Outfoxed: An Andy Carpenter Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

after making restitution and paying a large fine. His descent came when he was accused and convicted of embezzling funds from his firm.
    Gerald Wright was a key witness against his partner, despite publicly professing sadness at having to assume that role. Brian’s five-year sentence was a very light one, a testimony to Nathan’s effectiveness as his attorney and to Brian’s never having been accused of anything previously.
    The information suggests that Brian was the business guy, while Wright focused more on the technology. But apparently Brian had significant capabilities in the tech end as well, and the allegations are that he used his computer expertise to facilitate the embezzlement.
    Edna shows up a couple of hours after Sam, file in hand.
    She’s a real dynamo.

 
    “It was the french fries, Your Honor. I did it for the fries.” That’s what I would say to a judge to explain my motivation for committing whatever crime I might someday be accused of. If I got lucky and the judge had been to Charlie’s, he’d understand and let me off with a warning.
    Charlie’s is the perfect restaurant. Not because it has twenty-two flat-screen televisions that allow viewing access to at least four of them from every table in the place. Not because the hamburgers come charred on the outside and pink on the inside, alongside pickles that have mastered the art of crunching. Not because the beer comes ice cold in glasses that are even colder.
    No, it is the french fries that have Charlie’s sitting alone as the only five-star restaurant in the Andy Carpenter Guide to Fine Dining. They have no trace of oiliness or grease, and the chef will even cook them to taste. He long ago learned that I want mine burned to such a crisp that an autopsy would have to be done to prove that they were descended from potatoes.
    So while I am pissed off at Pete for following me and thereby capturing Brian, I am not going to avoid him, because he spends every night at Charlie’s. And that is because Charlie’s, as I may have mentioned, has rather excellent french fries.
    Pete is at our regular table when I arrive, sitting with Vince Sanders, who is here so often I think he might be nailed to the floor. Vince is the editor of our local paper, and although he could be classified as a close friend, I don’t think I would recognize him if he didn’t have a sneer on his face and a beer in his hand.
    It’s opening night of the NBA season, and Vince is a die-hard Knicks fan, so he’s staring at their game on one of the TVs. They’re down twenty in the second quarter, which means they’re in midseason form.
    “Well, look who’s here,” Pete says when he sees me.
    “You’re surprised?” I ask. “Didn’t you have me followed?”
    “No, but I’m going to tail you when you leave. Maybe you’ll lead me to John Dillinger, or Al Capone.”
    “I’m looking forward to getting you on the stand,” I say, a pathetic comeback that Pete simply laughs at.
    It does get Vince to look away from the TV for a moment. “Your boy is going to plead not guilty?” Vince couldn’t care less what happens to Brian, he is simply interested in getting a scoop for tomorrow’s paper.
    “Off the record? Absolutely,” I lie.
    “Off the record?” asks Vince. “That’s not a phrase I’m familiar with.”
    “He’s bullshitting, Vince,” Pete says. “Either that or he wants to go to trial so he can make a big fee. Money talks.”
    “Speaking of money, my days of picking up the check in this establishment are over.” Since I am far richer than either of my obnoxious friends, it has become standard for me to pay the checks at Charlie’s.
    “On the other hand,” Pete says, “everyone is entitled to the best defense possible. Innocent until proven guilty, I always say.”
    “Really?” I ask. “I can’t recall you ever saying that.”
    Vince nods vigorously, the panic at possibly having to pay showing clearly. “He says it all the time. Right after he