Running for Her Life by Beverly Long

and Henry had both been very helpful. When the dish machine had sprung a leak, Alice had made sure that Henry was there to fix it. And when rain had soaked through the roof, and then through the ceiling tiles, leaving puddles throughout the restaurant, Alice had been on her hands and knees, right alongside Tara, mopping up the mess.
    “What exactly happened?” Alice asked.
    She had no doubt heard a couple versions by now. One of the few negatives about Alice was that she liked to gossip. In her favor, she did try to have her facts straight.
    “Some kid was sharpening up his throwing arm,” Tara said.
    “Is that what the police say?” Alice picked up a tomato and squeezed. Evidently it met inspection because she put it next to the others waiting to be sliced.
    “Yes,” Tara replied. “That’s the only reasonable explanation.” Of course, they didn’t realize that Michael Masterly didn’t have a reasonable bone in his body. Irrational. Temperamental. Judgmental. Those were all better adjectives. And he was a master at hiding it.
    She shifted over and stirred the sauce that was bubbling in the large pan on the burner next to the soup. Today’s special was spaghetti and meatballs. Janet’s parents had brought the recipe with them from the old country, and Tara had almost passed out from pleasure the first time she’d tasted the dish. She wasn’t the least bit offended that Janet didn’t trust her to do anything but stir.
    “That teenage hoodlum should have to pay to replace the window,” Alice said.
    “The window is getting fixed this afternoon. But maybe the hoodlum, ” she said, winking at Alice, “could mop my floor for a month. That would be a nice trade-off.”
    “I heard the new interim police chief helped you clean up the mess that night. What’s he like?”
    Decisive. Maybe even bossy. Sexy as heck. “He’s a big-city cop who is helping out an old friend. I get the feeling that the pace here is a little slower than what he’s used to.”
    “I thought I might have him over for dinner. With Chase gone, the man is probably knocking around in that empty house. And I thought it might be a nice opportunity for him to meet Madeline.”
    Now, that made more sense. Bill’s twin had moved home after her divorce last year. For a couple months, both adult children had been living in the house with their parents. Based on a few of Bill’s comments, Tara had always thought he sought refuge at Nel’s to avoid Madeline.
    For Alice and Henry’s sake, Tara had tried on several occasions to have a conversation with Madeline but the woman hadn’t given her the time of day. Alice wasn’t the only person who gossiped in Wyattville, and Tara had heard several versions of Madeline’s latest exploits with a married man who lived just outside of town.
    Madeline liked men. Tara bet she’d really like Jake. “Matchmaking?” she asked, trying hard to keep her tone light. The idea of Madeline getting her claws into Jake was disturbing.
    “What if I am? But I’d like you to come, too.”
    The spoon slipped out of Tara’s hand and sank in the heavy sauce. Janet turned to look at her—she was frowning. Tara hastily grabbed some tongs and used them to fish the spoon out. All the while, her brain was scrambling to think up a way to refuse. Was she really expected to watch Madeline flirt with Jake all night? Unfortunately Alice didn’t take no well. That might also have been what led Bill to hide out at Nel’s.
    “I’m pretty busy here, Alice. And I’ve got a stack of paperwork to go through.”
    “Nonsense. You need to eat. And I don’t want it to be too obvious, you know. Please.”
    Act normal. She couldn’t make this a bigger deal than it needed to be. And Alice had helped her so many times. “Okay. Just tell me when.”
    “Tonight. I already stopped at the police station and he’s available. I took the liberty of telling him that you’d be joining us. We’ll eat around seven.”
    It took everything