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left the air scorched with the imprint of his gold and diamond ring. It also brought me back from uncomfortable place called my past.
    “Did your lease expire at the Jamieson Car Mart as well, or did the rest of the dealers force you out when you dropped the domestic product line?” I asked.
    “Really, officer, what does that have to do—”
    “This is the third location for your dealership in less than two years. It’s magnificent. The business must be brisk. I was just wondering whether the Car Mart dealers were jealous of your success—with high-end imports in a mall that’s almost exclusively populated by domestic product. After all, the last two Guilford locations were progressively bigger and better than the one you had at the Car Mart.”
    “We target a very specialized market,” he said and wrung his hands until his knuckles cracked.
    “In summary, the Guilford Exotic Import dealership is doing extremely well,” Ken nodded.
    “Yes,” the manager said with relief.
    “Finally,” Ken fired.
    Ruggiano’s wrinkle-free face froze in shock. However, immediately his back-up system kicked in—a gentleman’s exasperation.
    “Really, officer, I’m not sure what you’re suggesting. I have answered your questions about Mr. Twain. I told you all I know. I cannot help you anymore. I must ask you to leave.”
    Ken said. “Four years ago this dealership was located on Pratt and surviving mostly on sales of the domestic product line. The exotics were there just to tease the eye and draw the customers—to buy the American product. The lease expired. It was a business decision to seek a less expensive rental location, to cut down on the operating costs. You found such a location at the Jamieson Car Mart. That lease didn’t expire. It ran for five years. But just over a year into the lease, the Car Mart is no longer considered a suitable location and—since a five-year lease can only be terminated with heavy penalties—the dealership drops the domestic product line. It then chooses to payout the remainder of the lease, so it can move to a bigger showroom. We’re now standing in the biggest showroom I have ever seen, in any dealership. The success of this highly specialized business must be staggering.”
    “Our products come with a high markup,” Ruggiano declared.
    I saw that if he had a cell phone, he would have dialed 9-1-1 just to interrupt this interrogation.
    Ken nodded at the burnished orange Diablo. “That’s a five hundred thousand dollar car. How much profit is there, built into the price?”
    “Eighty thousand,” I answered.
    Ruggiano’s lids drooped. I feared he was going to faint. I snapped my fingers to interrupt his act then pointed at the sports car. “These imports are not that easy to import. Even Vegas dealership would have difficulties importing one of the classic exotics a month. I doubt you can bring in one every six months. And if you sell one or two of these a year, then indeed you can claim spectacular success. Do you?”
    We left the dealership, so the manager could reflect on that dangerous question, as he lay prone on the polished granite floor.
    “They hired Brick as a sales manager when still at the Car Mart location,” Ken said, when we were already in my Acura. “And two months later, they’re dropping the domestic product, stocking up on exotics and paying off the lease. Brick, the brilliant motivator, is moving on. Guilford is heading into bigger and better digs. I sure would like to hire that kind of lucky charm for my sales manager.”
    “Maybe he was more than a lucky charm.”
    “You don’t believe that he could have turned that dealership around?”
    “He was a messenger, Ken.”
    “A messenger of good tidings?”
    “I was thinking more like of cash influx.”
    “Do you mean that he bankrolled…”
    “He could have brought an offer to bankroll.”
    “From whom?”
    “Someone with a lot of dirty disposable income—cash.”
    “Money laundering?” Ken