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“So… do you think Barney went ahead and did as he promised?” I asked, crossing my fingers and hoping Jack wouldn’t suddenly go all reticent on us. Some pets are like that, especially dogs. They’ll defend their humans regardless of the laws of man.

“I doubt it,” said Jack. “Barney is all talk and little action. Most people who curse a lot are. They release tension by cursing, whereas people who never say a bad word but bottle it all up inside? They’re the ones you have to watch out for. They’re the ones who suddenly explode and slaysix in a homicidal frenzy.”

I gulped a little, and so did Dooley.“You seem to know a lot about the subject,” I said.

“Barney and I watch a lot of crime shows,” the dog said with a smile that lifted his hairy beard and mustache. “Seated side by side on the big couch we watch crime shows every night.”

“You like your human a lot, don’t you?” I said.

“Oh, sure, I love the guy. Barney is a little rough around the edges maybe, but he’s got a heart of gold. Dogs can sense it when humans have their hearts in the right place. But then I guess cats can, too.” He gave me an earnest look. “You probably knew the moment you heard the news whetheryour human was guilty or innocent, didn’t you? I don’t mean Odelia, but her dad. Pets have a way of figuring this stuff out long before the cops do. Am I right or am I right?”

I felt a little ashamed to admit that I had no idea whether Tex was guilty or not.

“I think he wanted to kill Jaqlyn a little bit but he didn’t know his own strength,” said Dooley, subscribing to Brutus’s theory.

“And what about you, Max? What do you think?” asked Jack. “Innocent or guilty?”

“I… I honestly don’t know,” I said. “I mean, can’t a person be good and still do a bad thing?”

“You mean by accident? Sure. We all do stupid things from time to time. But deep down I think you know,” he said now, tapping me on the chest. “Just look into your heart, Max. The truth is right there.”

And with these words, the philosophical Schnauzer with the distinctly shaped hairy facial features trotted off in the direction of his human, to go and sit by the man’s side.

Barney, when he became aware of his dog’s presence, picked him up into his arms. Jack gave the man’s face a lick and I found myself wondering about the dog’s words.

Did I know, deep down inside, whether Tex was guilty or not? I closed my eyes for a moment, and tried to sense what I was feeling. But nothing came. As far as I could tell it really was a toss-up. Though I sure hoped Tex was innocent.

When I opened my eyes again I saw to my surprise that Dooley was looking pained. His face was screwed up and he looked as if he was going through a particularly painful and unsuccessful bowel movement.

“Dooley?” I asked. “Are you all right?”

He blinked and gave me a sad look.“I can’t do it, Max. I can’t make it work.”

“You need to drink more,” I said. “Drink plenty of liquids and everything will come out just fine.”

“What will come out fine?”

“Well, your, um, stool.”

“Oh, my stool is fine,” he assured me. “It’s just that I tried to do as Jack suggested and look into my heart but it doesn’t work. All I see when I close my eyes is darkness. Did it work for you?”

“You don’t literally have to look into your heart,” I said with a laugh. “That’s impossible. You have to look with your mind’s eye.”

“My mind has an eye?” he asked, surprised, and glanced up as if searching for this elusive eye.

I saw that in my attempt to explain a tough concept I’d made things even more complicated, so instead I said, “Just try to feel what’s inside. Do you think that Tex is guilty or not?”

“Oh, but I already did that. Of course he’s guilty. But the most important thing is that we shouldn’t be too hard on him. After all, he killed Jaqlyn for all the right reasons.”

I groaned.“There are no right reasons to justify murder, Dooley. None.”

“There are if the person is really nasty, like Jaqlyn,” he argued.

“No, there aren’t.”

“Are you sure? Not even a little?”

“Not even a teensy tiny bit.”

It was obvious I’d given him some food for thought, for as I scoured the street in search of other witnesses to the recent and tragic events, he lapsed into silence.

“All right,” he said at length, “but I’m still going to keep liking Tex. No matter what he did.”

“Fair enough,” I said, and saw that a flock of birds were positioned in a nearby tree.

Time to bring out the inner diplomat.

Chapter 29

Odelia saw how Sarah Flunk walked away from Mayor Butterwick, closing the little notebook officers of the law consider part of their basic equipment, and decided to consult with her first.

Sarah, a red-haired and freckle-faced cop, seemed reluctant to talk to her, though, and Odelia could hardly blame her. The suspect in this case was, after all, Odelia’s own father, and Sarah probably felt she wasn’t exactly the most objective person in the world.

“Hey, Sarah,” she said.

“Odelia,” said Sarah, a little nervously.