RANSVESTIA

It was Merrick's turn to be confused. "I'm really so sorry," he began, but she raised a pink-tipped finger to him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Merrick," she said. "But there will be an exposure. Co-authored by Roscoe Ward and Eddie McIntyre, if you like, but there will be an exposure. You see," she pursed her pink lips and blew smoke away, "as a reward for being a good girl, Allison Rizetti told me about what a good girl you are, Mr. Merrick."

Merrick's face showed his utter consternation. He spluttered, trying to find something to say, but the suntanned girl was in complete control. "You put Roscoe up to this exposure didn't you? The business of the bonus was handled so sloppily. Only you could authorize that, and how would Roscoe have forgotten something that's never happened on this paper before? I know because I checked. I was puz- zled all along with why you would want the exposure so badly. But you knew Rizetti well, I would guess. You knew he'd back off if there was a threat of an official investigation, just to protect his own daughter. Well, you were right." She stood up and strode mannishly to Merrick's liquor cabinet. "But don't worry. I extracted your negatives from the Rizetti file." She smiled over her straight rye. "They're in a safe place now."

Merrick sat down, his head in his hands. "Don't worry, John," she purred. "All I ever wanted to be was a reporter. Look what I've done to get there. The stories I'll write about this will sell a lot of newspapers for you. I don't want anything else but what you actually promised me."

"But you'll want more later," Merrick's voice was agonized.

Eddie shook his head. Gentle pressure, he thought. "No," he said. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you the whole package when my articles are published."

Julie Burns would have nothing to do with Eddie when he returned to the paper. Frankie Darro had returned his hair to its natural shade, but the news of his stunt had got around and he had to suffer in- numerable slights and comments from the other guys. One person, however, who regarded Eddie with sympathetic eyes was the buxom Lisa Beard. Her reputation for leading guys on and then turning cold