Mama Does Time

by Deborah Sharp

  No S-word. No S-word. No S-word.

  “I hope your RV neighbor’s not too attached to his arm,’’ I said. “A couple of years ago, fishermen in Lakeland found the body of a man who’d been missing for a while. A gator got ’em. In the same lake, trappers killed a three-hundred-pounder. All the residents had been feeding him. That’s illegal, by the way. They opened the gator up, and there was the poor fisherman’s forearm. It was still intact, in the alligator’s stomach.’’

  Ev ran a hand down her own arm, glancing nervously over the wall at Ollie.

  “Alligators are wild, unpredictable creatures.” I could hear the annoyance seeping into my voice, but I plowed ahead. “You have to realize, they’re dangerous. They’re not costumed characters at Walt Disney World, ready to pose for tourist pictures.’’

  “We get it, we get it.’’ Hal stuck out his chest. “We’re not stupid. You don’t need to take that high-and-mighty tone with us. You don’t have to be rude.’’

  Uh-oh.

  “Sorry.’’ I backpedaled. “I didn’t mean to sound nasty.’’ I flashed them a smile that would make Rhonda proud. “It’s just that people who feed alligators cause a lot of problems, both for the people and the gators. They’re naturally skittish of humans. But if someone feeds them, they learn to associate people with food.’’ We all looked down at the gator in the pool. “Missing one eye and part of a foot hasn’t done much to slow Ollie down. And it hasn’t done a thing to diminish the power of his jaws and tail. He’s here because he got a little too close for comfort on the eighteenth hole at the new Kissimmee Links country club.’’

  Hal let out a low whistle. “That’s a hell of a water hazard.’’

  “Did he kill someone?’’ the woman asked.

  “Not yet.’’

  I recited the facts I knew by heart from my lectures to the kids: Biting strength more fearsome than a lion’s; eighty razor teeth; a tail that can break a man’s—or a woman’s—leg.

  Then I agreed to take a picture of the two of them leaning against the wall. I climbed onto a step stool I dragged over from the shed. With that and my height, I could angle downward to get Ollie in the background and the stupid couple in the foreground. I took four or five shots from different angles. The visitors left with all their limbs. Everybody was happy.

  Being friendly is hard work.

  Giving my little talk about alligators had just about erased the uneasiness I’d felt at the noise in the woods. But with the visitors gone, a twinge of fear came back. What was it moving toward me, pinning me between the woods and Ollie’s wall? Was it just the couple’s son, stomping around in a teenage sulk? Or was it something more sinister?

  I decided to try to find the Nintendo-addicted Bobby, and ask him some questions. Normally, I’d cut through the woods, reducing by half a fifteen-minute walk to the parking lot. Today, I stayed in the clearing as long as possible. Then, I chose a wide, well-marked path.

  The parking lot held just three vehicles in addition to the VW and Rhonda’s car. One was a burgundy Mercury, with Pennsylvania plates. A bumper sticker on the back said: My son can beat up your honor student.

  I pegged that one as Hal’s car.

  Another was a rental, with a Florida map and a bird-watching brochure sitting open on the front seat.

  The third, a white pickup, was the only one parked in the shade. Squinting through the heat rising from the lot, I thought I recognized the black cowboy hat on the man in the driver’s seat. I quickly closed the distance to the truck.

  Engrossed in a cell phone call, the driver was alone in the truck. He didn’t notice as I approached from the rear. The driver-side door was open.

  “I told you I’m good for those cattle, Pete.’’ I could hear his half of the conversation. “How long have we known each other? All I’m asking for is a little more time.’’

  It sounded like Jeb Ennis’ business troubles had taken a turn for the worse.

  Silently, he listened to whatever Pete was saying on the other end of the line. Then he shook his head and looked like he was ready to start arguing, until he caught me from the corner of his eye. “Listen, I’m going to have to call you back, Pete.’’ He paused. “If I say I’ll do it, I’ll do it. I’ve got someone here just now.’’

