The Cinch (1986)

The Cinch

Richard Martins's first novel, published by Villard Books in 1986, is set in Chicago's illegal sports betting. The FBI's Operation Clothesline uses computers to beat the mob's odds, and agent Frank Thorne goes undercover as a stockbroker with cash-heavy clients to squeeze the bookmaker Sonny Greco into turning in his bosses; the two men end up friends instead. (Open Library)

Watches

Cartier (unidentified model)

Greco and his phone man Pizza Sal wait in a booth at Padrino's for Johnny Roses, the boss Greco answers to and addresses as Mister Ross, to account for a losing week and for Sal's arrest. Johnny arrives ten minutes later, always on time and always in a hurry, checking the Cartier he wears upside-down on his left wrist before he slides into the booth, and checks it again once he is sitting. The maker is named; the model is not.

Source text: Johnny Roses arrived ten minutes later: always on time, always in a hurry, checking the Cartier watch he wore upside-down on his left wrist before sliding into the booth and pointing at Sal. (Richard Martins, The Cinch, scan cataloged as Villard Books, 1986, p. 32; Internet Archive scan OCR)