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“Oh, absolutely.”

“So it’s official, is it?”

“Of course. Though I doubt he’ll have time to help me find Ed’s daughter.”

“Mh,” said the Chief, staring at his niece with a dubious sort of look on his mug. “Okay, go on. What’s this about a missing daughter?”

“Well, Addie Dexter went on a road trip with her boyfriend Ted a couple of weeks ago. The idea was that they would travel from coast to coast in their RV, so they set out from San Francisco and were going to drive all the way up to Montauk, then south to Florida to join Ed, who’s got a place down there. Only they never made it past Hampton Cove, and disappeared without a trace two weeks ago. No messages, no phone calls, and her phone was switched off. So Ed is worried.”

“Naturally,” the Chief grumbled unhappily.

“He told me he reported Addie and Ted missing, so I was wondering about the state of the investigation. He felt fobbed off, so I wanted to check in with you.”

“What I would like to know is why this guy,” said the Chief, planting two beefy arms on his blotter and fixing his niece with a critical look. “Why Ed Dexter? Is it the money? I mean, I know Chase isn’t a billionaire, but money isn’t everything, honey. Chase has heart, and that’s what matters. And he’s got plenty of it.”

“I know he does, Uncle Alec,” said Odelia. “But he also has a job to do, so I can’t ask him to find Addie. And besides, like I said, Edward tells me he already talked to the police, and they couldn’t help him.”

“He didn’t talk to me, that’s for sure. If he had, I’d remember.”

“I think he talked to Randal. Who told him that Addie probably decided to go off the grid for a while. Kids do that kind of stuff all the time. He told him not to worry.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Randal, all right,” said the Chief with a grimace. “So why didn’t he bring his case to me? I would have organized a search. Clearly if this girl has gone missing, we need to find her.”

“He doesn’t want to involve too many people,” Odelia explained. “He’s afraid that the media will get hold of the story, and then all hell will break loose.”

“Yeah, I can see his point,” the Chief admitted reluctantly. “If word got out that Edward Dexter’s daughter went missing in Hampton Cove, every nut in the country would descend on this town, hoping to collect whatever reward money they can get.” He arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “There is a reward, isn’t there?”

“There is, but obviously I’m not going to collect it if I find Addie. I told him to donate the money to a charity of his choice. But first I have to find the girl.”

“Mh, I’ll bet he’ll give you some other reward, too,” the Chief muttered, earning himself an odd glance from his niece.

“Look, I understand that you don’t like Edward,” said the latter. “Most people don’t. And I admit he’s an acquired taste. But once you get to know him, he’s a wonderful man. Sensitive, intelligent, and very, very worried about his daughter.”

“Of course, of course,” said the Chief, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Talk to Randal. Ask him what he discovered, if anything. And then tell me.”

“Okay, fine,” said the Chief, getting up. But before he reached the door, he turned, and gave his niece an earnest look, placing both hands on her shoulders. “I just… I hope you know what you’re doing, honey.”

“Of course,” said Odelia, surprised by the man’s heartfelt look and the moistness of his eyes. “And thank you for taking this to heart, Uncle Alec.”

“How could I not,” said the Chief, choking up.

CHAPTER 13

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“Look, Fifi, Harriet didn’t mean what she said. Of course you’re a great candidate. I bet you can even win this whole thing.”

Fifi gave Brutus a look that was devoid of those warm sentiments the little dog usually reserved for her friends and neighbors.

“I heard what I heard, Brutus,” she said. “And besides, if Harriet wants to apologize, why doesn’t she do it herself? Why send you?”

“I told you already. Because she’s so busy training Rufus. Getting him ready for the big show.” Brutus would have wiped away a bead of sweat, if he could have without Fifi noticing. This apologizing thing was harder than he thought. And besides, Fifi was right: it should have been Harriet pouring apologetic phrases into the little Yorkie’s ear, not him.

“Look, don’t you want to train together with Rufus? Work as a team?”

“There’s no I in team, Brutus,” said Fifi haughtily. “And since a dog show isn’t a team effort, it’s every dog for himself from now on. And that goes for Rufus, too!”

“But he’s floundering, Fifi! Rufus is suffering. His head isn’t in the game, and if only you would join him, I just know he’d be over the moon.”

“He should have thought of that before he hired Harriet as his personal trainer.”

“But…”

“No means no, Brutus. Rufus and I go our separate ways, and that’s my final word.”