“Um-hmm,” I said.

“It’s just that he wasn’t in bed when I woke up for my shift on Monday.”

She had my attention.

“I even went out to the porch to look for him. I thought he might have fallen asleep on the couch, where he has his computer set up. But the computer wasn’t on. And when I looked out the window, Trevor’s car was gone.”

Rhonda clamped a manicured hand over her mouth. “No way, Mace!”

I raised my right hand, courtroom style. “Sal helicoptered the half-naked cowboy right into a platter of hot wings. If I’m lyin’ I’m dyin,’ Boss.”

“What is it with your family’s parties and food fights? Don’t y’all know you’re supposed to eat food, not roll around the floor in it?”

I shrugged. “Don’t blame me. I’ve always believed I was switched at birth from a much classier family.”

The phone rang on Rhonda’s desk. She answered, and raised a pink-nailed index finger for me to wait. But the conversation started veering into budgets and volunteer hours and I knew she’d be a while. I curled my hands into paws and put them up next to my face—our shorthand symbol for critters. Rhonda motioned me toward the door, and I went to check on the animals.

The park was deserted, just as I liked it. On a weekday, parents were at work and their kids were in school. By June, most of the tourists and snowbirds had fled back north for the summer. First stop: Ollie’s pond. The gator lolled on the sandy bank with a cattle egret perched on his back.

“Hey, bird,” I called. “You feeling lucky today?”

Neither member of the unlikely duo paid me any mind.

I continued across the open area between the pond and the animal pens. My eye caught a flurry of movement to the right. A red-tailed hawk flew from a high pine, intent on making something small and furry into supper. I scanned the field, seeing if I could spot what the hawk saw. And there it was: a flash of dark brown against the parched, dun-colored grass. At this distance, I couldn’t tell if it was a mouse or a young rabbit. It made no difference to the hawk, who dove just at the edge of the woods.

Had his prey made it safely into the cover of brush?

In another moment, I had my answer. The bird lifted, and soared overhead, a mouse writhing in its grasp. That was nature—prey or predator. At least the hawk only killed for food. I couldn’t say the same about man. Or woman, for that matter.

Heading for the woods, I started to think about the list of people who might have had reason to kill Ronnie. But no matter where else I looked, I kept returning to the Ciancios, and the family’s ruthlessness with business rivals. I remembered how Tony’s charm disappeared when he was on the phone, how those smooth edges sharpened before my eyes.

Prey or predator?

I entered the deep shade, under a thick canopy of oak and hickory and Southern maple. A cardinal flitted among the green, calling out a sharp Chip. Chip. I followed its progress to the ground, where it hopped about in search of berries or bugs. Looking down, I saw the nature path was getting bare in spots. I’d have to make a few calls when I returned to the office, see if I could find some free mulch to spread.

As I studied the patchy spots, I noticed something out of the ordinary at the edge of the path. It looked like fabric of some sort, maybe a discarded towel or a large rag. I got closer, and lifted it with my boot. First a sleeve, and then a pant leg dropped out of the bundle. It was a workman’s jumpsuit, colored beige. Stooping for a closer look, I turned the garment over and opened it to the front. Rusty, brownish stains stiffened the cloth. Dried blood covered the coveralls.

_____

“What did you do then, Mace?”

Marty’s eyes were wide. We’d met at Mama’s after work. For a change, I had everybody’s undivided attention.

“I dropped them where I found them, backed out the way I’d come, and called Carlos. When I left the park, the police were still combing the woods.”

“Do you think they found the knife?” Maddie’s ice cream had melted, forgotten in a bowl on Mama’s kitchen table. “Was there any identification with the clothes?”

“I didn’t hear anyone mention anything about a knife before I left. I didn’t see any ID. And the coveralls looked pretty standard. Could be they aren’t even connected to Ronnie’s murder.”

Mama sipped a cup of strong coffee, antidote to the sweet pink wine she’d overdone at her bachelorette party. “Why else would someone have left them where you’d find them? It must be a message, Mace. Isn’t that right, Sal?”

He nodded, mouth full of a fried baloney sandwich Mama had made him. They were cooing like courting doves again. Mama had managed to convince Sal he was sexier than any dancing cowboy. And Sal had shown her how much he cared by starting a brawl in a bar over her honor. He was beginning to fit in after all in Himmarshee.

“Who do you think left them?” Marty asked.

“The million-dollar question,” Maddie said.

“I saw the label before I dropped them. It said Work Tough. And they were a size Large, which doesn’t narrow it down much. Almost anybody could fit into a man’s large, except maybe Mama and Marty, and you, Sal.”

Mama got up for more coffee. “Anyone else want a cup?”

She held up the pot. Sal, starting in now on a slice of butterscotch pie with whipped cream, raised his hand. It had been a while since Sal wore any size without a couple of XXs.

“Think about it,” I said. “Darryl’s tall. So is Tony.”

Sal wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I don’t trust that guy. The only reason he hasn’t been arrested yet is that he’s smarter than his father. I wish C’ndee had never married into that family.”

“Speaking of C’ndee,” Maddie said, “there’s a woman with some meat on her bones. She’d wear a man’s large, for sure.”

“You girls have the wrong idea about C’ndee. You’ll see,” Sal said.

At that moment, an image of Ms. Sunglasses popped into my mind. She was also a big gal, and looked as strong as many men. But what was her connection to Ronnie, or to anyone else in Himmarshee? I wanted Sal to give me the scoop on Sunglasses, but I wasn’t about to bring her up in front of Mama.

For the time being, at least, she’d have to remain a mystery.

I said, “Don’t forget Trevor. He’s scrawny, but he’s an inch or two over six feet.” I brought them up-to-date on Linda-Ann’s revelation that he’d been MIA on Monday. “True believers can always find a way to justify violence.”

Marty tucked her hair behind her ears. “I don’t think it was him, Mace. Maybe he carries the animal rights issue too far, but to commit murder?”

Sal snorted. “Some of those nuts have bombed the homes of medical researchers who use animals. Murder’s only a step away.”

We were silent for a moment. Maddie lifted the spoon from her ice cream, and watched the soupy liquid dribble into the bowl. “How come nobody’s mentioned Alice?” she asked. “She’s certainly big enough, both for the coveralls, and to have gone up against her late husband.”

Marty said, “I was surprised by that flash of rage when she went after C’ndee at Mama’s shower.”

Mama added more sugar to her coffee. “I don’t buy it. The poor woman is simply under a lot of stress. I’ve known Ronnie and Alice for ten years. Well, just Alice now. She’s in the choir at Abundant Forgiveness.”