RANSVESTIA

hormones seemed to have changed her emotional balance as well as her shape." At Hamilton's unspoken question, she nodded. "Yes, we take estrogen too. Enough to keep up appearances. It's such a tough business, the one we're in, that we make more money with breasts than we ever did without them." Lana rubbed her thin arms and gave a little shudder. She turned to look at Jeannette who was brooding over her coffee at the sink. Her profile revealed a feminine bobbed nose. "Darlene started changing just after she started taking the pills. She started chasing every man in sight. It's one of the reasons we accepted the gig here. This isn't really our style, but we hoped we could cool her out a little. Hoped she'd see some happily married transvestites for a change. But even here," Lana sighed, "she found somebody to shack up with."

"Who?" asked Hamilton quickly.

"I don't know," said Lana, giving his attention again. "She hadn't slept here in two nights before she was murdered. As a matter of fact," her blue eyes were quite clear and hard, "we'd already decided to dump her. Another of our reasons for being here was to check out some of the new talent and see if we could find a replacement for her."

"Just like you found Darlene here?" asked Bud.

"You know about that?" Lana's black-lined eyes opened wide. “Oh, you've talked to Kim; so you would."

"Have you found someone yet?" Hamilton asked. "A replacement?"

Lana looked quickly to Jeannette. "We've seen a couple we think would fit in."

"Whom did Darlene talk to when she wasn't with you?" asked Hamilton.

Lana shrugged. "She lay around the beach..." she began.

"Like me," interjected Jeannette, picking up a pink ribbon and beginning to tie 'her' hair back. That done, 'she' moved to the mirror to fit on large, heavy, pink-tasselled earrings. A pink, straw hat completed 'her' outfit.

43