RANSVESTIA

"You see I haven't quite finished. When we got to King's Cross we had to wait for a little while for taxis and we bought an early news- paper-here it is--and you can see why he was so upset this para- graph here."

With new eyes I watched him as he read. How tall he was-taller than me and how well and fit and--yes--how strong he looked. Absolutely no conventional feminine looks or shape at all—very much masculine rather than feminine-but oh, how he turned me on. My heart thudded and marvellous feelings surged through me.

"But how awful. This man who's dead, could he have been the homosexual? But-but even so I still don't understand why Keith has disappeared."

"Well-well he said to explain it to you like this-suppose this man, this homosexual, had imagined for a particular reason which I'll come to in a minute that he could force Keith to be a-a partner in his homosexual activity. And suppose that just as he was about to attack Keith the lightning struck and Keith took the opportunity and ran from the hotel. Then that would leave him later-after he'd escaped from the van I mean-near Benbrae station but still apparently at least potentially a homosexual—”

"But-but did you think that of him? I'm certain he's not anyway."

"Oh no but then I-well let me go on. He takes the train to London but then he's horrified to find a newspaper report which says he's dead. He immediately realises he daren't go back to his flat to ch— to-to rid himself of the evidence which surrounds him for if he does the police in that area might recognise and perhaps question him. And if the dead man in his hotel room is really the homosexual the police-who are always aware of the movements of such very militant gays as this man apparently was-might immediately put two and two together and jump to the most terrible conclusions about him. About Keith I mean. Almost certainly that he was also a homosexual and perhaps even that he and a partner had been together in the hotel and that they'd had an argument—a fight-and Keith had killed him and then run away and—and he'll go to prison for ever and ever and-"

And I burst into tears, real tears, and buried my face in my hands.