Icebreaker by Deirdre Martin

I’m so sorry,” she spluttered, mortified by her faux pas. Her face burned with embarrassment.
    “No worries,” Ray assured her smoothly. “Come on in.”
    The door closed behind them. It appeared to be controlled by some infrared device that detected when Ray was near and when he moved away.
    “Have a seat,” Ray offered, tilting his head in the direction of the couch.
    Still feeling like an insensitive twit, Sinead sat down. She wanted to apologize again but decided to just let it go. He was probably used to dealing with people’s thoughtlessness.
    Sinead sat as Ray pressed another button on the arm of his wheelchair, propelling him closer to her. “I was surprised to hear from you.”
    “Maybe that’s because I didn’t even know you existed until about an hour ago. Adam never said anything to me about having a best friend.”
    “Not surprised. Adam’s not big on people digging into his personal life.”
    “That’s putting it mildly. But I didn’t know he was so generous. And loyal.”
    Sinead took a deep breath. “Ray, I really appreciate you letting me come out to see you, especially since you didn’t expect it. But as I said on the phone, getting your insights into Adam’s character could help the case immensely. The more complete a picture I can paint of him, the harder a time the prosecutor is going to have depicting him as some brainless, heartless hockey goon who doesn’t care who he hurts.”
    Ray looked worried. “You really think the case will go to court?”
    Sinead sighed. “I don’t know. I hope not. In my opinion, it’s an obvious ploy for reelection by the Philadelphia DA who’s brought the charges. It’s pure politicking.”
    Ray shook his head. “I hate that Adam’s got this hanging over his head with all the stress he’s already under.”
    “What stress?”
    “Being the new captain of the Blades. They brought him in with the specific intent of helping whip the team into shape so they can take another run at the Cup. That’s a helluva lot of pressure.”
    “I didn’t know that.”
    “Not surprised. It’s not like he talks about it. Just keeps his head down and does his job, you know.”
    “I know.”
    “Look, let’s get you some water, and we’ll continue talking.”
    “Sounds good.”
    Ray motored into the kitchen, where Sinead heard him talking to another man. A roommate? A few seconds later, he reappeared with a large man with a shaved head carrying a glass of water. “Hi,” he said, “I’m Jasper, Ray’s personal assistant.”
    Sinead rose to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
    “You, too.” He handed her the glass of water.
    “Thanks.”
    “No problem.” He looked at Ray. “We all set?”
    “Yep.”
    Jasper turned back to Sinead. “Nice meeting you.”
    “Nice meeting you, too,” said Sinead. She took a sip of water, watching Jasper disappear toward the back of the house. Does he live here? She wanted to ask but didn’t. Too nosy.
    “All right, Miss O’Brien. Fire away.”
    “When did you and Adam meet?” Sinead was genuinely interested.
    “Playing on the Mites team,” Ray said, looking sentimental. “We were seven. Even then Adam was a killer player.”
    Sinead winced. “Maybe not the best choice of words.”
    “Maybe not,” Ray agreed ruefully. “But you know what I mean.”
    “Tell me what Adam was like growing up.”
    “Like I said, he was always a tough little bastard on the ice. We’d play one-on-one sometimes, and he always kicked my ass, which kinda pissed me off.”
    “Were other players afraid of him?”
    “He made the opposition nervous, yeah. I mean he always had a reputation as a hard hitter. But he was always respected. And he was a generous player. Lots of times the coaches would want to play him constantly, but it made Adam uncomfortable. He wanted to make sure the guys on the second and third line got their ice time.”
    “Was he egotistical?”
    “Not outwardly. But with me, yeah.” Ray smiled fondly.