Is a Wily Fox a Killer Too?

I'm not sure whether to believe the Black Fox when he says he had nothing to do with Castillo Drake's death.

Odessa's evidence is highly circumstantial. She saw Fox arguing with Castillo the week before his death, and she thinks she knows that her father stole something the Fox wanted badly. But she doesn't seem to know exactly what they argued about, only what she assumes. She knows the Fox is getting older, and figures like most of the other thieves, he wants to keep living so he can keep stealing.

Again, circumstantial. The Fox, of course, claims he's innocent, and that his argument with Castillo was because he was worried about his protege. Also, and this is something he doesn't mention, but seems worth noting, if Castillo had a tome the Fox wanted, one the Fox was willing to kill for, why didn't he take the book after killing Castillo? Odessa has it, that's how she made the bargain to give immortality back to the New York Guild.

Plus, it doesn't really seem like Fox' style to kill someone as part of a heist. Seems too messy. It doesn't seem like Felicia's style, either, and if we're going with the idea she was trained by the Fox, then it doesn't seem unreasonable she'd take after him in that regard. Maybe that's a mistake on my part. The Fox got a lot of mileage out of pretending to just be a sweet old man - who happened to be a master thief - when dealing with Spider-Man. Got Spidey to protect him from Silver Sable, and even Dr. Doom.

The Fox told Felicia that sometimes, you can't avoid a violent confrontation by running away or paying someone off. In those circumstances, you have to settle things decisively. Then he ran a man who was threatening them off the road and ran him over. Decisive. So if he really wanted the book, and couldn't steal or buy it away from Castillo, he would have to remove him.

But it still leaves the question of why he wouldn't have taken the book. He wouldn't have gone in ready to kill for the book without knowing where the book was. If he walks away empty-handed, he killed someone for nothing.

My gut feeling is, the Fox is innocent. There were probably plenty of other people who wanted that book, who would be willing to kill, but not smart enough to actually find it. But I feel like the Fox is after more than just all the wealth the Guild collects as a tithe from their members, something he hasn't told Felicia about, which is going to put her and her boys in danger. If that's the case, then maybe the reveal he did kill Odessa's father, Felicia's father's friend, wouldn't be such a surprise.