"What the hell do you think it means?" Lance spat, the letter clutched tightly in his hand. "It means he's hiding somewhere close and he's making sure Winter knows it, so he can continue to scare her to death—or worse!"

He shook the letter angrily in front of the officer, who leaned against his police car studying the barn on the hill, a cigarette propped delicately in his mouth.

"That boy hasn't been seen in over a month." The officer lifted his tired eyes to Lance's, probably wondering how all of this excitement had made its way out to his peaceful patrol in the countryside. "Not even a trace of 'em. Do you really think he could hide out here with all these animals roamin' about and not get sniffed out?"

"So, are you saying you think somebody else wrote it?" Mr. Rose asked. His eyes blazed as he studied the letter. His fingers drummed the officer's patrol car impatiently. "Enough is enough! We need to start getting some answers here!"

Sheldon stood beside them, his hands in his pockets. Winter quivered at his side, her complexion pale.

Winnie and I sat close enough to hear the conversation without bringing attention to ourselves. Together we made a handsome pair of canines. We'd filled out and nearly doubled in size in the past month. My black coat was glossy and my legs finally long enough to depend on for speed. I still looked like a clumsy puppy in a lot of ways, but I'd like to think I had a tougher edge. Winnie, on the other hand, was a stunning sight. She carried herself in a regal way that demanded attention. She couldn't hide her spirit, no matter what body she occupied. 

We'd finally gained the freedom to roam the refuge unsupervised. Our dog mother had given up on rounding us up, instead, she'd taken up Barnabas' role of chicken chaser and horse terrorizer. It suited her and us well. Although poor Earl was none too pleased about it.

"If it wasn't Jose, that leaves one of us three standing here. The only other person that comes around here is Dawson, the old veterinarian." Mr. Rose said.

The officer brushed his white mustache with the side of his finger and pushed himself off of the patrol car. "I'm just sayin' it's highly unlikely the kid has been hiding here for over a month without making contact with his family—or anyone."

"I'm sure he was just waiting for the right time." Lance said in a low voice, slapping the letter down on the hood of the patrol car. He turned, his eyes narrowing on Sheldon. "None of this happened until you came here," he said. " You were the one who brought that asshole here to begin with!"

My growl was cut short by Winnie's glare.

"And you were the one that brought him back that night!" Winter snapped, her dark eyes trained on her brother. "That night he killed Barnabas!"

The anger in Lance's eyes was instantly replaced with hurt at Winter's accusation. The five of them stood in silence, the wind whipping wildly around them, flapping their jackets like flags in the wind. It was still early in the morning, around eight o'clock. Inside the refuge, the other dogs barked eagerly, waiting to be fed and let outside. I gave Winnie a sideways glance, she looked away quickly, but not before I saw the sadness in her eyes.

The officer's eyes fell on us. He perked up, stamping his cigarette butt out on the ground. "You don't happen to have a dog that can track or hunt, do you?"

Winnie's ears straightened at the officer's question. This will be good, she projected, turning to look at me.

I guffawed. I don't know how to track scents. Do I look like a bloodhound to you?

Winnie tilted her head. You have the nose for it as well as I. A dog's sense of smell is a powerful tool. You just need to learn how to hone it.

I sighed inwardly. Alright Rin Tin Tin, what do you have in mind? It was hopeless to argue with Winnie. In the end she always got her way.

Winnie strutted up to the group and I clumped behind her, wondering what crazy antics she planned on employing. In her usual bold style, she paraded up to the officer and made a show of sniffing his leg, then his shoe. She pretended to trail a scent on the ground. Finally, she sat on her haunches and barked, as if to say, "here I am, at your service."

I winced.Too much, Winnie! Normal dogs don't listen to people's conversations!

Winnie looked back at me and winked slyly. Watch and learn how it's done.

"Boy. Now that is strange." The officer whistled, squinting down at Winnie. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she heard what I just said!"

He reached down and ruffling the fur behind her ears. "You wanna track a scent for me, little darlin'?"

Winnie made a show of barking and spinning around, clearly showing her acceptance of his proposition. She turned her attention back to me. Well? Don't just stand there staring like an idiot! Come up here and join me.

Feeling defeated, I joined her barking and spinning charade. What was left of my ego curled up and died.

"This is insane!" Lance said, watching us.

"You aren't seriously going to try this, are you? They haven't been trained in tracking," Winter said. "They're just pups. I don't want anyone else hurt."

"You have any dogs trained in tracking?" the officer asked.

"No," said Mr. Rose after a pause. "Barnabas was the only dog who was trained to track."

"Well, it's worth a try. I still have José's baseball cap in the truck, it'll give 'em a scent to follow. " Lance jogged off towards the truck, his keys in his hand, before anyone could protest.

"Shouldn't you bring in a professional for this?" Mr. Rose said. "And what about getting fingerprints from the letter?"

"Could take days, maybe weeks." The officer took a puff from the last inch of his cigarette before flicking it to the ground. "The big time city cops aren't keen on wasting resources on things like this." He backtracked after receiving Winter's glare. "Not that it isn't serious. We just don't have a lot to go by."

"There's no way these two pups are going to be able to follow a scent with no training," Mr. Rose said to Winter. He brushed her loose curls back from her forehead. It wasn't clear if he was trying to reassure her, or prevent her from getting her hopes up.

Sheldon was deliberately avoiding any kind of eye contact with me. I didn't blame him, after the last few encounters we'd had. Neither one of us felt comfortable with the other's presence. Then again, what was I saying? We were technically the same person, one in the past and one in the future—or was it the present? It was hard to wrap my mind around it.

I watched take Winter's hand for a second, then let it go swiftly after her father's dark expression. He seemed to be torn between comforting Winter, and the possibility of drawing her father's attention to their budding relationship. 

"I'm sure if he was here, he's long gone by now," Sheldon said.

Lance came racing back, José's white Nike baseball cap in his hand.

"So, how do we do this?" He put his hands on his hips, catching his breath, clearly excited.

Mr. Rose took the hat and cleared his throat. "I trained dogs to hunt when I was a boy."

There was a glimmer of excitement in his voice that he immediately tried to hide,  his boyhood memories overtaking him. He leaned over and patted his knees, signalling for us to come.  We sat obediently in front of him. He pulled a treat from his pocket. I groaned. A Big Mac would have been far more motivating. Winnie shot me an irritated look.

"Smell this." Mr. Rose held the hat in front of our noses.

Take in the smell and remember it, Winnie projected next to me.

I sniffed the hat, expecting to get nothing but a bland scent of hat material. Instead, a distinct smell flooded my nostrils, a unique scent that I immediately logged in my brain. Winnie did the same.

Did you take in the scent?

I nodded.

"We will need to hide the hat nearby a couple of times so they can get the hang of it..."

Mr. Rose was busy explaining the process to the others, oblivious as we took off after the scent, our noses to the ground.

Hello there! I hope you are enjoying this little mysterious tale! If you are, please vote and comment, let me know you care. Thanks!