“These islands have been raped,” I said bitterly.
“Maybe so,” he went on, “but look around you. These are the people who pull the strings in
Dunetown. When you talk about the rape of paradise, these are the people who are doing the raping.
They?re the ones making the big bucks. Tagliani didn?t ruin the place. He just got in on the kill.” Then
he did another fast change-up. “Anything else for now?”
“Did you hear the tape of the Tagliani chill?” I said.
He nodded.
“Did you catch that, about a fix at the track?”
He gave me one of those “what do you think I am, stupid?” looks.
“So?” he said.
“So, if Tagliani knew about it, maybe the track?s dirty too.”
Cisco?s dark brown eyes bored into rue. “It?s an illegal tape,” he said. “Anyway, it?s probably just
some owner building up odds on one of his ponies. On the other hand He paused for a few moments
and stared off into space.
“On the other hand what?” I asked.
“On the other hand, this commissioner, Harry Raines? He might be worth looking into. He?s got more
muscle than anyone else in the town.”
Bingo, there it was. I felt a twinge of vindication.
“He controls gambling in the whole state,” Cisco went on. “The racetrack commission is also the state
gaming commission. It?s the way the law was written.”
“Interesting,” I said.
“Yeah. If they want anything, Harry Raines is the man they need to deal with—or bypass.”
“Maybe they bought him,” I suggested.
“From what I hear, not likely, although always a possibility,” said Cisco. “I?ll give you some logic.
Whether they bought him or not, the last thing anybody wants right now is a gang war. if Raines is in
their pocket, it puts him on the dime and destroys his effectiveness. if they haven?t bought him, this
melee still hurts everybody, the Triad included. The bottom line is that Raines needs this kind of
trouble like he needs a foot growing out of his forehead. He and his partner, Sam Donleavy, are both
up the proverbial creek right now.”
“Donleavy was in here last night,” I said. “I saw Titan talking to him, and the old man didn?t look like
he was giving away any merit badges.”
“They?re all edgy,” he said, sliding the bill across the table to me. “Here, put this on your tab. I?ve got
to catch a plane.”