  He cut off the call and slipped the phone into his top pocket. His face was shiny with sweat.

  “Kind of warm to be out here sitting in your truck, isn’t it?’’

  “Hey, Mace. I just pulled up a little while ago. I was headed to the office to see you when my phone rang.’’ He swung his long legs out the door and stood on the asphalt lot. When he turned and leaned in the back to grab something from the truck’s cab, I saw his shirt was soaking wet and stuck to his back.

  “You look like you’ve just chased a coonhound through the woods, Jeb.’’

  When he straightened, he was holding a bouquet of daisies.

  “Yeah, I’m sweatin’ buckets.’’ He looked embarrassed. “The AC’s out in my truck. Never happens in December, does it? It feels like a sauna in there.’’

  He held out the flowers. “Anyway, these are for you. I figured I owed you an apology for being so rude at the diner. Your mama must have heard an earful after I left.’’

  As I took the flowers, our hands brushed. His fingers were strong, work-callused. I fought myself over the little shiver of desire I felt.

  “Daisies are your favorite, right? I remembered.’’

  I couldn’t even think of the last time a man had given me flowers. I smiled my thanks. That didn’t mean I wasn’t still suspicious.

  “So, you just drove up.’’ I took a couple of steps to the front of the truck and put my hand on the hood. The metal was as hot as Hades. The engine still ticked. “I had an interesting experience a little earlier this morning.’’

  He raised his brows in a question.

  “I felt like something was watching me from the woods by the alligator pond. Then, I heard something big coming at me through the brush.”

  Jeb’s face lit up. “Was it a black bear? Remember that time we spotted that cute little cub over in Highlands County? And then its mama came on the scene, and she didn’t look near as cute.’’

  I laughed. “I remember you were just as scared as me, and I almost peed my pants.’’

  He looked at me, and the golden flecks in his eyes shone. “We had some good times in those days, didn’t we, Mace?’’

  “Some real good times,’’ I agreed. “And a few bad.’’

  He took off his hat and shifted his eyes to the ground. He ran a hand through his hair, which curled in sweaty clumps. Then he looked up at me again. “Do you think we could talk somewhere, Mace?’’

  “We can. But first I have to ask you something. You wouldn’t have had any reason to be running around in the woods out here this morning, would you?’’

  He cocked his head “Mace, it’s hotter than a pepper patch. The mosquitoes are as big as B-52 bombers. I can think of about twenty places off the top of my head that I’d rather be than in the woods. And that would include sitting in the chair at my dentist’s office. I told you, I just got here. The only reason I came at all is to apologize to you.’’

  He slapped at his neck, then flicked a dead mosquito from his palm.

  I glanced into the trees surrounding the parking lot. Nothing but the insects stirred.

  “It’s just that I had a …’’

  My voice trailed off as I tried to figure out how, without sounding weak or crazy, to explain what I’d had. The sense of threat. The paralyzing fear. After all, it was just some rustling in the brush.

  “You know what, Jeb? It’s no big deal.’’ I held up the flowers. “Let’s head to the office, where I can get these in some water. We can sit out on a bench in the breezeway. At least there’s shade,
and ceiling fans to keep us cool.’’

  He put his hat back on. “Give me a minute to throw something over the feed I’ve got in the truck. I don’t want it to get wet if it rains.’’

  I stepped aside to let him get to the truck’s bed. I took the opportunity to admire the view as Jeb leaned over to secure a tarp. His sweaty shirt was tucked tautly into his narrow waist. The W’s on the back pockets of his Wrangler jeans lay just right. My eyes traveled all the way from his well-shaped rear, down his legs, to the heels of his dusty cowboy boots.

  That’s when I noticed something small clinging to the bottom of his pants leg. In the back, where it’d be hard to see, a burr from the woods’ brushy undergrowth was stuck to the fabric of Jeb’s boot-cut jeans.

  “What the hell is this?’’ I leaned over and plucked the burr from Jeb’s pant leg. Pinching it between my thumb and forefinger, I thrust it inches from his face.

