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Next to the first picture, a selfie had been tacked. It depicted Fabio and Grace, and Marge studied her former friend. She still looked very pretty, even though thirty years had passed. Fabio was younger than Grace, and very handsome, with tanned face and a thick crop of dark hair. He was lying on the bed, his torso naked, with Grace’s head on his chest. They looked happy, grinning into the camera like a couple of teenagers in love.

A pang of pity shot through Marge. She’d hated Grace for a long time, but now she suddenly felt sorry for her. Clearly her marriage with Jock had been an unhappy one, but here she seemed genuinely happy. Had someone been jealous of her happiness and decided to put an end to it? If that was the case, there was only one likely suspect:Jock.

“I think we should get Alec and Chase involved,” said Marge. “This is starting to look more and more like a kidnapping.”

“I think you’re right,” said Odelia. “Let’s call this in.” And as she cut a glance to her mother, she added, “Better drop that phone, Mom. This is now officially a crime scene.”

Chapter 14

“I honestly wonder, Max,” said Dooley.

“Wonder what?” I asked.

We were in Uncle Alec’s pickup, on our way to a possible crime scene Odelia and Marge had discovered. Alec was driving, and Chase was riding shotgun. Harriet, Brutus and Shanille had stayed behind with Gran, to conduct some more door-to-door litter business.

“I’m starting to have doubts,” he admitted.

“Doubts? About…”

“About our mission. The CCREC mission.”

“Oh. Well, to be honest with you, Dooley, I’m having doubts about our mission, too.”

“You are?”

“Yes, frankly I’m not so sure if the way Harriet and Shanille keep selling the litter box as God’s gift to dogs is the right approach—the ethical approach, I mean.”

“I’ve been thinking, too, Max, and I don’t think it’s practical, you know.”

“Practical? What do you mean?”

“Well, as you know I’m a big fan of the Discovery Channel, right? I wasn’t before, but the more I watch, the more I like it. And the other night there was a documentary about the different types of dogs. There are a lot of different breeds, Max. I mean, a lot a lot.”

“Yes, I know.” I was wondering where my friend was going with this, and sincerely hoped he would get there fast.

“There are Chihuahuas, Pekinese, Pomeranians, Poodles, German Shepherds…”

“I know, Dooley. There are a lot of different dog breeds.”

“Well, that got me thinking, Max.”

“Yes?”

“These litter boxes, they’re all pretty much the same size. Since they’re made for cats and all cats are basically the same size. Well, some cats are bigger than others,” he said, directing a meaningful look at my tummy for some reason, “but dogs aren’t cats, Max.”

“Yes, I’m well aware dogs aren’t cats, Dooley. So what’s your point?”

“My point is that there are dogs that are as big as a cow, and they’ll never fit inside a regular-sized litter box, unless they made the box as big as an RV. Do you know what an RV is, Max?”

“Yes, I know what an RV is, Dooley.”

“I mean, what dog owner is going to bring that kind of thing into his home? Plus, these dogs—the ones that are as big as cows—when they do their business those piles are huge, Max. Huge! Like an elephant’s.”

I made a face.“You don’t need to remind me, Dooley. Remember Rufus’s business?”

“Well, that’s another thing, Max. I don’t think that was Rufus’s pile.”

“You don’t?”

“No, I took a sniff and I distinctly smelled Fifi in that pile.”

“Fifi! But she’s so small. She couldn’t possibly have produced a pile that high.”

“Yes, she could. Small dogs can produce heaps that big, Max. It was all in that Discovery Channel documentary. I wish you could have seen it. It was very interesting.”

“I’m sure it was, Dooley. So what’s your point?”

“My point is that no one in their right mind is going to want to buy their dog a litter box the size of an RV, and if that’s the case, what’s the point of the CCREC?”

“Well, Harriet seems to think it’s all a matter of supply and demand,” I reminded him. “If the demand is there, the supply will follow.”

“It’s all a matter of money, Max. A litter box as big as an RV is going to cost owners of the big dogs an arm and a leg, and they simply aren’t going to be able to afford such an expenditure. The people with tiny dogs, on the other hand, will be in a better position.”

“So?”

“So it’s not fair, Max! Big dog people will say it’s not fair that small dog people spend so little and they would be right. And before you know it, Gran and Harriet and Shanille’s CCREC scheme will collapse in a big heap of… um…”

“I think I get the point, Dooley.”

“And also, we shouldn’t have gone after Marcie so hard, or Rufus, as that big pile of dog dung was Fifi’s and not Rufus’s.”

All this gave me food for thought, and as we traveled the road that led from Hampton Cove to the house where the Farnsworths lived, I saw that my friend was right. The people with the big dogs would never want to spend that kind of money, unless…