Cat Trick

“Just a little,” Rebecca said. “I was helping Mary this afternoon. We were ironing all the backdrops for the booths in the two tents. Mary had ironed every single one of them last week and hung them on a couple of racks in the tent, but of course the police had to look through them and they got wrinkled again. I think I’m a bit out of practice. I don’t iron many things these days.” She laced her fingers in her lap. “That was so sad about Michael.”

I turned right, glancing over at her as I did. “You knew him?”

“Heavens, yes,” she said. “I gave Michael his first haircut and every one after that until the family left Mayville Heights. He was so full of life.” Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her hold up one hand. “And yes, Kathleen, I’ve heard what people have been saying around town about Michael—that he was rude and insulting and no one really wanted to work with him.” She sighed softly. “All I can say is, that’s not the young man I knew.”

“What was he like when you knew him, when he was younger?” I asked, looking ahead for a parking spot.

“Full of life,” Rebecca said. “He could hardly sit still in the chair for me to cut his hair—not because he had a problem paying attention. It was just that he was so full of energy and there were so many things he wanted to do. He was on the ski patrol. He helped his old coach at every track-and-field event the little ones at the elementary school had.”

I spied an empty parking space, big enough for the truck, a couple of doors down from the tai chi studio and backed into it.

“You’ve probably heard what happened to Michael’s brother,” Rebecca said.

I nodded.

“He was different after that. But then, how could he not be?” She looked at me, her blue eyes warm and kind, as always. “But I think that young man who was so full of life was still somewhere inside. Maybe if Michael had had a little more time here, he would have come out.”

I reached over and patted her arm. “That’s a nice thought,” I said.

When we got out of the truck, Ruby was coming up the sidewalk, and we waited by the door for her. Her hair was in three ponytails sticking out from her head at odd angles. “Hi,” she said. She gestured to her hair. “Thank you for the conditioner,” she said to Rebecca. “I can’t believe how soft my hair is.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Rebecca said. She held up her bag. “Now that the show is on again do you want this back?”

Ruby shook her head, making her little ponytails bounce. “No. I have more of Ella’s bags. What I want is for you to make sure you have that bag with you at the show and that you tell people you like it.” She frowned at Rebecca. “You do like it, right?”

“Heavens, yes,” Rebecca said. They started up the stairs, discussing the merits of Ella King’s tote bags. I followed them.

Rebecca saw the best in everyone and everything. That was one of the many things I liked about her. But she was also a very good judge of people, and if she said that Mike Glazer was a good person at heart, I had to believe she’d seen some goodness in him.

Maggie had decided we were going to spend the class working on our weak areas. I knew for me that would be Cloud Hands. After the warm-up, we spread out and she moved from one person to the next, watching, encouraging, making small adjustments. By the time we finished the form at the end of the class, my T-shirt was blotched with patches of sweat.

“Your Cloud Hands look better,” Maggie said, holding her arms out and shaking them as she walked over to me.

“Seriously?” I said.

“I wouldn’t say they did if they didn’t.” She pulled both hands back through her blond hair. “Could you give me a ride?” she asked. “I have three bags of cotton stuffing in my office, and I don’t really want to carry them.”

“Sure,” I said. “That reminds me. I have Liam’s coffee mug in my bag.”

“Why?” The bridge of her nose wrinkled as she frowned at me.

“Because he left it at Eric’s and hasn’t been back. Claire gave it to me to give to you.”

“He’s had a lot on his mind,” Maggie said with an offhand shrug. “Thanks for bringing it.”

I didn’t see any point in bringing up the argument Liam had had with Mike. Maggie had a lot on her mind, too. “What are you going to do with three bags of stuffing?” I asked instead. “Are you working on another piece like Eddie?”