"The man with the golden arm."

"The captain never drank. Yet, toward nightfall in that smoke-colored season between Indian summer and December's firs…"

"The city had filled him with the guilt of others; he was numbed by his charge sheet's accusations. For twenty years, …"

"‘I got nuttin' against Kvork. It's just him don't like me,’ the chinless wonder protested. ‘Fact is I respect Cousin …"

"She raised her arms elegantly, like a real lady in a deodorant ad, high over her head. ‘Anyhow it ain't red, it's jus…"

"‘Any time you want me, Captain, just phone by Antek, he'll come 'n tell me I got to come down 'n get arrested. I like…"

"‘He ain't no moron,’ the veteran confided to Record Head, ‘he's a moroff. You know; more off than on.’"

"‘It's all in the wrist 'n I got the touch,’ Frankie was fond of boasting of his nerveless hands and steady eye. ‘I ne…"

"That was the way things were because that was how things had always been. Which was why they could never be any diffe…"

"The little petit-larceny punk from Damen and and the dealer still got along like a couple playful pups. ‘He's like me…"