40b1ce81e27faee7f7dcd22da99b93e1

“Don’t get me wrong, snails are a very useful and beneficial species,” said Dex, who had perked up a great deal as we went on our way. He clearly wasn’t a homebody, and enjoyed being out and about. “They’re very beneficial for getting rid of rotten leaves, or anything decaying, and alsothey spread some very useful nutrients and manure in your backyard, which feeds the plants. The only problem is when you have too many of them, and they start eating your regular plants and flowers, which they rarely do, mostly focusing on the rotting stuff.”

“Exactly the problem we have!” said Dooley. “There’s simply too many of them, and they’ve turned Tex and Marge’s backyard, and now also Odelia’s, into a wasteland.”

“Okay, so what’s the story with Edward Dexter and his daughter?” I said. All this talk about snails was all well and good, but what I really wanted to know was the Dexter business.

“Remember how I told you that Mr. Dexter wasn’t always my human? Well, that’s because I used to belong to his brother Edward.”

“But… this guy is Edward, isn’t he?”

“No, the Mr. Dexter you know is actually Andrew, Edward’s twin brother.”

“Huh.” Now this was news.

“So I used to belong to Edward. Only he went through some sort of breakdown, and had to step down from his position at the head of his company, and asked his brother to take his place. Just for the time being, you know. Until he got back on his feet. But it’s been ten years now, and we still haven’t heard from Edward. So obviously I’m worried that something might have happened to him, and that he might never come back.” He shrugged. “Though Andrew treats me well enough, I guess. He’s not a cat person, per se, but he tries hard to be.”

“So… the guy who lives in that house isn’t Edward?” I asked, just to be clear.

“Nope. Andrew stepped in as chairman of the board and CEO or whatever, and he also moved into the house. Before this happened he ran a fishing tackle store in Boca Raton. He had to learn on the job, but I think he’s done a pretty good job. And of course he’s got plenty of talented folk actually running the company.”

“But… so who’s Addie?”

“Addie is Edward’s daughter.”

“And she’s also been living with Andrew?”

Dex nodded.“She was still very young at the time, of course. A teenager. So the transition happened more or less smoothly. But yeah, Andrew is her uncle, not her dad.”

“Okay,” I said, thinking hard.

“It’s very kind of Andrew to take over for his brother like that,” said Dooley. “It shows his good heart.”

“Yeah, he’s all right,” said Dex. “And of course we’re not dogs, so we don’t form this silly attachment to our humans dogs suffer from.” He laughed, but I could tell that his heart wasn’t in it.

“You miss Edward, don’t you?” I said.

He nodded, and his eyes grew moist. It told me that he might not be a dog, but he’d much rather have Edward back, no matter how hard Andrew tried to be a good pet parent.

“Okay, so this throws a different light on this matter altogether,” I said. “It’s entirely possible that the reason Addie went missing has something to do with this whole twin brother thing.”

“Addie didn’t go missing,” said Dex with a frown. “Who told you that?”

“Why, Edward—um, Andrew, of course. It’s why Odelia got involved. He asked her to track down his daughter, since the authorities couldn’t.”

Dex burst out laughing.“Max, he’s pulling your leg! Addie isn’t missing. She’s off on a road trip with her boyfriend Ted. Probably having the time of their lives.”

Obviously Dex wasn’t as well informed as he thought he was, and since I didn’t want him to worry, I decided not to mention the fact that Addie hadn’t returned from her road trip.

“So how well does Addie get along with her uncle?” I asked instead.

“Well, obviously they don’t have the kind of relationship a father and daughter would have, but they get along great. Addie adores her uncle, and he’s crazy about his niece, probably feeling sorry for the way her dad abandoned her.”

“They don’t know where Edward is?”

“Not a clue. The guy just went up in smoke one day.”

“Odd. You’d think a big CEO like that would stay in touch.”

“Yeah, you would think so. But you’d be wrong.”

I noticed a touch of bitterness in the orange cat’s voice, and I didn’t wonder. “So is he married, this Andrew?”

“Nope. Never found the one. At least not yet.”

“He’s finally found the one in Odelia,” said Dooley. “She’ll be like a mother to Addie, and it’s so great that Grace will have a big sister now.” Then he seemed to realize what he was saying, for he turned to me. “Oh, no, Max! We have to find Addie, or else Grace will grow up without a sister!”

I sighed.“Oh, Dooley.”

CHAPTER 36

[Êàðòèíêà: img_2]

“Who would have thought, right?” said Dooley.

“Mh,” I said.

“Edward isn’t Edward but Andrew. And he’s not Addie’s dad but her uncle.”

“Mh.”

“It’s all very complicated, isn’t it? Hard to keep track, I mean.”

“Mh.”

“So maybe Addie also got confused, and that’s why she ran away?”