Elsa's Revelations

***Elsa's Revelations*** is the fourteenth book in the Free Spirit's series. It centers on Stallbrook's 2023 municipal elections, with right-wing politicians attempting make gains by discrediting the police chief, who is also facing allegations of misconduct from his past.

## Plot Synopsis

In the home of Wil and Daria Jackson, their young submissive Moira Cloutier has prepared breakfast for Wil, and they also engage in sex while his wife (who is out of town) watches via an online stream. She inquires whether he will be consulting on any campaigns for the upcoming municipal elections, but he is not sure, especially since he did considerable work on the re-election campaign of Nate Teixeira. His office manager then calls, saying she had just spoken with someone who insisted on speaking with him; he tells her to patch their next call to him. The person does call back, using a computer filter to disguise their voice, and claims to have inside information on efforts to discredit Chief Graham and get right-wing candidates elected to city government positions to accomplish this, funded by an outside benefactor. Wil agrees to attend a meeting with leading political figures to try and counter this effort. The anonymous caller consents to going by the code name Enigma.

Meanwhile, attorney Elsa Wahrheit and her husband Terry Morse are in the office of Doctor Marshall Chasen; they have been trying to conceive a child, but without luck. Chasen agrees to take them on as patients, arranging for blood samples from each of them and a sperm sample from Terry, as well as access to their medical records. Terry is nervous and defensive, while Elsa simply wants to get the facts and proceed from there. Chasen explains their options, and the couple leaves as he makes preparations for tests to be done.

The following weekend, Jackson arrives at CafeWorx where a room has been reserved for the meeting set up by Enigma. In attendance with him are Colin Meade (chair of the local Republican Party), Abena Harris-Wilson (his counterpart with the Democratic Party), M.J. Laurent (a progressive activist), Bridget Torjesen (representing the city's sex worker community), Joanne Carvalho (representing the police union), and City Council members Rhonda Carver and Angel Portillo. The eight go over the information packets provided by Enigma, showing that the Stallbrook Constitution Party has allied with radical feminists to form the "Committee for a Better Stallbrook" to spread negative misinformation about Graham's management of the police force, as well as run a number of right-wing candidates to reverse course regarding de-facto decriminalization of sex work. They agree to form their own organization to counter this, and to try to coordinate efforts among the various political parties in the city, They adopt the name of "Ultra group" and make plans to meet again in two weeks.

At a meeting of the local Constitution Party's executive committee, consultant Burton Trumbull provides checks from Bridie Chase to fund their efforts, and advises them to recruit more women and minorities as candidates to counter the perception of their party as being all "angry white men over fifty". City Council member Kristine Manatos says that she can recruit more conservative women, with one particular person in mind. Trumbull also assures them that, with new technologies, he can get ads out for the Committee for a Better Stallbrook quickly and cheaply. He also urges the party leaders to focus on finding "dirt" on Graham, insisting that there must be something they can pin on him.

At the Jackson home, Moira receives a package from Enigma with more information, including a thumb drive containing a video file. She later puts together an ad from SCAPA, which is screened and approved by the Ultra group, to counter the Committee's ad. Wil has also been successful in raising money for SCAPA, and more strategies are discussed.

Meanwhile, the tension between Elsa and Terry rises as they wait for the test results from Doctor Chasen. He refers Elsa to Lateshia Williams, a clinical psychologist, although Terry is resistant to the idea and even somewhat suspicious. Elsa considers seeing Williams on her own.

At the offices of the Committee, Trumbull questions each of his three staffers - June Merrill, Maggie Graff, and Autumn Harvey - about whether they may have inadvertently leaked information. All three deny it, and he gives each of them a document to scan into the computer system. He then tells them that he will be out of town for the next few days, and instructs them on how to handle any incoming messages for him. After he leaves, June bolts the office door and turns to the others.

