gain her trust so she might give him a good hearing.  With any luck, he’d walk away without looking like Pete.

After a moment, a dog slipped outside.  Slender, well-groomed, with an unusual blue tint to her fur and white on her face and underbelly.  Definitely Trixie.  He had only ever seen a tint like that on two other dogs, and she certainly wasn’t either of them.  She didn’t seem to notice him standing on the opposite corner as she walked to the side of her porch and dug at a patch of snow.  Mildly curious, Toby trotted up behind her and watched as she disinterred a well-chewed, meatless T-bone.

“Hey,” he greeted.

She jumped and turned around.  “Who are you?!” she demanded, her voice quivering.

Toby took a step back.  Why was she so jumpy?  “My name’s Toby,” he replied gently.  “Sorry if I scared you.”

Trixie calmed down.  “Oh,” she heaved a sigh of relief.  “I thought you were him.”

Toby decided not to ask who this him was.  “Are you Trixie?”

She eyed him warily.  “Yeah, that’s my name.”

“Well listen, I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Sorry,” she snapped, turning around.  “You seem nice enough, but I’m through with guys.”

“What?” asked Toby before her words fitted themselves together in his head.  “No no no, I’m not looking for a girl.  I’m already settled down.”

At this she seemed to brighten.  “Oh.  Well in that case, how can I help you?”

He took a deep breath.  Her first thought had been to say he knew a guy who was interested in her, and then ease into it.  But her comment precluded that possibility.  So, perhaps not all that wisely, he ventured, “You know a guy named Pete?”

The effect was instantaneous.  Her eyes darkened and her fur rose.  “Don’t… even… mention… that… creep.”

“Wait a minute, Trixie.”  Toby’s forced calmness began to falter like a pilot whose engine has gone out as he goes into a nosedive.  “Just hear me out.  He’s trying to change, he just…”

“Trying to change?” she asked angrily.  “Trying to change?  I tried to change that sorry excuse for a dog.  I’ve tried to change a lot of guys, and he is the worst.”

“I know, but he’s not what he seems.  He just…”

“Get out of here,” she insisted.  “Now.”

Toby had been around Luna enough to know when a woman was on the brink.  “I’m going, I’m going.”  And he left, wondering how Pete would respond to notice of a failed mission.

“She said no?” Pete asked.  His tone was definitely one of aggression.

“I tried,” Toby admitted, “but she wouldn’t give me a chance.  The minute I mentioned your name, she lost it.”

“You must have said it wrong,” insisted Pete.

“I just asked if she knew you, that was all it took.”

“You should’ve said something else.”

“Like what?”

For a moment it seemed like Toby had won the argument.  Pete stuttered, trying to think of an answer.  “Like… like… I don’t know.  That’s your job!  You sweet-talk Luna all the time.”

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t blow her top every time she hears my name.  And she loves me.”

“Well, I love Trixie.”

“Pete, I’m still not sure you get what it really means to love someone.  You’ve got the concept, but not the heart of it.”

Pete rolled his eyes.  “OK then, Cupid, where do we go from here?”

“I think we should just wait it out until she’s had some time to cool down and you’ve had some time to improve more.  I still don’t know how we’ll get her to realize you’re different, but we’ll have to play that by ear.”  Secretly, Toby was hoping that in the meanwhile they would find a less hostile girl for Pete.  But he knew better than to say it out loud.  In any event, both of them were suddenly distracted by something coming up the road.

The something was three dogs, walking in a line as if trailing a dragnet over a lake.  The middle dog was a light brown and white husky with a red bandanna draped about his neck.  Toby recognized him as Officer Ewan, one of his father’s co-workers, and another as Exile from the police force’s reserved sled team.  Of the three, Exile wore the bitterest expression.

The three stopped in front of Toby and Pete.  “Are you Pete?” asked Ewan.

Pete cleared his throat uneasily.  “Yeah, that’s me.”

The husky did not look at all happy to hear it.  “Officer Ewan,” he introduced himself.  “You’ll have to come with me.”  Turning to Toby, he added, “You too.”

“What?!” asked both dogs in unison.

“Wait a minute,” asked Pete, “are you arresting us?”

Ewan shook his head.  “No, nobody’s under arrest,” he replied, turning around as the other two fanned out to positions behind Toby and Pete.  “At least not yet.  But you have both been called in for questioning on a certain matter.”

“What kind of matter?” asked Toby.

