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her face still serious. But now she seemed interested in what I was saying. “You mean, those women who were jogging?”
    I was surprised that she had noticed me near those women.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œThe blond one said that, right?” she said. “She’s out all day, and her husband travels a lot. I asked him if he wanted me to walk his dog for him, but he said no. He’d rather leave it cooped up in the house all day than pay me ten dollars to walk it.”
    â€œIt wasn’t her,” I said. “It was the other one—the one with the dark hair.”
    She looked at me for a moment.
    â€œI saw a cop talking to you,” she said finally.
    â€œHe saw me working near a house that got robbed last week,” I said. “Then he saw me again today. He’s probably wondering if it’s a coincidence.”
    She stared at me with those dark brown eyes. “And you told him it was, huh?” she said.
    What kind of question was that?
    â€œYeah,” I said. “Of course.” I glanced at the paper in her hand. “So, who is that from? Your boyfriend?”
    â€œMy brother.”
    â€œYour brother who owns Buster?” I said.
    She nodded.
    â€œWhere is he? On vacation somewhere?”
    She gave me a sharp look. I felt as if I’d said something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. She stood up and snapped a leash onto Buster’s collar.
    â€œMy name is Colin,” I said.
    She didn’t tell me her name. Instead she just turned and walked away. well, big surprise. For all I knew, she had a boyfriend— maybe he lived in this neighborhood.

chapter eight
    It was a week before I saw the girl again, and then I saw her twice in one day.
    The first time was in the morning. I was cleaning a utility pole when I spotted her on the other side of the street with her five dogs. She didn’t look at me. But I looked at her. Maybe she wasn’t friendly, but she sure was pretty.
    A car stopped beside her. The driver rolled down his window and said, “Alyssa! I thought that was you.”
    Her face lit up, and she looked even prettier. Alyssa was the perfect name for her. It seemed to go with her gold-streaked hair.
    â€œDr. Evans,” she said. “Hi.”
    â€œMrs. Petroff was in the clinic the other day. She asked about you. She’s thinking of getting another dog and wanted to know if you were still in the dog-walking business. She said she hadn’t seen you around for a while. I’ll have to tell her you’ve moved your business to another neighborhood.”
    â€œThanks to Mrs. Linzer,” Alyssa said. “She hired me to walk Freddie.” I wondered which one was Freddie. “She gave my name to some of her neighbors. But I’d go back to Hillmount if she needed me, especially to walk a puppy.”
    â€œI’ll tell her,” Dr. Evans said. “And I could use you back at the clinic on Saturdays once summer is over, if you’re interested.”
    â€œThat would be great,” Alyssa said.
    â€œYou have a way with animals,” Dr. Evans said. “We’ve missed you. You have a good summer, and I’ll see you in September.”
    He rolled up his window and drove away.
    Alyssa glanced across the street. She saw me, but she didn’t wave or smile—not that I expected her to.
    I saw her again later that day. This time it was nowhere near the neighborhood where we both worked. I was on my way home after handing in my work sheets to Stike. My mom had class that night. I knew she had left me something I could warm up for supper, but now that I was making money, I decided to get myself a meatball sandwich. I was on my way back to my bike with it when this little white blur with black-and-tan markings hurtled toward me, trailing a leash.
    Buster.
    He jumped at the bag that had my sandwich in it. I held it above my head. No way was I going to let him grab my supper. I looked around