Read Online The Detroit Electric Scheme by D. E. Johnson - Free Book Online

friends?”
    â€œNot so much anymore.” I wiped sweat from my forehead.
    â€œInteresting. Why do you suppose that is?”
    I shrugged again, trying to act nonchalant. “Well, I didn’t see him that often. His work kept him busy.”
    â€œBut he was at Anderson Carriage all the time.”
    â€œRight, well, we were both busy.”
    Riordan sat back and cocked an eye at me. “So he spent a lot of time at the factory, but you didn’t see him often. Why is that?”
    â€œPeople drift apart. It happens.”
    â€œAny particular reason you drifted, Will?”
    I didn’t know what Riordan had found out, but I wasn’t going to volunteer anything. “No.”
    He stared at me for a long moment. “Seems people liked John.”
    â€œHe was very charming.”
    â€œWas John still close with anyone else from college?”
    â€œThe football team always got together for homecoming in Ann Arbor. But I don’t think he was particularly close to any of them.”
    â€œAt Mr. Cooper’s apartment,” Riordan said, “we found four sets of fingerprints—two men and two women. The women proved to be Cooper’s maid and Elizabeth Hume. Cooper, of course, was one of the men. The other also had big hands. Any idea who that might be?”
    I thought for a moment. “Well, John spent a lot of time with Frank Van Dam. He’s almost as big as Cooper, probably six-three, two forty.”
    â€œHow might we get ahold of Mr. Van Dam?”
    â€œHe works for John at the Employers Association. Well . . . worked for John, I guess.”
    â€œTell me about him.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œWhat kind of man is he?”
    â€œI don’t really know him. He mostly hangs—hung—around with John.”
    â€œWhat did he do for Cooper?”
    â€œHe was John’s right-hand man. You know, kept the peace, knocked some union guys around, that kind of thing.”
    Riordan wrote something on his notepad, then shifted in his chair. “What do you like to drink, Will?”
    â€œOh, I don’t know. The usual, I guess—beer, whiskey, that sort of thing.”
    â€œBourbon?”
    I shrugged. “Sometimes.”
    â€œHmm. And what size shoes do you wear?”
    Shit
. “Eleven. Or ten. Depends on the shoe.”
    He nodded and pursed his lips. His scar puckered near his mouth. “Ten? That’s interesting, Will.” He didn’t say anything else.
    I tried to keep the fear out of my voice. “Is there a point to this or can I go home?”
    He crossed his arms and looked up, deep in thought, his eyes searching the ceiling. “Ten,” he said again.
    â€œLook, I didn’t kill Cooper. It had to be the AFL.”
    â€œWhy do you say that?”
    I explained to him about Cooper’s job, about how the unions would want him gone, about how doing it at our factory would serve their purposes.
    He just sat slumped in his seat, staring at me from under the brim of his fedora. When I finished, he said, “Huh,” and went back to staring at me.
    I couldn’t take any more. “I had nothing to do with it. Let me out of here.”
    â€œSure, Will, sure,” he said in a soothing voice, holding his hands out in front of him. “Settle down. I wouldn’t want to make you angry. You might run to your daddy, get me in trouble.”
    â€œWhy don’t you—” I stopped myself and took a deep breath. Exhaling, I stood, grabbed my cap and duster, and stalked to the door. I threw it open and turned back to Riordan, who still sat at the table. “Leave me alone. John was my friend. I’m innocent.”
    He gave me a wry smile. “Oh, no, Will. Everyone’s guilty of something. Even a rich boy like you. I’ve just got to figure out what you’re guilty of.”

 
CHAPTER SIX
    After calming my nerves with a few drinks, I climbed into bed. It seemed