Death on a Deadline

tablecloth. “It’s my job to keep him out of jail. Don’t you trust me?”
    I stared at his chiseled jaw. The slight five o’clock shadow would have made most men appear unkempt and messy. Instead, it gave Alex the rugged air of a hard-working hero, too busy saving the world to shave. “I trust you.” As long as it’s not my heart at risk. From the corner of my eye, I saw Debbie enter the three-stall restroom to the right of the kitchen.
    “I’m glad to hear that.” This time he connected with my hand and clasped it loosely. “I don’t want you to get in over your head.”
    In spite of the tingle down my arm at his touch, or maybe because of it, I slipped my hand from his and pushed to my feet. “I’ve spent half my life in the deep end, remember? Excuse me.” I wove my way through the tables to the restroom.
    Debbie stood at the vanity, reapplying her lipstick.
    “Hey.”
    In the mirror, she met my eyes. “ You dating Alex?”
    “No.”
    She smacked her red lips. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
    I suddenly remembered hearing at the beauty shop that Debbie’s husband ran off with a woman from River Falls. Sympathy warred with my desire to tell her to stay away from Alex Campbell until I decided how I felt about him.
    “About Hank. If you remember more details about his conversation with Brendan, or anybody else for that matter, will you give me a holler?”
    She yanked the faucet handle to On and stared at me. “I heard about your nephew. That’s too bad.” She squirted soap on her hands and rubbed them together under the stream. “You sure you’re not dating Alex?”
    “I think I’d know.”
    “In that case, I’ll call you if I think of anything.”
    “Thanks.” I scribbled my cell number on the back of a blank ticket for her and hurried back to my seat.
    In a few minutes, Debbie brought our order. She never referred to our bathroom conversation but turned the full force of her charm on Alex. As far as I could tell, he was unaffected. I was surprised by how happy that made me.
    As we were driving home, Alex glanced over at me. “You’re not going to let this drop, are you?”
    “Whatever do you mean?” I borrowed Carly’s thickest Southern accent, the words dripping innocence.
    “If I remember one thing about you, it’s that once you get a bone between your teeth, you never let go.”
    “Are you calling me a dog?” When had I stopped engaging my brain before my mouth?
    “Hardly.” That one word spoke volumes.
    I blushed and stared out the window.
    “Promise me something,” Alex said.
    “What’s that?” I murmured, not daring to tear my gaze away from the houses we were passing.
    “At least keep me in the loop on your questions and the answers you get. As Zac’s lawyer, I’d like to know anything that might affect his case.”
    “Oh, so this is purely professional?” The words popped out of their own accord, I promise.
    “No. Not purely.” He flipped on the blinker and glanced at me. “As your friend, I want to know if you’re doing anything that might endanger you, too.”
    I nodded. Friends to the end. “Don’t worry, Alex. I’m not planning on getting myself killed.”
    “Yeah, but here’s the kicker.” Alex smoothly navigated the truck into my driveway. “I’m pretty sure Hank wasn’t either.”
    “Point taken. I’ll be discreet.” I unfastened my seatbelt. “Thanks for lunch.”
    “Let’s do it again sometime.”
    “Sounds fun.” Suddenly it felt like I was waiting for a good-bye kiss. The thought propelled me out of the truck, and I practically ran up the sidewalk, almost tripping over the golden dog who had taken up a permanent position on my porch. Once there was a safe distance between Alex and me, I turned to wave. He was looking at me with an inscrutable expression. Probably thinking I was still crazy after all these years.

    *****

    I confess I closed my eyes when I let go of the ball. But when I opened them, there wasn’t a white pin standing. Again. As the electronic scoreboard excitedly flashed a big X , I turned to face Brendan Stiles. My date for the evening stared at the scorekeeper’s monitor, his lips pinched together like someone had laced his cola with pure lemon juice.
    “ Whoo-HOOO! Another strike! Sweetie, don’t you want to ditch your date and join our team?” Francee Moore called to me from the next lane. “We sure could use you tonight, what with Millie Jo out sick!” She cocked an eyebrow at Brendan.