'The third?' replied Zen. 'Ah, you're going to love the third.'

He gazed helplessly at Caputo, who was prancing gaily about, his hands indicating the contours of a generous bosom and rearranging the folds of an invisible skirt.

'According to this theory, the man was in fact a woman/ Zen informed his superior.

'A woman?'

'A prostitute. We try to keep them out of the port area, of course, but…'

'Surely to God you can at least ascertain the sex of the individual in your custody?' demanded the Questore icily.

'His sex? Yes, of course.'

Caputo quickly sketched an enormous male organ in the air, 'He's a man. No question about that.'

'But you just told me that you were working on the theory that he was a prostitute!'

Zen hesitated a moment.

'Exactly, a transvestite prostitute.'

'But he was dressed as a manY 'Outwardly, yes. But he was wearing female undergarments.'

The Questore was briefly silent.

'In other words…?'

'In other words, he was a man dressed as a woman dressed as a man.'

'But that's absurd!'

'Oh, there's a demand for that sort of thing/ Zen replied in a worldly tone. 'But unfortunately on this occasion he had mistaken his clientele. They started beating him up, and he drew his knife in self-defence. But be that as it may, all the indications are that this was merely a banal crime of mistaken identity. I'll have a full report on your desk within twelve hours…'

Seeing Caputo signalling frantically, Zen broke off.

Caputo held up the first two fingers of his left hand and whirled the right round and round.

'… or twenty-four at the very most/ Zen concluded.

"I shall pass on what you have told me to the relevant parties/ said the Questore curtly. 'But I must remind you that if a satisfactory solution has not emerged within the period you mention, it is you and not I who will be held responsible. I am not prepared to cover for you on this case, and I regret that my department is too overstretched to permit me to dispatch one of our operatives to put your house in order for you. So I trust that you will give this matter your fullest and most urgent attention.'