you?re looking for it,” said Charlie One Ear. “He lets the mark spin the coin. Spanish Eddie never
touches it. The mark doesn?t suspect anything, y?see, because he?s controlling the spin and Eddie?s
calling whether it?ll fall heads or tails. He can tell by the mark on the coin. He?s also a sleight-of-hand
artist. If the mark wants to switch coins, he always has another one ready.”
“Geez,” Zapata said again, his wonder still growing.
“He?s very good,” Charlie One Ear said. “On a real good night he can score enough to buy a new car.”
“So how come you knew he was at the airport?”
“If the mark starts getting pushy,” Charlie One Ear said, “Fuereco switches to a regular coin, plays on
the mark?s money for a few rounds, then has to catch a plane. That?s why he does airports. Gives him
an excuse to end the game.”
“I?ll be damned,” Zapata said. He looked over at me. “Charlie knows every scumbag in the business,”
he said with great pride.
“Only the cream of the crop,” Charlie One Ear threw in. “And Spanish Eddie Fuereco only by
reputation. I?d love to go a few rounds with him, before I put the arm on him.”
“He?ll beatcha,” Zapata said. “He can read the coin.”
“I?m not too bad at sleight of hand myself” Charlie One Ear said proudly. “I?ll mark two coins and
switch them back and forth so he keeps reading them wrong. What a coup, beating Fuereco at his own
game!”
“He?s all yours,” I said.
“1 love con games,” Zapata said. “Did you ever wonder who dreams them up?”
Charlie One Ear stared at Zapata for a moment or two, then said, “No, I never really thought about it
before.”
“I also saw Digit Dan out there,” I said.
“Ah, now there?s a man with talent,” said Charlie One Ear. “Fastest hands I?ve ever seen. Nobody
works the shoulder bump like Dan.”
“The shoulder bump?” Zapata said, his sense of wonderment continuing to grow as Charlie One Ear
showed off.
“He works crowds, bumps the shoulder of the mark. Usually the mark will touch his wallet to make
sure he hasn?t been boosted. That does two things for Digit. One, it tells him where the mark?s wallet
is. Two, the next time he bumps him, the mark is too embarrassed to check his belongings. Bingo!
The wallet?s gone and so is Dan.”
“You don?t miss a trick, there, Charlie,” Zapata said, shaking his head.
“The thing about Digit Dan that?s remarkable,” said Charlie One Ear, “is that he always hits
