“His dog came over to our house, starving, with a piece of frayed rope on her collar,” Terry burst out.
“The door of the houseboat was open, and the rain was pouring in,” volunteered Sim.
“Both his car and rowboat are there, and there’s a cupboard broken open on the houseboat,” Arden added excitedly.
“But perhaps he’s just gone for a day or two,” suggested the chief, obviously not wanting to start on a “case” in the riotous weather.
“Oh, you must believe us!” Arden exclaimed. “It takes more than a day or two to starve a big dog. And we inquired all around the village. No one has seen Mr. Uzlov.”
“Have you told anyone else about this?” Reilly asked professionally. “How many people know he’s gone?”
“Just us and my mother and that woman who came to see him,” Terry answered.
“Oh, Terry!” Arden exclaimed. “And we don’t even know her last name or her license number. We let her go away without asking.”
“How stupid! That’s just what we did, and I’m sure she knew more than she let on,” Sim said in dismay.
“Mr. Reilly,” Arden pleaded, “won’t you come with us to the Merry Jane? We’ll feel better if you take a look around, because we’d never forgive ourselves if anything was wrong.”