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

hours of my calling Edward Young, I’m in his office at Capital Equity, on Fifty-first and Sixth. The offices themselves are so modern I think they must be updated every couple of weeks, and I have a hunch cost does not come up in discussions about furnishing and decorating the place. There are paintings on the wall that could feed Third World countries.
    I’m brought into Young’s office within five minutes of my arrival. Robby Divine’s mode of dress apparently isn’t standard issue among billionaires, because Young is wearing a suit and tie, though his jacket is draped over his chair.
    His office is as modern as the rest of the place. The art on the wall is no doubt nouveau-something, except for the signed Bob Gibson Cardinals jersey, which is framed and proudly hung behind his desk.
    I’ve done some research into Young, so I basically know where he’s from, where he went to school, what companies he runs, and where they’re located. Since the companies are privately owned, they don’t have to file financial reports, so the actual amount of his holdings is unknown. But suffice it to say that his career has been a very impressive one, and has obviously paid off.
    He’s at least fifteen years Robby’s senior, which probably puts him in his early fifties, and he has a relaxed air about him, smiling as he comes over to greet me. “Andy, Edward Young, nice to meet you.”
    “Thanks for seeing me.”
    He laughs. “I didn’t have any choice. I lost to Robby last week at golf. We play for favors, and he called this one in.”
    That makes sense to me. Betting money wouldn’t make it interesting, not for guys this wealthy. “But it snowed last week.”
    He smiles. “Not in Cabo.”
    “He says you cheat.”
    “He’s right about that. But this time I lost by so much that cheating wouldn’t have done any good. What can I do for you?”
    “I’m investigating a case involving Solarno Shrimp Corporation.”
    “The murder? Didn’t they put someone away for that years ago?”
    I nod. “My client. But he’s innocent.”
    “Aren’t they all.” It wasn’t a question, but rather a cynical comment.
    “Some aren’t, but this one is. What made you buy the company?”
    He frowns. “Temporary insanity. There’s a fairly short list of bad business decisions I’ve made. That one would be near the top of the list had it been a more expensive purchase.”
    “How much did you pay?”
    “Seventeen point five million.”
    “Your memory is precise,” I say.
    “Mistakes stay with me longer than successes. My advisers studied the company and said it was undervalued at the price, because the owner of the company was in need of cash.”
    “Did they say why?”
    He shakes his head. “Not that I can recall.”
    “You only ran the company for eighteen months.”
    He smiles. “Is that a question?”
    “Sorry, let me rephrase. How come you only ran the company for eighteen months?”
    “A combination of factors. Once Solarno died, I had no one to run it. I could have found someone, but the company was not what I thought it was.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Meaning it started bleeding cash.”
    “Was there anything about Solarno that concerned you?”
    He frowns. “That’s a broad question, Andy. When I take on a company, I hire good people to run it, I pay them very well, they give me their best advice, and I make the major decisions. If those decisions are consistently wrong, and they cost me money, I get rid of them.”
    “You make the decisions but get rid of them?” I ask.
    He nods, and smiles. “It was their advice. Besides, who am I going to fire? Me? Anyway, buying the company was a mistake, and keeping Solarno on compounded it. I didn’t realize the depth of the problem until he was gone, and by then it was fiscally responsible to shut down the operation.”
    “Do you keep records of all the employees?”
    He shrugs. “Probably somewhere. Maybe in a warehouse, or on some computer.”
    “Do these names mean