RANSVESTIA

"You told Kim Winter that Darlene had a date," state Bud Hamilton. Lana's dark-fringed, blue eyes flicked swiftly towards Jeannette, who was sprawled in an armchair, her bare, tanned legs over one side. 'She' pulled a face.

"Yeah," said Lana in her natural, contralto voice. "We've seen her the way before. She just threw off the last change it's a pretty expensive copy of a Givenchy

hang it up for her."

—

and took off quick. Jeanie had to

"What about the date?" persisted Hamilton. "Who was she going to meet?"

Lana shrugged, and Jeannette's little-girl voice took over. "How should we know?" he pouted, moving so that the detectives could see all of his beautifully shaped, evenly tanned legs. "Thank goodness she's dead," he fluttered his false eyelids at Lana's cautious shake of the head. "She wasn't discreet at all. She got us into trouble every- where we went."

At Hamilton's frown, Lana cut in quickly. "She was young, that was all," 'she' said. "You see," 'she' spoke directly to the Sergeant, a nervous glance now and then at the door statues. "Despite our appearances, Jeannette and I are well aware that we are men." She paused to flick out a cigarette from the package beside her coffee

cup.

Jeannette stood up, took off her pink dress to reveal a tiny waist, rounded derriere and the smooth, tanned skin of a girl. 'Her' hair fell loosely over her shoulders and down to her small, though well-formed breasts which amply filled the red bikini. "Speak for yourself," she said brightly as she slipped on red, high-heeled shoes and stepped over to the coffee on the stove.

Lana's brittle laugh and her quick smile were concentrated on Bud Hamilton. "Well," she said. "We practice female impersonation, and we're very good at it. Almost too good, as you can see. But we're not queer, if you can believe that, but so many won't. Men don't interest us." Hamilton was aware of the sudden, nervous gesture on Jeannette's part. She had dropped hot coffee on her hand. Her eyes met Hamilton's for a moment, wary and agonized, but Lana was going on. "We thought Darlene was like us, and she was to begin with, but