I had just ordered the Pomegranate–Glazed Rib Chop when Nina leaned over, and whispered, "We've got trouble now."

Renee walked toward us. I turned to see where Joy had gone. Fortunately, they had just missed each other.

Renee waltzed up to the table and kissed Humphrey—full on the lips.

Myra huffed. She watched Renee with her mouth open.

I didn't relish the idea of Humphrey being taken in by a murderess, but at that moment, I was more concerned about how many glasses of wine it would take before Myra whipped off her bra and swung it like a lasso.

When Renee released her hold on Humphrey, he could barely breathe. Orange lipstick was smeared around his mouth like a clown.

Myra held out her hand to Renee and smiled pleasantly. "Hi. I'm Myra."

"Renee. You look familiar."

"Mmm. I believe I ate some of your cupcake at the dinner on Saturday night."

I watched them like a Ping–Pong match. Renee had started out strong with that ravenous kiss, but Myra had evened the score and thrown Renee off her game with that one clever reference to Renee's disastrous cupcake.

Renee focused on Humphrey. "Sweetie pie," she cooed, "where have you been? I've been calling, but you're not answering your phone."

Humphrey patted his pocket. "Um, no. I turned it off."

"I bought some furniture, and I was hoping you could pick it up for me again."

Myra sipped from her third glass of wine. "Doesn't the store deliver?"

"I buy antiques." Renee spoke so sweetly that I could almost feel the sugar rush.

The corners of Myra's mouth twitched. "I don't imagine they're open at this hour."

Francie snickered, which only made the standoff worse.

I had no idea what I could do to save Humphrey.

"I'll call you in the morning?" he said.

"Just a sec, hon." Myra dipped a napkin into her water glass. Cupping the side of his face with one hand, she gently wiped the lipstick off his mouth. "Much better. That's not a good color for you. Not for anyone, actually." And then she winked at the rest of us.

Renee appraised Myra. "Humphrey, sweetie, when you're all done here, drop by the bakery. I'll have some dessert waiting for you." She turned on her heel and hurried out before anyone could say another word.

Myra watched her leave. "I don't like that woman. She's all sugary outside, but there's something devious living inside of her. You know, like those alien creatures that explode from people's stomachs in horror movies?"

Fortunately our laughter broke the tension.

"Be careful around her, Humphrey." Myra sipped more wine. "Besides, that shade of orange never looked good on anyone. I won't use it on my clients. It makes her look like a ghoul."

Our dinner arrived, but Joy hadn't returned to the table. After a few minutes, I thought I'd better check on her. What if she had run into Renee on the way out?

I trotted down the steps that led to the ladies' room. From the little passage, I could see into the bar. Nick lounged comfortably on a loveseat, his hand playing with the long curls of Alex's realtor, Kayla. She giggled and flirted. There was no way of knowing if he'd met her at the bar or they were on a date, but I had a feeling Joy was sobbing in the ladies' room.

I opened the door and let it close behind me completely. "Joy?"

"Did you see?" Her voice came from one of the stalls.

"I'm sorry."

She blew her nose. "Do you think he hung that wire to get rid of me?"

That frightening possibility hadn't crossed my mind. It scared me even more that she thought Nick might have done such a thing. I tried to answer benignly. "I don't know him very well. It seems unlikely. Didn't you just move in with him?"

"It's only been three days! How can he already be with another woman?"

I felt terrible. How many things could go wrong in Joy's life? She'd been sitting at home while Nick was putting the moves on another attractive woman. I'm ashamed to admit that I wondered if his cousin Alex might be like that, too.

"How could I be so stupid?" Joy emerged from the stall, wiping her eyes. She splashed water on her face and dabbed it with a paper towel. "I will never trust a man again. Never!" Her chest heaved with each breath she took, and she twisted the paper towel with white–knuckle hands.

"Come on back to the table. You should eat something." She needed strength, because she was going to have to confront Nick and have it out.

She nodded. "Do me a huge favor? I don't want him to know I saw him. Can you sort of give me some cover?"

"Sure." Everyone handled romantic disappointments differently. And if she really thought he'd strung that wire so she would fall, then I could understand why she wouldn't want him to know he'd been caught. On the other hand, if that was really the case, it seemed like she would want to move out that very second. At least, I would have.

She shot out the door and rushed through the little corridor back to the restaurant side of The Laughing Hound. I trailed along behind her, hoping that if Nick had looked our way he would have seen me, not Joy.

We resumed our meal, but I noticed Myra surreptitiously watching Joy. For dessert I ordered my favorite, The Laughing Hound's incredible smooth and creamy chocolate mousse along with a cup of hot tea. The mousse arrived with a dollop of whipped cream on top, little raspberry sauce hearts on the white plate around the mousse, and a stemmed strawberry in the cream. It was such an indulgence.

Myra had ordered the same thing, but she ignored her mousse. Her eyes on Joy, she stirred her coffee.