A Slick Italian Hand

It was an IBM meeting - International Brotherhood of Magicians, that is - that brought Shifty Lou Anderson to Milan, Italy, in the first place. But in spite of all the beautiful women and the fantastic food, it wasn't long before he was sorry he had come.

To Shifty, Milan was a city of users who flourished by sucking others dry.

Bobby Jo Dawson was gorgeous, an American model in the making, or so she thought - and she and Shifty hit it off together right away....But suddenly she was gone, raped and beaten and thrown away like the wrapper from an exquisite Perugina chocolate.

Leading the parade of suspects was Adriano Barone, the filthy rich (with the emphasis on filthy) scion of one of the most powerful - and crooked - families in the country.

Bobby Jo had been deathly afraid of him - and when Adriano and Shifty met, it was hate at first sight.