And her mind wouldn’t budge from thoughts of her encounter with Cody Warren this afternoon at the ballpark. Now that she’d calmed down, in hindsight she wished she hadn’t run away like a big chicken. She’d behaved like a scared little girl who’d never been kissed.
Well, truth was she’d never been kissed by somebody as exciting as Cody. What must he think of her, running away like that?
She lightly stroked a finger across her shoulder, tracing the path of his touch, remembering the flood of sensation he’d aroused. Part of her wished he had kissed her. She rubbed her finger across her lower lip. What would kissing Cody feel like?
And, really, how could a simple touch, a hand resting on her shoulder, make her behave so crazy? Maybe her reaction had more to do with the haunting emotions the baseball field had dredged up, bittersweet memories of her younger brother.
Yeah, right. She laughed at herself. Blame poor Donny. Of course, that was it.
She did the math and realized this year Donny would be twenty-two years old. Imagine that. What would he be doing now? Would he be in college? Working? She liked to think he’d have beat the odds and made the major leagues in baseball. He could even have kids of his own.
A loud bang on the car door jerked Merlene from her reverie. Startled, she looked up to find Cody grinning at her through the open window.
Placing her hand over her racing heart, she closed her eyes. How had he snuck up on her like that?
“Unlock the door, Merlene.”
She opened her eyes to glare at him, but he was already at the passenger door waiting to climb in. She reached across the front seat and flipped the lock.
“You scared me half to death,” she accused as he positioned himself in the small seat. A delicious spicy aroma floated from the brown paper bag he carried.
He shrugged, obviously unconcerned by her fright. “You should be aware of what goes on around you at all times, Madam Detective. Especially at night. Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t carry a gun.”
She bristled at his words even knowing he was right. “Did you come to give me a lecture?”
“No. I brought you dinner.” He held the paper bag in front of him and rattled the contents. “Smells good, doesn’t it?”
Yes, it did smell good, and she hadn’t had a decent meal all day. She’d been too nervous about testifying to eat breakfast or lunch and had only grabbed some cheese crackers to nibble during the surveillance.
“What is it?” she asked, eyeing the bag.
“My sister Annie’s homemade vegetable soup. When I told her I was coming by to check on you, she insisted I bring you some. She saw us talking at the game this afternoon.”
“That was nice of her.” Merlene swallowed. And nice of Cody to bring her food, especially considering how she’d acted this afternoon. What was with him? This was probably a bribe meant to insure her cooperation. For sure cops loved cooperation, but so far it had traveled mainly in one direction.
“You don’t need to check on me, you know. I’m a big girl.”
He pulled a clear plastic container filled with a thick liquid from the bag. Heat had condensed moisture underneath the lid. “Better eat before it gets cold.”
She gave in to her hunger. No sense letting homemade soup go to waste.
“Okay, thanks.” When she pried open the lid, steam and an appetizing hint of garlic spread into the car. Cody handed her a spoon, and she took a tentative taste, closing her eyes as she savored the flavorful, warm broth. Best soup she’d had in ages. Of course, she couldn’t actually say it was better than her mother’s since her mom never made soup that didn’t come from a can.
“What about you?” she asked between sips.
“I already ate. My sister’s a great cook, isn’t she?”
Merlene nodded, enjoying the soup too much to answer, not caring that Cody watched every spoonful she placed in her mouth. She hadn’t realized she’d been so hungry.
He smiled, then glanced toward the Johnsons’ house. “Anything going on tonight?”
“Uh-uh,” she mumbled, shaking her head.
“You need to be more careful around Johnson. He’s involved with some dangerous people in high-stakes insurance fraud and pill mills.”
“Pill mills?” Merlene asked. She’d read about that scam in the paper lately. “You mean he provides painkillers, narcotics to addicts when they’re not truly sick?”
“Bingo. Very lucrative for the physician, but people are dying because of greedy doctors. It’s a huge problem in Florida.”
She nodded, wondering about the hard set to Cody’s jaw. “I’ll record any cars coming or going, report the tags to you.”
He glanced at her again. “I like how you set up in a different location this time. Smart.”
“D.J. taught me well.”
Cody rubbed his hand across his chin. “D.J. was a good cop.”
“Oh, you think so?” she asked, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice.
Cody cocked a brow at her tone. “Yeah, I do.”
“Well, I doubt if he’ll appreciate your praise since the Division of Licensing is investigating him...thanks to you.”
Cody narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t know they’re sending out an investigator because of your complaints?”
“Complaints? All I did was confirm you had a valid license.”
“Well, guess what? A call from the cops worries the regulators in Tallahassee.”
Cody sighed. “I’ll see if I can call them off.”
“Good.” Her outrage cranked down to a simmer, Merlene took another bite of soup, spilling a drop on her blouse. She reached for a crumpled napkin and said, “D.J. hasn’t been feeling well lately.”
“Sorry to hear that. How did you hook up with him?”
“He’s a distant relative. My mother’s second cousin, I think. They were close as kids. He moved away from Joplin and made good, though.”
“Joplin?”
“Joplin, Missouri. Once the proud home of the Bob Cummings Motel, its only claim to fame until the tornado last year.”
“Your home, too?”
“No, not my home,” she murmured. “But I was born there.” Merlene gulped the last bite of soup and placed the container in her console next to a half-eaten bag of cheese crackers.
“You moved to Miami and looked up D.J. so you could make good, too?”
She shifted in the seat and looked out the window. Seated like this, Cody was too close. “Not exactly. I moved here when I got married. I looked up D.J. afterward.”
“Ah, the husband. I’m curious about what he thought of your career choice.”
“Not much, since I chose it so I could catch him in bed with his lover.” There. She’d said it. She raised her chin and gave Cody a direct look, daring him to say the wrong thing.
“I see.”
She sighed. “It was a long time ago.”
“Well, did you?”
“What?”
“Catch him in bed with his lover?”
She