“Well, as I’m the only person in this room who doesn’t know the story, somebody better start talking fast.” He looked at me to do it.
“She remembers. She can tell it.” I turned back to the wall, refusing to lose myself in her as I had all those years ago.
Pops settled in the chair. “All right, missy. Let’s hear it.”
She scooted back to lean up against her bed. “You know, I’m not sure how it began. Daisy and I—hey, does Daisy still live here?”
Pops shook his head. “No. Daisy moved away for college. She used to come back for holidays, but when her folks retired to—where was it, Aiden?—somewhere south, the whole family was gone for good. Her mom hated Maine winters.” He shook his head again—still upset about their defection, or perhaps Daisy’s mom’s dislike of Maine winters.
“Oh, too bad. It would’ve been fun to see her,” Katie said. “Anyway, Daisy and I were in the ice-cream shop, eating sundaes, when Joey Markum slouched in and took up roost on the counter stool right next to our table. He kept staring at us, making filthy comments under his breath about licking cherries, whipped cream, et cetera. Daisy laughed, and I remember I kicked her under the table. I didn’t want her encouraging him. He was skeeving me out, big-time. Then Aiden walked in, and I was so relieved.”
I turned around at that. “Relieved? Why?”
She looked up, a soft smile on her lips. “Because you were a hero, Aiden. When we were kids, you were a hero.” She looked at Pops. “Did he ever tell you about that woman who used to run that little market on Cottage?” Pops looked at her blankly, so she continued, “I was in there one afternoon, in the back by the refrigerated cases, choosing a soda, when a boy came in. I wasn’t paying attention at first, but then she started yelling about his stealing something. The boy looked confused. I remember he turned around, looking behind himself at one point, assuming she was yelling at someone else.
“There was something wrong with her. I think she got off on hurting children, anyone who couldn’t defend themselves. I wanted to do something, but I was scared by the anger, the almost violence of it. Then Aiden walked in and stood between the woman and the other boy. She didn’t even notice him. Her hand was already coming down to slap the boy, but Aiden took the hit.” Katie shook her head in wonder. “He just stood there, a red handprint forming on his face, and stared her down.”
Pops turned sharply to me. “She hit you?”
I gave a one-shouldered shrug. “It was a long time ago.” My gaze shifted to Katie. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“We were what, ten, eleven at the time? And you stared down that mean old cuss. She was easily a foot taller and probably had a hundred pounds on you, but you were so self-possessed. You had her stammering apologies. The other boy took off, but you just continued to take the measure of her.
“After that day, I watched more closely. You never hesitated to stand up to bullies, to protect those weaker than yourself.” She smiled at Pops. “Like I said, a hero.”
Pops cleared his throat and nodded. Yes was all he said.
“Anyway, Aiden walked into the ice-cream shop and sat down right beside Joey. As if to shield us. I felt safer immediately, able to deal with the situation. Except Joey stopped harassing us and began calling Aiden names. I couldn’t just sit there while Aiden took the hit for me, so I made some comment to Daisy referring to a rumor I’d heard about Joey becoming amorous with a vacuum hose, the power button not working and EMTs needing to be called in to extricate an engorged, purpled body part.” She smiled broadly, quite proud of herself. “Or something along those lines.”
I took over the telling. “Joey glared at all the people laughing in the shop and stormed out. I was worried for a while that he might try to retaliate?—”
“Oh, damn,” Katie interrupted. The humor lost, her eyes wide. “Holy shit, that’s who that was.”
“Who what was? What’s the matter, Katie Ann?” Pops asked.
Katie was staring into space. Pops’s voice startled her into speaking. “Oh, um, that ridiculously creepy cable guy who was here earlier. He looked at me like he was planning to eviscerate me before raping my intestines... I told myself I was imagining it, but damn, no wonder.” She looked between Pops and me. “He’s not actually a serial killer, right? Just a mild-mannered cable guy with a face like death?”
Pops sat up, his jaw clenched. “Did he do something? You were trembling like a leaf when I got here.”
I placed the roller in the paint pan, the wall forgotten. Joey was a drunken waste of human flesh, but he hadn’t attacked a woman, not that I knew of. “Tell me what happened.”
She stood, waving away my concern, but she couldn’t hide the anxiety in her eyes. “It was nothing. He was just giving off a deranged murderer vibe.” She shuddered.
“You know, one of the first things we learn in the police academy is to trust our instincts. Time after time, when victims are interviewed, they talk about having a bad feeling and trying to rationalize it away right before they were attacked. When you feel something is wrong, you need to pay attention.”
She let the roller hang by her side, listening. I got the impression she wasn’t used to her concerns being taken seriously.
“Katie, I’d appreciate it if you did me a favor. If Joe Markum has to come back, make sure Pops is here with you. I know it’s hard to believe, but there are a lot of people in this town who are afraid of him.”
“Damn straight,” Pops said. “As well they should be.” He gave me an approving nod before returning his attention to Katie. “I can be here in five minutes, sooner if need be. You just give me a call.” He winked. “It’s no hardship to spend time with a pretty girl.”
We finished the painting about an hour later. Pops stayed for most of it. When Katie caught his eyes drooping, she suggested he lie down on the bed for a quick rest. He looked sorely tempted but claimed he should get going, as there was a football game he wanted to watch at home.
Katie glanced over at the newly installed television in the room. “You can?—”
Pops cut her off. “When an old man says he needs to go home to watch a football game, he means that he needs to lie down on the couch, turn on the game as background noise, and take a nap.” He took in the room. “I like it. Nellie would have loved it. You’re doing good.” He squeezed Katie’s arm and left.
We finished a short while later. After pulling the tape, we surveyed our work.