More information is provided to the Ultra group: three different lists of candidates for the Constitution Party. Wil speculates that the Committee and the party are suspecting who might be leaking information to them, and theorizes that none of the lists are correct. They surmise that Dolores Freeman, a notorious social conservative, will be their Mayoral candidate, and proceed to quietly inform other electoral campaigns. They also discuss plans for more ads from SCAPA in response to Committee ads. Wil receives a text from Daria, and looks forward to being pleasured by both her and Moira.

A shocking piece of information is then released by a New York City tabloid; a woman claims to have been paid for sex several times by Graham while he was a cop in New York. In a meeting with Stallbrook's Mayor, Graham denies the allegations, but says that he will take a leave of absence while the Mayor appoints an independent investigator to look into the matter. Mayor Oskanian interviews and appoints Elsa Wahrheit to investigate the allegations; she mentions that the fertility issues that she and her husband are dealing with may take some time as well, but the Mayor tells her to take as much time as she needs to get this done right. Later, the two are joined by Deputy Chief Luong (who will serve as Acting Chief during Graham's absence) at a press conference announcing the independent investigation.

Elsa proceeds with a preliminary meeting with Lateshia Williams, then meets Chief Graham at his home for an interview. Graham is fully cooperative and forthright, explaining his motivations for adopting harm reduction policies, and how he pursued no other relationships besides that with his late wife, saying that "none could hold a candle to her." Elsa wraps up by asking who might be motivated to arrange false accusations against him, and he mentions his past conflicts with Bridie Chase and her "Abolition Initiative" organization trying to implement the Swedish model in the city.

Elsa and Terry are then contacted by Chasen's assistant, and meet with him and geneticist Sophie Giuliani. She explains that Terry has an intersex condition which makes him infertile. Terry does not take this well, and storms out of the doctor's office. Elsa later finds a note from him in their condo, saying that he needs time to "process" this new information. The next day, before leaving for New York, she texts him a supportive reply.

In New York, Elsa meets with a friend from law school who now runs a restaurant and maintains various connections in the city. She provides information on the reporter Liz Cochrane and NYPD vice detective Harry Benson for more details regarding the woman accusing Graham.

Meanwhile back in Stallbrook, Bridget's hacker friend Charlie has managed to find information in the NYPD database, as well as Graham's financials casting doubt on the accuser's story. Bridget speculates on who might have paid the woman to make false accusations, and this leads to yet another search by Charlie and his partner CeeCee.

After a brief phone call with Liz Cochrane, Elsa arranges a meeting with the woman named Marie LaSalle at the Bronx Zoo. Marie reiterates her accusation against Graham, but Elsa notes inconsistencies in the details compared to what she told Cochrane. Marie storms out of the meeting cursing. Elsa then meets with Harry Benson, who actually knew Graham and strongly doubt's Marie's story; when Elsa shows him a picture of her, he contacts another detective who comes over and confirms that the woman is really a con artist named Marina Lazarova. They speculate that Marina may have blackmailed an editor at the *Chronicle* to allow her story to be published without being confirmed as usual. Meeting with Cochrane, her editor and the *Chronicle*'s publisher, she confirms that Marina extorted the editor to have the story run. The publisher agrees to call the detectives to file extortion charges.

Back at Stallbrook, the local BDSM society throws a play party to raise funds for SCAPA, citing that any gains by the Constitution Party could threaten their civil liberties and sexual freedom. Wil Jackson is there, and while Daria and Moira set up for a play session, he explains to a newcomer how he reconciles his involvement with BDSM, polyamory and the Free Spirit Connection with being a Republican. After their discussion, they proceed to the play space where Daria and Moira are waiting, the newcomer among those watching the trio's kinky play. Then some leaders of the society and announce that the *New York Chronicle* has retracted the interview while the NYPD take the accuser into custody. Wil is then called upon to comment, and he explains that SCAPA will need financial and other support to respond to this turn of events. Volunteers begin collecting funds as the party begins to wind down.

