“I still think there’s another gang out there some where,” Nunzio growled. “There’s too much going down for it to be independent operators.”
“You’re half right,” Shai-ster corrected. “There’s too much going down for it to be a gang. Nobody’s into that many things… not even us!”
“You lost me there, Shai-ster,” I said, genuinely curious.
The mobster favored me with a patronizing smile.
“That’s right. As a magician, you don’t know that much about how organized crime works. Let me try to explain. When the Mob decides to move in, we hit one specialty field at a time… you know, like protection or the numbers. Like that. Focusing our efforts yields a better saturation as well as market penetration.”
“That makes sense,” I nodded, not wanting to admit he had lost me again.
“Now you take a look at what’s happening here. We’re getting all sorts of claims; vandalism, shoplifting, armed robbery, even a couple cases of arson. It’s too much of a mix to be the work of one group. We’re dealing with a lot of small-time independents, and if we can make an example of a few of them, the others will decide there are easier pickings elsewhere.”
In a way, I was glad to hear this. I owed Aahz one more back-pat. He was the one who had decided that the efforts of our team were too limited. To accelerate our “crime wave,” he had introduced the dubious practice of “insurance fraud” to Deva . . . and the Deveels were fast learners.
Is your stock moving too slow? Break it yourself and turn in a claim for vandalism. Trying to sell your shop, but nobody wants to buy, even at a discount? Torch the place and collect in full. Better still, want to fatten up your profit margin a little? Dummy up a few invoices and file a claim for “stolen goods.” All profit, no cost.