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ôValina Fawn or her site?ö asked Tex.

ôThe site.ö ChaseÆs frown deepened. ôUh-oh. The hackers have put a list with the names of all of Valina FawnÆs customers online.ö

And as they glanced around, suddenly phones of other members started beeping frantically. And as men took out their phones, faces blanched, muttered curses were uttered, strangled cries emitted, and before long a minor stampede was in motion, with people hurrying off to the parking lot and making a hasty departure.

When the dust had finally settled, the only ones left were Tex, Alec and Chaseà and of course Carlotta and Dennis Brook. Though the latter looked very much ill at ease as he came face to face with his wife.

Carlotta stared at her husband with ill-concealed rage displayed on her sinewy face. Then she hauled off and hit him squarely in the stomach and walked off on a huff.

Dennis, whoÆd doubled up and staggered back, now stared at the departing image of his wife, his hand massaging his injured midsection, clearly stunned by this development.

Alec shook his head.ôI just hope this wonÆt lead to any problems,ö he said.

ôPretty sure it will,ö said Chase, and drained the last of his beer. He frowned when his own phone chimed, and took it out. ôFamily meetingùnow!ö he read from the display. He looked up to find both his father-in-law and uncle-in-law gazing at their own phones.

All three men shared a look.

The trouble had begun.

Chapter 4

A family meeting was called and took place in Marge and TexÆs home. In the same living room where the day before Valina Fawn had been called away on some unspecified emergencyùwhich I guess itÆs safe to say we now knew was the big leak her site had sprungùthree men were being grilled to within an inch of their lives by the respective women in thoselives.

ôThatÆs not me,ö said Chase blankly when he was confronted with the evidence. It was a bold defense, and I was certainly not a little bit curious if heÆd be able to back it up. ôNo, I swear. I never signed up for that site,ö he assured an irate-looking Odelia. ôWhoever put that picture of me on that damn dating site definitely has got some explaining to do.ö

ôI donÆt know, Chase,ö said Odelia. ôFormer NYPD cop? Likes to work out and spoil his lady love? Must love dogs? It all sounds very much like you.ö

ôOh, honey, Chase would never do such a thing,ö said Marge. ôThe man is about to become a father for the first time. Which canÆt be said about you, Tex. What were you thinking!ö

ôI was just curious, honey!ö Tex cried. ôWith all the hullabaloo around the site, I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was never going to do any actual dating.ö

ôYouÆre cheating on my daughter,ö said Gran, ôwhich means youÆre cheating on me. And frankly I think you should just kick him out, honey. Once a cheater, always a cheater.ö

ôYou canÆt throw me out of my own house, Vesta,ö said Tex tersely.

ôOh, yes, we can. Just do it, honey,ö she told her daughter. ôItÆs one small step for you, but a giant leap for all womankind. Go on, or do you want me to do the honors?ö

Meanwhile, Charlene sat eyeing her boyfriend with a cold eye.ôI donÆt get it,ö the Mayor said. ôYou could have told me you werenÆt happy, Alec. We could have talked about it. But instead you went behind my back andùö

ôI already told youùI just wanted to trap the Black Widow!ö

ôOh, is that the code name she uses? So what does she look like, this secret girlfriend of yours? Do I know her?ö

ôThe Black Widow is a known criminal,ö said Alec. ôSheÆs already killed five men, and rumor has it that sheÆs in Hampton Cove right now, living under an alias. The FBI has credible intel sheÆs on Valina Fawn, which is how she managed to lure her victims to their death, and so I just figured IÆd try to find her by creating a profile and drawing her out!ö

ôA likely story,ö Charlene scoffed.

ôItÆs the truth!ö

ôSo what have we got?ö said Gran. ôOne man who claims heÆs the victim of identity theft, another who just wanted to see æwhat all the fuss was aboutÆ and a third whoÆs looking for a black widow.ö She tsk-tsked lightly. ôI call bullshit.ö And when cries of disagreement rose up, she repeated, louder this time, ôAbsolute bullshit!ö

ôWhat do you think, Max?ö asked Dooley. ôDo you think theyÆre telling the truth?ö

ôOh, absolutely,ö I said. ôThough of course you can never really know for sure.ö

ôThereÆs one way to find out if Chase is telling the truth, at least,ö said Brutus. ôTalk to the people who designed the site and ask them if they can check who created that profile.ö

ôTrue,ö I said. ôBut then youÆd have to get a warrant, and I doubt any judge would grant one based on the suspicion of a local reporter. No, I think Odelia, Marge and Charlene are just going to have to take their significant othersÆ word for it, hard as that might be.ö