“Right this way.” He shuffled along the long row of ancient books. At the end of the row, he turned, his arm out. Five stacks down, he turned right, into a row of black-bound volumes. “It’s not often we get newcomers to Diamond. I was born there in Diamond, way back when old Caesar Diamond and his pack was shooting up the area, back in Eighteen and Twenty-Seven.” The old man cackled. “Big Cassino and the Beer Card Boys, that’s what his men called themselves. You ever hear of them?”
“No, sir.” A newcomer wouldn’t know about them.
“I remember running after their carriages as a lad, when they rooted out the Wheelcard Gang. Those was exciting days.”
He moved along, his hand running across the books. “Here we go, Plat 3123/66, the Omaha building. All the blueprints you need.” He took out the
