And ruin that manicure? “No, thanks,” I said. “I’m sure it’s the battery. I can’t even remember the last time I replaced it.”
I turned on the Jeep’s headlights and asked Tony to tell me if they lit.
“Sorry. Not even a flicker.”
Almost all the houses around Mama’s were dark. Folks in a country town like Himmarshee hit the sack early. Only Alice’s window showed a blue glow, leaking around the edges of her drawn drapes. She’d probably left the TV on in the living room for company.
Mama did the same thing after Daddy died. For months, she drifted off each night on the couch before she could finally return again to the double bed she’d shared with our father.
“Can I give you a ride home?” Tony asked.
My cell phone lay on the passenger seat. I hated to call Maddie so late. But I also hated to ask a guy I barely knew to do me the favor of driving me twenty miles outside of town to my little cottage in the woods. I told Tony he could drop me somewhere close and dialed my sister’s number.
“Hmmpf?” Maddie answered.
“It’s Mace.”
“Everything okay?” She was instantly awake, a note of fear in her voice.
Having a teenaged daughter and a mama with a penchant for trouble made Maddie aware of what a phone call at eleven-thirty p.m. might mean.
“Everybody’s fine,” I reassured her. “My battery’s dead, and I wondered if I could borrow Pam’s car.”
Maddie took a deep breath, preparation for a rant. “I sincerely hope you’re not going to ask me to get out of bed and come get you somewhere, Mace. What have I told you about keeping a regular maintenance schedule on that vehicle? This would never have happened if you were more …”
“Yeah, I know, Maddie. More like you.”
“Responsible, I was going to say.”
I cut her off, or it’d be sunrise by the time she was through cataloguing my character flaws. “Save your breath, Sister. I’ve got a ride.”
“Really?” she said, brightening. “Carlos?”
“Uhmmm … no.”
“Who, then?”
I waited a beat. I knew if I didn’t tell Maddie, she’d only march out to meet us at the curb. Frayed blue robe. Sleep mask pushed onto her forehead. Hair in curlers. I figured I’d save us both from that disturbing sight.
“Tony Ciancio,” I said. “C’ndee’s nephew.”
Silence seeped toward me over the phone. “You still there, Maddie?”
Tony asked, “What’s going on?”
“My sister’s giving me the silent treatment.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story, Tony. Thirty-two years long, to be exact.”
Finally, Maddie spoke. “I certainly hope you know what you’re doing, Mace.”
“I’ve got a dead battery. I need a ride to your house. Tony has a car. It’s not that complicated, Maddie.”
“It’s always that complicated, Sister.”
The phone emitted the beep of an ended call. Maddie had hung up on me.
“So, it’s okay?” Tony said. “You can use the car?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “For free. But you can bet my sister will find a way to make me pay.”
_____
The three-mile stretch between Mama’s house and Maddie’s was deserted. Tony was skilled behind the wheel. Relaxing the vigilant posture I usually assume whenever anyone but me is driving, I gave him quick directions and leaned back into soft leather. The Lexus had a much higher comfort level than my beat-up Jeep.
“Listen,” I said, “I wanted to ask you something about your aunt.”
Distracted by trying to pretend I didn’t care about Carlos and Ms. Sunglasses in the bar, I hadn’t gotten to my questions. Tony tilted his head slightly, eyes not leaving the road.
“Do you know anything about who she’s dating?”
He laughed. “Now, that’s always an interesting topic. Aunt C’ndee has more dates than a calendar. She’s a heartbreaker.”
Which didn’t answer my question.
“Did she say anything about staying out at Darryl’s Fish Camp?”
“Just that she couldn’t wait to get out of there. There was some kind of bass-fishing tournament in town when she first got to Himmarshee. That was the only place with a vacancy.”
“Did she mention she was dating Darryl?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I didn’t even know there was a Darryl. But it’s not unusual she wouldn’t tell me. C’ndee was married to my dad’s brother. After Uncle Frank died, she made some bad choices, went pretty wild. A lot of people in the family thought it was a sign of disrespect. I didn’t; but I did learn that where C’ndee’s love life is concerned, it’s better not to ask questions.”
The honey-colored glow from the dials on the dashboard lit Tony’ chiseled features. His face looked honest enough to replace Lincoln’s on the penny.
“So, you didn’t know anything about her running around with Ronnie Hodges, either?”
Surprise flickered on his face. “What?”
“Ronnie,” I said. “The murder victim.”
“Good god, no! Where’d you hear that?”
I didn’t want to tell Tony the information came from Rabe. For some reason, I felt protective of Darryl’s stepson. Not that he wasn’t big enough to take care of himself.
“Just around,” I said. “It’s probably a rumor.”
Resting my head against the seat, I closed my eyes. It’d been a long day, and I was tired.
Tony tapped the button to turn on the radio. It was the country station, playing “Is Anybody Loving You These Days?” He sang along.
My head must have had a quizzical tilt, because he stopped singing and asked, “What? A Yankee from New Jersey can’t appreciate a little Dierks Bentley?”
Good thing my side of the car was fairly dark or he’d have seen me blush. That was exactly what I’d been thinking.
“I’m trying to absorb as much local culture as I can. I like to know a place if I’m going to live there.”
That sat me up straight. “You’re going to live here? In Himmarshee?”
Somehow I couldn’t picture Tony eating lunch for the next twenty years at Gladys’ Diner. Taking his fancy car for service to Juan’s Auto Repair and Taqueria. Choosing his wardrobe from the Home on the Range Feed Supply and Clothing Emporium. There wasn’t a pink- or teal-hued polo shirt in the place.
“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked.
“Actually, yes.” I aimed the AC vent toward the window. The frigid air was freezing my former sweat drops to ice cubes. “Turn left up there where the lights are shining on that white pillar. You know, your aunt never said anything about starting a business here. How long have you two had those plans?”
Tony didn’t answer. Was he stalling, or just concentrating on the upcoming turn into Maddie’s neighborhood? Slowing, he eased the car left. “Which way now?”
“Left at the third street.” I pointed toward the darkness. “So? How long?”
“At least a year,” he said. “We targeted this part of Florida because the coasts are already overdeveloped. There’s more potential for growth here. With the new golf course and all, the south end of the county is booming with affluent transplants.”
That would make Maddie happy. If the owner of a full-service, event-planning business was projecting enough of a population spike that would want big weddings, birthday parties, and bar mitzvahs, then an honest-to-God shopping mall couldn’t be far behind. Unfortunately.
“Maddie’s place is on the right. The one with the porch light.”
He eased into the driveway, thoughtfully killing his headlights before they could shine into the house. I had to meet this guy’s mama.
Engine off, he leapt out of his seat and hurried around the car to open my door. He insisted on walking me to the house. Normally I’m all about equality. But I had to admit, being pampered felt kind of nice.