He pulled the boy back on the seat and let him recover. He backed away from the pole and drove on through the dormitory area until he found a place to park on a secluded, tree-lined block. The boy’s eyes were open, regarding him expressionlessly. He touched his face where Shayne had hit him.

Shayne said, “Is that the way you make people feel like doing you a favor? Or did you really think you could knock me out and sign with Colfax before I spoiled it for you? You wanted to know who was in trouble. You’re in trouble.”

Black’s face folded in on itself. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

“You can always go to medical school,” Shayne said without sympathy. “There’s a big shortage of doctors.”

“There’s a shortage of pro quarterbacks,” Black said. “That pays better.” He doubled up his fist and hammered his knee. Apparently he had swallowed his gum. “I could make it. I could make it my first year with the Warriors. The guy they’ve got throwing for them now is thirty-six years old. I could be the biggest-”

“Don’t cry about it,” Shayne said. “I meant it when I said it might still happen. It’s up to you. I’ll tell you what the situation is, Johnny. The cops aren’t going to figure in this, and neither is your dean’s office or your athletic department. My client wants to know who did it to him, so it won’t happen again. I wasn’t sure before you threw that punch, but I’m sure now. There was a big rush on Georgia just before game time, most of it with a bookie who happens to be short of cash. He had to call on my client for two hundred thousand bucks to make the payoff. Before the dough could be delivered there was a stickup. The two hundred thousand went down the drain.”

“Two hundred thousand,” Black whispered.

“I’m glad to see you’re listening. It all ties in. My client watched the last half of the game on television. He has a good sense of smell, and he smelled four plays.”