Trainor and Benson have Lazarova in custody, and talk with the prosecutor and public defender. Forensics brings over evidence in the form of various negotiable instruments, and Lazarova is interrogated and given the choice of identifying who paid her or facing a charge of grand larceny. Lazarova caves and tells the cops all that she knows about the man who paid her to slander Graham. Elsa is given the information, and tells Mayor Oskanian that Graham has been exonerated. However, there is still the matter of who arranged to have Lazarova make up this story, and Oskanian suggests looking at Trumbull, given his connections and past history.

The Mayor makes a televised announcement that. while the investigation is still being wrapped up, Graham has been cleared of any wrongdoing and will be returning to duty. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Constitution Party is in chaos; Burton Trumbull cannot be found, and Dolores Freeman is furious that so much trust was placed in him. When Elsa returns to Stallbrook, he is met at the airport by Charlie, who anonymously hands him printouts of confidential bank records showing that Trumbull had received more than enough money from Bridie Chase to hire Marina Lazarova.

At the Washington offices of the Chase Action Fund, Bridget arrives and politely asks to speak with Chase, saying that she will wait. When asked what this is about, she merely provides a string of numbers - Chase's private bank account number. Bridget explains that, if she and her friends are able to get hold of her banking records, then so can law enforcement and/or journalists. She urges Chase to come clean about her involvement in the matter, before others find out.

Back in Stallbrook, Steve Torre and Sandy Wolinski host the last in a series of panel discussions with City Council candidates on various issues concerning the voters. The main topic is the policies regarding sex work, and the unexpected star is Corey Long, a former sex worker and now a member of the Pirate Party running in the contentious eighth district. He provides an eloquent defense of Graham's polices against the right-wing Kristine Manatos and the far-left Greg Yerkes of the Socialists United Party.

Elsa Wahrheit then releases her completed report exonerating Graham, and shares late-breaking information that Bridie Chase admitted to giving Burton Trumbull funds intended for the Constitution Party's campaign, but without knowledge or approval of Trumbull using them to hire Lazarova. She leaves the press conference, with journalists and other speculating on the turn of events. Stallbrook voters are furious at this, and support for the Constitution Party plummets in the polls.

Terry then returns home, having taken a long time to deal with the news of his intersex condition, and now able to accept it and the offer of his brother to provide sperm for in vitro fertilization. The couple reconcile and make love, even as the election approaches. The Jackson family watches the election returns come in - the Democrats have retained their plurality, while the Main Street Republicans make gains and the two Constitution Party members of the City Council lose their seats.

At Committee headquarters, the three women are informed by Dolores Freeman and the local party chair that the state party's executive committee has revoked the local party's charter, and the Committee itself is being dissolved. Freeman tells them that she will start a new local party to provide a voice for social conservatives. When they leave, the three staffers talk about their future plans the final results of the eighth district race, and "what we just did" - implying that they worked collectively to leak information to the Ultra group.

Bridie Chase meets with her board and tries to do damage control. She refuses to listen to their advice to cut back on the Abolition Initiative, and insists that they find some way to continue to make it work.

Back in Stallbrook, Elsa and Terry are meeting with Lateshia Williams, not only for counseling around their attempts to conceive, but the possibility of becoming involved with the Free Spirit community, as Terry wants some place to help provide moral education for any children they might have.

The Progressive Caucus of the Stallbrook City Council meets, welcoming their newest member Corey Long. They discuss how to develop a plan to address the city's housing crisis; D.G. Falco also raises the issue of transgender rights, and Long speaks up in support when others argue that it might not be worth pursuing.

Jackson meets with local Main Street Republican officials on post-election strategy. When transgender issues are raised, he urges that party leaders and members be educated on the matter, expressing his own support for transgender rights. He then heads to another BDSM play party, where he and his spouse and their submissive, along with a female friend, had an intensely pleasurable night celebrating the defeat of the prudish right-wingers.