0aeaa1e36e6f2e625b6ba8d48f773062

Weird, she thought with a frown. Mom never neglected to pick up her phone when her daughter called. Could be, of course, that she simply wasn’t hearing the ringtone over the din. And soon Odelia found her thoughts returning to the strange events surrounding her uncle’s disappearance. First the man was kidnapped from Charlene’s home, and now Madame Solange claimed he’d simply taken off to start a new life?

It just didn’t make any sense, though of course Solange would say something like that. Odelia wasn’t a big believer in fortune tellers, and so she didn’t for one minute think Solange was right.

Uncle Alec would never take off like this. Not without talking things through with his nearest and dearest first. Besides, he loved his job, and he loved his new life with Charlene. And though that wedding announcement had been bogus, Odelia wouldn’t put it past the couple to tie the knot at some point in the future.

And just when she figured she’d better call it a day and go home, she suddenly thought she saw her uncle’s lookalike again: the man was walking not fifty feet in front of her, licking from an ice cream cone and taking in the sights. So this time she decided to play it cool and stalk the man before he skedaddled again.

She didn’t think the man’s appearance was related to her uncle’s disappearance at all, but the resemblance was so uncanny she felt the need to have a little chat with him.

So she carefully trailed the man and soon discovered he was wending his way back to where Madame Solange’s trailer was parked. And before she had the chance to talk to him, he’d set foot for a trailer right next to Solange’s, and disappeared inside.

For a moment Odelia wavered, then she steeled herself and walked up to the trailer and knocked on the door.

Moments later, the door opened and the man appeared, looking at her a little dumbly.

“Yes?” he said finally.

“Hi, sir,”’ said Odelia. “I know this must sound strange to you, but you look so very much like my uncle that I was wondering if perhaps—”

“Your uncle? Who’s your uncle?” asked the man, speaking bluntly.

“Alec Lip. He disappeared two days ago, and I’ve been looking for him, and when I saw you earlier, I just thought…”

“Yes?” said the man, not very invitingly.

She suddenly felt very silly. Plenty of people resembled other people, and just because this man shared a certain resemblance to her uncle didn’t mean anything.

“What’s your name, sir, if you don’t mind my asking?” she said finally.

“Wolf Moonblood,” said the man, “and I’m afraid I’ve never seen you before, miss…”

“Poole,” she said, holding out her hand. “Odelia Poole.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Poole,” said the man, taking her hand and giving it a quick and unenthusiastic shake. “But I don’t think I’ve ever met this uncle of yours—this Alec Lip. And you say he’s gone missing?”

“Yes, he was kidnapped.”

“That’s too bad,” said the man, not displaying much sympathy. “Well, if there’s nothing more…”

“No, I’m sorry for taking up your time,” said Odelia, feeling exceedingly stupid now and taking a step back.

“Goodbye, Miss Poole,” said the man, and withdrew inside the trailer once more.

Odelia stared at the closed door for a moment, and marveled at the striking resemblance both men shared. Though Uncle Alec would never want to be seen dead looking like an aged and much heavier version of John Travolta in Grease.

Then she decided she was wasting her time, and walked away.

Wherever her uncle was, it definitely wasn’t here.

Chapter 30

“Come on, Brutus,” said Harriet. “There has to be someone in this town who knows something.”

“I know, but how do we find them?” asked Brutus miserably.

They’d been paying visits to all of their usual haunts but so far had found no one who could shed some light on Uncle Alec’s disappearance, or the man with the crooked nose and the cauliflower ears. Usually the modest size of Hampton Cove worked against these crooks and gangsters, as there was always some dog walker or pensioner who’d caught sight of their misdeeds. But not this time.

“We haven’t talked to Buster yet,” Harriet pointed out. “If anyone can help us, it’s him.”

Buster was the cat belonging to Fido Siniawski, the hairdresser, and as such usually very well-informed indeed.

Harriet and Brutus walked into Fido’s shop, where already plenty of people were waiting to have their hair removed. Harriet had always thought this human habit of allowing other people to mess with their hairdo was one of that particular breed’s stranger quirks. She’d never want anyone to touch her nice and perfect fur. Then again, no human could ever hope to have fur as nice and shiny as hers.

“Hey, guys,” said Buster when they glanced around to see where the Main Coon was hanging out. “Did you hear the latest? Fido is selling his business and moving to Florida.”

“Florida?” asked Harriet, shocked. Fido was such a fixture in Hampton Cove it would be weird to see him leave.