“Oh, come on. It’s gouda be fine.” He flashed a mischievous grin.
“Seriously, stop,” I warned him.
“Okay,” he said, deadpan. “I’ll take it cheesy.”
“I am going to punch you.”
“Please do,” Bill grumbled beneath his breath.
“Put us outta our misery,” Gary commiserated.
“Ouch. Don’t make me cheddar tear.” Jude grinned at me.
Gary and Bill finally laughed at Jude’s sheer persistence. Puns and goofy dad jokes were the kind of sweet idiosyncrasies tolerated in Lake Sanguis. In Chicago, they’d get you mugged on the El.
“Hey, I been meaning to ask you about the listeria outbreak at Gordon’s,” Bill said.
“Oh, yeah,” Jude said, nodding quickly. “Listeria can kill. It’s a kind of bacteria that acts as an intracellular parasite in mammals, and—”
“Save the science, please, Bill Nye,” I said and groaned.
“So you can chat about strangulation, but listeria is off the table? Interesting.” He flashed me a smile that made my stomach feel funny. And it wasn’t because of the listeria in Gordon’s Frozen Custard, because I hadn’t had any.
Where was Russo, anyway? I glanced up at the clock. Just after six now. He should be here any minute.
“What can I get you, Doc?” Mel asked Jude.
“I’ll wait, I think. I’m meeting someone.”
We all turned to look at Jude.
“Me too,” I said quickly, and then everyone swiveled to look at me. I tried not to be offended that they seemed more surprised about me having plans.
“Who are you meeting?” Jude asked, a raised eyebrow the only indication he didn’t 100 percent believe me.
“You first,” I dared him.
A sly smile crossed Jude’s face. “Are you really wanting to know?”
Yes. “No,” I lied, as I snuck another glance at the bar’s door.
“Well then, I won’t tell you.” He leaned closer and I got a whiff of something delightful. Hair product? Aftershave? Smoky amber. Rich and warm. “Your brother’s worried about you,” he said, voice low. “You doing okay?”
I leaned back. “Oscar sent you to check up on me?”
“No,” Jude said, shaking his head, but I didn’t quite believe him. It would be something Oscar might do: send his faithful lackey out to babysit his paranoid little sister. Make sure she doesn’t start ranting about a serial killer in public and embarrass the town sheriff. “Your brother has a tough election coming up, that’s all.”
“Why do you say that?”
“For one, he actually has an opponent this time. One of his own deputies.”
I was surprised Oscar hadn’t mentioned this.
“Who?”
“Hector Martinez. He’s popular in town.”
“That’s not always a compliment,” I said, thinking about Stokes.
