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Vesta’s son Alec entered the kitchen, looking slightly harried, the few remaining strands of hair on his head in disarray. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said, panting a little as he pulled up a chair. “Charlene had us visiting a travel agent.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re going vacationing together,” said Scarlett. “Have you picked a destination yet?”

“No, we have not,” said Alec emphatically. “And I’m not sure we ever will.”

“Oh, but why? Going on holiday as a couple is one of the best things about being married.”

“We are NOT married,” said Alec, from between gritted teeth.

Obviously Scarlett had hit a nerve, and wisely chose to back off.

“We’re thinking about staging an intervention,” Marge said, filling the newcomer in on the plans. “Sit her down and try and talk some sense into her.”

“How sure are we that Odelia and this Dexter fella are an item?” asked Alec.

“Always the cop,” said Vesta, throwing up her hands. “Always looking for evidence.” She tapped her phone, which she’d placed on the table. “Aren’t the pictures I sent you evidence enough? Or the video?”

“All I see is Odelia hugging some dude,” said Alec. “Doesn’t mean they’re having an affair. Heck, if I had an affair with every woman I hug, I’d be exhausted.”

He looked exhausted, Vesta thought. His cheeks, otherwise so plump and rosy, were pale, his skin wrinkly and saggy.

“Are you coming down with something?” she asked, placing a hand on her son’s forehead. But of course he slapped her hand away.

“I’m fine,” he grunted irritably. “Have you sent these pictures to Chase already?”

“Of course not.”

“And why not, if I may ask? He has a right to know that his wife is cheating on him.”

“We don’t want to cause any trouble,” said Marge, “before we have a chance to confront Odelia. There may be an innocent explanation.”

“Innocent explanation, my ass,” said Vesta. “You should have seen them. As lovey-dovey a couple as I’ve ever witnessed. No, those two are in love. And I should know. I’m an expert at this stuff.”

Ever since her own husband had cheated on her with Scarlett, she’d had a firm distaste for cheaters. Even when those cheaters were her beloved granddaughter. Still, Marge was right. They had to give Odelia a chance to explain. And to change her evil ways.

“I say we confront her, and tell her to dump this billionaire,” she suggested.

“She’ll come to her senses, I’m sure,” said Marge, always the optimist. “And Chase never needs to know.” She looked around the table searchingly. “Are we all in agreement? If Odelia agrees to stop seeing her billionaire, we don’t tell Chase?”

“All those in favor, raise your hand,” said Vesta. Much to her satisfaction, she saw they had a full quorum.

“Let’s save a marriage, people,” she concluded. “And save a little girl’s future.”

“Broom broom!” Grace bellowed, always wanting to have the last word.

CHAPTER 16

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Dooley was looking at me intently, and so I said,“We still haven’t considered Dooley’s idea about the circus.”

Odelia and Chase were seated in their salon, with Dooley and myself also present. Maps had been researched, and possibilities for a search examined and quickly discarded, since Addie’s dad didn’t want his daughter’s disappearance to become widely known just yet.

Odelia frowned.“The circus? What are you talking about, Max?”

“I think she might have joined a traveling circus,” Dooley piped up. “To escape her dad, who may not be as kind and sweet as we think.”

Odelia thought about this for a moment, then nodded.

“What are they saying?” asked Chase.

“That Addie might not have been kidnapped but might have joined a traveling circus instead, to get away from her dad.”

Chase gave me an appreciative look.“Excellent thinking,” he said.

“It wasn’t my idea,” I hastened to say. But of course he didn’t understand me.

“It’s entirely possible that Addie and her dad didn’t get on as well as he says they did,” said the cop as he frowned at a map of Hampton Cove which lay spread out on the coffee table. “So where did Dexter say she was last seen?”

“Right here,” said Odelia, pointing to a spot on the map.

“And she told someone they were headed in this direction?”

“Yes, the owner of the gas station where they filled up the RV. They said they’d traveled all across the States, and were going to keep traveling east until they reached Montauk, and then go south, all the way to Florida, where they would take a well-deserved break before returning home.”

“Okay, so to reach Montauk they had to pass through Hampton Cove,” Chase mused as he traced the possible route the couple had taken with his finger. “And that was also the last time their cell phone signal was picked up?”

“Yes, Addie’s phone had a tracker app, so her dad could always see where she was. And the last time her phone transmitted a signal was just before they entered town. So her phone must have been switched off… or destroyed.”