  “How should I know, Mace? You know plants a lot better than I do. Why don’t you look it up in a plant book?’’

  “It’s a beggar’s tick, Jeb. And I don’t mean, What is it? I mean, How in the hell did it come to be hitching a ride on your Wranglers?’’

  He cocked his boot up to examine the back of his pant leg. Then he repeated it with the other leg. “I thought I got all of those off before I headed over here to see you. I worked this morning, but I did clean up. Not that you’d be able to tell it from the stink of me, after I drove all the way from Wauchula in my sweat box of a truck.’’

  I tucked the beggar’s tick into the pocket of my work pants. You never know what you might need as evidence.

  “What are you so freaked out about anyway? Is that from some nasty plant you don’t want taking hold here at Himmarshee Park?” His eyebrows raised in a question. And then, as he realized what I was implying, they V-ed down to a frown. “You’re not serious, Mace.’’

  “As serious as a heart attack.’’ I took a step back, my hands on my hips. “Which is what I almost had this morning, when I was convinced something in those woods was stalking me. Now I find a burr from the brush on a man who claimed he’d rather be anywhere else than out stomping through some swampy woods.’’

  “You’ve lost your mind.’’ He inched away, like he was afraid to catch crazy from me. “Your mama getting arrested for murder has sent you clear round the bend.’’ Staring at me, he shook his head. “Do you think Himmarshee Park is the only place in Florida with brush?’’

  He waited for an answer. I didn’t give him one, staring off into the trees.

  “Well, it’s not.’’ Jeb answered his own question. “I was tearing through it on my own property early this morning when a calf got tangled up. He ran off, trailing some barbed wire into the woods.’’

  I thought about that for a moment. It seemed logical. I was beginning to feel stupid.

  “Are you gonna suspect me of everything, just because I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life when we were kids? How many times can I say I’m sorry I lied to you? I’m sorry I cheated on you. I was young and stupid. I didn’t know how to handle the attention from the girls who hang around the rodeo.’’

  He put a hand on my wrist. My skin felt hot where he touched it, and it wasn’t just the outside temperature.

  “Look at me, Mace.’’

  I slowly shifted my gaze from the tree line to his face. He was staring into my eyes. His hand still burned a palm print around my wrist.

  “Sorry,’’ I mumbled.

  Jeb cupped his other hand to his ear. “Can you speak up a little? I didn’t quite hear that.’’

  “I said I’m sorry.’’ I shook off his hand. “This case has got me as skittish as a colt in a pasture full of snakes.’’

  I looked down to where he’d held my wrist. I was surprised to see no outward sign of how his touch had affected me. But I did notice the daisies were starting to wilt. “Why don’t we go on in and get out of this oven?’’ I said.

  I led the way across the lot and onto a wood-chip trail. We don’t waste much in Himmarshee. If a hurricane or lightning storm takes down a tree, workers with chain saws cut it up, feed it into a chipper, and truck in the chips for pathways. Jeb and I turned at the fork, heading away from Ollie’s pool and toward the office.

  “Look at that,’’ I whispered. As we rounded a bend near Himmarshee Creek, a great blue heron startled into flight. The woods were so quiet; we heard his big wings beating the heavy air.

  At the office, I went inside to put the daisies into water. Jeb stopped to buy sodas at the vending machine. He didn’t need to ask what I liked. A Coke for me; an orange drink for him. He was just settling onto a bench in the shady breezeway when I returned to join him.

  “When did you find out about Mama getting tossed in jail?’’ I asked, as I popped the top on my can of Coke.

  “I already knew that night at the diner, Mace. One of my hands at the ranch dates a gal who works at the Dairy Queen. I didn’t let on when you told me. I didn’t want to embarrass you. And I didn’t think it’d be too nice to greet your mama after ten years by saying, ‘Glad to hear you’re out of the slammer, Ma’am.’ ’’

  He took a long slug from his soda. Staring at the spot where his lips met the can, I felt memory waves wash over me. Lying on three folded blankets in the bed of his truck, watching shooting stars. The feel of his lips on mine, soft yet insistent. My first time, and how Jeb kissed away the tears that came from the realization that I wasn’t a virgin anymore.

