I said, “I think this man, Kleinsmidt, is going to be laying for you. He—”
“Oh, sure,” Pug said. “We’ve got to blow. They always told me never to try working Nevada with all the protection they’ve got here, but I had to have a crack at it. California’s different. Take Calermo Hot Springs for instance. You can always get a good play there. That’s the worst of it. Good play means competition. I remember one time we tried to work a resort right after another gang had pulled out. The owners had been checking up on the machines, and when they found how small the take was, they had some private detectives come down to see what was happening, and who was doing it.”
Helen Framley laughed nervously, and said, “That’s where I got my complex on private detectives. They almost nailed us.”
“It wouldn’t have done ’em any good,” Pug said.
“They might have made a lot of trouble.”
“They could have talked,” Pug admitted, “but that’s all.”
“Well, I don’t like it, Pug. I wish you’d get something else lined up.”
“This is plenty good, babe, plenty good.”
I said casually, “I’m going to have to get back to Los Angeles.”
Pug said, “You’re acting awfully funny about this thing. You wouldn’t by trying to hand us no line, would you?” I shook my head.