VL-IV: Moving right along... Chapter 9 - Back at it

[John Bailey]

>Regarding the scene of the auction: "Older gentlement with fingertip  deficiencies could be noted circulating in the crowd, attentive as geishas, although to other signals." I'm probably missing something fairly obvious, any ideas? It feels sinister....
>

If a yakuza member messes up they can save face by lopping off a
fingertip. These guys are likely paying attention to the complex codes
and social cues of the gangster crowd.