Read Till the Butchers Cut Him Down for Free Online Page A

guaranteed. Farley removed his hat too, passing his
     hand over an iron-gray military cut. He motioned to me, and we went to stand pierside where the din was less intrusive.
    I said, “I suppose the incident wasn’t as life-threatening as Mr. Gordon made it out to be.”
    “Well, any time you have an accident out here it can be damned serious. And Mr. Gordon had neglected to put on his hard hat.”
     He thumped a knuckle on his own. “But the injury to his shoulder was minimal.”
    A minimal injury that “hurt like hell for days.” I was beginning to think my old friend suffered from a touch of hypochondria.
    “You investigated the accident?” I asked.
    “We conduct a thorough investigation of every accident, no matter how insignificant. And of course Mr. Gordon demanded a full-scale
     inquisition.” Farley smiled faintly, then squinted down at me to see how I’d taken the comment.
    I smiled too.
    “It was an accident, plain and simple,” he went on. “We determined who left the wrench up there, and he’s been disciplined.
     As for it falling, the vibration of the crane caused that. Operator confirms it, and he’s one of our most trusted employees.”
    “So as far as you know, no one connected with the terminal was trying to harm Mr. Gordon.”
    “As far as I know.”
    “Is there anyone working here who might have reason to harm him?”
    “… Well, men like him make enemies. He could have stepped on some toes. But as to whose …” He shrugged.
    “Are you aware of his plans for GGL?”
    “Yes, he’s been up-front all along.”
    “Don’t those plans pose a threat to the Port of Oakland?”
    “Well …” Farley thought, placing the hard hat under his arm and balancing it against one lean hip. “There’s no doubt that
     the port’s in trouble. Last year APL—American President Lines—chose to expand its terminals at Seattle and L.A. rather than
     Oakland. That was partly the port’s fault; it failed to put together the parcel of land they needed for their expansion. But
     the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA are responsible, too; they’ve delayed their scheduled dredging of Bay channels, and
     we can’t accommodate the new larger vessels.”
    “I thought the Inner Harbor dredging project was done.”
    “Only the first phase. Now the EPA’s concerned about finding appropriate dump sites for the rest of the silt. Typical bureaucracy—didn’t
     think it through beforehand—and the delay’ll cost the city millions of tax dollars and thousands of jobs. But that’s got nothing
     to do with GGL. Fact is, they aren’t a power in the industry, haven’t been for some time. I’d say their loss will have a negligible
     effect on the port’s income and the city’s economy.”
    “What about its effect on your terminal?”
    “Well, naturally we wish they’d stay. It’s always hard to lose a major customer. But they’re only one of many lines that use
     our facilities, and like I said, Mr. Gordon’s been up-front, given us enough time to work on attracting others.”
    “Mr. Farley, is there anything else you can tell me about the accident? Or about Mr. Gordon’s relationships with your employees?”
    He shifted his weight, eyes troubled. “About the accident, no. About your Mr. Gordon …”
    “You can be frank with me.”
    “I don’t like to carry tales, but … he’s touchy. Imagines slights. Flies off the handle without much provocation. They tell
     me he’s a smart businessman, but he’s not going about his business in a very smart way.”
    I was about to ask for specific examples when I heard Suits calling me. “Got to get moving fast. They need me at the office.”
    I took out one of my cards and handed it to Farley. “May I call you to discuss this further?”
    “Like I said, I don’t want to carry tales.”
    “Anything you tell me will be held in confidence.”
    He nodded curtly, pocketed the card, and relieved me of the hard hat.
    “Sherry-O, come
on
!”
    I took