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“One thing isn’t clear to me,” said Harriet. “How did Shelley’s dad find out about her secret engagement if they didn’t tell anyone?”

“Yeah, he couldn’t have heard it from Windex,” said Brutus.

“Actually he heard it from the jeweler where the couple bought their engagement rings,” I said. “The jeweler recognized Shelley and gave her dad a call. You see, Burke and the jeweler are both members of the Rotary Club, and the jeweler knew how particular Burke Eccleston was about his daughter’s suitors, especially after Shelley’s mom died a couple of years ago. So Burke hired a private eye to have Gavin investigated, and when he heard about Calista’s unique service, figured it was the only way to convince Shelley that she was about to make a big mistake. And as it turns out, he was right, of course.”

“Poor Shelley,” said Dooley. “She looked so sad.”

“She looked furious,” I corrected him. “And I’m sure she’ll land on her feet.”

“Next time she gets engaged she’ll be more careful, though,” said Harriet. “She won’t buy her engagement rings from one of her dad’s friends.”

“Or maybe next time she’ll find a boyfriend her dad approves of,” said Brutus.

“Whatever the case, I think it’s safe to say that Shelley is better off without Gavin,” I said. “If the guy saw red when Dotty revealed he’d been tricked, I can’t imagine what he’d do when he got mad with Shelley at some point. He probably would have killed her, too.”

“But they were so in love!” said Dooley.

“Couples rarely stay in love for perpetuity, Dooley,” I said. “Relationships go through ups and downs, and if Gavin killed Dotty because she was going to mess up his relationship with Shelley, that doesn’t bode well for the future. No, all things considered Burke Eccleston probably saved his daughter’s life by his unusual initiative.”

“I still think it’s a pretty rotten thing to do,” said Harriet. “Imagine if all dads hired a prostitute to ‘test’ their daughters’ fianc?s. It would be a pretty strange world.”

We all looked at Tex, and I think we were wondering if he would have hired Calista to put Chase to the test before he gave his blessing for the cop’s relationship with Odelia.

And our humans must have been thinking along the same lines, for at that moment Gran said,“When your daughter is of age, and she starts dating boys, are you going to hire a hooker to test them, Chase?” Judging from her mischievous grin she knew exactly how provocative her question was, but still decided to ask it.

“I doubt it,” said Chase, with a quick glance to his wife. “When Grace comes home with a boy one day—far, far,far into the future—I intend to put the fear of God into him, and tell him I’ll wring his pimply neck with my bare hands if he dares to hurt my little girl.”

Uncle Alec grinned.“I think that should do the trick.”

“I wish my dad had done the same for me,” said Gran. “Then I wouldn’t have been saddled with that no-good husband of mine.”

“If you hadn’t been saddled with that no-good husband of yours,” said Marge, “then I wouldn’t be here, and nor would Alec. And that means Odelia wouldn’t be here either, or Grace.”

“You have to take the good with the bad, honey,” said Scarlett. “Such is life.”

“Easy for you to say,” Gran grumbled, and took a sniff from her lamb cutlet.

“Where’s Dallas, by the way?” asked Marge. “I haven’t seen him for a couple of days.”

“Yeah, I kinda lost track of him,” said Gran moodily.

“Talk of the devil,” said Charlene, and gestured with her head to a man who’d just rounded the corner. It was of course Dallas de Prav?, Gran’s Finnish billionaire. He was accompanied by a smallish man with spectacles, whom we’d never seen before.

“Greetings!” the smallish man said, making an all-encompassing gesture. “At this time Mr. de Prav? would like to say a few words.”

“Who are you?” asked Gran, eyeing the man suspiciously.

“My name is Troy Packer, and I work for the Finnish Embassy as a translator,” said the man. “Mr. de Prav? came to us this morning, and together we’ve come to the conclusion that there seems to be a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?” asked Gran. Then her face fell. “Don’t tell me he’s gay.”

“Mr. de Prav? isn’t gay, but Mr. de Prav? is very impatient to discover why you have been waiting so long to show him your muffin maker.”

Gran blushed scarlet at this.“Do we really have to do this in front of my entire family?”

“If you don’t mind,” said Troy.

“Oh, very well then,” said Gran. “Tell him I haven’t shown him my muffin maker because he hasn’t shown me his sausage maker. And it’s not for lack of trying on my part. I’ve tried to kiss him plenty of times, but he doesn’t seem interested.”

“I don’t understand,” said Troy, displaying a confused frown.

“Look, I’m a simple woman,” said Gran. “No sausage, no muffin. All clear now?”

“But… Mr. de Prav? doesn’t make sausages. Mr. de Prav? owns a chain of bakeries.”

“Be that as it may, I have my standards,” said Gran stubbornly. “I don’t put out if he doesn’t put out. Fair is fair.”