 Soon after Archie arrives at Sarah's estate, he discovers that she and her dog have been murdered.Archie calls Wolfe with the news and returns to the city, suspecting that Barry or someone else in Zeck's enterprise may be responsible.When he arrives, however, he discovers that Nero Wolfe has disappeared during the night, leaving only instructions that Archie should not look for him and a newspaper advertisement announcing Wolfe's retirement from the detective business.