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?’’

“I would have warned you of my presence, but I didn’t think you could hear me over the squealing tires.’’ Martinez pulled a pen from his top pocket. He dug out his wallet and extracted a business card.

“I have a favor to ask of you.’’ He rested the card on his billfold and scribbled on the back. “Please take my advice and stop trying to solve this murder.’’

He slipped the card into the pocket of my T-shirt, and his fingers lightly brushed against my breast. Inadvertent or intentional? I searched his eyes. Of course, they revealed no clues. I hoped my own eyes didn’t show that I wanted him to touch me again.

He continued, “If you ignore my advice, as you’ve done so far, you’ll likely find yourself in trouble. You can call me at any of those numbers. I’ll do my best to rescue you, unless it’s too late.’’

Rescue me? Smug bastard. The desire I’d felt for him fled.

“I can take care of myself. I don’t need some man riding to my rescue …’’

He held up a hand to interrupt. I hate that.

“Excuse me. I’m running late, and I’m not in the mood for an argument. Just use the card, por favor. Please.’’ He pulled his car keys from his pocket. “Maddie, could you talk some sense into your sister?’’

“I’ll do my best, Detective,’’ Maddie called after him, the teacher’s pet left in charge of a difficult student. “Take care, now.’’

As he left, I read the card. “What a jerk.’’

Maddie leaned over my shoulder. I held it up so she could see what Martinez had written:

More beaus who are murder suspects? If so, pls. call.

I thought of Jeb standing in the breezeway, looking hurt when he discovered I’d ratted him out to Martinez. I pondered on that for a while, feeling guilty, until a different mental picture came into view. It was Jeb, gunning his truck out of the park. Remembering now, I realized his windows had been rolled up tight.

And wasn’t that odd, after how he’d complained his pickup was a hot box with no air conditioning?

Heading home from work, I was thinking about a hot shower and a cold beer.

The day had been a scorcher, the kind of heat that makes you wonder what those early Florida pioneers had been drinking. I could just picture it: They struck out in energy-sucking temperatures, through swamps with sawgrass so sharp it’ll draw blood. They continued on, through clouds of ravenous mosquitoes. They suffered heatstroke. They endured hurricanes. And through it all they said, “Hey, why don’t we settle here? This looks like a nice spot.’’

It had to be something stronger than beer.