Down Home and Deadly

but I pray every day that you’ll be safe.”
    “I appreciate it.” I pushed the swing gently. “That’s probably what’s kept me alive this long.” I grinned in an effort to lighten things up a little.
    She answered my grin with a frown. “Just wait until you have kids of your own. You’ve never worried until you ’ve worr ied about your children.” She stopped the swing with her foot and turned toward me. “Your daddy and I want you to promise to stay out of it this time.”
    “I understand.” I wasn’t making any promises, except one to myself to keep my mama and daddy from worrying about me.
    She reached over and patted my hand. “We’re just tired of visiting you in the hospital.”
    Across the yard, a motion caught our attention. Carly jumped up out of the glider and stomped toward the back of the house. Elliott got up and followed her. She turned and said something that we couldn’t hear and waved him away. He walked slowly with his head down toward his car.
    I looked back at Mama. “Do you think we should go after her?”
    “No. What did I tell you about minding your own business? If she wants to tell us she will.”
    But I couldn’t help noticing the worried expression on Mama’s face.

Chapter Five

    Wouldn’t that kill corn hip high?

    “I don’t know why it’s so hard for John to share any information with me,” I complained to Alex as I handed him a piece of cake later that night.
    He took the plate. “Maybe you should bribe him with cake.”
    I plopped down on my couch beside him. “I mean it. He’s infuriating.”
    He took a big bite of cake and made an mmm sound low in his throat. “Who said you can’t cook?”
    Very funny. He knew I’d gotten the coconut cake in the freezer section at Wal-Mart. All I’d had to do was thaw it out . My kind of cooking.
    “While you’re changing the subject with flattery, let’s not forget my basketball - playing ability,” I said.
    He grinned. “Oh, c’mon, Miss-Used- t o-Be- a -Coach, you can play circles around me on the court , and you know it.”
    “Are you fishing for compliments?” I asked, laughing. “You’re as good as you were in high school. And if I remember correctly, you lettered in every sport at Lake View High.”
    Neuro jumped up on the couch beside him , and Alex stroked her fur. Her purring vibrated the whole room.
    “She’s complimenting you,” I said.
    “She’s just hoping to get a cake crumb.” He ruffled her head, which she usually hated, but she p ushed against his hand instead of walking away.
    I took his empty plate and put it in the sink.
    “Want to go sit out on the porch with a letterman?” He waggled his eyebrows.
    I laughed at his silliness and pushed open the back door. We had just settled into the lawn chairs to watch Mr. Persi , my golden retriever, bounding around the fenced - in yard when the cell phone in my pocket rang.
    “I’ll call them back, whoever it is.” I slid it out and glanced at the caller ID. “Weird. It’s Bob.”
    Alex raised an eyebrow. “You’d better take it. If you don’t, your curiosity will drive us both crazy.”
    Even when I was working at the club , Bob rarely called me after work hours. And since the day I quit, he hadn’t called at all.
    “Hey, Bob. What’s up?” Mr. Persi came over and plopped down on the porch between us.
    “They came and got Lisa for more questioning.” Bob said with no preamble. He sounded so rattled , I wouldn’t have recognized his voice if not for the caller ID. “In the police car.”
    “They took Lisa in? Why?” I glanced over toward Alex who was absently patting Mr. Persi.
    “The gun belongs to her.” Bob’s voice choked up. “It’s her gun. The gun that killed J.D. Her prints were on it. On the gun. They really think she did it. ” His words were so jumbled , I wondered if he even realized he was repeating himself.
    I didn’t know what to say. Any platitude I offered would be just that. “Bob, you need to stay calm. I’m sure they ’ll realize she’s innocent.” Lisa was self-centered and totally self-absorbed, but that didn’t make her a murderer. Or was she? My mind began to race. H ad something happened to make Lisa want to kill J.D? Lisa always seemed to think that if she wanted something , it was hers. Maybe in this case she realized she didn’t want J.D. , so she eliminated him. But like I’d told Debbie, surely breaking up would be easier. And less messy.
    “First she married Larry, that