Ewan shook his head.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t divulge that at the moment, for purposes of discretion.”

“What was that last bit?” Pete whispered to Toby.

“I’m not allowed to tell you at the moment because it’s a situation that could be awkward for you if word got around,” answered Ewan without turning his head.  “And don’t act as if I can’t hear you.”

Toby shook his head.  “I should have told you, Ewan’s the best officer they’ve got.  Nothing gets by him.”

“What about your dad?” muttered Pete.

“I’m not quite sure if chief counts as an officer or not,” Toby admitted.

Ewan led them two blocks to a place Toby knew very well.  Unfortunately, so did Pete.

“You brought us to the old mu-” Pete stopped at a warning look from Toby and Ewan.  “Uh,” he gulped.  “Why here?”

“You will find out soon enough.  Toby, he has asked to see you first.  Pete, you will remain out here until you are called.”

Toby didn’t know what to make of the odd turn of events, but he entered.  There sat the lone figure of a bloodhound by the fire, his baggy jowls, lowered head, and motionless tail all speaking of a very grave demeanor.  His manner was in some ways rather like Sherlock Holmes sitting in a chair, waiting to deliver bad news to a client.

“Hi Dad,” Toby greeted, trying to sound light and carefree.  It wasn’t easy.  Rex’s posture brought Toby back to many times when he’d been scolded as a puppy for disobeying one or both of his parents.

“Son,” Rex uttered.  It was more an acknowledgment than a greeting.

Toby gulped.  “Uh, what’s going on?”

Rex sighed, and his voice lightened a notch.  “Well, Toby, that’s what I’m hoping you can tell me.  I received a complaint earlier concerning you and Pete, and I was hoping you could shed some light on the matter.”

“A complaint?” asked Toby, completely bewildered.  “For what?”

“About two hours ago, a female came to us complaining of a husky who had been harassing her since she broke up with him last week.  She identified him by name as Pete and added that you had been assisting him by conveying messages from him to her.”

Toby nodded.  “Well yeah, I know I did that, but I didn’t think I was harassing her.  I was just trying to help Pete.”

Rex nodded.  “All things considered, that’s quite commendable.  But she says she made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with Pete and you persisted regardless.”

Toby paused to consider his words.  “I just want to do the right thing.”

Rex nodded slowly.  “Please, tell me what happened.”

So Toby went over the events of the past few days: Pete’s request, his agreement to help, the training sessions, and the conversation he’d had with Trixie.  When he finished, he added, “I think Pete really does care about her, Dad.  Or at least he wants to, but just doesn’t know how.”

Rex remained as still as if he’d been carved from stone, finally saying, “Please go outside and tell Officer Ewan to send Pete in for questioning.  Do not tell Pete anything of the nature of this matter.”

Toby obediently turned and headed out the pet flap.  He knew why Rex wanted his silence on the matter.  It was a common practice for police to minimize discussion between witnesses so as not to enable them to collaborate any false stories.

Ewan spoke before Toby had even come out all the way.  “Pete, you’re next.”

Pete looked at Toby uneasily.  “What’d he want?” he asked.

Toby looked at the ground.  “I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Police protocol,” Ewan answered for Toby.  “Now come along, the chief is waiting.”

As Pete entered, it was a far different experience than Toby’s had been.  Toby had been there many times before, and he knew that under the stern police-dog countenance was a kind and loving father.  For Pete, this was all but an enemy court, and Rex the hanging judge.

“Heyah, uh… chief?” Pete offered weakly.

Rex simply stared at him, his eyes a potently neutral expression.  “Do you know why you are here?” he asked.

Pete shook his head.  “Look, I haven’t robbed the butcher’s since I left the gang, honest.  I…”

“This isn’t about a theft,” Rex replied.  “You’ve been charged with harassment, as well as recruiting a bystander in unlawful behavior.”

Pete’s face twisted into a baffled expression.  “Can you put that in English?”

“Your ex-girlfriend wants you to back off.”

“But…” Pete pleaded, but was cut off by a grim look from Rex.  At least he perceived it as grim, though it might have been something else.

“Just tell me what happened,” Rex instructed.

“Well,” Pete began, “I met this Trixie chick, and she and I went out for a bit.  Then I said something Toby says I shouldn’t have and she blew up at me.  I talked to Mom, who said I should talk to Toby, and I managed to get him to help me out.”

Rex blinked at the mention of Terry, but resumed his poker face.  “Go on,” he ordered.

“Well, I got