In the middle of the shop, past Virgil Hill's spit buckets, sits a box whose contents sometimes include gum, bullets or $900 cash.

Or pens, cold tablets, candy, change, watches, Band-Aids, paychecks, cell phones and, one time, the jaw bone to some type of critter.

The lost-and-found at Turitto's Dry Cleaners & Laundry has held it all.

Temporarily.

Everything found in customers' pockets goes back to the customer, unless it's change that amounts to less than a quarter. Then it goes in the pop fund.

"You have to check the pockets, because if you miss a 49-cent ink pen you could ruin $1,000 worth of clothes," owner Tony Turitto, a longtime Virgil promoter and spit-bucket provider, said. "We want to make sure you get back whatever it was you left in your pockets, but the No. 1 thing is to protect (the merchandise)."

Right after the customers hand over their garments, the pockets are explored. Anything of value - and there have been many valuable items forgotten in pockets - goes in the box, then in an envelope with the customer's invoice.

Sometimes, special phone calls are made. When that 900 bucks was found, Turitto made a call. When jewelry gets found, Turitto calls. Basically, if it's over $50, he'll call to ease your pain.

"We've found a couple hundred bucks or more many times," he said. "You'd be surprised how many people leave their paycheck in their pocket, or their whole wallet or checkbook."

But sometimes there is no call, or any mention of what was found.

This week, a pair of underwear was found in one pocket and a few Polaroids of the inside of a bar in another. Potentially incriminating evidence such as that, or hotel receipts, earn no mention from Turitto. He doesn't want to get a customer in trouble. If clients come in and specifically ask for those items, they're returned.

Heidi Heinzer, who works the front desk at Turitto's Main Avenue location in Bismarck, said more women than men drop off clothes at the store. But it's more men than women who leave things in their pockets. Men's garments generally have more pockets than women's, after all.

Of the 300 to 400 pieces of clothing laundered at Turitto's in a day, 30 to 40 will have something in the pockets, Heinzer said.

"When they get it back, they're always surprised," Heinzer said.

Glenda Weichel, manager of One Hour Martinizing in Bismarck, said the dry cleaning business used to be a lot more interesting. She'd find things like rabbits' feet, matches and nude pictures of women all the time. Nowadays, though, she said people are good about cleaning their pockets.

The contents of the pockets of Arrowhead Cleaners customers shall remain a mystery, as that business elected not to discuss the situation.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)