"I'd better get going before the snow gets any deeper."The television switched to the weather man. "I just want to give you an idea of how bad it is o...t there. Take a look at this shot from the tower cam."The image popped up, which usually gave a wide view of downtown. All Tracy could see was a few feet of thick, fast blowing snow."Now here's the view from the foyer of the studio," the weatherman continued.The video was much the same as that from the tower camera, though Tracy could just make. His heart jumped. The stained sheets of his bed had not only been tangled but also ripped. He called for his wife. He searched through every room but could find neither his wife nor the baby Imam. He had missed a day’s worth of work and checked his messages. Two messages from Rothenberg asked him to meet at the downtown office. These messages were not that important compared to the third faint message from someone with very broken English. It said:“Hello, I’m reaching Queresh and Maryam —-. I’m. “Shit,” he said, “I backed the wrong horse. They upped the ante on you to $40,000 and that would have wiped out my gambling debt. It wasn’t personal, I mean, I like you. I’ve been rooting for you,” he told her, Puma frowned at the man. “It wasn’t personal,” he reassured her. “I’m just underwater.”“Why didn’t you tell me you need help?” she asked, her voice icy cold.“Because of the deal. No more gambling,” he told her, “that was the deal. You said if I gamble again, you’re done with me. I broke. He would mail a letter to the famous player, requesting his autograph, and would include within it the 3 x 5 card and a self-addressed, stamped return envelope. Most of the time -- not always -- the player would sign the card and return it as requested.Sometimes, a "stamped" signature would be received by the boy, suggesting that the player's wife, or a secretary, had substituted an impersonal rubber stamp for the player's personal signature.When this happened, the boy would pretend that he.