"Well," he said. "The building's finished. The fire's out, the pipes'll be ice by noon. Stu's up there now. We'll drain what we can and the rest will have to burst." He looked at Gordie. "You were on the crew."
"I was," said Gordie.
"Then you'd better go help him. I'll still pay you. I'd be obliged if somebody I trusted did it." He put his hat on the counter. "And then I'm going to St. James to see Johanna, and Tomo, and Arvo, and after that I'm going to the county and sit in Danica Orlich's office until she finds something for Tomo that isn't Galen. It might not work. I want you to know that. I don't have the say."
"There's two rooms upstairs," said Stevo, from the grill. Everybody looked at him. He was scraping the flattop and did not turn around. "My mother's place, over the cafe. Been empty since she passed in '81. There's a radiator in each room and a bathroom on the landing and it's warm, because it's over my ovens. It'd do for Mossy and Arvo. Johanna, when she's out. They'd have to manage the stairs."
"I've managed worse stairs," Mossy said.
Carrigan turned slowly around on the stool and looked at Stevo's back.
"I'll pay the rent," he said. "Through the spring. Call it the cost of a boiler." He stood and put on his overcoat. At the door he stopped, and looked at Lauren, and his face did something complicated.
"Mrs. Sefcik," he said. "You put it out. The fire. Stu said the ashes were still warm when we came in. He said you put the fire out instead of feeding the water."
"She told me not to," said Lauren. "Johanna. On the floor, right there. She made me promise."