from between the body and her collar and smiled.

“Well, I think we have the fur of the very dog that did this. Unfortunately, I’ll probably need help in identifying it.”

“What do you want us to do?” the second dog asked.

“Just wait here. There’ll be a meeting as soon as the sun rises, so I hope you can attend.”

“Sure thing,” the first nodded, but then noticed something, “are you alright?”

Henry looked at him quizzically, “I’m sorry, but what?”

He pointed at Henry’s front paw. Henry looked down and saw a patch of red.

“Huh. I wonder how that got there. Maybe it was from my inspection?” he shrugged. “But never mind that. I must make haste in order to reach all the others in time to tell them about the meeting. See you there!” he called as he trotted down the alley.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Kaltag awoke with a groan as he rubbed his head. He sat up and looked around, his vision very blurred. From what he could tell, Nikki and Star were also beginning to stir, and they too were doing something to try and quell their awful headaches. But it was no use. After a few minutes, Kaltag could finally make out his surroundings. There were boards above him, dirt as the floor, and an assortment of wires, houses, and beams around him. There was a chortle from behind him, and Kaltag whirled around before he felt a sudden pain. He grabbed his head again and fell to the ground with his eyes tightly shut.

“Aww, poor Pup. Does your wittle head still hurt?” Hal cooed mockingly.

Hal began to pace around each individual dog, grinning madly as he patted each one of them on the head and they squirmed away from his touch.

“I see you haven’t quite adjusted to your migraines… See, each of my siblings had a different idea on how to cause you suffering. Would you believe the idea of this came to me just a few days ago? Now you will know exactly how I feel most of the time. That dull pounding in your head that increases in intensity each time you move or hear a noise, isn’t it… maddening?”

Hal padded over to Star and lifted his head up. He began to chortle before dropping the dog’s head back to the cold, hard earth, and smiling at the yelp of pain he heard.

“Well, if it doesn’t drive you insane now, it will. The best part is, is that while you try and resist me by combating this mind-numbing phenomenon, your body is completely powerless. Too bad you don’t have the luxury I did though. No laughing gas for you I’m afraid. But this will do… I did hear the most interesting news while eavesdropping this morning though. Apparently they are planning another meeting today, as the sun rises if I heard correctly.”

He looked at each dog carefully. As he circled each one, he mumbled to himself, maybe throwing in a chuckle or too. Hal took a particular interest in Kaltag though. He seemed to be the most determined fighter compared to the other two. He would do perfectly for what he desired.

“Kaltag was it?” Hal moved to the Chinook and lifted him to his paws. “You are going to that meeting. You will tell me every detail that goes on there. And if you even think about spilling anything, then you better prepare yourself for a harsh lesson.” He snickered quietly as he led Kaltag out. “And if you dawdle on your way back, then I will hunt you down.”

Kaltag stumbled out of the exit, a hole that led directly underneath a building. He kept trying to focus as best as he could. To be honest, he felt as if he were about to lose his lunch, well, if he had had a meal of course. Hal watched after him, grinning from ear to ear. He knew exactly what this one would try to do, and that was the only reason why he would be the one to go. He began to shiver in pure excitement as he turned around and disappeared below the butcher’s home.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Alright, is everyone here?” Henry called out to the crowd. He saw no other dogs enter through the door, so he began to speak. “Let us begin then. First of all-”

“Wait, wait. I’m here.”

Kaltag walked in, swaying slightly from side to side. His headache had come close to clearing up, so now he could actually hear without so much pain. Henry eyed him distastefully before he began again.

“As I was saying before. I have gathered you all here to tell you what I have just found… While inspecting the scene of that most tragic murder, I found a most helpful clue… Unfortunately, I do not have knowledge of many of the denizens of this town, so I would appreciate help in identifying the owner of this.”

Henry dragged out a small, pale-brown fluff of fur from his collar and dropped it onto the floor. He scanned the crowd and pointed to Jenna.

“The line will start with you. Could you please walk around here and sniff it, see if you can pick up something. We’re lucky that there’s still a scent on it.”

Jenna had guessed that he would have chosen her first. She had a feeling that this dog had somewhat of a crush on her, but she really didn’t want to hurt his feelings. She nodded her head politely as she strode up to the front. She knelt down and took a sniff of the fur. Her eyes suddenly widened and her jaw dropped nearly to the floor.

“No… No. This can’t be right,” she whispered quietly.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Henry asked, leaning an ear down towards her.

Jenna’s lip quivered as she tried her best to avoid looking at Balto. But she couldn’t hold herself from doing so. Balto stared at her, head cocked, wondering what she had to say along with the others. Henry quickly realized why she was still staring back at him. Jenna turned back around to face Henry, and she looked at him pleadingly.

“Please. I know he wouldn’t have done anything like that. This is a mistake,” she practically begged.

One by one, the other dogs began to catch what was going on, and they slowly turned to stare at Balto. Most of the looks were of utter disbelief, and some were smug, like they thought he would have been behind something so heinous. It took a while, but the situation finally began to sink in for Balto.

“Listen!” Jenna suddenly shouted, catching the crowds attention, “We all know Balto! We know that he would have never done anything like this!”

“But Jenna,” Henry cut in, “how would you explain this fur that I found lodged on the victim?”

She turned to him and frowned, “I believe you took some of his fur last night. I hate to be accusative, but you could have planted it.”

The sound of murmurs resonated from the crowd. Had they made the wrong mistake in who they had chosen? Henry showed no fear though, and he stepped towards the crowd.

“Last night, I offered to take care of the fur because I was trying to be helpful. I did just as I said, and deposited the fur into the trash can near their home. You can even check if you want. And if you notice, this fur has no sign of bandages on it at all. Besides, the bodies were being watched all night and all day, so it couldn’t have been planted. I assure you that this is no mistake. Besides, why would I do this to Balto? I have no personal vendetta against him.”

“But maybe, there’s the slimmest chance that this was put there before your guards could see? He wouldn’t have done it.”

Henry sighed, “Alright. This is what we’ll do. Since there is no conclusive evidence condemning Balto, I will ask him to stay on his boat out of town. He’ll be allowed to come into town during the daylight hours, and only with the company of another dog. If something like this occurs again during this period of his ‘house arrest’, then this should prove his innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt… Moving on. Is there any other matters that need solving while we’re here?” He squinted his eyes as a paw rose meekly. “You there. What is your ailment?”

Kaltag stepped through the crowd and walked up to the new judge. He seemed hesitant to speak at first, but soon regained his courage.

“Listen. I need your help. We’re being held captive. Star, Nikki, and myself by some psycho dog. We can’t do anything by ourselves to stop him, so we need your help.”

Henry looked at him with a most interested expression upon his face. “And, who is this dog?… Give me a description of him.”

“Well, how do I put this?… He basically looks like a twisted clown, and-”

“Did you hear that!?” Henry called out, his tone suddenly changing and the features of his face hardening, “He says there’s a clown holding him and two other dogs captive!”

“But it’s true! I could show you-”

Henry leaned right down next to Kaltag and whispered. “Listen here, Boy… I know exactly what you’re trying to do, and that you‘re a friend of Balto‘s. But you are not going to derail our only lead. I’m a great dog when I’m not on duty, so please, don‘t push me.”

The mass of dogs before him had become silent, their breathing barely audible. They looked on with straight faces as Henry began to speak directly to them again.

“Alright everyone. I realize that he is probably just trying to cause trouble. I order all of you to not listen to a word this dog has to say if it sounds fishy, or follow him if he tries to lead you off. This is for your own safety I assure you. Anyone seen