“That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

“Rough on all of us, but like I said, she did the best she could. I’m just hoping to do better.”

“I’d say making a pretty house and home for you and your son means you’re doing absolutely fine.”

Color washed into her face. “Thanks. Anyway, I thought I’d start scouting around, see if I could find a place for rent that I could outfit for a salon.”

“If you find one, see if you can find a nice storefront for me and my artworks shop.” With a laugh, Malory set her glass aside. “Or maybe we should just combine the two and go into business together. Art and beauty, one-stop shopping. I’ve got to go.”

She rose. “I’m going to swing by and see Dana, then go home and see if I get a brainstorm over that stupid clue. You want to plan for the three of as to get together one day early next week? A powwow.”

“Fine with me, as long as we can work around Simon’s schedule.”

“We can do that. I’ll call you.”

SHE didn’t know if it qualified as a brainstorm, but it was at least a direction.

Malory studied the clue line by line, searching for metaphors and hidden meanings, double entendres, loose connections. Then she stepped back again to look at it as a whole.

There were mentions of the goddess. And the keys themselves were reputed to unlock imprisoned souls. Put all that together, she decided, and you had a sort of religious reference.

With that in mind, she spent the rest of the day going through every church and temple in the Valley.

She came home empty-handed, but she felt she’d done something positive with her day.

She dressed for dinner, keeping it simple with a sleeveless black top and black cropped pants, topped with a tailored jacket the color of strawberries.

At exactly seven, she was sliding into heeled sandals and preparing to wait. In her experience she was the only one who habitually made it a point to be on time.

So it was a surprise, a pleasant one, to hear the knock on her door even as she was checking the contents of her purse.

“You’re prompt,” she said to Flynn when she opened the door.

“Actually, I was here ten minutes ago, but I didn’t want to seem anxious.” He handed her a small bouquet of baby roses, nearly the same color as her jacket. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks.” She eyed him as she sniffed the rosebuds. He was cute, she thought. Dog or no dog. “I’ll put these in water. Very nice touch, by the way.”

“I thought so. Moe wanted to go for candy, but I held out for flowers.”

She stopped. “He’s not out there, is he?”

“No, no, he’s home, making do with kibble and the Bugs Bunny marathon on the Cartoon Network. Moe’s nuts about Bugs.”

“I bet.” She arranged the flowers in a clear glass vase. “Do you want a drink before we go?”