assure you. Anyone seen doing what I have just advised against will be brought in for questioning, and may face a sentence. And also, travel in groups from now on, unless you absolutely have to go alone. That is all.”

“But-” Kaltag protested.

“Please now Kaltag,” Henry whispered again, “don’t get yourself in more trouble than you’re already in. Just go home, get some rest, and after this whole mess cleans up, then you can start telling your stories again… This is not a good time.”

Kaltag was left speechless. He glanced over his shoulder and already he saw most of the town leaving the boiler room. How could they not believe him?.. Actually. How could they not even let him finish what he had to say?

“Well, go on now. It’s getting late. And I would hate to have anything… happen to you,” Henry smiled, patting Kaltag on the back as he walked him out.

A thought suddenly came to Kaltag’s mind. What if… What if Hal had heard him just try to give away everything? No. The odds of him actually being able to hear that were next to none. Kaltag smiled back at Henry as he began to walk down the darkening streets. He walked alongside the butcher’s and saw a stack of crates. He stepped through an opening and frowned when he was suddenly surrounded by a pitch blackness. But what if…?

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

Mr. Kode pulled his overcoat closer to his body and brought the collar up, even though this did little to keep the cold wind from nipping at the older man. He stepped up and opened a door, and waved hello to the man behind the desk as a small bell rang over his head.

“Hey there Mr. Conner. You got any mail for an old man?”

The postmaster’s mustache twitched as he sorted through the mail bag. After a few stacks, he finally pulled out something.

“Ah, here ya go there. Have a good evenin’!” he called after Mr. Kode as the telegraph operator exited.

After a few minutes, he finally reached his home. He quickly shut the door behind him as a blast of bitter air tried to force its way through. He lifted his heavy coat from his shoulders, kicked off his boots and sat down in his chair. Mr. Kode ripped open the envelope addressed to him and began to read the letter inside carefully. The envelope accidentally dropped from his grasp and feel from the floor. He leaned down, hearing his old bones crack noisily. He noticed a few small photos that he had missed previously, so he took them out and looked them over. Mr. Kode slammed everything onto the table and quickly dragged the small telegraph machine towards him.

“Maurice STOP You there STOP”

The telegraph began to beep in response, and Mr. Kode began his normal routine of writing down the returning message and reading it aloud.

“Nome STOP Yes I am STOP”

“You sitting STOP I have some bad news and it may hurt STOP”

“Yes STOP”

Mr. Kode paused for a moment as he tried to think of how to put this. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, but it seemed that that responsibility always fell onto his shoulders. He gave a heavy sigh and his small dog looked up at him.

“I received  the photos STOP One of the dogs from a photo looks like one we found dead a day or two ago STOP And from what I read in letter you sent STOP It is more than possible that it is your dog STOP”

There was a long silence. A very long silence indeed. Mr. Kode began to worry if Maurice was still on the other end of the line.

“Was there photo of the deceased dog STOP”

“Yes STOP  I expect that you wish for me to send them STOP”

“Please do STOP I will be waiting STOP”

The line went silent again and Mr. Kode drummed his fingers across the table. He leaned back in his chair and looked up the ceiling, bringing a hand to his face and rubbing his temples. He could only imagine how horrible Maurice had to be feeling right now. The light above the table began to flash momentarily before Mr. Kode stood up. He picked up his dog and carried him up the stairs after he had shut of the light.

“C’mon boy. We’re gonna turn in early tonight.”

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

The moon hung lazily in the sky as Kodi limped down the street, being careful to step as gingerly as he could to avoid any stinging. He was still in a state of shock from the earlier meeting. His dad? How could he, or why would he have murdered anyone? Sure, he had killed Steele and that other dog, but that was purely by accident and self-defense. Right? Of course. He couldn’t lose faith in his dad now. This would blow over eventually. He was suddenly shaken from his thoughts as he heard a conversation coming into earshot. It was still too far away to actually make out any of their word though, so he crept forward. He could tell that the voices were coming from one of the alleyways, so he pressed himself against the nearest building, and held in a hiss as he stepped wrong. He realized that at least one of the two voices sounded awfully familiar.

“So, you have your orders. I expect you to not let me down.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t. So let me get this straight. You want me to-”

The talking suddenly stopped and Kodi gritted his teeth. His paw had made the snow crunch. He probably just messed up the only chance to hear what was going on.

“You’ll do fine. You have the time. Now go.”

Kodi peaked around the corner and saw one of the two figures suddenly bolt down the other end and disappear into the darkness. He pulled his head back quickly as the second figure began to walk casually towards his direction. When the shadowy figure walked around the corner, he gasped.

“Oh Kodi!… It’s only you. You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Henry exclaimed.

Kodi eyed him up and down suspiciously. “So. Who was that you were just talking to?” he asked.

Henry laughed nervously and rubbed a paw behind his head. “You see, I had this idea. I got myself a secret informant. One of the gossips using their talent to benefit the town for once. I just hope it won’t be a waste of my time, and that they’re reliable. But we’ll have to see.”

Kodi raised an eyebrow. “I heard you talking about orders and times.”

“Well, that’s because they wanted to stay anonymous, unless they bring something really useful. I gave them a time that we could meet so they wouldn’t have to worry about snoopers like you.”

He stepped in front of Henry. A rush of wind whipped up snow and whirled it around the two dogs as the moon flashed through an occasional cloud.

“I think that you’re not being completely honest now,” Kodi said, trying to hide any emotions.

Henry didn’t try to smile this time. “Looks like you’re just like your father. He seems like quite the character.”

“Hey! Don’t you go after my dad! You’ve already done enough,” Kodi growled.

“Now calm down. No need to jump to conclusions and prove my point… If you please though, I would like to get some rest for tomorrow.” When Kodi didn’t move, Henry pushed him aside and began walking away. He stopped and turned around, smirking. “I would advise that you behave yourself youngster.”

Kodi watched Henry disappear down the main street with a certain feeling of mistrust. He was up to something, this was Kodi‘s gut feeling. But there was nothing he could do in this condition, and he knew it. So he continued to hobble down the lane towards his home as a sign above him creaked in the wind.

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

Jenna hadn’t moved for a few hours now. She had skipped her dinner, and had refused to play with her girl since the meeting. She was still doing what she had been, lying down and staring into the fire. The flames danced in her brown eyes and seemed to be her only company right now, the only thing to help comfort her. She heard the dog door swing open and sway. She didn’t bother look back.

“Good evening Mom.”

“The same to you Denali. Come to visit me?”

“More or less.” Denali walked up beside her and sat down. He laid a sympathetic paw on her back. “Don’t worry. I’m sure this’ll all blow over soon.”

She turned up to her son and looked at him hard. He was surprised to see how well the worry and pain seemed to shine through her eyes.

“But what if it doesn’t?… I have this feeling… This horrible feeling that this isn’t going to be alright.. I just hope so badly that for once, I’ll be wrong.”

Denali laid down beside her and put a paw on hers. “I know this is coming from me, but you have to stay positive and hold yourself together. As soon as you give up hope, then the battle is already lost. But remember, Dad’ll get off scot-free if something happens while he isn’t in town. So all this is, is a waiting game.”

Jenna gave him a faint smile. “I’ll try. For him, and all of you. First thing tomorrow, I’m heading over to his boat and seeing him. No matter what they tell me what not to do. And right after that, I’m going to talk with Henry about this.”

“That‘s the spirit. We’ll be here for you every step of the way. You can count on that.”

Jenna nuzzled her son and gave more of a smile. He offered to stay the night with her in case she need comforting, and she was only happy to accept the offer.

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

“Is