eleven had been excused due to reservations about capital punishment . came in with a five-grand stake , worked it up to twenty before the night was through . the nickname made all sorts of things explode in my brain at once . well , i do n't , not even a little bit , because if the positions were reversed i 'd spend every waking moment tracking you down and when i found you , regardless of what was in the past , i 'd spend the rest of my life trying to make it better . 