" he said. "Let's say for a joke, like, for laughs, that I am
some kind of a wheel in these things, in bookies and numbers boys and
like that."

"Let's call it a syndicate," Malone said. "Just for laughs."

"Okay, then," Manelli said, with a suspicious gaze at Malone.
"Whatever you call it, a man like me today, he wouldn't be some
two-bit chiseler without brains. He would be a businessman, a
smooth-operating smart businessman. Right?"

"Right," Malone said. "And what I want to know is: how's business?"

"You're kidding?" Manelli said.

"I'm not kidding," Malone said. "I mean it. The FBI's investigating
mix-ups just like the ones you're telling me about. We want to stop
them."

Manelli blinked. "You know, Mr. Malone," he said softly, "I heard
about government interference in private enterprise, but don't you
think this is a little too far out?"

Malone shrugged. "That's what I'm here for," he said. "Take it or
leave it."

"Just so it's understood," Manelli said, "that we're talking about
imaginary things. Theoretical."

"Sure," Malone said. "Imagine away."

"Well," Manelli said slowly, "you heard about this wrecked night-club
in Florida? It happened maybe a month ago, in Miami?"

"I heard about it," Malone said.

"This is just a for-instance, you know," Manelli said. "But suppose
there was a roulette wheel in that club. Just a wheel."

"Okay," Malone said.

"And suppose the wheel was rigged a little bit," Manelli said. "Not
seriously, just a little bit."

"Fine," Malone said. "This is going to explain a wrecked club?"

"Well, sure," Manelli said. "Because something went wrong with the
machinery, or maybe the operator goofed up. And number seven came up
eight times in a row."

"Good old lucky seven," Malone said.

"So there was a riot," Manelli said. "Because some people had money on
the number, and some people got suspicious, and like that. And there
was a riot."

"And the club got wrecked," Malone said. "That's what I call bad
luck."

"Luck?" Manelli said. "What does luck have to do with roulette?
Somebody goofed, that's all."

"Oh," Malone said. "Sure."

"And that's the way it's been going," Manelli said. He puffed on his
cigar, put it in a nearby ashtray, and blew out a great Vesuvian spout
of smoke.

"Too bad," Malone said sympathetically.

"It's all over," Manelli said. "Mistakes and people making the
mistakes, goofing up here and there and everyplace. There have been
guys killed b