“If I did that, Mama would still be in jail, where the professional tossed her. I’d say the professional has made a few missteps. Wouldn’t you agree, Maddie?’’
My sister examined the links on her eyeglass chain.
“Maddie?’’
“Well, Mace, I’m thinking maybe we should let bygones be bygones.’’
My own sister, a Judas!
“It is dangerous. During the course of a murder investigation, there’s no telling what kind of people you might come in contact with.’’ Maddie stared straight at Jeb.
“You better not be meaning what I think you’re meaning, you old rattlesnake.’’ Jeb’s voice was low and menacing.
“All right, all right.’’ Martinez held up a hand. “Maddie, would you mind taking your sister for a walk? I think everyone needs to cool down a little. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of things. I’m hoping Mr. Ennis can help me do that.’’
“Absolutely.’’ Maddie sounded just like the teacher’s pet she always was. “Mace, why don’t you take me to your compound, and show me the animals? Marty told me Ollie’s getting as round as a barrel on all those chickens you’re feeding him.’’
Maddie’s false enthusiasm didn’t fool me. She likes animals about as much as she likes seventh graders, which is to say not much. She touched my elbow. I shook off her hand. I might go, but I wouldn’t do it graciously.
“Fine.’’ I could hear the pout in my voice. It sounded ridiculous. But something about my bossy big sister makes me act like a six-year-old.
As Maddie and I left, I glanced over my shoulder. I wouldn’t have wanted to wander into the open space between Jeb and Martinez. It would be like stepping into standing water charged by a downed power line.
___
Lifting a forty-pound bag of puppy chow to my shoulder, I edged past my sister in the tight quarters of the animal compound’s storage room.
“Good Lord, Mace. You’re as strong as a man!’’
“You make that sound like a bad thing, Maddie.’’
I rested the feed sack on the slatted wood floor. Any number of animals, including skunks and raccoons, can eat moistened dog or cat food. At feeding time, I supplement the dry chow with everything from fish and eggs to fruit and yogurt, depending on the critter.
“Drag that garbage can over here, would you, Maddie?’’ I nodded toward a fifty-gallon pail against the far wall. “I need to fill it with this chow.’’
Maddie looked at the pail like I’d asked her to move a mountain.
“Go ahead, Maddie. It’s empty. I wouldn’t ask you to exert yourself. I know you’re not used to lifting anything heavier than that paddle you use to scare the sixth graders.’’
I took a pocket knife from my work pants and sliced a hole into the top of the bag. A meaty, cereal smell wafted from the sack.
“You know corporal punishment is outlawed in the public schools.’’ Maddie couldn’t keep the note of regret from her voice. “The kids know it, too; even the sixth graders. I don’t have a lot of tools in my threat kit anymore.’’
“I’m sure you manage, Maddie.’’
“Maybe so. Still and all, I haven’t managed to scare you off that devil, Jeb Ennis.’’
I looked up from the sack. Maddie was wearing her serious face.
“You didn’t fool me for an instant, Mace, jumping away on that bench. Your face was flushed. The blood was pulsing at that spot on your neck, the way it does when you’re upset or excited.’’
I poured the feed into the plastic can without a word. The small chunks filling the bucket sounded like rain on a shingle roof.
“I’m not gonna deny it,’’ I finally said. “I’m still attracted to the man. He was my first real boyfriend, you know.’’
“Oh, I remember. But you’re looking at those days through rose glasses, Mace. Because I also remember you sobbing for hours on your bed the night you caught him cheating. I remember you couldn’t choke down a thing but water for three days after.’’
My stomach lurched at the memory. Even the smell of food had made me want to throw up. Finally, on the third day, Maddie came into my bedroom with a bowl of mashed potatoes. She stretched out next to me on the bed, propping me up with an arm around my shoulders. Then she fed me spoonful after spoonful until I could eat no more. I still remember the texture of those potatoes on my tongue, mixed with some salt and a tiny bit of butter.
It sounds overly dramatic now. But at age nineteen, sick with a broken heart, my first indication I wanted to keep living was Maddie feeding me those mashed potatoes.
I emptied the rest of the bag into the pail and snapped the lid shut to keep out the rats.
“People can change, Maddie.’’
She wiped the dirt off a shelf, leaned against it, and folded her arms over her chest. “A tiger doesn’t change its stripes, Mace. And a devil doesn’t trade in his pitchfork and horns for a harp and angel’s wings. That man is bad news. He was back then; he is now.’’
It wasn’t a conversation I cared to continue.
“Do you want to see the animals?’’
Maddie curled her lip.
Most of them are nocturnal anyway, so they were asleep. Not that Maddie minded.
“Not even Ollie?’’
“Mace, I’ve seen enough of those overgrown lizards to last me a lifetime. Just because this one’s got a name doesn’t make him any different. I wouldn’t mind a bit if they turned every alligator in Florida into a handbag.’’ She brushed her hands together. “Let’s just go back to the office where I can clean up. I’m coated in puppy chow dust.’’
Walking along the nature path, we heard a truck engine rumble from the parking lot. We got there just in time to see Jeb pulling out, hat on his head and a hard line to his mouth. His pickup tore over the wooden bridge. He must have been doing at least triple the park’s posted speed limit of fifteen mph.
Maddie and I stood watching as he raced to the exit.
“There goes the devil, running off like a scalded hound.’’ My sister’s lips tightened with disapproval.
“He better be careful, or Martinez will cite him for speeding,’’ I said, as Jeb’s brake lights briefly flickered at a curve.
“A speeding ticket would be the least of your friend’s troubles right now, Ms. Bauer.’’
I jumped at Martinez’s voice, so close I could feel his breath on my neck. “You scared me.’’ I aimed an accusing glance at him. “Do you always sneak up on people?’’