“It’s nothing,” Marcus continued. “I’m just a bit surprised you’re out there without me.”
I smiled. I had good memories of feeding the cat colony with him as we’d gotten to know each other. “Roma asked me at tai chi last night,” I said. “I figured you’d be tied up with the case. Has anything changed?”
He exhaled loudly. “We’re going to start searching the library, book by book, this morning, but it’s going to take some time. Do you know how many items we’ll have to go through?”
“Forty-one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, counting DVDs and CDs,” I said. I paused for a moment. “Give or take.”
He laughed. “Okay, I deserved that.”
“Are we still on for tonight?” I asked as I fished my keys out of the pocket of my jeans.
“Yes,” he said. “I was planning on picking you up at about six thirty, if that works.”
Mayville Heights was experimenting with offering some outdoor concerts on the Riverwalk during the spring and summer. The senior high band was kicking things off with a concert planned for seven fifteen on the grassy area in front of the St. James Hotel.
“That’s fine, but I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll be in the community center, not outside, judging by how it looks overhead.” I leaned forward to look through the windshield. Gray clouds were rolling across the sky.
“That’s okay,” he said. “That’ll work.”
I heard voices in the background. “I have to go. I’ll see you at six thirty and then we’ll pick up Roma.”
Marcus had suggested we invite Roma to go to the concert with us. “You and I are together and Maggie is seeing Brady Chapman.” He’d managed not to roll his eyes at the last part. “I know Roma has Eddie, but he’s not here.”
I knew Roma was still struggling with the idea that Eddie wanted to marry her. I thought it might be a good idea to get her out of the house for a while, so I’d enlisted Maggie to help me convince Roma to join us all at the concert. What I really wanted was to tell her to trust that Eddie loved her and to marry him. I agreed with Maggie: There was more than one way to make a family. I also wanted to tell her not to waste any time with him, but I hadn’t exactly listened when she and Maggie had tried to tell me that about Marcus, so when she talked about Eddie I listened and tried not to judge.
I spent a large part of the day at Maggie’s studio, trying to keep the various groups that had relocated from the library working in their temporary space. Abigail came to help me and I was very glad to have her unflappable presence beside me.
Marcus pulled up to the house at twenty-five minutes after six. He was wearing jeans and a gray V-neck pullover with a navy T-shirt underneath and a black rain slicker. He’d shaved again and he smelled like a combination of spicy aftershave and Juicy Fruit gum.
“There’s something I really need to tell you before we go get Roma,” he said. He suddenly looked very serious. “I should have told you days ago and I’m sorry.”
My cell phone rang then. I held up a hand. “Hold on a sec,” I said.
It was Harry Taylor.
“Hi, Kathleen,” he said. “I was at the library and it’s raining.”
“I noticed,” I said.
“Well, the police took down the rain chain and a section of gutter. I’m pretty sure we’ve got some water going into the loading-dock area. I need to get in there and turn on the pump. Do I need to call Marcus Gordon?”
“Hang on, Harry,” I said. “Marcus is here with me.” I quickly explained what was going on. “Can I go let Harry into the loading dock? Please? We won’t be going in to the library proper.”
He nodded. “Go ahead.”
“I’m on my way,” I told Harry.
“No need,” he said. “I’m almost at your place.”
“Okay,” I said. I dropped my phone into my pocket. “You go get Roma, save me a seat. I’ll meet you at the concert,” I said to Marcus.
“Kathleen, we really need to talk,” he said.
“After the concert. I promise.” I gave him a quick kiss that landed on his chin instead of his mouth, and then I dashed out into the rain.
Harry was waiting in his truck. At the library, we walked around to the loading dock and he gave me a boost up. I’d already called the evening security guard to let him know we’d be banging around at the back of the building. I didn’t want him to think someone was trying to break in.
There was just a small amount of water inside. Harry got the pump working while I walked around to make sure everywhere else was dry.
“We’re good for now,” Harry said, “but we need to get that gutter and chain back up as soon as we can.”
I nodded. “I’ll talk to Marcus.”
I made it to the community center with five minutes to spare.
I could see Marcus four rows from the front. Roma was on the aisle and there was an empty seat next to Maggie and Brady with Maggie’s coat across the back.
“Thanks, Mags,” I said, dropping into the folding chair next to her and handing back her coat.
She smiled. “Don’t thank me. It was Brady’s idea.”
I leaned around her and smiled at Burtis Chapman’s oldest son. He may have been a lawyer and his dad may have been a businessman who danced around the edges of the law, but father and son were a lot alike and I liked them both. “Thank you for saving seats for us,” I told him.
“Anytime, Kathleen,” he said with a smile that was just like his father’s, too.
“Everything okay at the library?” Marcus asked.
I nodded. “Harry got the pump working.” I leaned across him and smiled at Roma.
“Marcus said you had to go to the library. Is everything all right?” Roma asked.
“Harry saved the day, as usual,” I said.
“How were the cats this morning?”
“They all looked fine. Smokey ate well and he doesn’t seem to be limping as much.”
Smokey was the oldest of the feral cat colony as far as Roma knew. He’d injured his leg just before Christmas and had had a slow recuperation, but in the past month he’d seemed to be doing a lot better.
“How did your surgery go?” I asked.
“Better than I hoped,” Roma said, tucking her dark hair behind one ear.
She gave me a brief rundown on the operation to stabilize the hip of a black lab that had been hit by a car. I liked to listen to Roma talk about her work. I found it fascinating. The librarian in me loved to learn about pretty much everything. The members of the band began to take their places then, and I straightened up.
The concert began with a selection of classical pieces. The senior band was very, very good, one of the top school bands in the state, mostly because of their music director, Tony Morrow. He was short and stocky, built like an MMA fighter, with a deep love of music. I knew from his borrowing habits that he had eclectic taste in music, and I’d come to enjoy seeing him come into the library and being able to talk to him about what he was listening to in a given week.
Tony’s enthusiasm for music was contagious, and when he’d mentioned the upcoming concert to me, I’d promised to be there.
Marcus put a hand on my arm. “I need to tell you something,” he whispered.
Before he could say another word, Maggie leaned forward and glared at him. I smiled and mouthed the word “later.” Marcus looked . . . troubled. Whatever he was going to say had to have something to do with the case. It could wait.
The second part of the program was more contemporary music, and the kids all looked a little less serious. They launched into Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Tony’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he conducted. He shot a look in my direction and winked.
Roma was in the aisle seat. She smiled and leaned around Marcus. “Kathleen, did you do this?” she whispered. It was her favorite song.