Part 2 (2/2)

Maggie turned at the sound of Roma's voice. Too fast, it turned out. Eddie's other arm came swinging up, carried by momentum, and smacked Maggie on the head. Her hand automatically went to the spot. ”Ow!” She yelled.

Eddie's upper body hit the tile floor. The s.h.i.+ft in weight caught Roma off balance. She went down hard on her backside, Eddie's legs bowing out on either side of her. I scrambled over to them. It probably would've been better if I hadn't laughed.

Maggie rubbed the side of her head just above her ear.

”Are you okay?” I said.

”I'm all right.” She looked past me at Eddie splayed on the floor. ”Is he all right?”

Roma waved a hand. ”I'm okay,” she said. ”Don't worry about me.”

”All Eddie's parts seem to be attached, but I think there might be a two-minute penalty for knocking Roma over,” I said. ”Unnecessary roughness.”

I climbed over the dummy and offered a hand to Roma. ”You all right?” I asked.

She nodded. ”Yeah. Luckily I landed on the part with all the padding.”

Maggie was down on her hands and knees, checking Eddie carefully.

”Anything break?” I asked.

She sat back on her heels. ”I don't think so,” she said. ”But one of the s.h.i.+n pads s.h.i.+fted.”

”Not a problem,” Roma said. She walked over to our coats, fished in the pocket of her parka and tossed a roll of duct tape to Maggie.

”You have a roll of duct tape in your pocket, too?” I said.

Roma grinned. ”I told you. Duct tape and chocolate will fix pretty much any problem.”

Maggie tore off a couple of pieces of tape and reached up under the dummy's sock. After a minute she smoothed it down and wiggled the leg. ”Better,” she said. She handed me the roll and smiled at Roma. ”Thanks.”

I slipped the tape on my arm like a fat bracelet. ”Okay, why don't I grab his shoulders?” I said. ”Roma, you take his feet, and, Mags, you direct us.”

I slid my arms around Eddie, holding him in a kind of backward bear hug. With Maggie directing us and watching for swinging arms, we managed to get Eddie in place on the bench. Roma kneeled on the floor, keeping him steady while Maggie fastened Eddie into position. I glanced behind me. I could see Mary and Abigail moving around in the kitchen. The door to the hall swung open and Oren started across the floor toward us.

He smiled when he saw me. ”h.e.l.lo, Kathleen,” he said. ”How are you?”

”I'm well, Oren,” I said. ”Thanks for coming to let us in.”

He gave a slight shrug. ”Thorsten probably just got caught up in the auction and lost track of time. Have you seen Maggie's pictures?”

”Not yet.”

”Would you like to see photograph of my father?” he asked shyly.

”Yes,” I said. ”Where is he?”

We walked over to the wall. Oren scanned the panels, then pointed to a scrum of young men gathered by the edge of the frozen river, probably for a pickup game of hockey. ”That's him on the left.”

I could see the resemblance. Oren's father had the same fair hair and rangy build. Oren himself always made me think of Clint Eastwood. ”You look alike,” I said.

”Everyone says that.”

”Where was the picture taken?”

”You know where the marina is?” he said. ”Back then they put out a wooden dock in the summer. In the winter the kids-well, the boys,” he corrected himself, ”played hockey. It was long before they made it deeper for the boats, so the ice froze pretty solid.”

I studied the boy in the center of the picture. Like the others, his expression was serious, but there was confidence on his face. I tried to picture time adding lines around the mouth and eyes. I s.h.i.+fted back to Oren's face. ”Is that Harrison Taylor?”

Oren nodded.

”I didn't know Harry played hockey.”

”Good enough to be invited to the Black Hawks training camp. He helped coach at the high school and junior high.”

That was how Harry knew Agatha, I realized, although in a place as small as Mayville everyone pretty much knew everyone else, anyway.

”These photographs are wonderful,” I said to Oren. ”Are there any of you?”

He shook his head. ”I wasn't very athletic.”

Oren had been a musical prodigy. He probably hadn't had much chance to play hockey or softball or anything like that.

I remembered then that Mary and Abigail had wanted to get out the tables.

”Oren, I forgot,” I said. ”Mary and Abigail are in the kitchen. Could you let them into the storage room so they could set up the tables?”

He nodded. ”Sure.”

He took a couple of steps toward Maggie and Roma. ”Maggie, are you all set?” he asked.

Maggie had her foot up on the edge of the bench, knee jammed against Eddie's back to keep him upright. ”I am, Oren,” she said. ”Thank you for coming down here. I'm sorry I had to bother you.”

”You didn't,” he said. ”I'll be here first thing in the morning if you need to get in to do anything.” He smiled at me. ”It was good to see you, Kathleen.”

It was my opening. ”Oren,” I began slowly.

He turned to face me. ”Yes.”

”Yes?” I said.

His smile got a little bigger and he nodded.

”I haven't asked you anything.”

”You were going to ask if I'd let you put my father's sculptures on display for the library's centennial celebrations.”

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