"He calmed him down at the hospital, too," Sally told her.

"Oh, he was there?"

"Yeah, and Karen. I suppose some more will go tomorrow. I might, too."

Jenny thought it was a little odd that Sally would keep watch at the hospital, considering the way she felt about Diana.

^Well," Sally went on, "I wanted to find out if you got any more anonymous, sexy calls." She laughed. "My voice game wasn*t too successful."

Jenny rolled her eyes. It hadn't been too subtle, either. She started to mention the latest call, but then she suddenly noticed that Peaches had lifted her head and sniffed the air. Then the dog tumbled off the couch and moved in the direction of the front door. "Listen," Jenny said to Sally, **my parents are still out of town, you know. And I love my dog, but she's not much of a conversationalist. Why don't you come over tonight and we can ... I don't know . . . make some popcorn and talk. Watch TV if I can get something on it." Sally might be annojdng at times, but Jenny wanted company and there wasn't anyone else to ask.

"I can't," Sally said. "One of our horses has a cold and the vet's coming by to give her a shot. I've got to stick around until he comes and I have no idea when that'll be."

**Your vet makes house calls?"

Teah. Dr. Jacobsen is really great," Sally said. The kind of vet who takes care of stray animals

and tries to find them a home. You'll meet him probably, whenever you have to take Peaches in for her shots. Uh-oh, I gotta go/' she said quickly. "My mom has to use the phone. Bye, and don't worry about being alone tonight -- remember, the perverted painter doesn't come till tomorrow."

Thanks for reminding me, Jenny thought as she hung up. Maybe no company was better after all. She headed for the kitchen, thinking she might make some popcorn, and found Peaches standing by the front door, shifting from side to side.

A nature call, Jenny thought. She took the leash down from the coatrack and snapped it on the dog's collar. Once Peaches got to know the territory, Jenny wouldn't have to walk her. But she had visions of her pet wandering off and not being able to find her way back, or of being on the losing side of an argument with a raccoon, so she still didn't let her out alone.

Jenny opened the door and gave a startled gasp. Standing on the porch was Brad Billings. His green eyes were still bloodshot, but this time she could smell beer, and she knew he'd been drinking.

"Jenny," he said thickly. "I came to ... I don't know. Apologize. Didn't mean to jump on you at the diner."

Jenny swallowed and stepped outside, pulling the dog with her. She didn't want Brad in the house.

He squinted at her. "You sure you can't remember what you heard that night?"