Outfoxed: An Andy Carpenter Mystery
it?”
    He nods. “They have, but cybercrime is not their primary focus, and never will be. Their strength is in the person-to-person dealing, the intimidation and force tactics. I don’t see them as morphing into nerds who sit in their basement and try to rule the world.”
    “Do you see Petrone moving into that world at all?”
    He thinks about it, then shrugs. “He seems like the type; he fancies himself to be smart and capable of adapting, and he’s probably right about that. But he’s also old school in a lot of ways, so it’s hard to say.”
    I’m just swinging blindly, hoping to get lucky and hit something.
    I take another swing. “Why was Petrone shot at last night? And why did they miss?”
    “Petrone knew they were coming; he wasn’t even in the room when they got there. Mazzi didn’t have such good intelligence, which is why he isn’t living anymore. Chalk up a big win for Petrone.”
    “So they were after each other?” I ask.
    “Either that, or it’s a bigger coincidence than my having your Giants tickets.”
    “I need a road map here,” I say. “Petrone is somehow involved in my client’s case, and I don’t know what rock to look under. Help me out, and anything I get is yours.”
    He hesitates before responding, then, “Look, what I’m about to tell you is off the record, and I’ll tell you going in that I see no connection to your case.”
    It’s not exactly a positive preamble, but I’ll certainly hear him out.
    He continues. “Petrone has been engaging in some unusual activity lately. At this point we don’t know what he’s doing, or why, but there is something going on.”
    “Unusual how?”
    “Well, for one thing, his people have been making a series of trips to other cities, to meet with Petrone’s peers, the heads of those local families. Petrone himself has not traveled; he’s become more of a homebody in his old age.”
    “What cities?” I ask.
    He shrugs. “No pattern. The ones we know of are San Antonio, Cleveland, Vegas, Chicago, and Baltimore.”
    “Could he be trying to get a piece of their action?”
    “We don’t know, but we have reason to believe he’s not making any friends. If he’s trying to expand, it’s very uncharacteristic. He’s always been completely local; he likes it that way. Invading other territories turns the system on its head.”
    “So maybe the Bronx was just another area he’s trying to move in on?” I ask. “And that’s why it went down the way it did last night?”
    He shrugs again. “Always possible.”
    Whatever Petrone is doing, I’m not seeing how it could have anything to do with the double murder that Brian is accused of. I probe Leonard with some more general questions, but I get nothing, and I don’t think he’s holding back anything having to do with Brian’s case.
    By now we’re finished eating, and the waitress comes over with the check. “It’s breakfast, so he’ll get it,” Leonard tells her, pointing to me. He stands up, not even waiting for me to pay it. “The Giants seats any good?” he asks.
    “Forty-five yard line. Club seats.”
    He nods. “That should do.”

 
    “I’ve got a couple of things I think you’ll like.” Sam says that as soon as he walks in the door to my office, and as conversation starters go, that ranks way above “hello.” Hike is there with him, and if Sam was willing to sit with Hike until I got here, he must really want to tell me something important.
    Edna is not here, but that’s not quite alarming enough to send out an all-points bulletin.
    “Have you heard this news?” I ask Hike.
    “Yeah.”
    “What do you think?”
    “If it’s true, it’s okay. If not, it’s a waste of time.”
    Now I’m really excited, because that assessment coming out of Hike’s mouth is an unqualified rave. I sit down across from Sam and say, “Let’s hear it.”
    “Well, you told me to look into Gerry Wright’s life, his finances, acquaintances, that kind of

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