  “Can I ask you something, Mace?’’

  I nodded, hoping it wouldn’t be “What are you thinking?’’

  Jeb said, “They let your mama out of jail. But you said the case is making you nuts. Why are you still involved?’’

  Good question, I thought.

  “Well, for one thing, someone has made it pretty clear they don’t want us looking into Jim Albert’s murder.’’ I told him about Mama’s stuffed dog, and about my close call in the canal.

  “That sounds pretty dangerous. Yet you’re still fooling around, trying to figure out whodunnit.’’

  “You’ve known me a long time, Jeb. Tell me I can’t do something, and that’s exactly what I want to do. Besides, Mama’s name hasn’t been cleared.’’ I outlined how her fellow church-goers had stared and whispered. Martinez might be busy right now, I said, trying to build a stronger case against her. I didn’t mention I’d tried to steer the detective off my mother by telling him about Jeb’s troubles with Jim Albert.

  I watched a drop of condensation roll off my can and onto my thigh.

  “I also want to know how Mama’s boyfriend figures in, Jeb. What if he’s responsible? Mama could be in danger. I’d toss myself into Ollie the alligator’s pond if something happens to her, and I could have prevented it.’’

  “It just seems like you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself, Mace.’’

  “I’m not alone. Both my sisters are involved. We’re all trying to find the real murderer. You don’t think Maddie would let anything happen to me, do you?’’

  He smiled, and put an arm around my shoulder to draw me close. “Your sister Maddie’s like a mama gator with a clutch of babies. She smacked her tail, showed her teeth, and hissed at me. And all I did was invite you to a barbecue.’’

  I thought of a gator’s head, with huge gaping jaws, on my sister’s body. It was such a fitting image that I laughed out loud.

  “Now, that’s what I like to hear, Mace. I always did love your laugh.’’ He traced a finger around my lips. “It’s not a girly giggle; you bring it up from deep down in your belly.’’ He touched my belt buckle. “I like that in a woman.’’

  “Whatever happened to Cindy?’’ I said, shifting away from him.

  I’d heard Jeb was involved with a girl we both knew in high school, a cheerleader and homecoming queen.
I was pleased when a classmate told me she’d gained forty pounds since senior year.

  Jeb took off his hat and began working the brim with his fingers. He studied the pointed toes of his boots. The way he was acting, I hoped he wasn’t going to say she was dead. I’d feel awful after the way I crowed about her putting on weight.

  “I screwed up, Mace,’’ he finally said. “Cindy left me.’’

  “Were you cheating on her?’’ I figured we two gals could form a support group for women Jeb had done wrong.

  “No. I learned my lesson about that a long time ago, when I lost you.’’

  I looked at him sideways, not sure whether to believe him. “Well, what happened?’’

  “Remember how I told you at the diner that I’d borrowed money from Jim Albert?’’

  I nodded.

  “I couldn’t pay it back fast enough to suit him. That bastard sent men out to the ranch, and they busted the place up. Cindy was there, alone. They didn’t hurt her. But she was terrified. It happened again, and this time they knocked me around. She packed her clothes and left the next day. Said she couldn’t live like that, wondering what they’d do the next time they came.’’

  Jeb looked like a little boy who’d just seen his dog hit by a truck. My heart went out to him. Then I realized owing money and losing his girlfriend gave Jeb a doubly good reason to want Jim Albert dead.

  Leaning toward him, I brushed the hair out of his eyes. I wasn’t exactly faking concern. But I did have an ulterior motive. I wanted to see if I could lead Jeb to reveal anything more. I edged a bit closer again, thigh to thigh. His sweat had dried in the breeze from the fans. But he still had the salty, hard-work smell of a man who handles horses and cattle. I breathed it in, remembering the thrill I’d always gotten from watching him ride and rope.