When we finished, Tony helped me tidy up, and we took our beers into the living room.

“Nice alligator.” He pointed to the preserved head on my coffee table.

“My key-catcher. He’s an old friend.”

I figured I’d save the rest of the story for after I changed out of my work clothes. I had so many sauce spots on my shirt, I looked like I’d been performing surgery.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be out in a minute.”

He waved an arm, already settling onto the couch. “Take your time.”

In my bedroom, I traded my dirty T-shirt for a clean one, stripped off my boots and slacks, and retrieved my favorite pair of sweats from a hook on the closet door. Maddie’s not the only sister with post-barbecue fat pants.

Stealing a glance in the mirror, I noted my chin was sauce-free, and my teeth harbored no stray collards. The hair was a different story; too far gone after the lake and what came after to repair without a shower and shampoo. But the sex with Carlos had been worth a few snarls.

“You know, that is one beautiful smile, Mace,” Tony said as I returned to the living room. “It’s a shame you’re spoken for.”

I’m pretty sure I blushed, either from the compliment, or from fear that Tony guessed exactly what had prompted my smile.

Just then, a Siamese rocket streaked from the bathroom to the bedroom.

“What was that?”

“Wila. My cat. Normally, she greets me at the door. But she’s not used to having company.”

He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not much of a cat person. I like dogs.”

“Yeah, I’m with you on that. But Wila is pretty cool. She’s super smart. And once she gets to know you, she’ll stand up on her hind legs and wait to be petted just like a dog.”

He looked skeptical.

“No, really. I inherited her, kind of against my will. But she’s grown on me.”

As if the cat could sense we were talking about her, she let out a loud meow from her hiding place under my bed.

“That’s right, Wila,” I called. “You’re Mama’s good little gal.”

Now I’d revealed myself as one of those women who pad around the house in sweatpants and talk to their cats. It was a good thing I wasn’t interested in Tony.

When I sat in the chair across from the couch, he leaned over and clinked his beer bottle against mine. “This is nice, Mace. I don’t have too many women I can relax with and just be friends.”

“To friendship.” We toasted again. “And, speaking as a friend …”

“Uh-oh.” His eyes became wary. “The interrogation.”

“We never got the chance to finish that conversation we started by the animal pens. Then you disappeared so quickly after the nature walk. You seemed nervous around that blonde with the motorcycle helmet.”

His eyes flicked upward for just a moment. Was it a sign he was thinking up a story? Or, was he trying to remember the blonde? She seemed pretty hard to forget.

“Everybody seemed nervous around her.” Tony took a swallow from his beer. “She was strange.”

I’d give him that.

Still …

“Yeah, she was. But you seemed more nervous than the others. It was almost like you knew her.”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “But I pegged her. Did you ever see the old film Fatal Attraction?”

I nodded.

“That woman at the nature park had bunny-boiling stalker written all over her.”

She didn’t strike me that way, but I decided to defer to Tony’s experience as a ladies’ man.

We sipped for a while in silence. Finally, I broached the topic of his background.

“About your family …”

“Here it comes.”

“Sorry, but people in Himmarshee have some pretty wild imaginations.” I wasn’t going to get into which people. “Those criminal cases involving your family and the restaurants up north definitely have people talking.”

“And what are people saying?” His voice was level, but his jaw was tight.

“Do you really want to know?”

He nodded.

“Well, that Ronnie was in the catering business and that all of a sudden your aunt shows up, and then you do, with plans to go into the catering business.”

“Event planning.”

“Which includes catering,” I said. “Which makes Ronnie a rival. And then Ronnie ‘The Rival’ very quickly ends up dead.”

All of a sudden, I retrieved a fact that had been floating around in my brain since I trapped that snake for the newcomer. “Not only that, but somebody saw your green Lexus in town the day before you said you arrived. The day Ronnie was murdered.”

He let out a long breath. “Wow. You don’t pull any punches with your friends, do you?”

I shook my head.

“First of all, who said they saw me? Because I wasn’t here until that morning I met you at the diner. And second, I guess I’d rather hear about this crap from you than from that cop, Martinez.”

“So?” I said.

“So, what?”

“Did you have anything to do with Ronnie’s murder?”

“Jesus, Mace!” The words exploded from his mouth. “You invited me into your house. Your life. We ate; we drank. Are you really telling me you think I’m capable of killing that man?”

I shrugged. His face settled into resignation; more sad than angry.

“It’s typical. You know a little bit about my family, and you think the worst of me. Most of the stuff the feds and the newspapers say isn’t true, by the way.”

“I’m sorry, Tony. I’m just telling you what people are saying.”

He twisted the bottle in his hand, staring at the beer as it sloshed against the sides. “I’ve been to the best schools. I’ve studied, and worked, and tried as hard as I could not to become my father.” His voice was a whisper. “And yet, whenever anyone looks at me, The Family is all they see. I’ll never be able to get out from under that.”

“Tony, I …”

The ring of the telephone interrupted me. I’d finally broken down and ordered caller ID for moments just like this. I glanced at the readout.

“Sorry, I have to take this.”

Head lowered into one hand, he waved me away with the other.

“Hey, Carlos.”

I walked with the phone the few steps to my bedroom, closing the door. Privacy would still be minimal. The walls of my little cottage were solid cypress. But the interior doors were cheap, made of hollow wood.

“Hey, yourself.” His voice was warm, caressing. Then he switched to his business tone. “I’ve got some information I’d rather you hear from me than the Himmarshee Hotline.”

“Is everything okay?” My heart began to race. “Nothing’s happened to Mama or my sisters, has it?”

“No, no,” he quickly reassured me. “It’s about C’ndee Ciancio.”

I instinctively turned my back to the bedroom door. Either I was shielding Tony from bad news, or trying to prevent him from eavesdropping. I wasn’t sure.

“I’ve got her down here at the police department.”

“Is she under arrest?”

“No. I just told her we’re going to have a little chat, like you say in these parts.”

“And she didn’t ask for a lawyer?”

“She says she has nothing to hide.”

She was either telling the truth, or it was the bravado of a big-city girl in what she thought was a hick town police station. It wouldn’t be smart of C’ndee to underestimate Carlos.

“Well, thanks for telling me,” I said.

“I need your help to spin this, Mace. Word is naturally going to spread …”

“I’m not a gossip.”

“We’ve been through that before. Let’s just say word will spread. I want you to play it just like I’ve told you: ‘C’ndee’s in for a little chat. She may be of help to the investigation.’ Can you do that for me?”

“Sure.”

His voice changed back to a lover’s tone. “What are you doing right now?”

I immediately felt a rush of guilt, and tried to make my voice sound normal. Carlos had a lie detector hard-wired into his brain. “Nothing much. Finishing up dinner.”

“Well, I’m thinking of you.”

“Right back at ya.” I imagined Tony listening in. “I know you’re busy; I’ll let you get back to work.”