Софи Келли - Faux Paw

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.

“Not me. I swear,” I said, smiling back at her. Maggie poked me in the ribs with her elbow. I pressed my lips together and tried to look contrite.

Marcus still looked uncomfortable. Brady, on the other side of Maggie, was grinning like a fool. A bad feeling began to buzz at the base of my skull.

“No,” I said softly.

Maggie looked back over her shoulder, then grabbed my arm. “Kath,” she said, her voice low and tight.

I glanced back. Eddie had just walked in. The buzzing in my head got louder. He was wearing a suit and carrying a single red rose.

I met Maggie’s eyes. “No,” I said again.

He looked so damn happy. I had a Walter Mitty–esque fantasy in which I jumped up and tackled Eddie before he made it to us. But given that I was a five-foot six-inch librarian and he was six foot four inches of NHL hockey player, it wasn’t going to happen.

The song ended with a flourish just as Eddie made it to us. He dropped to one knee and held out the rose. Roma looked at Eddie and then back at Maggie and me. She didn’t look panicked or even surprised. She just looked . . . sad. She got to her feet and took the flower he was holding out.

There was so much love shining on Eddie’s face that my chest tightened. I didn’t know who to hurt more for: him or Roma.

“Roma Davidson, I love you,” Eddie said, his voice edged with emotion. “Will you marry me?”

She didn’t answer. She just looked at him while what seemed like half the town watched and waited.

I looked in Tony’s direction, trying to get his attention. “Play!” I mouthed urgently, shaking my hand in the air.

He looked surprised, but something in my expression compelled him to lift his baton and start the next song. It was Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money.” I knew that wasn’t a coincidence. It was another of Roma’s favorites.

Eddie’s smile faded. He was still holding Roma’s hand and she still hadn’t said a word. Slowly he got to his feet.

I tipped my head in the direction of the door to the hallway. “Go,” I whispered at him. I touched Roma’s arm. “Go with Eddie,” I said softly.

She didn’t turn to look at me or say a word, but she went with him, still holding hands, and the whole room applauded.

I looked at Maggie and tried to swallow down the lump in my throat. It wouldn’t go.

“She needs us,” Maggie said.

I nodded. “I know.”

Everyone’s attention was back on the music. Two girls and a boy, all in black-framed shades, were rocking their sax solo. Beside me Marcus looked . . . guilty. Suddenly everything made sense. He’d been in on this. That’s what he’d been trying to tell me. By the look on Brady’s face, him, too.