Absolutely, Positively

in danger of losing his business. I know him well enough to realize what that admission cost his pride.”

    Harry did not like the note of sympathy that had crept into her voice. “Just how well do you know him?”

    “As you said, Gordon and I have some business interests in common.”

    “And you both like the same kind of chowder.”

    Molly glowered. “And his shop is right across the steps from mine. What of it?”

    “That well, huh?”

    “Sheesh, all right, already. I surrender. A year and a half ago Gordon and I were involved for a while. I'm sure you've guessed as much. Now, are you satisfied?”

    “You can't blame me for being a little curious,” Harry said.

    “The heck I can't.”

    “It's only natural under the circumstances. You grilled me a bit on the subject of my ex-fiancée, if you will recall.”

    Molly blushed. “I guess that's true. Okay, now we're even.”

    “Not quite,” Harry murmured. “What happened between you and Brooke? Why did you two stop seeing each other?”

    Molly lifted one shoulder in an elaborately casual shrug. “You know how it is. A year and a half ago I was very busy with the legal and investment work required to set up my father's foundation. I was also running my own business. And there was Kelsey to worry about. She was still in high school. What with one thing and another, there wasn't much time left over for a personal life. Gordon and I just drifted apart. It's over.”

    “How did it end? With a bang or a whimper?”

    Molly gave him a frosty look. “We're not talking about the end of the universe as we know it. We're talking about a casual dating relationship that sort of petered out.”

    “Petered out? An interesting expression, given the topic.”

    The frost in her eyes turned to ice. “You're being difficult, Trevelyan.”

    “So how did it end?”

    “Good grief, you're the most persistent man I've ever met.”

    “Part of my charm,” Harry said humbly.

    “Is it?” A glint appeared in Molly's eyes. “If you must know, it ended with a hiss.”

    Harry paused, his spoon halfway to his mouth. “A hiss?”

    Molly's smile was grim. “The sort of hissing shriek an espresso machine makes when the steam is forced through the ground coffee.”

    “I see. That kind of hiss.”

    “Exactly.”

    Harry considered the matter for a short time and then decided to push for the rest of the story. “Would you mind explaining the hiss?”

    Molly sighed. “Gordon and I had been dating for nearly two months. I thought things were going rather well. As you noted, we had a lot to talk about. But one day I walked into his shop shortly before closing time. The place was empty. The young woman who was usually on duty behind the counter was not around, but…”

    “But?”

    “But I thought I heard the sound of an espresso machine. The noise was coming from the storage room at the back of the shop.”

    “Ah,” Harry said. “I believe I begin to perceive the ending of this tale.”

    “It certainly doesn't take ESP to do that,” Molly muttered.

    Harry stilled. He searched her face but saw no sign that she had intended any veiled references to last night. He relaxed slightly. “Go on.”

    “To make a short story even shorter, I went into the storage room expecting to find Gordon testing out a new espresso machine. But he was testing out his counter assistant, instead. The two of them were going at it on top of a pile of sacks full of Gordon Brooke's Special Espresso Roast Costa Rican Blend.”

    “I can understand how an encounter like that would have left an indelible impression.”

    “Enough to put one off espresso for life,” Molly assured him.

    “And the hissing sound?”

    Molly grimaced. “That was Gordon. He sounded just like one of his machines.”

    “You didn't, uh, recognize the noise?” Harry asked carefully.

    “Our relationship had, thankfully, not progressed to that stage.”

    “You weren't sleeping with him?”

    “No.” Molly smiled wryly. “Now, are you satisfied?”

    “Almost,” Harry said.

    Molly glowered. “You're impossible. Do you have to pursue every little detail?”

    “I like to collect odd scraps of information.”

    “This isn't exactly an interesting footnote in the history of science. Why do you want so much information on Gordon?”

    “I figure it's to my benefit to learn as much as I can about him.”

    She regarded him with deep suspicion. “Why?”

    Harry watched a dozen gulls