RANSVESTIA

"Be careful of what you say, Benny," said the man called Rizetti. "She is my daughter."

Benny pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his forehead. "You saw how Roxanne blew the assignment tonight," he whined. "She tipped Carlos she was a man, rather than performs for us. And it's Allison who set her up to it. Roxanne would rather perform for her than do the job as she was told."

"You're wrong," Rizetti hadn't changed his tone. "I told Carlos." The shock on Benny's face was profound. An idea of what Rizetti was doing struck Eddie with great force. There was no reason for the underboss of a striving mob to be in this room at this time, unless... Eddie suddenly felt sorry for Benny.

"Roxanne is mine," Allison's voice was petulant. "And I ought to be running the operation with all the queens. I already stage all the numbers and clothe them. I know everything about them and what makes them tick."

"And that would make you a good boss?" Rizetti's question was calm and probing. Ah, thought Eddie, poor Allison. She hasn't caught it yet, either.

"Right!" her voice was forceful. "I'd get the very best out of every queen." She looked at Eddie-Roxanne. "I'll make them willing to do anything for us."

"And what does the queen say?" Rizetti was getting bored by the whole business.

"I think," said Eddie, trying to be as seductive a Roxanne as he could, "that you should close down the whole operation." Allison and Benny stared at him, their faces turning to fury. Rizetti held up a hand to prevent them from replying.

"Explain," he said, amusement in his eyes.

"I doubt very much that you're making much of a profit considering the outlay you're putting out," he tried to be Roxanne, but felt his Eddie voice coming to the fore. "A couple of the clubs might be kept so that you can find a discreet queen when you need one." He paused

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