RANSVESTIA

But Ruth had always put me off in another important way, too. I would stare at her from across the table in the coffee shop down the street from. KZYZ, and try to fathom what was really going through her mind. She knew I was on fire about the way Sylvia had ripped me apart in front of those two pet tigers of hers.

"You don't have to prove you're a man to me, Don," she would say. "I don't want you to be like Tom, to be always pawing at me. Wait until you've been here awhile. Wait until you get over this hatred of Sylvia —

"I won't ever get over that," I would break in. “WOMB has all the business in town. That's why Moon has to run such a cheapie outfit, why Tom and I have to damned near live at the station. That bitch and her pet felines have cornered every advertising man, every song-plugger I'm going to break in there, Ruth, I swear I'm going to break into that control-room one of these nights and

My recollection of the many times I'd tol Ruth of my plans was inter- rupted as a car's headlights bathed in through my windshield. A car was at last turning into the WOMB parking lot, a little foreign roadster. I knew that in minutes the girl on duty would leave and I eased out of the car and crossed the street.

It was now fully dark as I made my way around the shadowy shrubs that ringed the low WOMB building. Inside, the two girl DJs were talk- ing as I went around to the rear door. All I had to do was walk inside now, creep along the corridor, and unlock the control-room door.

The key was sweaty in my palm. I stood there rehearsing why I had been so careful about getting a key. I wasn't going to take a chance on a breaking-and-entering rap that would hold me in Lewisburg. With the key I could always say I'd had permission, that I had even been invited to go on the air.

As I moved toward the door I considered that it would be simple to over-power the cute night DJ and then tie her up. Then I could grab the microphone and tell this stinkin' town what I thought of this freak op- eration. I would have at least ten or fifteen minutes of air time before Sylvia or her pet panthers could get over to the station.

The smell of the intense perfume was even heavier than it had been that first day a month ago. The sultry girl-type music that kept WOMB