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ôChucked it,ö she snapped. ôDonÆt need no stinkinÆ flow charts telling me what to do. What am I? A nine-year-old? As if I canÆt distinguish between a crank call and the real thing.ö

ôWell, obviously you got the wrong end of the stick this morning. So please, Ma, donÆt let it happen again? Or IÆll be forced to take measures.ö

She narrowed her eyes at her one and only son.ôWhat measures?ö

ôIÆm afraid IÆll have to let you go if it happens again.ö

She gaped at the man.ôLet me go! Your sweet old mother! Have you no shame!ö

ôIÆm sorry, Ma, but in the interest of public safetyà You have to admit you dropped the ball there this morning.ö

ôI did no such thing! On the contrary, I saved your people a lot of time and trouble looking into an unnecessary report by what was obviously some crazy person.ö

ôThat crazy person reported the murder of her boss,ö said Alec sternly.

She clamped her lips together.ôAnything else you want to share with me?ö

ôThere have been several complaints about your tone.ö

ôMy tone? WhatÆs wrong with my tone?ö

ôApparently you sound very cranky.ö

ôCranky! IÆm Miss Congeniality!ö

ôYou told a woman to stop whining when she reported her car had been stolen.ö

ôNo one likes a crybaby,ö Vesta muttered darkly.

ôAnd you told Rory Suds he was acting like a diva when he called in a holdup.ö

ôProbably just a couple of his drug addict buddies unhappy with his merchandise.ö

Alec gave another weary sigh.ôJustà be nice to people, will you? Make an effort?ö

ôIÆm always nice to people. Just ask Tex. You canÆt wish for a nicer person than me.ö

But when Tex preferred to stay mum on the subject, and in doing so refused to endorse her view of herself, she made a sound of disgust and stalked out.

ôFine!ö she said. ôYou donÆt have to spell it out. I know when IÆm not welcome!ö

ôVesta, donÆt be like that,ö said Chase, but she was already slamming the door.

Fifteen minutes later she was parking her daughterÆs aged red Peugeot in front of ScarlettÆs apartment building, and another five minutes later was sipping a hot cocoa on her friendÆs living room couch. ôI mean, the gall of these people,ö she was saying. ôItÆs not enough that I have to listen to these attention seekers all day, and spend my precious time cooped up inside a stinky old precinct, now theyÆve got the nerve to file a complaint!ö

ôYou gotta understand, hon,ö said Scarlett, who was drinking her usual black coffee, ôthat these people are under a lot of stress. Imagine having your house burgled, or suddenly staring at the business end of a big gun, wielded by an obviously unbalanced person high on crystal meth. The last thing you expect is to be called a diva or told to man up when you call in the cops. They want to be told that everything is gonna be all right. That help is on the way. That they can count on us to put an end to their nightmare.ö

Vesta frowned before herself, but had to admit Scarlett just might have a point.

ôYou know what your problem is, Vesta? You lack empathy.ö

ôAre you kidding! IÆm full of empathy! IÆm empathy personified. What is empathy, exactly?ö

Scarlett smiled.ôEmpathy is being able to put yourself in the other personÆs shoes. Seeing things from their perspective and responding accordingly. So when a person calls in a murder, you donÆt tell them to take a hike and stop wasting valuable police time. You try to imagine howyou would feel if you came face to face with a dead body.ö

ôIÆd probably freak out a little,ö Vesta admitted. ôAnd then IÆd call the cops.ö

ôAnd if the person on the other end told you to buzz off?ö

ôThen IÆd probably drag them through the phone line and beat the living crap out of them.ö She frowned. ôOkay, if you put it like that, maybe I did overreact a little.ö

ôA little! YouÆre probably the worst police dispatcher in history!ö

ôOh, donÆt you start, too,ö she grumbled, trying to deflect blame, as was her habit. ôCan I help it that I never received the proper training? That I was dumped into this job without so much as an instruction manual?ö

ôI was dumped into this job, and IÆm doing all right.ö

ôThatÆs because youÆre anice person,ö she growled, making it sound as if being nice was akin to being a mass murderer.

ôYou could be nice, if you wanted to be. It might take an effort at first, because youÆre not used to it, after spending your whole life being an obnoxious bùö

ôDonÆt you say it! DonÆt you dare!ö

ôùbusybody.ö

She glared at her friend for all of a minute, trying to decide whether to fly off the handle or not, but finally decided that maybe she had enough of that kind of behavior.

So finally she said,ôYouÆre right.ö

Scarlett blinked.ôExcuse me?ö

ôI said youÆre right.ö

ScarlettÆs smile was something to behold. ôCould you please repeat that, only this time IÆll record it on my phone?ö

ôDonÆt be such a smart-ass,ö she said, then rested her chin on her hand. ôIÆm not a very nice person, am I?ö

ôNo, youÆre not, but you are pretty funny.ö

ôFunny!ö she spat. ôWhat does that even mean?ö

ôIt means you always make me laugh, with your outrageousness.ö