d5e426eccb138e04dab909926b2752c6

“Yeah, that sounds like her,” said Marge with a laugh. “She wasn’t exactly the nicest of my friends.”

“Then why were you friends with her?”

Marge shrugged and resumed work on her labor of love.“She was gorgeous and she was popular, and I guess when she chose me as her friend I felt honored, you know. Like being in the big leagues. Though she quickly got bored with me and dumped me for Marcia Baker.”

Tex laughed.“Typical high school drama.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Though at the time I was pretty upset about it.” She halted progress on the figurine once more. “I never thought she’d marry Quintin Gardner, though. He was so much older than her. And not exactly the most handsome or charming guy in the world.”

“Did you know him back then?”

“He was friends with Jock Farnsworth’s dad,” said Marge, giving her husband a strange look.

“Oh,” said Tex, and placed his chin on his hands. He’d never liked Jock Farnsworth, Marge’s boyfriend before she and Tex had gotten together. And in hindsight he’d had good reason to distrust the rich kid, for he’d only recently been sentenced to prison for the attempted murder of his wife. “So… do you think Quintin had something to do with Vicky’s disappearance?”

“I doubt it. Though to be sure you’d have to ask him, of course.”

“I’m not going anywhere near the guy,” Tex said, alarmed. “And I hope you won’t either.”

“Oh, no,” said Marge. “Of course not. I’m not getting involved.”

Reassured by her words, Tex pushed a piece of goatherd around the table until Marge snapped it up and tried to fit it within the three-dimensional puzzle she was solving.

“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” she said after a while.

“Here, let me give you a hand.”

“Please don’t,” said Marge.

“Honey, as a doctor I have the steadiest hands imaginable. Here, let me show you.” And he carefully picked the piece under construction from his wife’s hands. He must have applied too much pressure, though, for it suddenly imploded under his grip with a plopping sound, and collapsed onto the table.

“Oh, Tex,” said Marge with a sigh.

“Oops,” said Tex as he placed the shapeless mass of glued-together pieces back down.

Marge gently hit what was left on the head with her fist and they both laughed at the remnants of her great work of art.

“I guess we better put it in the trash,” she said.

“No, wait,” he said, suddenly noticing something. He picked up a piece and studied it for a moment, before handing it to Marge.

“What is it?” she asked, then saw what he was pointing at.

She gasped, and looked up at her husband.

“That’s impossible,” she said.

“And yet it’s right there.”

Written on the back of one of the pieces was a single word:‘Help!’

And when they both frantically started turning over more pieces, suddenly Tex found another piece of the puzzle. This one read:‘Vicky Gardner, October 9, 2000.’

“When did Vicky disappear?” asked Marge.

“Let’s find out, shall we,” said Tex, and got out his phone. After a moment’s delay, he said, “November 10 is when Quintin reported his wife missing.”

They shared a look.“So why did she write ‘Help!’ on the back of this goatherd figurine one month before she disappearance?” asked Marge.

“And how did her cry for help end up inside the figurine, along with her ring?”

“We need a detective,” said Marge. “Pronto.”

Just then, the door of the kitchen flew open and Odelia walked in, followed by Max and Dooley.“Hey, you guys,” said Odelia. “What are you doing?”

Marge and Tex shared a smile.“Ask, and you shall receive,” said Tex.

Chapter 18

It felt really weird to be without fur around my midsection. Even though Odelia had assured me she hardly noticed I wasn’t sure she wasn’t just saying that to make me feel better. My nice shiny coat had always been my pride and joy. Maybe not as much as Harriet prides herself in her good looks, but still. That blorange sheen always gives me a nice fuzzy feeling when I spot it from the corner of my eye, or when Ipass a mirror or a shop window on the street. Yes, I’m vain, but then to some extent aren’t we all?

And now when I looked down at myself and saw my pink tummy I could have cried.

“It’s not that bad, Max,” said Dooley when he noticed my discomfort. “And soon the first bits of fuzz will start appearing and before you know it you’ll have your glow back.”

I beamed at my friend. These were exactly the words I needed to hear right now. The words to inspire and uplift and generally make me feel that all would be—

“What happened to you!” suddenly a voice cried out. The voice belonged to Harriet, and as she stood gaping at me, I could see the corners of her lips already curling up, and soon she was laughing uncontrollably. It would probably be too much to say she was rolling on the floor laughing, but thesuggestion was clearly there.

“Did you get a trim, Max?” asked Brutus with a grin. “A new fashion statement?”

“Max had an accident,” said Dooley. “And he feels very bad about it, so please be kind.”