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ôThe Beauty and the Beast,ö Harriet murmured. ôNow isnÆt that something?ö

ôCan someone get me down from here!ö Brutus bellowed.

Chapter 5

Dolores Peltz had come down with a serious case of the flu, and since her only possible replacement was vacationing in Hawaii, doing one of those wild water rafting excursions and couldnÆt be reached, Chief Alec Lip had been forced to be creative, and had tasked his mother with taking over from Dolores for now. As Tex PooleÆs more-or-less faithful receptionist for many years, no one could fault Vesta with a lack of know-how. And as the leader of the neighborhood watch, she wasintimately knowledgeable with both the town of Hampton Cove and the crime-fighting mindset. Plus, sheÆd been helping her granddaughter Odelia Poole and the latterÆs husband Chase Kingsley tackle many a difficult crime case, so she had some basic grasp of police procedure as well.

In other words: the perfect police dispatcher.

Vesta only had one proviso before she assumed the role: that her friend Scarlett Canyon was allowed to join her. As she explained it, being a police dispatcher was a stressful and lonely job, and she could use the company.

ôIÆm not sure,ö Alec had said, fingering one of his many chins. But since he basically had no other choice, he finally caved to VestaÆs demands.

And so it was that the women who called in to file an official complaint against Valina Fawn for leading their husbands astray, and the men who called in to file an official complaint against the site for being careless with their personal information, either had the misfortune of getting Vesta as their interlocutor, or Scarlett. ItÆs safe to say that neither woman had a lot of compassion to dispense with.

ôSo your husband cheated on you,ö said Vesta. ôBig deal. Dump him and get another one. I told my daughter exactly the same thing when we found out her husband is on that site: kick him out and start looking for a decent guy. Though I have to be honest with you, Mary, in my personal opinion all men are dogs, so I simply wouldnÆt bother if I were you. Just get a nice cat. Cats will never let you down. And IÆm speaking from experience here.ö

ôIf you didnÆt want your personal information to leak,ö said Scarlett, seated next to Vesta, ôyou shouldnÆt have signed up for that site in the first place, Mike. WhatÆs wrong with simply meeting a potential partner in the frozen foods section at your local supermarket? Or at a local dance? ItÆs not rocket science. Simply common sense.ö

They both hung up and took a breath.ôTough day,ö said Scarlett.

ôTell me about it.ö

They glanced at the switchboard.ôTwenty calls waiting!ö Scarlett cried. ôNo way!ö

ôIf IÆd known IÆd have to work this hard, I wouldnÆt have taken the darn job.ö

Then they shrugged and simultaneously picked up their phones again. Duty called!

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Valina Fawn wasnÆt having a good day. In fact she wasnÆt having a good week. First the news that her site had been hacked, and then the even worse news that the hackers had decided to dump the entire contents of their customer database online. The phones had been ringing off the hook, and they were facing a massive client exodus, which was understandable, since a major part of their appeal was a guarantee of client privacy.

And as if this wasnÆt all bad enough, now Norwell was giving her a bad time.

He was pacing her office, creeping back and forth like a crouching tigerùor a crouching pussycat, since Norwell was a full foot shorter than Valina. ôI told you that security was one of your weak spots, Valina,ö Norwell was saying. ôAnd you said youÆd deal with it. Looks like you didnÆt ædeal with itÆ as much as ignore itùto your own detriment!ö

ôIf you simply dropped by to tell me æI told you soÆ IÆll tell you right now to buzz off, Norwell,ö she said, swiveling annoyedly in her swivel chair, seated behind her comfortably large desk. When sheÆd started her own site, after having spent the formative years of her career setting up sites for other people, sheÆd sworn sheÆd get the biggest office with the biggest desk in the business, and she had. Tinder, Match, Pettrà Their CEOs all had much smaller desks. She knew, since sheÆd checked.

Norwell turned on her.ôI came here to tell you weÆre in big, big trouble, Valina!ö

ôTell me something I donÆt know.ö

ôYou know, I never thought IÆd say this, but I sincerely regret ever having said yes to your proposal. I had a perfectly good job in Silicon Valley, with a perfectly comfortable pay packet, a great apartment, nice car, excellent schooling for my kids. And now what?ö

ôThis is not the end, Norwell,ö she said emphatically, feeling that she better talk her business partner off the ledge or else heÆd jump out of a window or under a train.

ôIt certainly looks like the end. WeÆve lost thirty percent of our clientele. Thirty percent!ö

ôTheyÆll come back,ö said Valina. ôOnce they realize weÆre still the best option in town to find the perfect partner.ö