Free Emerald Aisle by Ralph M. McInerny

quite. The date has already been claimed by his old girlfriend. Larry is furious and went to Minneapolis to beg her to get married somewhere else. He was sure we had the better claim on June 17.”
    The situation could be amusing only to those not involved in it, and Roger felt involved because of his friendship with Nancy and Larry. What would be the likelihood that two people who had decided on their wedding date would, when they broke up and formed new alliances, both decide to marry on that very date? Surely Larry had been justified in thinking the date was free. Just as surely the former fiancée had been justified in thinking the same.
    â€œThat must have been an interesting encounter.”
    â€œNot too interesting, I hope.”
    Roger stirred on the seat and lifted his brows. He drove the slowmoving cart as if he were at the wheel of a race car at Le Mans, two hands gripping the wheel, never looking anywhere but straight ahead where any contingency might suddenly confront him.
    â€œHow so?”
    â€œHe was engaged to her, you know.”
    â€œBut she’s engaged to someone else now.”
    â€œI know.” Nancy’s voice carried a little thread of worry. “But he’s got a low boiling point.”
    â€œWhen will Larry return?”
    â€œThe firm that hired him wants him to spend some time there, and he agreed to stay over. He called this morning to tell me all about it.”
    â€œWill the girl concede the date to you and Larry?”
    â€œShe hasn’t yet. But Larry hasn’t given up hope. Now that he will be in Minneapolis a few days, he thinks he can persuade her.”
    â€œLet’s hope so.”
    â€œI don’t like him seeing her that much.”

    â€œAbout their different weddings!”
    â€œA girl has a right to be foolish once in a while.”
    â€œA duty I should say. But I wouldn’t worry about Larry.”
    â€œWhat, me worry?” She looked at him cross-eyed.
    â€œPhil has gone back to Minneapolis. Maybe they can get together.”
    This was at Roger’s suggestion. Greg Whelan had checked the inventory of the Primero Collection he had on his computer and was surprised to find that the Newman letters sent to the Archives were not listed.
    â€œI was as surprised as I was delighted,” he told Roger. “I suppose I should log them in here. Maybe that was the intention.”
    â€œYou haven’t yet?”
    Greg look shamefaced. He lifted his desk blotter, giving Roger a glimpse of the letters as if they were postcards sold along the Seine.
    â€œThey’re still a secret. Wendy has been so busy, I haven’t told her yet. Meanwhile …” He lifted a corner of the desk blotter and sighed.
    Phil’s excuse for going to Minneapolis was to get a full and accurate list of the missing items. But the point was to speak with Waldo. Primero had suspected Waldo when the theft occurred, but who wouldn’t? But the case against it being Waldo was stronger than the affirmative case. Unless of course it turned out that he had intended to sell the missing memorabilia.
    They had arrived at their destination, and Roger brought the golf cart across the gravelly little arc that served as a parking lot for visitors to the community cemetery. Then began the major operation of getting unbuckled and out of the cart.
    â€œWe must visit the grave of Father Sorin.”

    But on the way to the grave of the founder of Notre Dame, Roger was distracted by crosses bearing the names of other figures from the university’s past.
    â€œFather Zahm!” he cried, and for a moment he seemed about to sink to his knees. “The great scientist. The friend of Teddy Roosevelt. He wrote a book on women in science. Most important of all, we owe the Dante Collection to him.”
    How could Father Sorin compete with this?

11
    WHEN HE WAS TOLD THAT A Mrs. Primero was on the line, Dudley had to make an effort to retain the