Elsie went to a private detective because she suspected that Elmer was having an affair.
If that's Elmer, then an affair isn't the only thing Elmer has had, since that looks like a cow.
(Looks like a cow, since I saw enough of 'em, when I stayed with my mother's father who was a dairy farmer. And not like a bull, like the ones my father's kin owned, who were cattle ranchers.)
