Pretty Poison

“Yes. Two. A boy and a girl. They don’t even remember their grandfather.”

“He’s confused and frightened. He needs you now. Wouldn’t you like to think, despite any disagreement, your children would be there for you when you really need them?”

Jane nodded and took Peggy’s hand. “Yes, I would. Thank you, Mrs. Lee. I almost let my embarrassment overshadow the fact that I love him.”

“Call me Peggy. Let me know what you find out. Give me your phone number, and I’ll keep you posted if I learn anything else.”

Selena came in as Jane was leaving. She started to walk behind the counter and stopped dead. “Whoa! Where’d the horse come from?”

Peggy explained the situation with the dog as she continued to set things up in the shop. Emil brought some of his new brew for them to taste. “I call it Holiday Cheer. What do you think?”

“It’s good!” Selena said, staying carefully away from the dog. “How’d you get it to taste like gingerbread?”

“That’s my secret!” He smiled at her. “I worked all summer on it.”

“It’s very good,” Peggy added. “I like the name, too. Maybe you could serve it at my holiday open house in the beginning of December.”

He considered the idea and agreed. “I could give samples with little name tags on the cups. What a great idea! What day are you having this?”

“The first Tuesday of the month. You know how slow Tuesdays are around here. I’m sending out invitations to all my customers.”

“Are we serving food?” Selena was excited by the prospect. “If we serve food, all the college kids will come. We’re always looking for free food.”

Emil shook his head. “What good are they? Always trying to get something for free. Peggy needs paying customers. So do I.”

“But you could invite your friends,” Peggy consoled her. “And I plan to have some food, too.”

“Sounds great!” Selena smiled at her and refused to look at Emil. As he was leaving, she stuck her tongue out at him. “He’s no fun.”

“We are running a business,” Peggy reminded her.

“Yeah, I know. Bottom line. Gains and losses. I hear it every day.”

Sam came in with a worried look on his face. “Where’s Keeley? She was supposed to help me with the plants at Bank of America. I tried to call her, but her roommate says she’s been gone since Saturday. Did you talk to her about the key, Peggy?”

“Yes. I talked with her Saturday afternoon. She seemed a little . . . disoriented.”

“What’s up with the key?” Selena glanced between them.

Peggy explained briefly. “Keeley seems to be the only one who’s missing hers.”

“What does that mean?” Selena asked. “Are you saying Keeley let Mark Warner and his girlfriend into the shop?”

“I don’t know.” Peggy told her what Mr. Cheever said about seeing a woman run out of the shop that night. “It could have been Keeley.”

Selena groaned. “Are you kidding me? You think Keeley and Warner . . . yuck!”

Sam laughed at her. “He had money. Chicks like money. They don’t care what the dude looks like who’s got it. Or how old he is.”

“We don’t know why the woman was running out of the shop,” Peggy reminded them. “If the woman was Keeley, maybe she found Mark and panicked.”

“We have to find her.” Sam got out his Palm Pilot. “This is no good. I only have her number at the apartment. I already called there. They don’t know where she is.”

Peggy took out her cell phone. “Keeley’s mother is one of my best friends. Maybe she knows what’s going on.”

There was no answer at Lenore Prinz’s home or from her cell phone. Peggy left her a message and put away her phone. “I guess I’ll give you a hand with that delivery, Sam. Can you keep an eye on the shop, Selena? It’s Monday. It shouldn’t be very busy.”

Selena agreed. “But you’re taking the dog with you, right?”

“You brought the dog?” Sam went around the counter and crouched down beside the Great Dane. “I love this guy! What are you gonna name him?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Peggy said. “I’m not keeping him. Just looking for his owner. He’s friendly, Selena. He looks like a horse, but he won’t hurt you. Unless he knocks you down.”

Sam was rolling on the floor with the big dog licking him on the face. “You should keep him. He’s awesome. And you could use the company. Your house is big enough for him.”

“Maybe you should call him Horse, since he’s big like one,” Selena suggested, still keeping her distance from the dog.

“You can tell you’re a city girl,” Sam teased her. “A horse is much bigger than this. This is more like a pony. Maybe you should call him Magic Pony.”

“No, no! My Little Pony,” Selena added. “You could get him a pink sweater and booties. Man, I used to love