Aloysius wasn't particularly happy about interviewing Sullivan. He was rude and uncaring, the exact two characteristics Aloysius hated most when dealing with people. This meant he had to approach questioning Sullivan carefully. If Aloysius scared him off, he wouldn't answer any more questions the group had again.
So, as soon as Aloysius arrived home that evening, he pulled out a small, yellow padfolio and began writing down questions. Simple ones like Were you and Grant close?, Did Grant talk to anyone especially?, and Did you ever see Grant do anything suspicious? Yet, every simple question led Aloysius to think of another one and, soon enough, he had two and a half pieces of paper filled with potential questions. Aloysius knew he couldn't pull out the notepad while he was talking to Sullivan. That would give away the purpose of the conversation. But, it helped him get his thoughts together, and that was better than nothing.
Aloysius was already up and going early in the morning. He wanted to get this over with. Aloysius called Raymond before he left to update him on the case so far. They agreed to meet at some bowling lanes later in the weekend. Then, Aloysius grabbed the small notepad and left his apartment.
"Busy day ahead, Mr. Mills?" Mr. Thompson asked on the way down the elevator.
"Pardon?"
"You seem nervous. Do you have a busy day ahead of you?" Mr. Thompsons repeated himself.
"No, not busy. I have something I'm probably more worried about than I need to be," Aloysius shrugged, "But, hey, I've got to do it."
"Well, I wish you luck," Mr. Thompson said as the elevator doors opened in front of them.
Aloysius thanked him before exiting the elevator and making his way to his car. He drove to the nearest subway station and parked before riding down to the speakeasy. Aloysius greeted Madeleine.
"Sullivan here today?" he asked her as she opened the door.
"Yes, I believe he's manning the bar."
"Thanks."
Sure enough, Sullivan was sitting behind the bar, newspaper in hands. A few early risers were sprinkled throughout the speakeasy, sadly sipping on strong drinks. Aloysius walked over to the bar and sat on the opposite side as Sullivan.
"Hey, Sullivan, my man. How are you?"
Sullivan just grunted in response.
"Great.. well, I'll have a Bass Ale. Do you want something? You can probably drink because there's not many people here."
"Why are you being so nice, Louis?"
"It's how my mother raised me," Aloysius retorted.
Sullivan scoffed and poured their drinks, picking the most expensive one for himself. This time, a dollar hardly covered the whole bill.
"Say, how much do they pay you here anyways?"
"What's it to ya?" Sullivan almost yelled.
"I was thinking about your old accountant. Grant, was it?" Aloysius asked.
It looked like the gears were turning in Sullivan's head. That's why Aloysius was being so nice to him. He wanted answers to questions.
"Yeah, Grant. Nice kid. Went to college.. somewhere."
"It's too bad what happened to him. Did he have a family?" Aloysius further questioned.
"Everyone does."
Aloysius rolled my eyes, "I guess so, but some people are closer to their families than others."
"Grant didn't talk anything about his family. He had some sort of relationship with that Madeleine girl at the front desk, but I don't know much about it."
Aloysius nodded and sipped his drink. This was fascinating. How come the Priest didn't mention Madeleine?, "Did she come here recently?"
"I don't know, a while," Sullivan said. Aloysius opened his mouth to ask another question, but Sullivan continued, "Look, Louis, that's basically all I know. Doyle and him seemed to talk a lot. I think Grant had some gambling problems or, at least, he was always looking for more cash. Wanted to be famous, but don't we all?"
"I suppose so, yes," Aloysius drank the rest of his beer, then held out his hand. Sullivan hesitated before shaking it, "Thank you for this. I know Grant's death isn't easy to recall."
"Believe me, it was easier than you think," Sullivan said, "I wasn't close to the guy."
Aloysius nodded and excused himself. Before he left, Aloysius stopped at the front door and turned to Madeleine.
"I'm sorry about your fiance," he said. The girl seemed surprised and didn't respond. Aloysius smiled awkwardly before leaving. He was going to head home and call Raymond (or Raymond's neighbor) immediately. Hopefully, he was free for bowling today.
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