Leader of the Pack (Andy Carpenter) by David Rosenfelt Read Free Book Online

backseat.”
    I’m not getting anywhere with him; the idea of trying to convince a judge that Solarno was a target because he wasn’t doing a good shrimping job is a bit of a nonstarter.
    “Do you know why they were making those changes?”
    “Didn’t know, didn’t want to know. Just knew it was time to get out.”
    I’m floundering here, and starting to think that for me it’s also “time to get out.” “So the new people were not good shrimpers?”
    “Couldn’t be.”
    “Why not?”
    “You ever try to shoot a shrimp?”
    I can’t help but laugh. “Not lately. I don’t think that would work.”
    “So why would they need a boatload of guns?”
    “You saw a boatload of guns?” I ask.
    He nods. “I wasn’t supposed to, but I did.”
    “Do you know where they were going? Or who they were for?”
    “Nah.”
    “Weren’t you curious?”
    He shakes his head. “None of my business.”
    “But you quit.”
    He nods. “Where I work is my business.”
    “Will you testify to this?” When he looks confused, I say, “In court. If it comes to that.”
    This elicits a shrug. “Why not? It’s the truth.”

 
    It would be incorrect to describe Simon Ryerson as worried. Concerned and annoyed, yes, but not worried. Worried would imply that there was a chance the problem could become unmanageable, that it could spin out of control.
    There was little chance of that.
    It was a mistake for Iurato to let the lawyer visit with Nicky Fats. There was no telling what the old man might say, and what he did say wound up costing him his life, or at least what was left of it.
    So the lawyer had picked up on it, and was chasing it down. That was his reputation, and he was making good on it. He was going to have to be watched now, to see whom he talked to and what he learned.
    It would likely amount to nothing; there were too many layers to get through. It is always hard to find something when you have no idea what you’re looking for, and the lawyer was completely in the dark.
    But one never knows, not even when that one is Simon Ryerson. So Simon would have the situation monitored, and that would provide ample warning of possible danger.
    The key to running a successful business was accumulating as much information as possible, analyzing that information intelligently and dispassionately, and then acting decisively. And his intelligence and decisiveness were the main reasons he was put into this position.
    If more people had to die, then more people would die.
    It was simply the cost of doing business.

 
    The Solarno house has had a rough time of it.
    Hosting a notorious pair of murders rarely does much for resale value, and this was no exception. It sits high up on a hill in an expensive Montclair neighborhood, and its seclusion has tended to add to the “creepiness” factor.
    It gradually fell into disrepair, and was finally purchased from the bank a few years ago. The new owners planned a major renovation, but then the housing and financial crisis hit. They neither did the renovation nor moved in, and the bank has since foreclosed on their loan.
    I, of course, laugh in the face of both danger and superstition, so I have no concern that the house could be haunted. Having said that, I invited Laurie to come with me to examine the murder scene. She’s a terrific investigator, and she carries a gun, on the off chance that we have to shoot any ghosts.
    Both Laurie and I have been in the house before, in preparation for the original trial, but neither of us is prepared for what we see. The formerly beautifully landscaped property is overrun by weeds, windows are broken, and the front porch seems to be rotting. I don’t think real estate agents will be holding open houses anytime soon.
    If an agent ever did get someone through the front door, that’s as far as it would go. There are actually still faded bloodstains in the carpet where Richard lost his life. It looks like someone halfheartedly tried to wash it, with