Chief: "Is that all?" Romero: "We could also send them home to Ginny's parents and see if they can tell them apart?" Chief: "Have you told them what's wrong?" Friday: "No, not yet." Chief: "Let's try this way first. Best not to worry the parents. It could cause psychological trauma. The parents might always wonder if they made the right choice, especially if Ginny did physically swap. Anything else?" Friday: "Yeah, I have to take off tomorrow morning. I have to see an OB/GYN. I've talked to one over the phone, but I haven't seen one yet. They don't think there is a problem...but." Chief: "I understand." Friday Voice-Over: "The chief set up the undercover operation. He selected the policewomen and sent them on their way. I returned to Ben's home, had a lovely dinner with Ben and Anne, and went right to sleep. I felt particularly tired. I woke up many times to go to the bathroom, but this was normal for me. The next day, I saw Doctor Ramerez. Although she had been the doctor of the woman whose body I now possessed, I had never met her before. Dr. Ramerez was a pregnant woman about twenty-five years old. I didn't find out until later, that she had swapped bodies with one of her patients during The Big Swap. I should have suspected. She ran some tests, then gave me the bad news. I needed to go into the hospital right away and have an emergency C-section. The baby was lower in my womb than he should be. That was what was causing all my plumbing problems. If I had the procedure right now, the baby would be fine, and I would recover. Waiting could be dangerous for both me and the baby. I followed my doctor's recommendation and was out of work for a couple of months. When I returned, I was greeted with a 'baby shower'. I was glad to be back, and everyone was glad to have me." Friday: "Chief, what happened?" Chief: "With what?" Friday: "The Ginny case." Chief: "I can't tell you. All the records are sealed." Friday: "What?" Chief: "I'm sorry." Friday: "You can't tell me which was the real Ginny?" Chief: "No." Friday: "What about the imposter?" Chief: "Can't tell you that either." Friday: "What can you tell me?" Chief: "Patricia Lund is missing in the conventional way. You have to find her. Get back to work!" Friday: "Sure thing Chief." Narrator: "The story you just read is true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent and the producers. You have just heard the third in a series of authentic cases from official files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Technical advice comes from the office of the Chief of Police Los Angeles, Police Department." End. |