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He hadn't Chance and his girl were in the first row and a good deal closer to the center They took their seats and he tipped the usher, acknowledged greetings from some of the other spectators, then approached Kid Bascohter and his handlers They huddled together for a moment Then Chance returned to his seat

"I think I'll leave now," Danny Boy said "I don't really want to watch these two fools pummel each other I hope you don't need me to introduce you?" I shook my head "Then I'll slip out before the , that is Will he have to know I fingered him, Matt?"

"He won't hear it from me"

"Good If I can be of further service-"

He made his way up the aisle He probably wanted a drink and the bars in Madison Square Garden don't stock ice-cold Stolichnaya

The announcer was introducing the fighters, calling out their ages and weights and hometowns Bascoure to change his status tonight

There were two seats e one but stayed where I was The warning buzzer sounded, then the bell for round one It was a slow, thoughtful round, with neither fighter anxious to coed to be out of rangesolid

The pair next to Chance were still empty at the round's end I walked over there and sat next to hi He must have been aware of my presence but didn't indicate it if he was

I said, "Chance? My name is Scudder"

He turned, looked at ht of my client's eyes, that unreal blue He'd been at her apart, dropped in unannounced to pick up some money She'd told me about it earlier, called me at the hotel around noon "I was afraid," she'd said "I thought, suppose he asks about you, asks me some kind of questions But it was cool"

Now he said, "Matthew Scudder You left soes with my service"

"You didn't return my calls"

"I don't know you I don't call people I don't know And you've been asking around town for me" His voice was deep and resonant It sounded trained, as if he'd gone to broadcasting school "I want to watch this fight," he said

"All I want is a few ht and not between rounds" A frown caht that seat you're sitting in, you see, so I'd have so buzzer sounded Chance turned, focused his eyes on the ring Kid Basco the stool out of the ring "Go back to your seat," Chance said, "and I'll talk to you after the fight ends"

"It's a ten-rounder?"

"It won't go ten"

It didn't In the third or fourth round Kid Basco hiether Canelli was s, with a way of ar Ray Robinson, not Leonard In the fifth round he staggered Canelli with a short right hand to the heart and if I'd had a bet on the Italian I'd have written it off then and there

Canelli looked strong by the end of the round but I'd seen the expression on his face when the blow landed, and I wasn't surprised a round later when Kid Basco left hook He was up at three and took an eight-count, and then the Kid was all over hi posts Canelli went down again and got right up and the ref jumped between the two of them and looked in Canelli's eyes and stopped it

There was soht stopped, and one of Canelli's cornerone on, but Canelli himself seemed just as happy the shoas over Kid Bascomb did a little war dance and took his bows, then cli

On his way out he stopped to talk to Chance The girl with the auburn hair sat forward and rested a hand on the fighter's glossy black arm Chance and the Kid talked for arooirl They were standing by the ti for theit-"

The top of the card hts, a Panamanian contender and a black boy from South Philadelphia with a reputation as a spoiler It would probably be a good bout, but that wasn't what I'd come for I told him I was ready to leave

"Then why don't you coested "I have a car nearby" He headed up the aisle with the girl at his side A few people said hello to hiood in there Chance didn't say ot outside and hit the fresh air I realized for the first time how stale and smoky it had been inside the Garden

On the street he said, "Sonya, this is Matthew Scudder Mr Scudder, Sonya Hendryx"

"It's nice to meet you," she said, but I didn't believe her Her eyes told ment until Chance cued her in one way or the other I wondered if she was the Sunny that Kiaed her for a hooker if I'dunmistakably whorish about her, and yet she didn't look at all out of place hanging on a pimp's arm

We walked a block south and half a block east to a parking lot where Chance collected his car and tipped the attendant enough to get thanked with ree of enthusiasm The car surprised me, just as the clothes anda pimpmobile, complete with custom paint and interior and the usual wretched excess, and what showed up was a Seville, the small Cadillac, silver on the outside with a black leather interior The girl got in back, Chance sat behind the wheel, and I sat in front next to him

The ride was smooth, silent The car's interior smelled of wood polish and leather Chance said, "There's a victory party for Kid Bascomb I'll drop Sonya there now and join her after we've concluded our business What did you think of the fight?"

"I thought it was hard to figure"

"Oh?"

"It looked fixed but the knockout looked real"

He glanced at old-flecked eyes for the first ti twice in the fourth round and he didn't follow it up either tiet through the sixth and he couldn't At least that's how it looked frohts at the Y when I elve or thirteen years old Balloon gloves, protective headgear, two-minute rounds I was too low and clue to land a punch"