"And you want me to do the dirty work?" I (Joe) asked.
Rich paused. Took another cigarette from the packet on the table and lit it. "I need a woman to play the part."
"Why?" I asked.
"A woman could move around the hotel more easily than a man without arousing suspicion. She could, for example, go to the bar and say she's meeting a date. She would then go off as if she's been stood up. Most important it wouldn't look too unusual if she was seen entering the room wearing gloves."
"But why me and not a real woman?" I asked.
"Think about it," rich said, leaning forward. He was animated again, convinced of the genius and cunning of his plan. "You would be better than a real woman. You could change your disguise. You could book into a hotel room a few miles away as yourself, leave the hotel in female disguise, do the job, come back to your place as a woman but leave the hotel the next day as Joe. It's perfect."