“Jeezle peezle,” Walter said. “He caught it bare-handed.”

Jimmy Messinger, the seven-year-old, was running out as the cutoff. Raj took one step and hurled the ball with an effortless, fluid motion. It sailed so high and fast over Jimmy’s head, he fell backward with surprise. Tad, who wasn’t expecting the ball, had to dive off the plate as the ball clanged into the fencing behind him.

A bunch of people in the line laughed. Everyone was staring at Raj.

“Whoops,” Raj said.

“Man alive.” Aaron gaped at him. “You threw that ball three hundred yards.”

“How’d you learn to throw like that, Raj?” It was the first time Seamus, or any of the boys, had called him anything but Roger.

Raj shrugged. “Used to throw a ball a lot in England, just against a wall.”

Seamus whistled, shaking his head. “You should play for us.”

Aaron was getting excited. “Yeah, we should tell Coach M.”

“He can’t play for us,” Walter cut in quietly.

“What?” It took a moment for Aaron to understand. His gaze sliding off Raj, he murmured, “Well, man, bet he can spank that ball too.”

Raj looked like he wanted to crawl out of his skin. What an odd mix of privacy and showmanship he was, Annie thought. Happy to ham it up until the attention got too direct. Overwhelmed by a rush of pride and affection she put her arms around his neck. Instantly her head was jerked back by a sharp tug at her hair. She glanced around, furious, to be met by the livid, horrified face of Widow Snyder. She noticed a number of other people staring at her also and realized how what she was doing might look. She let go of Raj. A moment later Lew joined them in the line. Annie felt those eyes all around her. Here she was, with a dark foreign boy and the mad boy who had tried to kill her father.

PISGAH 1952

                                                      PISGAH
1952

THE MEN WERE CROWDED INTO GOLDWIN’S BARBERSHOP. They had intended to go coon hunting, but the wind had picked up, clouds had smothered the moon, and a sense of malevolent purpose had filled the woods. At one point both Otto and Siggy swore they saw the white dog.