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well?”
    “At least two hundred thousand dollars.”
    “Which you don’t have?”
    He nodded, so I said to his Mr. Hochman, “When Mr. Riller spent the investors’ dough before the partnership was officially complete, that wasn’t exactly legal, was it, Mr. Hochman?”
    What could either of them say? I moved forward in my chair so my face could be closer to Riller’s face and I talked real low as if what I was saying was a secret. “Mr. Hochman will tell you that using escrow funds is a criminal offense, the kind you go to jail for. If you don’t raise the balance, the Manhattan district attorney, considering how famous you are, he’d get a reelection headline taking you to the grand jury, wouldn’t he? More coffee?”
    Riller said, “No coffee.”
    Hochman said, “No coffee.”
    This was my play, not his. I leaned over toward Riller. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about any decision you make. It’s got to be an absolutely free decision on your part.”
    He looked over at Hochman.
    I said, “It’s still your choice. You can walk out of here, we’ll shake hands, remain friends, no harm done.”
    When I’m at this stage of a negotiation I think someday this guy whose nuts I’m squeezing is going to want revenge. But the only casualty rate in my business is from competitors, not from the public. The public learns to eat and swallow real good.
    “Mr. Manucci,” Riller said, “I’ll put my cards on the table.”
    Listen to that Hebe, cards on the table! He’s got his guts on the table.
    “Please do,” I said.
    “It must be clear by now,” Riller said, “that I must have the money and I haven’t been able to get it elsewhere. I need the four twenty-nine.”
    “Five twenty-nine,” I reminded him. “You haven’t put anything on the table that wasn’t there. I knew your situation like a road map before you walked in. I don’t waste time on cold calls.”
    For a second, when Riller grabbed the side of the coffee table, I thought he was going to upend it. My mistake. He controlled himself real good, so in a sweet voice I said, “I can understand how you feel. A man with your reputation wouldn’t back out of this production even if he could.”
    Riller actually cracked a smile. It was like we were both looking at the truth and saying yeah, that’s the way it is.
    “Getting angry,” I said, “doesn’t do anybody any good.”
    He said, “I’m not angry.”
    “Good,” I said, “because I’m going to need a little security to make sure I get my principal back. I know you’re famous. Famous isn’t collateral. Don’t worry, I’m not asking to hold your wife on my farm upstate.”
    I laughed, waiting for him to laugh a little too.
    I said, “Mr. Hochman, I assume Mr. Riller has used all of his cash assets?”
    Riller took the ball. “Yes.”
    “Any equity in your house?”
    “Maybe four hundred thousand.”
    “I’ll take a second on that.”
    “Second?”
    “Mortgage.”
    Riller said, “That’s out of the question!”
    “The way I figure it, your house is already in jeopardy. What about your stocks?”
    “I’ve borrowed against them already.”
    “Municipals? A man who’s made what you’ve made over the years must have municipals.”
    “I can’t be left totally without resources if the production doesn’t work.”
    “I’m lending you money, not giving it to you, and I got to be sure to get it back.”
    “The only municipal I’ve got is for sixty thousand and it doesn’t mature for four years.”
    “That’s okay, I’ll just take an assignment of it. I know it’s your rainy-day money, Mr. Riller. This is your rainy day.”
    I know Riller had his hands on his knees to keep the shake from showing. I looked at his hands so he would know I knew he was nervous.
    “Don’t you worry about resources,” I said. “If the production works, maybe you won’t be rich, but you’ll be out of trouble. Tell you what. I’ll hire you as general manager for my next